PORSCHE 956/962 A Photographic History

A Photographic History by Glen Smale

Pick your favourite livery. That’s the game we always end up playing when a Porsche Group C book lands in the office. Richard Lloyd’s Canon paintjob is usually high on the list, while I usually mumble something about John Fitzpatrick always nailing it with his J David and Skoal Bandit colours. But browse for any length of time through a book like this and the mind boggling variety of both the familiar and obscure strikes home once again.

Coming in at more than 500 glossy pages, there are a lot of great archive images to enjoy, 700-plus in fact, from Brands Hatch to Mosport Fuji to Mexico City. You could say, as a photographic record of an era, it’s comprehensive.

The format is divided into parts which cover each season of the 956/962’s long life, with each split again into chapters covering the world championship (under its different guises), IMSA in the US and the lesser races that were part of Interserie. A large results section at the back documents every race for every car, which is useful too. There’s liffle new here, but that’s probably missing the point. As for the merits of revisiting familiar territory, you won’t hear any complaints from this magazine! The Group C era remains much loved, as our 30th anniversary celebration last month acknowledged. If you were there and the memories are vivid, you’ll revel in this book. A welcome indulgence. DS

Published by Haynes Publishing, ISBN 978 85733 098 7, £75