1995 Kremer K8

The Kremer Racing motorsports team was founded by Erwin Kremer and his brother Manfred in the early 1960s and almost exclusively raced Porsches during their existence. Among their accolades was a victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979 and a victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1995. Erwin also won the European Touring Car Manufacturers' Championship in 1968. Along with racing, the team was renowned for their mechanical prowess and tuned Porsche race cars.

The first Porsche with the 'K' designation, signifying a Kremer-tuned build, was the 935 K1 of 1976, with an improved K2 version following a year later. The final iteration of the Kremer-tuned 935 was the 935 K4 of the early 1980s. In 1983, the CK5 arrived as a custom-built Group C prototype racer based on the 936, and the 962 CK6 also based on the 962.

Group C racing was introduced by the FIA in 1982 for purpose-built, closed sports-prototypes. Porsche's Group C entries were the 956 and later the 962; both were very successful. Its success brought new regulations which were intended to increase competition and reduce costs. These new rules quickly made many Group C cars obsolete. Some teams moved to other racing series while others updated their cars to comply with the new rules. The Kremer Racing team chose to leave the World Sportscar Championship and focused their attention on the Interserie Championship with their 962CK6. It quickly became apparent that the closed-cockpit bodywork of the 962CK6 was at a weight disadvantage to many of the team's open-cockpit bodywork. So in an attempt to reduce weight and increase speed, Kremer extensively modified the bodywork of an existing 962CK6, ultimately becoming known as the Kremer K7 Spyder (CK7).

Kremer removed the doors, windshield, and roof of the cockpit, and added new bodywork, bolstered the side bodywork, and relocated the driver to a more central position. The space previously occupied by the doors was reworked with large intakes and inlets to improve airflow. The Type 935 3.2-liter Flat-6 engine of the 962CK6 was retained, along with most of the mechanical components of the 962, aerodynamics, and the engine cover. The reduction in weight and the circa-900 horsepower engine made the K7 much quicker than the original 962 and a potent competitor, remaining successful through the 1995 season.

The Kremer K8
The second open prototype racer built by the Kremers was the K8. It was built for International Sports Racing Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans and once again was based on the 962CK6s. The John Thompson-built tub was formed from honeycomb-reinforced aluminum and clothed with carbon fiber and Kevlar bodywork. It was given a two-seater layout like the 962CK6, with a much lower design, and a rollbar added to the top of the engine cover. The styling was penned by Erwin Kremer and built by Sepp and Roy Korytko.

The suspension and drivetrain followed closely to its predecessors, except the engine was a three-liter version of the twin-turbocharged Porsche Type 935 flat-six. Due to regulations, output was much lower than the K7, producing approximately 530 horsepower. The engine was paired with a Porsche five-speed gearbox.

The K8 Spyder made its racing debut in 1994 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans where it was the only open-cockpit car competing in the LMP1/C90 class. Kremer had landed a lucrative contract to race the Honda NSX at Le Mans and luckily the British 'Project 100' team had agreed to help with finding sponsorship and drivers for the K8. They secured Gulf Oil as a sponsor and the driver lineup included Derek Bell, Robin Donovan, and Jürgen Lassig. They qualified second on the grid and ran near the front for most of the race, ultimately finishing in sixth place. The race was won by the Dauer Team's re-homologated Porsche 962 competing as a GT car.

Following Le Mans, Kremer Racing competed in the 1995 IMSA GT Championship with its first race in the U.S. being the 24 Hours of Daytona. The team's drivers included Giovanni Lavaggi, Jürgen Lassig, Marco Werner, and Christophe Bouchut who skillfully earned the K8 its first outright victory, a full five laps over the nearest competitor. Mechanical problems at the 12 Hours of Sebring gave the K8 a 30th-place finish.

The team returned to Europe and by this point, the second K8 had been completed. It was built to a similar specification as the original K8, and both cars were entered in Le Mans. Although the previous year the K8 had been the only open-cockpit car competing in its class, it now competed against a field full of open-cockpit prototypes. One of the K8s qualified in the eighth place position and finished the race in sixth place. The other K8 retired early from the race due to electrical issues.

After LeMans, the Kremer team returned to the Interserie using a CK7 in two of the final three rounds, winning one more outright victory. Two cars returned to LeMans in 1996 but both cars failed to finish. The K8s were raced once again during 1997, earning a victory at the 1000km Monza where it was driven by John Nielsen and Thomas Bscher. After LeMans, the K8s competed in the final round of the new International Sports Racing Series, placing third and seventh. Two cars raced the following full season, with its best performance being a second place at the season opener. The team would finish the season in eighth place. A single K8 raced at LeMans in 1998 where it finished 12th overall and second in the LMP1 class.

Kremer Racing competed with the K8 Spyders for the first two rounds of the 1999 International Sports Racing Series season before replacing them with the new Lola B98/10.

A total of four Kremer K8 vehicles were built, with the first two built to the original configuration, while the final two were given carbon fiber tubs.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2022