Against All Odds: Porsche’s 1977 Le Mans Victory

In 1977, Porsche’s “improvised” Type 936/77 took on the full-court press of four Renaults at Le Mans. Retirements and technical troubles suggested that winning was out of the question. But neither its drivers nor Porsche number 4 believed that.

Against strong opposition from Alpine-Renault and Alfa Romeo, Porsche took the world sports car championship in 1976 with its 936. This was a car it had “improvised,” said Ernst Fuhrmann, made from parts from one car and another, “just to stop others from having it too easy.”