Endearing nicknames were quick to appear. Porsche’s designer Anatole Lapine sketched the butchers’ cuts of pork on a basecoat of pink and labelled them accordingly: snout, ham, pork knuckle and brain. In 1971, the Porsche 917/20 delighted fans, drivers and officials at Le Mans.

Pink: the legendary “pig” unlucky in the race Almost 50 years later, the Gulf design adorned a Porsche 911 RSR in the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC and several Porsche 911 GT3 R at the 24-hour race in Spa-Francorchamps. Richard Attwood from the UK and Herbert Müller from Switzerland finished second overall in the 917 KH powered by the 4.9-litre twelve-cylinder engine. Although the three vehicles fielded by the team retired early that year, everyone was talking about the Gulf Porsche: The American Hollywood star Steve McQueen, who plays the character Michael Delaney, drove the blue and orange racer in the film Le Mans, which is still popular today and considered one of the finest motor racing depictions in history.īefore the spectacularly staged duel between Porsche and Ferrari hit the screens in October 1971, the Gulf Porsche clinched a podium spot at Le Mans.

As the previous year’s winners, the British squad John Wyer Automotive Engineering switched to the swift prototypes from Zuffenhausen in 1970, and brought the mineral oil company along as a sponsor. The orange stripes on the Porsche 963 are a nod to the legendary Gulf design of the Porsche 917.

Orange: the Gulf 917 as a movie star and podium visitor at Le Mans Thanks to 19 overall victories and 110 class wins, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer at the world’s greatest endurance race, which celebrates its centenary this year. These colours pay tribute to legendary racing car liveries from Porsche’s long and illustrious history. Seven distinctive stripes in yellow, red, dark blue, light blue, green, pink and orange adorn the three Porsche 963 entered in the Hypercar class at Le Mans.

They all honour glorious and spectacular performances at the greatest and most historic long-distance race in the world. The colours of sponsors such as Martini, Rothmans and Gulf as well as the iconic designs like the “pig” and “hippie” have been recaptured – through to the red of the Porsche Salzburg team.

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