Rennsport Reunion IV: A collection of vintage and racing Porsches
The fourth Rennsport Reunion took place October 14-16 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, near Monterey, California. About 35,000 attendees joined scores of historically significant Porsches and about 50 of their period drivers for a celebration of the company's successful racing history.
The Rennsport Reunion is all about historic racing Porsches, but the factory also took the opportunity to display the all-new 2012 911 Carrera for the first time in North America.
2 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
2012 Porsche 911
Another angle of the all-new 2012 911 Carrera.
3 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
Porsche 918 RSR
The racing version of the future-roadgoing 918 Spyder was on hand to represent the cutting edge of Porsche motorsport thinking. See our earlier coverage here, from the Detroit auto show in January.
4 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
1970 Porsche 917K
Sporting its famed Martini & Rossi sponsorship colors, this car (serial number 917-019) was the overall winner at Le Mans in 1971. It also raced at the Daytona 24 Hours, Monza 1000km and Spa that year but failed to finish any of those outings.
5 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder
A host of well-known drivers campaigned this 718 RSK, serial number 718-007, in its day, including Wolfgang Von Trips, Jo Bonnier and Paul Frere. In 1959 it raced at Spa, the Nurburgring, the Targa Florio, Le Mans, Goodwood and a Formula II race in Rheims following a factory conversion to a center steering position.
6 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
1953 Porsche 550 coupe
This 550 coupe, serial number 550-01, won its first race outing at the Nurburgring in 1953. At Le Mans that year, a sister car (550-02) barely beat 550-01 to win their class. Both cars later ran in the Buenos Aires 1000km and the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico, hence 550-01's current livery.
7 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
1970 Porsche 917K
Another example of the highly successful 917K (for "kurzheck" or short tail), serial number 917-004 was the 1970 Spa 1000km winner.
8 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
2011 Porsche GT3 R Hybrid 2.0
On the more modern competition front, the GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 sports a flywheel-based hybrid drivetrain similar to the 918 RSR's. This car features a 465hp four-liter flat-six engine driving the rear wheels in classic 911 style, supplemented by two 75 kilowatt motors on the front axle.
9 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
Norbert Singer
Longtime Porsche engineer Norbert Singer was instrumental in each of the firm's record 16 Le Mans outright victories. Along with Jerry Seinfeld, he served as co-grand marshal of Rennsport Reunion IV, and is pictured here in front of the 911 GT-1 98 LM which won Porsche's final Le Mans to date.
10 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
1973 Porsche 911 RSR
This 911 RSR ran at Le Mans and Daytona in 1973 and also won the 68th and final Targa Florio road race in Sicily that year.
11 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
1971 Porsche 911 ST
This 1971 911 ST competed in the East African Safari Rally that year. One of the sponsors was Sears Tires (produced by Michelin under contract), hence the incongruous whitewalls.
12 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
1964 Porsche 911
One of the first two 911s ever delivered to the U.S., this car went to Brumos Porsche in Jacksonville, Florida. Initially a dealer demonstrator, it ended up being prepped and raced at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1965. It won its class, thereby becoming the first 911 ever to win a race.
13 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
1986 Porsche 961
A competition version of the flagship 959, only one example of the 961 was ever built. It ran various endurance races despite never being homologated, and was the first four-wheel-drive car to compete at Le Mans.
14 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
Through the Corkscrew
Of course, there was plenty of action on the track over the three days of the event. Here, a nice variety of early Porsches navigate Laguna Seca's turn 8, the famed Corkscrew.
15 of 15 Mike Markovich/CNET
1968 Porsche team transporter
One of the very few non-Porsches anywhere in Laguna Seca's paddock during this event, this 1968 Mercedes bus served as Porsche's factory team transporter until 1989.
