Last update: October 21, 2024
Disclaimer: I do not smoke and surely do not want to promote tobacco. But neither do I ignore the fact that the tobacco industry has been quite good for motorsport in the past. So, I show the cars and models here as they were; with tobacco advertising.
After Martini left Porsche for Lancia, the German factory teamed up with tobacco company Rothmans. It was a successful relationship with 4 Le Mans wins, many more world championship victories and success in the grueling Dakar rally.
Porsche 956, the early years of group C
1982 Le Mans 24h, Porsche 956L. Porsche presented its new racing car just weeks before the 24h Le Mans. The Group C 956 was a new concept for Porsche. The engine – originally developed for Indianapolis – was already successful at Le Mans in 1981. But the rest of the car was brand new; an aluminium monocoque chassis with ground effect instead of the tubular space frames that all of its predecessors used. But the car was fuel efficient (important in Group C), fast and reliable which lead to a historic triple win.
#1 Jacky Ickx (B) / Derek Bell (GB) – 1st
#2 Jochen Mass (D) / Vern Schuppan (AUS) – 2nd
#3 Hurley Haywood (USA) / Al Holbert (USA) / Jürgen Barth (D) – 3rd
Porsche 956L – 2.65 liter Porsche 935/79 flat-6 twin turbo, approx. 620 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 840 kg. Aluminum monocoque, chassisnrs. #002, #003 and #004
- MINICHAMPS MC402 826503 a 3-car presentation box #5114 / 5832 pcs (diecast)
- QUARTZO Q3055 (diecast)
1983 Le Mans 24h, Porsche 956L. The customer teams also had the wonder car, the 956 this year. So most of the competition came from within, but the factory cars remained the strongest. The #3 car suffered from a late engine damage but still won the race, just in front of last year’s winners Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell.
#3 Hurley Haywood (USA) / Al Holbert (USA) / Vern Schuppan (AUS) – 1st
Porsche 956L – 2.65 liter Porsche 935/79 flat-6 twin turbo, approx. 620 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 840 kg. Aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. #003
- QUARTZO Q3051 (diecast)
At Le Mans and Monza, Porsche used the 956L. L standing for “langheck” or long tail. On tracks that required a bit more downforce and less top speed, the 956K “kurzheck” or short tail was used. Fun fact: the K wasn’t shorter at all. The overall length of the car was similar to the L, but its rear wing was much higher which made it look shorter.
1983 Spa-Francorchamps 1000 km, Porsche 956K. Porsche dominated the World championship in 1983. The Joest team won the first race at Monza, but all others were a prey for the Rothmans factory team.
#1 Jacky Ickx (B) / Jochen Mass (D) – 1st
Porsche 956K – 2.65 liter Porsche 935/79 flat-6 twin turbo, approx. 640 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 840 kg. Aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. #005
- QUARTZO Q3056 (diecast)
1983 Nürburgring 1000 km, Porsche 956K. Same story at the Nürburgring where Ickx and Mass won in front of the Porsches from Joest and Richard Lloyd. The #2 car with Derek Bell and Stefan Bellof retired after Bellof crashed the car early in the race.
#2 Derek Bell (GB) / Stefan Bellof (D) – DNF / crash
Porsche 956K – 2.65 liter Porsche 935/79 flat-6 twin turbo, approx. 640 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 840 kg. Aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. #007
- MINICHAMPS MC402 836602 (diecast)
The Successor, Porsche 962C
In 1984 and the factory team didn’t compete in Le Mans but returned in 1985 with the new 962C. Joest Racing finished on top in both years, beating the factory cars in 1985.
1986 Le Mans 24h, Porsche 962C. The Rothmans Porsche 962C was back on top. The #1 car won in front of 6 other Porsches. The #2 retired after an accident.
#1 Hans J. Stuck (D) / Derek Bell (GB) / Al Holbert (USA) – 1st
#2 Bob Wollek (F) / Jochen Mass (D) / Vern Schuppan (AUS) – DNF
Porsche 962C – 2.8 liter Porsche 935/82 flat-6 twin turbo, approx. 650 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 860 kg. Aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. #003 and #009
- #1 ALTAYA 100 ans de sport automobile 22 non-tobacco version (diecast)
- #2 SPARK S0924 (resin)
1987 Le Mans 24h, Porsche 962C. Only twelve cars reached the finish in this year’s 24 hour race at Le Mans. The #17 factory Porsche with Hans J. Stuck / Derek Bell / Al Holbert took a convincing win 20 laps over the second placed Primagaz Porsche.
#17 Hans J. Stuck (D) / Derek Bell (GB) / Al Holbert (USA) – 1st
Porsche 962C – 3.0 liter Porsche 935/82 flat-6 twin turbo, approx. 670 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 860 kg. Aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. #006
- SPARK S0942 (resin)
1987 Le Mans 24h, Porsche 962C. Also racing with Rothmans sponsoring this year was the Brun Racing entrant with three Canadian drivers who retired with a broken engine.
#3 Bill Adam (CAN) / Scott Goodyear (CAN) / Richard Spenard (CAN) – DNF
Porsche 962C – 2.8 liter Porsche 935/82 flat-6 twin turbo, approx. 650 hp. Michelin tires. Weight 860 kg. Aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. #001BM (Thompson)
- QUARTZO QLM 99015 #1351 / 2000 pcs (diecast)
1987 Le Mans 24h, Porsche 961. Another entrant this year was this group B Rothmans Porsche 961, a competition version of the 959 supercar. Last year, it made its debut in a completely white outfit and finished an excellent 7th. This year the team retired after the car caught fire and burnt.
#203 Claude Haldi (CH) / Rene Metge (F) / Kees Nierop (CAN) – DNF / fire
Porsche 961 – 2.85 liter Porsche 961/70 Flat-6 twin turbo, approx 600 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 1170 kg. Steel monocoque, chassisnr. ZFS010016
- SPARK S0961 (resin)
Porsches in the desert
1984 Paris – Dakar, Porsche 911 SC 4×4. Porsche built this 911 that used the 4WD system from its successor the Porsche 959. René Metge and Dominique Lemoyne won Le Dakar in 1984. Their team mate Jacky Ickx was fastest in 1984, winning the highest number of special stages, but he only finished 6th.
#176 René Metge (F) / Dominique Lemoyne (F) – 1st
Porsche 911 SC 4×4 – 3.2 liter Porsche flat-6, approx. 265 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 1165 kg. Steel monocoque, chassisnr. unknown
- NOREV Le Légende du Dakar 7 (diecast)
1986 Paris – Dakar, Porsche 959. The Porsche 959 was a special Dakar Rallye prototype, based on the 911 4×4 that won the rallye in 1984. The 959’s retired in 1985, but were very successful in 1986 with 1st, 2nd and 5th places. The turbo-boost was lowered because of the low octane fuel in Africa, so it delivered ‘only’ 390 hp instead of the original 450. Rene Metge won again, Jacky Ickx finished 2nd.
#185 Jacky Ickx (B) / Claude Brasseur (F) – 2nd
Porsche 959 Dakar – 2.8 liter Porsche flat-6 twin turbo, approx. 390 hp. Dunlop tires. Weight 1260 kg. Steel monocoque, chassisnr. unknown
- MINICHAMPS MC400 866285 (diecast)
30 years later …
2018 Le Mans 24h, Porsche 911 RSR-17. In 2018 the factory Porsches at Le Mans – run by Manthey – raced in historic liveries. One was the Pink Pig and another had the Rothmans colors but without the Rothmans name as tobacco advertising is completely banned.
#91 Richard Lietz /(A) Gianmaria Bruni (I) / Fred Makowiecki (F) – 16th / 2nd in GTE-Pro
Porsche 911 RSR-17 (991) – 4.0 liter Porsche M97/80 flat-6 normally aspirated, approx. 510 hp. Michelin tires. Weight 1300 kg. Steel + aluminum monocoque, chassisnr. #ZJS199903
- SPARK S7032 (resin)
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