Those watching the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year will see classic livery for Porsche RSRs participating in famous endurance event.

Classic livery

A total of ten Porsche 911 RSR racers will contest this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans – four fielded by the factory and six by customer teams.

Two of the factory-backed 911 RSR models have been painted in classic livery of successful Porsche models.

SA connection

The No 91 RSR is decked out in recognisable iconic blue-and-white finish with red and gold stripes, reminiscent of the Rothmans colours of 1980s era. This car will be driven by Gianmaria Bruni (Italy), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France).

Rothmans-coloured cars won four times at the La Sarthe circuit. The 956 C won in 1982 and 1983, and the 962 C won the 1986 and 1987 races.

Tabacco brand Rothmans was owned by the Rupert family, who currently own the Franschhoek Motor Museum. Incidentally, you can see a 956 C in Rothmans colours at the museum, which is situated on the L’Omarins Farm, about an hour’s drive from Cape Town.

See the 956 in action at the Nurburgring by clicking here.

Tasty

The No 92 car adopts the famous “Pink Pig” design of the 917/20 from 1971. This car will be shared by Kévin Estre (France), Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium).

The 917/20 was dubbed the “Pink Pig” due to its paintwork with sections of the car labeled in butcher-style cuts. The idea was conceived by Porsche designer Anatole Lapine. The 917/20, also known as the “Truffle Hunter”, is one of the most famous Porsche cars ever.

“With these much-loved designs, we want to thank our loyal supporters who have cheered for us both on and off the track at every race, but particularly at Le Mans, where we as record winners with 19 outright victories received incredible support every year,” says Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Vice President Motorsport and GT Cars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2iCwLt9nBU