Porsche was twice triumphant in the original Tour de France Automobile races, with Gerard Larrousse and Maurice Gelin capturing a win in 1969 driving a Porsche 911 R and Jacques Henry and Bernard-Etienne Grobot conquering all in 1976 driving a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0. It comes as no surprise that the German manufacturer is also well represented at the modern iteration of the Tour de France Automobile, the Tour Auto Rally.
Staged April 18-24 on the secondary roads and race circuits of France, the 2016 Tour Auto featured more than 225 historic race cars — including a wonderful and varied selection of Porsche models — that passed through the stopover towns of Beaune, Lyon, Valance and Marseille before reaching the finish in Cannes.
Porsche models participating in the 2016 Tour Auto Rally included a 356 Pre-A Coupe; 356A Speedster; 356B Coupe; early 911 models; 904 Carrera GTS; 911 Carrera RS 2.7; 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 and 911 Carrera RSR 3.0; among many others. The winning tradition continued at this year’s event, as Eddy and Jean-Jacques Benezet captured the Group G overall victory in their 2.5-litre Porsche 911 ST, while the 356 Pre-A Coupe of Jean-François Penillard and Mathieu Verlaine outperformed their opponents in the Index of Performance class.
Lyon, France-based photographer Geoffray Chantelot documented the 2016 Tour Auto Rally. In addition to our main gallery and behind the scene pictures, Geoffray offers the following gallery of Porsche participants in the 25th annual event. Enjoy.
Our Favorite Porsche Photos from the 2016 Tour Auto Rally (click image for description)
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All of your photographs are EXQUISITE!
You routinely set the bar high for your photo essays, but this one is really unique and outstanding. A fabulous gallery of vintage Porsches in their natural habitat!