The Porsche 962C Comes To Project Motor Racing

October 30, 2025

Langheck? Check.

By 1988, the Porsche 962C—the Group C evolution of the Porsche 956—was a fully matured Le Mans missile with two Le Mans wins in its trophy cabinet. The works squad built a fresh chassis, 962 010, specifically for the 1988 24 Hours, and it delivered the (almost) full works—pole (3:15.6), fastest lap (3:22.5), and P2 overall.

Under the body sat Porsche’s race proven twin turbo flat six, but in 3L configuration. The 962C had begun life with a 2.65 L four valve biturbo using water cooled heads and air cooled cylinders (956 derived), then progressed to a fully water cooled 3L four valve biturbo in later factory trim. The 3L variant was good for around 690 bhp during practice at Le Mans in 1985—a clear marker for the performance envelope that late ’80s cars operated within. In 24 hour race trim, output was typically dialled back to roughly 620 bhp to protect fuel, tyres and reliability.

The chassis was an aluminium monocoque, with the Group C 962C distinct from IMSA’s 962 in several safety driven details (IMSA mandated the pedals behind the front axle and a steel roll cage inside the aluminium tub).

Aerodynamically, the 962C exploited ground effect diffuser tunnels to the maximum, with Porsche’s engineers widening the channels and optimising tyre sizes as the car evolved. For Le Mans, teams also fitted low drag “long tail” (Langheck) bodywork—lengthened rear body and underfloor—to trim drag on the Mulsanne. That’s the version you’ll have in your hands in Project Motor Racing: the calm, relentless Langheck, built to live in top gear.

On track, the ’88 works programme was the car’s peak. The 962 010’s combination of low drag bodywork, diffuser efficiency and disciplined fuel strategy is exactly what Group C rewarded: hit the 100L-tank/five stop fuel budget, sit in the tow when you could, lift and coast where you must, short-shift everywhere, and let aero do its thing.

Staggeringly fast, relentlessly efficient, and competitive to the very last hour. The 962C had already stamped its authority on La Sarthe with overall wins in 1986 and 1987, and it wasn’t just a factory darling. Porsche’s customer ecosystem turned the 962C into a global endurance machine: Brun, Joest, Kremer, Richard Lloyd Racing and others stacked victories and titles while the works squad focused on Le Mans.

That depth is a huge part of the legend: a car quick enough for the factory, yet serviceable and modular enough for independents to run at the front, week after week.

The Porsche 962C distilled Group C’s fuel budget philosophy into a tool that drivers could push for hours. Porsche even used the platform to prove its PDK dual clutch shifting in the Supercup—a development thread that foreshadowed later road car tech.

The legacy, too, is remarkably long. Even after Group C waned, the platform kept winning: the Dauer 962 took overall victory in 1994 under GT regs, and the TWR Porsche WSC 95 carried a 962 derived engine to back to back Le Mans wins in 1996–97 with Joest. Few race cars cast a longer competitive shadow—or draw a cleaner line from ’80s endurance theory to modern programmes.

The 1988 era Porsche 962C is the poster that still earns its place on the wall: a long tail shape that breathes speed, a chassis that treats downforce like a checking account, and an engine that was as mean as it was lean. It’s the moment when Porsche turned efficiency into theatre—and then held it for another generation.

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