Six minutes and eleven seconds. The fastest ever lap of the fearsome Nurburgring Nordschleife, recorded not by a Formula 1 car or a Bugatti Veyron, but way back in 1982 by this; Porsche’s amazing Group C 956.
Powered by a development of the successful 936’s turbocharged flat-6, the 956 took power to over 600bhp and used the world’s first double clutch gearbox to send it to the rear wheels.
Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell debuted the car at the 6 Hours of Silverstone before taking pole, ahead of Porsche’s two other 956s in second and third, at the Le Mans 24 Hours. The race finished as it started, with Porsche taking a 1-2-3 and with Ickx and Bell claiming their third win together for the Porsche team.
This superb recreation of Porsche’s dominant early ’80s Group C Champion comes from Flickr’s Manuel Cara, which despite its small size is wonderfully accurate, made more so by the authentic-looking period Canon decals. There’s more to see of Manuel’s 956 at his photostream by clicking here, and if you’d like to see the real car in action, take a look here!