As GEN3 comes to a close, the Porsche Formula E Team will run an iconic historic livery for the London season-finale.
With its red, gold and blue stripes, the colours hark back to an era of innovation and dominance, where Porsche led the way both on the grid and in the workshop.
From the Nürburgring to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, from the Paris-Dakar to Silverstone, cars bearing these iconic colours won wherever they went.
Rarely has one livery represented so much success, in so many fields, and pioneered such innovation. A true Raceborn legend, it led the way on and off-track for many years to come.
But the race-winning livery, with its white body, red-and-gold stripes, and blue sides, is synonymous with a decade of dominance.
And now, it is the turn of another icon: The
With five world championship titles to date, the all-electric car is already the most successful model of Formula E’s third-generation.
Its latest success came as Porsche secured the Manufacturers’ World Championship at the Tokyo E-Prix at the end of July.
But there are still two titles up for grabs: The Teams’ title, and the Drivers’ Championship.
With eight drivers in contention, including both factory drivers
Inspired by Group C greatness: The Porsche 956
The Porsche 956 established its dominance from the start.
Making its competitive debut at the 1982 6 Hours of Silverstone, the second round of that year’s World Sportscar Championship, it took class victory and second overall on its maiden outing.
Just a month later, it headed to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And it stunned the competition, taking the top three places at the Circuit de la Sarthe, led by Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell.
The 956 went on to claim the World Sportscar Championship's manufacturers title that year, with Ickx the overall driver’s champion and Bell third, in a phenomenal debut season.
The following season, its success continued. In 1983, the Porsche 956 retained the manufacturers’ and driver’s title – through Ickx – once again.
Not only did the 956 win at Le Mans again that year for its second consecutive win, but it also took the top eight positions.
That same year, Stefan Bellof established a record that would stand for 35 years: lapping the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 6:11.13 during qualifying for the 1000 km Sports Car race.
Averaging over 202km/h, his record stood until it was finally surpassed by Timo Bernhard in a derestricted Porsche 919 Evo in 2018.
Continuing the legacy: The Porsche 962 C
Though the Porsche 956 retired at the end of 1984, there was soon another model to take sportscar racing by storm: The Porsche 962 C.
Based on the 956, it was 120mm longer and built around an extra lightweight aluminium monocoque frame to meet new regulations and make it IMSA-eligible.
And it too was a roaring success. In both 1986 and 1987, the powerhouse trio of Hans-Joachim Stuck, Derek Bell and Al Holbert brought home overall victory.
Both wins came with huge margins, and the 1987 win was the most dominant of the decade, 20 laps clear of the closest competitor.
Together, the Porsche 956 and its successor, the 962, roared to five consecutive World Championship manufacturer’s titles and won all of the great endurance races.
Its tally includes seven overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, six Daytona 24 Hours titles and four victories at the Sebring 12 Hours. It won 39 World Championship events in total and 55 IMSA races.
Off-road success: The Porsche 953 and Porsche 959
Rallying has played a huge part in the history of Porsche, and some of its most famous victories came across the tricky terrain of the Sahara Desert.
Bursting onto the scene in 1984, the Porsche 953 - also known as the Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 4x4 Paris Dakar (953) - took a stunning victory on its debut.
Thanks to its rigorous engineering and the robustness of the 911, René Metge and Dominique Lemoyne tackled the 11,000km course across 20 days, beating the very best drivers and off-road cars in the world.
It was the first time a sports car had won the event, and to this day is considered one of the most significant victories in the long history of Porsche Motorsport.
Lessons learned from the 953 went on to inform the creation of the 959, the all-wheel drive supercar, which would follow its predecessor to Paris-Dakar victory.
Prototype versions of this model were built for the 1986 edition, featuring desert-ready suspension and body upgrades.
They dominated the event, grabbing the top two places on the podium as well as a sixth-place finish. It was Metge and Lemoyne who won again, with Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur in second.
Just 292 road-going, series-production 959 examples were ever built, but it pioneered the use of all-wheel drive in 911 models that continues today.
Celebrating 75 Years of Porsche Motorsport
This livery marks the latest in a series of special paint schemes to celebrate
The
Harking back to the iconic Mexican road race, the all-silver colour scheme ran for the second race of the Formula E season on January 10.
It paid tribute to the legendary 550 Spyder, with which Hans Herrmann won a class victory at the Carrera Panamericana in 1954.
In April, the team brought the historic Pink Pig livery to its home race at the Berlin E-Prix, with Müller taking a sensational win - his maiden championship victory.
Inspired by the Porsche 917/20 which caused a sensation at the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans, the livery returned for a second outing 47 years later to win the legendary race, finishing first in the GTE Pro category after a gruelling 344 laps.
The final showdown: The London E-Prix
The final two races of Season 12 will take place at London’s ExCel Centre on August 15 and 16.
Heading into the closing round, Wehrlein sits third in the drivers’ standings, just five points off the lead.
Team-mate Müller remains mathematically in title contention, 44 points behind the leader.
Jake Dennis, who also drives a 99X Electric for customer team Andretti Formula E, leads the standings heading to London.
The Porsche factory team heads into the finale second in the teams’ standings, 14 points behind the leader.
Given the deficits, Porsche can only secure either title in the second London race on Sunday afternoon.
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