Close-up of the Rothmans Porsche 956 driven by Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell, in the Jacky Ickx Icon Collection, part of the 2017 London Classic Car Show
The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the FIA World Sportscar Championship. It was later upgraded to the 956B in 1984. Driven by Stefan Bellof in 1983, this car holds the all-time record for the fastest vehicle ever to lap the famed Nürburgring Nordschleife, completing the km ( mi) circuit in 6 during qualifying for the 1000 km Sports Car race. The 956 made its debut at the Silverstone 6 Hour race, the second round of the World Championship for Makes with Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell driving for the factory. After missing the following round at the 1000 km Nürburgring for developmental reasons, the Ickx/Bell unit reappeared at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They led the race for the entire 24 hours, eventually taking the overall win - their third win together. As they had already won in 1981 with a Porsche 936 that had used an early version of the 956 engine, their car had started number 1. The two other factory 956 followed them, so the three factory Porsches finished 1-2-3 in the order of their starting numbers. Boosted by this success, Porsche sold customer versions of the 956 to privateer teams such as Joest Racing, Obermaier Racing, John Fitzpatrick Racing, Richard Lloyd Racing, Kremer Racing and Brun Motorsport who raced them independently of the factory. Porsche 956B Menu 0:00 Problems playing this file? See media help. The overall all-time lap record for the demanding 20 km Nürburgring-Nordschleife circuit in the Eifel Mountains was achieved during the qualifying session for the 1983 1000km of Nürburgring, by Stefan Bellof, who drove his 956 around in 6 minutes seconds, at an average speed of 202 km/h (126 mph). The race lap record is held by the same Bellof, during the 1983 1000 km Nürburgring, the lap being clocked at 6 At the 1985 1000 km of Spa, Bellof died after colliding with Jacky Ickx's newer 962. Safety concerns over the 956 led to its eve
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Location: Excel, London
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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