The Porsche 962 is considered by many, racing fans and experts alike, to be one of the most successful race cars in motorsports history. Introduced in 1984 as the successor the equally impressive 956, the 962 remained competitive right into the 1990s, dominating both Group C in Europe and the original IMSA GTP class in North America.
Now is somebody’s lucky chance to snag one as there’s one up for sale at Germany’s Mechatronik.
The car, chassis number 165, was built in 1991 and originally owned by Porsche’s factory team as a reserve vehicle. However, it was loaned to the Obermaier Racing team for the Nürburging round of the 1991 FIA Sports Car World Championship, where it was driven by Jürgen Oppermann and Otto Altenbach to a fourth-place finish. That would be the car’s sole race.
It would then remain in Porsche’s collection until being sold to a loyal customer in 1995. It would remain with that owner until 2019, when purchased by Mechatronik. It’s now listed for sale with an asking price of 1,449,000 euros (approximately $1.534 million).
1991 Porsche 962 bearing chassis no. 165 – Photo credit: Mechatronik
Because of its lack of repeated competition use, the car is in a highly original state. Its previous owner requested that the Primagaz livery the car raced with be removed. The owner also wanted the rear body panel used for the Nürburgring race to be replaced with the original rear panel the car had when it was first built at Porsche’s motorsports headquarters in Weissach.
Power in the 962 was powered by a twin-turbo 2.6-liter flat-6 making about 680 hp, propelling a chassis weighing less than 2,000 pounds. Add in ground-effects bodywork shaped by legendary Porsche engineer Norbert Singer, and you had a world beater.
Though the 962 is competitive as it used to be, there’s plenty of fun to be had thanks to the growing number of historic racing events that allow obsolete racing cars to compete against one another in category races.
