Light and powerful
The Porsche 908 was a racing car introduced in 1968 to continue the 906-907-910 series of models designed by Helmut Bott (chassis) and Hans Mezger (engine), under the leadership of racing director and engineer Ferdinand Piëch.
Porsche designed the 908 as the first Porsche sports car to have an engine with maximum size allowed. The new 3-litre Type 908, air-cooled flat-eight produced 350 bhp at 8400 rpm.
Picture above: Helmut Marko (at the wheel) and Gijs van Lennep finished third in their superb, small, light and powerful Martini-Porsche 908/03, at the 1000 km of Nürburgring 1971.
The 908 originally was a closed coupe to provide low drag at fast tracks, but from 1969 on was mainly raced as 908/02, a lighter open spyder. A more compact 908/03 was introduced in 1970 to complement the more heavy 917 on twisty tracks that favoured nimble cars, like at the Targa Florio and the Nürburgring.
The new open-cockpit 908/03, was even shorter than the 908/02, and only weighed 500 kg – an astonishing figure for a long-distance racing car. In 1971, vertical fins were added to the rear of the 908s for more stability, and the Nürburgring saw a 1-2-3 finish for the 908 in front of the two works Alfa’s.
Picture below: The Porsches 908/03 lead the pack at the 1971 Nürburgring 1000 km. Victory went to the #3 driven by Elford and Larrousse, second was #1 Rodriguez and Siffert and third was the #4 van Lennep and Marko.
