[Teutonic Tuesday] Enduring Legends: Porsche 907

After a way-too-long hiatus I am finally continuing to build my Porsche race cars in 1:43 collection. In Episode 8 we will explore the #52 Porsche 907, which raced in the 1968 Daytona 24 Hours.

Since there are about 400,000 cars on my list to complete this collection (I’m trying to get one of each type, and my count now stands at 8: 907, 908/3, 911 RSR (991), 911 GT1 (996), 917, 934, 935, 956), my current method of acquisition is to type “Porsche 1:43" into the Ebay search box, and look for the best deal on a race car. This time, that turned out to be this Spark 907. $22 shipped, baby!! Whoo!!

I have to admit that I knew very little about the 907 besides the basic shape of the car. It was introduced in 1967 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the successor to the venerable 910, scoring a P5 in front of its older brother. Initially it ran the same 220hp 2L flat-six as the 910 (which powered it to 190mph on the Mulsanne Straight!), before adding 50hp by switching to a 2200cc flat-eight. One evolution from the 910 was that the driving position was switched to the right to give an advantage on clockwise circuits.

From my scant research, the 907 seemed a little bit like a stepping stone car between the 910 and 908, partially due to a rule change to a 3 liter prototype class. The 2200cc engine already existed, but the full 3l engine was still being developed. The car did manage to achieve some success, though, scoring a 1-2-3 finish at the Daytona 24 Hours, a 1-2 at the Sebring 12 Hours, a 2-3 at Brands Hatch after qualifying 1st, a win at the Targa Florio while smashing the lap record by one minute, and a 2nd place at Le Mans.

Now back to this particular car, the #52 that raced at the 1968 24 Hours of Daytona. Here is where it gets murky/confusing/interesting. According to the box, this car finished P2, driven by Jo Siffert, Hans Hermann, and Gerhard Mitter. But according to a description of the race, Gerhard Mitter’s #53 (the third of four Porsche Werks 907s entered) busted a tire and crashed on the banking. His team mate Rolf Stommelen then went across the garage to support the #54 car driven by Vic Elford and Jochen Neerpasch. The #52, driven by Jo Siffert and Hans Hermann, led for a long time, before suffering some technical issues and dropping to P2. Both drivers also drove on the #54 in case the #52 broke down, so on the final results tally it shows the #54 as winning with 5 drivers, two of whom (Siffert and Hermann) also finished second, in the #52. Confused yet? I am!

Despite this twisty tale of (almost) triumph, this 907 model is definitely a winner. All the detail you’d expect from a Spark is there, including the amazing fuel filler caps on both sides of the car. I’m really happy to have crossed this one off my list!

Hopefully I won’t have to wait as long between episodes of Porsche racers next time.

Finally, here are some shots with the 907's endurance racing long tail cousins, the 1998 911 GT1 that drove to victory at Le Mans, and the Trust 956 that finished 3rd in the 1983 1000km of Fuji.