Time Capsule: Revisiting our Le Mans 1994 Win

Today we celebrate one of our proudest moments: victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1994. Letʼs rewind to June 19, a sunny Saturday when over 140,000 eager spectators gathered to witness the action. Forty eight cars lined up, engines roaring with anticipation to tackle the worldʼs most challenging endurance race, and among them was a car that no one expected to dominate.

The Le Mans Winning Porsche 962

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an endurance race that demands excellence in all aspects from car and driver, especially challenging the boundaries of design for a balance of speed and durability. Porsche first won in 1970 and maintained presence at the top through the Eighties with purpose-built sportscars.

However the early Nineties saw a different era of design spurred by a change in regulations. The World Sportscar Championship had disbanded leading to an abundance of competition from the Grand Tourer category which focused on road-legal cars optimized for distance and speed. The rules at Le Mans were adjusted and the winning Porsche 962 supercar was subject to additional technical regulations that negatively affected performance and ultimately lead to other manufacturers taking the overall wins.

The infamous Norbert Singer at Porsche was looking for a new approach to the sport and thought of motorsport visionary Jochen Dauer to push the limits. Maybe there was a way to take advantage of the change in classification: what about converting the race-winning 962 into a street-legal production car?

Dauer 962 LM Sport GT003 at night with backfiring flames, a perfect moment caught on film

Introducing the Dauer 962 LM

Dauer took the opportunity, purchasing five of of the frames in early 1991 and set to work. The body was replaced with carbon fiber and kevlar panels. Inside the cockpit a second seat was installed and a small compartment was added in front to carry luggage.

Underneath a hydraulic suspension system was put in place to meet German's ride height requirements for street cars. The Porsche Type 935 water-cooled engine was used, a 2994 cc flat-6 with dual turbochargers, and since the road car didn't need to meet racing regulations the air restrictor was removed to allow for 720 horsepower. The race-proven 5-speed manual gearbox and rear-wheel drivetrain were also retained.

Altogether it was one hell of a machine, becoming "the fastest street-legal production car in the world" until 2007—a record held for over a decade despite the pace of new technology around every corner.

1993 Dauer Porsche LM
962/722 B6 3.0 liter engine
1,015 kg (2,238 lbs) weight
120 liter (21.7 gallon) fuel tank
720 horsepower; 537 kW power
2.8s 0-100 kh/h (62.1 mph) acceleration
7.3s 0-200 km/h (124.3 mph) acceleration
404.6 km/h (251.4 mph) top speed

Racing to the Top with FAT International

The new Dauer-designed Porsche 962 was standardized into a production of 25 units and debuted in 1993 at the International Motor Show Germany in Frankfurt, fulfilling the final requirement in order to compete in the Sport class and effectively circumventing the maximum three liter engine capacity of prototypes.

A year later in 1994 the the final variant debuted at Le Mans to compete, along with a compliment of support from engineers and mechanics from Porsche's factory racing team, an edition of two called the LM Sport GT with chassis numbers GT002 and GT003. Qualifying in fifth and seventh their overall pace lacked but they shattered the GT-1 class as the next closest car earned 12th.

Then in the race everything went to plan. While other teams scrambled with mechanical woes the race-proven underpinnings of the 962 enabled their way to the top. Team drivers Yannick Dalmas, Hurley Haywood, and Mauro Baldi went on to cross the line in first place with a hood that read "FAT International".

The race-winning Dauer Porsche 962 LM Sport GT, chassis GT003, resplendent with a FAT logo and the Groupage Européens tagline

Forever Chasing the Dream

We were right there supporting the horsepower to be a part of this historic win, defying the odds and keeping the spirit of endurance alive with clever teamwork that took the checkered flag with an iconic style suited to masterful engineering.

From our humble beginnings to our triumph at Le Mans, our story has always been one of passion, drive, and determination. As we continue this journey we look back on these moments with pride and excitement to back the next underdog that flips the script.

Stay tuned for the next deep dive exploring the incredible history of FAT, motorsport, and racing future!