As the 50th Anniversary of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) comes to a close at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) will turn to an Atlanta neighbor to help celebrate and commemorate the sports car racing series’ Golden Anniversary. The twin Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR race cars will carry a familiar red and white livery in the 22nd running of the Motul Petit Le Mans that will immediately invoke fond memories of IMSA’s first heyday of the 1980s. The annual 10-hour endurance classic at the Braselton, Georgia-area race track — held October 9-12 — will see the “works” Porsche race cars wear the hometown jersey of Coca-Cola.
Bob Akin Motor Racing-prepared Porsche race cars carried Coca-Cola themed liveries for seven years and the connection of these brands lives and breathes again as IMSA closes its fifth-decade of competition. Following the German brand’s tradition of honoring its programs of the past, the livery for the factory Porsche 911 RSR GTLM class entries at this year’s IMSA finale centers on the legendary Coca-Cola 962 that took the Akin-led team to its most famous win at Sebring in 1986. Wearing the Coke “wave”, also known as the “Dynamic Ribbon”, on the hood, flanks and rear bumper, the two factory entries will look identical with the exception of their number plate and windshield banner.
The Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR shared by 2015 overall Petit Le Mans winners Patrick Pilet (France) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) as well Frédéric Makowiecki (France) will carry a white windshield banner on the No. 911. The No. 912 of Earl Bamber (New Zealand), Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and Mathieu Jaminet (France) will have the black banner on their windshield. Each car will have the familiar and era appropriate “Coca-Cola” on the hood and “Coke Is It!” on the rear quarter panel. Like the popular 962 of the time, both cars will feature white BBS wheels.
Pedro Mota, Vice President of Marketing for Porsche Cars North America. “Last fall, we kicked off the IMSA 50th Anniversary celebration with the fan-favorite Mobil 1 livery at Petit Le Mans. We began the 2019 season by highlighting still another longstanding and successful relationship with the famous red, white and blue ‘sweeps’ of Brumos Racing and Hurley Haywood. Now, as one last tribute to honor IMSA on their Golden Anniversary, we are bringing back yet another memorable livery… a local favorite: Coca-Cola. As an added benefit, we get to fondly recall Bob Akin, the gentleman who first brought Coca-Cola and Porsche together with the customer 935 and 962 race cars he successfully campaigned.”
[Source: Porsche]
