Porsche 907

Porsche
907
Production period:	1967-1968
Class :	race car
Body versions :	Coupe
Engines:	Gasoline engines : 2.0–2.2 liters (162–198 kW)
Length:	4033-4650 mm
Width:	1720 mm
Height:	940 mm
Wheelbase :	2300 mm
Empty weight :	600 kg
Previous model	Porsche 910
successor	Porsche 908

The Porsche 907 was a racing car from Porsche KG . The vehicle was based on the Porsche 910 and was its successor. The car was used by the works team in 1967 and 1968 until it was replaced by the Porsche 908 in the World Sports Car Championship .

From 1969 to 1972, some private teams fielded the racing car in the World Sports Car Championship, European Sports Car Championship and in the Interseries .

General

In October 1967 the FIA announced a change in the regulations for the brand world championship for prototypes and sports cars. From the 1968 season onwards, only prototype racing cars with a maximum displacement of three liters could be used. In the case of sports cars, the capacity limit was reduced to five liters. Due to the change in the regulations, the two manufacturers Ferrari and Ford were no longer allowed to use their strongest and most successful racing cars such as the Ferrari 330P4 and the Ford GT40 with 7-liter engine in the racing series.

Porsche had not yet completed the development of the 3-liter eight-cylinder boxer engine, which was later used in the 908, and decided to develop the 907, an aerodynamically optimized racing car based on the 910 for use on high-speed racetracks such as Le Mans, Monza and Spa Francorchamps to celebrate the first victories with the established 2.0 and 2.2 liter engines. With the combined use of the 907 and 910, Ferdinand Piëch , then head of development at Porsche, hoped to win the sports car world championship.

Model development

907 long tail (1967–1968)

body

The structure of the tubular space frame of the Porsche 907 and the 910 were largely identical. The body of the long tail, which had been optimized for Le Mans use, was fundamentally new, however, and differed in the fact that the rear was about 0.5 meters longer than the 910. The body was designed in a streamlined manner in order to offer a low air resistance and thus achieve high top speeds. The cockpit has been given a slim and elongated shape. The windshield was longer than its predecessor and already had the shape that was later adopted for the 908 Coupé. Behind the driver's seat, the cockpit was extended flush with a transparent plastic hood with ventilation slots. The engine was under the hood. A continuous, movable flap was attached to the rear edge, which was adjusted via the wheel suspension depending on the curve entry and ensured the optimal contact pressure.

Cockpit of a Porsche 907 with the steering wheel on the right for the first time in a Porsche racing car.

An important innovation was the steering wheel and the driver's seat, which were arranged on the right-hand side for the first time in a Porsche racing car. This arrangement brought advantages to the pilots on most of the racetracks, as they were driven clockwise and so the driver got a better overview.

In the first long-tail version, which was used in 1967, there was no opening in the front of the car for the fresh air supply for the driver. Due to a lack of air supply, the temperature in the cockpit rose sharply during the race and exhaust gases also got into the interior. From the 1968 season onwards, the developers removed this additional burden for the pilot through a central front opening.

landing gear

The chassis with the wheel suspension was adopted almost unchanged from the Porsche 910. The 907 had independent suspension with double wishbones and front and rear with coil springs and hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers. Adjustable stabilizers were installed on the front and rear axles.

The disc brakes were activated hydraulically via a two-circuit system. The hydraulic system was divided into a front and rear circle, the braking force distribution of which could be adjusted individually. The internally ventilated brake discs tested on the front axle of the 910 were standard on the 907.

The car ran on 8J × 13 rims with 5.25-13 tires at the front and 9.5J × 13 rims with 7.00-13 tires at the rear. The lightweight 13-inch wheels with central locking already used on the 910 were made of die-cast magnesium.

engine and gears

The two long-tail coupés used in the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1967 were equipped with the tried and tested air-cooled 2.0-liter six-cylinder boxer engine of the type 901, which was also used in the Porsche 906 and 910. The valve control for each cylinder bank took place via a camshaft driven by a chain. The engine had gasoline injection and developed a maximum of 162 kW (220 hp) at 8000 rpm.

The long-tail vehicles used later received the more powerful 2.2-liter eight-cylinder boxer engine of the type 771. This injection engine, which was also air-cooled, had two camshafts driven by vertical shafts per cylinder row for valve control. With a compression ratio of 10.2: 1, the engine developed 198 kW (270 hp) at a maximum speed of 8600 rpm.

All cars had a fully synchronized five-speed manual transmission of the type 906 with a limited-slip differential.

907 short tail (1968)

body

Porsche 907 short tail coupe

The positive experience gained with the 910 Bergspyder in the 1967 European Hill Climb Championship was partially implemented by Porsche in the 907 hatchback coupé. As with the Bergspyder, the tubular space frame was made of aluminum instead of steel in order to save weight. The outer skin was similar to the 910 Coupé. However, like the 907 long tail built in 1967, the cockpit was narrow and, with its flat windshield, more streamlined than that of the 910. The raised side windows that reached into the roof allowed a good all-round view. In contrast to the long tail, the engine was not covered by a transparent plastic hood. As with the 910, the cockpit roof ended with a spoiler lip. The air intake openings and the engine's fan were located under the plastic plate, which was painted horizontally towards the rear in the vehicle color. The rear-opening rear had a fixed spoiler.

landing gear

The chassis of the 907 long tail was taken over unchanged for the short tail Coupé. The only difference between the two vehicles was the 13-inch rims mounted on the rear axle. For the short tail, the developers used new 12-inch wide rims instead of the 9.5-inch wide.

engine and gears

In the coupé introduced in 1968, Porsche initially installed the air-cooled 2.2-liter eight-cylinder boxer engine with a maximum output of 198 kW (270 hp). The tried and tested five-speed manual transmission type 906 was adopted unchanged from the Porsche 907 long tail.

After the brand world championship season in 1968, some Porsche 907s sold to customers received the eight-cylinder boxer engine of the type 771 with the 2-liter displacement. With a ratio of 10.4: 1, this air-cooled injection engine had a higher compression than the 2.2-liter version and developed a maximum of 191 kW (260 hp) at a speed of 8800 rpm.

Racing history

1967 - The first outing at Le Mans

At the 1967 Le Mans 24-hour race , Porsche used the newly developed 907 long tail that was optimized for this race for the first time. Two vehicles started, of which the one driven by Jochen Rindt and Gerhard Mitter retired prematurely after the 103rd lap with a defective camshaft. In contrast, Joseph Siffert and Hans Herrmann were able to place their car in fifth place behind two Ford GT40s and Ferrari 330P4s and celebrate victory in the P2.0 class. On the long Mulsanne straight, the racing car, equipped with a 2-liter six-cylinder boxer engine, reached a top speed of 302 km / h. Thanks to the low fuel consumption of 14.51 liters per 100 km, Porsche won the coveted index and performance rating with the car.

The second and last outing in the 1967 sports car world championship season was the 907 long tail at the 6-hour race at Brands Hatch. There the car was already used with the 2.2-liter eight-cylinder boxer engine. Hans Herrmann and Jochen Neerpasch finished the race in fourth place in the overall standings behind the Porsche 910 driven by Joseph Siffert and Bruce McLaren .

1968 - Class victory in the brand world championship

Porsche 907 at the AvD-Oldtimer-Grand-Prix 2011 on the Nürburgring

For the 1968 season, Porsche calculated real prospects of winning the World Sports Car Championship title. Ferrari stayed away from all races in protest because of the FIA ​​regulations change and Ford could not use its powerful GT40 and developed the Ford P68 to compete with the Porsche racing cars.

The first results of the first two World Championship races met Porsche's expectations. In the Daytona 24-hour race, three of the four 907 long-tail cars with 2.2-liter engines that started took first places to a one-two-three. The only comparable prototypes were the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/2 with a 2-liter engine, but they had no chance. In the following Sebring 12-hour race, the Porsche 907 hatchbacks achieved a double victory in front of two Chevrolet Camaros .

Up to the third race, Ford had used the reduction in the regulations to 50 produced vehicles that were necessary for sports car homologation and entered the S5.0 class in the 6-hour race with the 4.7-liter street version of the GT40 from Brands Hatch. The two 907s driven by Gerhard Mitter and Ludovico Scarfiotti as well as Vic Elford and Jochen Neerpasch finished the race in second and third place behind the Ford GT40 of Jacky Ickx and Brian Redman . In the next race in Monza, Rolf Stommelen and Jochen Neerpasch achieved second place and P3.0 class victory with their long-tail coupé behind a GT40 driven by the John Wyer Automotive team.

At the Targa Florio , the 907 driven by Vic Elford and Umberto Maglioli won ahead of two Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/2s and brought Porsche its third overall victory of the season. Vic Elford played a decisive role in the victory, who was able to defend first place in front of the Alfa Romeo cars with a new lap record after a puncture.

In the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring, Porsche used the 908 for the first time, which won with Joseph Siffert and Vic Elford. The 907 short tail, piloted by Hans Herrmann and Rolf Stommelen, came second ahead of a Ford GT40. The factory team fielded the 907 for the last time at the Spa-Francorchamps race. The car driven by Gerhard Mitter and Jo Schlesser came in second in the overall standings behind the GT40 driven by Jacky Ickx and Brian Redman.

In the 6-hour race at Watkins Glen, the 500 km race at the Österreichring and the 24-hour race at Le Mans , the works team only started with the Porsche 908. The 907 was only used again by the Swiss private team Squadra Tartaruga in Le Mans next to the factory 908. The long-tail racing car, driven by Rico Steinemann and Dieter Spoerry, finished second overall, ahead of a 908, and achieved victory in the P3.0 class. The race was won by the GT40 with Pedro Rodríguez and Lucien Bianchi from the John Wyer Automotive team.

Porsche missed the brand world championship title that went to Ford and had to be content with the P3.0 class victory.

1969 and 1970 - Appearances in the sports car world and European championships

As at the end of the 1968 racing season, the Porsche works team only fielded the 908 in the long-tail and short-tail version and, from June 1969, the Porsche 917 in the sports car world championship. The Porsche 907 was sold to private teams who successfully used it in World Championship races in 1969 and 1970. The results in 1969 at the Sebring 12-hour race and the Monza 1000 km race were particularly outstanding. In Sebring, Àlex Soler-Roig and Rudi Lins drove the 907 to fourth place. In Monza, Gerhard Koch and Hans-Dieter Dechent celebrated third place in the overall ranking with the 907 of the German BG Racing Team .

In 1970 the private teams started with the 907 in the P2.0 class of the brand world championship. There, the Wicky Racing team and Hans-Dieter Blatzheim achieved class wins in the 1000 km races in Monza, Spa-Francorchamps and at the Nürburgring .

In 1970, the Porsche 907 was partly used as a Spyder conversion by some private drivers in the newly founded European Sports Car Championship for 2-liter sports cars and prototypes. There the racing car had to assert itself mainly against vehicles like the Chevron B16 , Abarth 2000S , Lola T210 and Porsche 910 . At the 300 km race in Hämeenlina Willi Kauhsen achieved second place with a Spyder conversion and at the Südwestpokal in Hockenheim, Hans-Dieter Blatzheim drove a coupé to third place in the final result. After the 1970 season, the 907 was no longer used in the European Championship.

In addition to the European sports car championship, a number of private drivers also competed in some Interseries races with the 907 in 1970 and achieved top ten positions there.

1971 to 1972 - The last missions

In 1971 and 1972 the 907 was only used successfully by the Wicky Racing Team in three brand world championship races. During 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans was Walter Brun and Peter Mattli 7th place in the overall standings and celebrate the victory in the P2.0-class. A year later, Peter Mattli and Hervé Bayard achieved fourth place in the overall standings at the 1000 km race in Monza, behind two Ferrari 312 PB and a Porsche 908/03. In Le Mans , on its last outing, the team's 907 finished 18th and second in the S2.0 classification.

The results from 1967 to 1972

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

Technical specifications

The Porsche 907 was produced and used from 1967 to 1968 in the following versions:

Porsche 907:	907 long tail (Le Mans 1967)	907 long tail	907 short tail	907 short tail
Engine:	6-cylinder boxer engine (four-stroke)	8-cylinder boxer engine (four-stroke)
Displacement :	1991 cc	2195 cc		1981 cc
Bore × stroke:	80.0 x 66.0 mm	80.0 x 54.6 mm		76.0 x 54.6 mm
Performance at 1 / min:	162 kW (220 PS) at 8000	198 kW (270 hp) at 8600		191 kW (260 hp) at 8800
Max. Torque at 1 / min:	206 Nm at 6400	230 Nm at 7000		211 Nm at 7100
Compression:	10.3: 1	10.2: 1		10.4: 1
Valve control:	One overhead camshaft each , chain control	Two overhead camshafts each, vertical shaft control
Cooling:	Air cooling (fan)
Transmission:	fully synchronized 5-speed gearbox, limited slip differential, rear-wheel drive
Brakes:	Dual circuit disc brakes
Front suspension:	Wishbones with longitudinal tension struts, transverse stabilizer
Rear suspension:	Wishbones with longitudinal thrust struts, transverse stabilizer
Front suspension:	Coil springs
Rear suspension:	Coil springs
Body:	Plastic body with tubular space frame
Track width front / rear:	1462/1403 mm		1338/1402 mm
Wheelbase :	2300 mm
Tires rim:	VA: 5.25–13 on 8J × 13 HA: 7.00–13 on 9.5J × 13		VA: 5.25–13 on 8J × 13 HA: 7.00–13 on 12J × 13
Dimensions L × W × H:	4650 × 1720 × 940 mm		4033 × 1720 × 940 mm
Empty weight :	600 kg
Top speed:	approx. 295 km / h		approx. 325 km / h

literature

• Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The big book of the Porsche types. Race car. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-613-03241-5 .
• Peter Schneider: Type compass Porsche. Racing and racing sports cars since 1948. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-613-02300-8 .
• Lothar Boschen, Jürgen Barth: The great book of Porsche types. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01284-7 .

Web links

Commons : Porsche 907  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Porsche database

• Porsche 907/6 Langheck Coupé on Porsche.com ( Memento from March 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
• Porsche 907/8 Coupé on Porsche.com ( Memento from March 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive )

Report on the Internet

• Images and information on the Porsche 907 (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 144.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Auto & Modell - Website: Streamline for Le Mans - Porsche 907 long tail from Schuco. From: www.auto-und-modell.de , April 26, 2010, accessed on December 17, 2012 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Dr. Ing.hc F. Porsche AG: 1967 - Porsche 907/6 Langheck Coupé. On: www.porsche.com/germany/ , archived from the original on March 23, 2009 ; Retrieved December 16, 2012 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 134.
5. ↑ Minerva Endurance website: Porsche 907 Langheck Le Mans 1967 from Ebbro. (No longer available online.) On: www.minerva-endurance.de , July 18, 2011, formerly in the original ; Retrieved December 17, 2012 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  
6. ↑ Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 136.
7. ↑ Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 129.
8. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Dr. Ing.hc F. Porsche AG: 1968 - Porsche 907/8 Coupé. On: www.porsche.com/germany/ , archived from the original on March 23, 2009 ; Retrieved December 16, 2012 . 
9. ↑ Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 137.
10. ↑ Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 139.
11. ↑ Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 168 and p. 169.
12. ↑ ^{a b} Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the Sports Car World Championship 1967. From : www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 18, 2012 . 
13. ↑ Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 135.
14. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the Sports Car World Championship 1968. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 18, 2012 . 
15. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the sports car world championship 1969. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 18, 2012 . 
16. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the sports car world championship 1970. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 18, 2012 . 
17. ↑ Jürgen Barth, Gustav Büsing: The great book of the Porsche types. Race car. P. 140.
18. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the European Sports Car Championship 1970. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 18, 2012 . 
19. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the Interserie 1970. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 18, 2012 . 
20. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the Sports Car World Championship 1971. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 18, 2012 . 
21. ↑ Classicscars - Internet site: Race results of the Sports Car World Championship 1972. At: www.classicscars.com , accessed on December 18, 2012 .