1985 Porsche 962 – Today’s Racing Legend Tempter

By: James Robinson, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 24.05.2017

It’s not what you’d call cheap

Of all the turn-key Porsche race cars ever to be created by the boffins at the GT department in Weissach, the Porsche 962 is quite possibly the absolute best.

Designed by the godfather of race-going Porsches, Norbert Singer, the 962 was an endurance racer like few others.

Here was a race car that was literally started with the turn of a key, was easy to drive, and yet could sit on the Mulsanne straight at speeds above 390km/h for 24 hours, without going bang.  

Every aspect of the 962 was made for the purpose of endurance, according to Singer, anything and everything developed for the car was accompanied by the question, "Will it last 24 hours?"

Of course, it did last 24 hours, as the 962 won Le Mans in both 1986 and 1987 in the now iconic Rothmans liveried factory car.

The 962 was powered by a herculean twin-turbocharged flat six motor that pumped out anywhere from between 465 to 545kW, depending on its state of tune, and only weighed around 850kg dry, so really it’s no surprise the 962 was a straight-line missile.

This particular 962 was raced very successfully during the 1980s in Japan, and won a slew of accolades in its career which included winning both the 1985 and ’86 Japanese Sportscar Manufacturers Championship and the 1985 and ’86 Japanese Sportscar Drivers Championship.

After its stellar racing career, the 962 was purchased by a collector in the United States before changing hands with a number of different private collectors, eventually ending up in Germany.

The car is said to be in impeccable original condition and even retains the livery that it sported in its most successful racing years in Japan.

The 962 does not come cheap, the seller is asking a smidge over $2.6 million, and while that is a gross amount of money for a car, it is a pretty darn special one.

Anyone that would prefer this 962 to a three bedroom house in Toorak or Darling Point can check out the full listing here. 

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