The stereo head unit reads not 'Blaupunkt' in this Porsche, as you'd expect, but 'Decca'. You don't need to be told this isn't a normal 911, but it's this detail that reveals the story of this Flachbau (slantnose) more than any other. Owned by Mickie Most, the music producer behind acts such as The Animals, Jeff Beck, Lulu and Hot Chocolate, this is the only Carrera 2.7 MFI ever to receive the attentions of Le Manswinning privateer outfit Kremer.
The Cologne-based racing team shot to fame when it won an outright 24 Hours victory in 1979, beating the Porsche factory team's prototype 936 racer with its 935 (a racing version of the 911 turbo). It was a victory that came due to no small amount of good fortune: all of Kremer's close rivals suffered mechanical issues, while heavy rain reduced the speed differential between the Kremer car and the pursuing 936s. Regardless, the image of the Kremer Porsche, flat-nosed, bespoilered and wearing a red stripe that flowed up and around the bodywork as if it were painted on in a wind tunnel, seared itself into the minds of marque enthusiasts in the early 1980s.
Soon, Kremer was being asked to produce road-legal versions of its Le Mans winning car, the 935 K3. Formula One team owner Walter Wolf was one of those early customers. His Kremer 935 'Le Mans' was a genuine Le Mansspec 935 made road-legal and painted in a blue-and-red livery that almost certainly inspired the paintwork of the car in front of us today. Wolf's car was an exception, however; Kremer's street-legal cars were nearly all built from roadgoing 911s. Enter, Mickie Most.
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Denne historien er fra June 2023-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A Breath of Fresh Air- Alfa Romeo's exotic, V8-powered Montreal was like nothing the marque had made before, but can it compare with a Porsche masterpiece, the 911S 2.4?
The stereotype of the ItaloGermanic automotive rivalry is that the Latin car will be brilliant to drive, but poorly built and ergonomically flawed, while the Teutonic will be the opposite. Yet these 2+2 sports coupés both ran against orthodoxy. In the Montreal, Alfa Romeo created an outlandish-looking two-door more comfortable, more powerful and more refined than anything it had produced for decades. Meanwhile, Porsche continued to refine its back-to-front, austere and increasingly aged 911. Neither took a traditional development path, but both created thrilling and individual cars that have echoed through the decades.
Daring to be diminutive
AMC's Gremlin and Pacer, and Ford's much-derided Pinto, led America's response to the threat of imported European compacts
THE LONG WAY ROUND
There is a great tradition of overland trips by Land-Rover, but the tale of this 70s Aussie epic and the car itself was discovered by chance
Handsome cab
The Phantom V limousine marked the beginning of the end for coachbuilder James Young, but this Rolls-Royce represents the craft at its very best
DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Racing for their own F1 teams brought some drivers success and an enduring legacy. For others, it turned into a nightmare
20 30 LITRES CYLINDERS, 400BHP......AND MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD
Thunderous torque, flame-spitting stub-exhausts, white-knuckle thrills - and hopefully no spills - aboard a trio of Edwardian racing titans
ICON.
The three top-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023 were pick-ups, topped by the Ford F-Series. This is the truck that started it all
Blurred Lines
lan 'Del' Lines blended the V8 burble of Triumph's open GT with real practicality in his Stag V8 saloons and estates
Home of the brave
The innovative Silverstone proved a hit with keen amateur drivers. To mark its 75th, Healey's club racer returns to the circuit for which it is named
PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES
Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring