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  Porsche 962C GTi      

  Article Image gallery (92) Chassis (4) Specifications  
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Built in:Silverstone, England
Produced from:1987 - 1991
Numbers built:5
Internal name:962
Designed by:Nigel Stroud for Richard Lloyd Racing
Author:Wouter Melissen
Last updated:April 27, 2016
Download: All images
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Click here to download printer friendly versionRichard Lloyd Racing, also known as GTi engineering, was one of the first teams to acquire a customer Porsche 956 Group C racer. After damaging the chassis, the team commissioned the design of a new chassis in search of additional rigidity. It was penned by Nigel Stroud, who would go on to create the Le Mans winning Mazda 787B. Whereas the original Porsche monocoque featured simple aluminium sheets, the new tub was constructed from reinforced sheets with a honeycomb core. In addition to the new chassis, the GTi 956 was later also fitted with a revised front suspension and the team experimented with more aggressive aerodynamics.

For the 1986 season, a second chassis was built, which incorporated changes to the cockpit and moved the driver's feet behind the front axle centre line, in much the same way as Porsche's own 962 had done. This car was nevertheless still referred to as a Porsche 956 even though it was considerably different. For 1987, the team tasked Stroud to develop a honeycomb monocoque around the Porsche's 962 design to replace the 956. Although it was a fresh design and chassis, his car carried over the original 106B chassis number but now boasted the 962 prefix to underline it was in fact a different car.

Whereas the aerodynamics of the team's 956s had been subtly modified, Stroud drafted a more drastic design for the 962C GTi. It featured a more aggressive front splitter, rounded headlights and a separate rear wing. Taking a page out of the TWR Jaguar design book, Stroud also fitted rear wheel spats to further increase efficiency. The car's running gear was supplied by Porsche, who were keen to sell components regardless of what chassis they were bolted to. In total, the team would produce five separate 962C GTi chassis. Two were sold to customers and all five were always fielded as Porsches.

The first example was campaigned throughout the 1987 season by Richard Lloyd Racing and scored wins at the Norisring and Kyalami. It was sold to Japan and replaced by a fresh chassis, which served the team into the early 1990s, along with the third car. Dyson Racing acquired the fourth car for use in the 1988 IMSA GTP Championship and immediately dubbed it 962 DR1. Facing very strong competition, it actually won a round at Antonio. The final car did not appear until 1992, when it was run by ADA Engineering at Le Mans with Tiff Needell joined by father and son Derek and Justin Bell, who competed together at Le Mans for the first time.

By taking matters into their own hands Richard Lloyd Racing managed to prolong the 956 and 962C's competitive career by quite a bit. Other privateers followed suit and Porsche greatly benefited as the German manufacturer could go on and sell expensive components while Porsche-badged racers continued to star at the sharp end of the field without the need to develop a brand new car in-house. From the late 1980s, there was, however, very little the privateer teams could do about the much better financed works teams.

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  Article Image gallery (92) Chassis (4) Specifications