Climax Porsche

Porsche designed the 908 as the first Porsche sports car to have an engine with the maximum size allowed. The previous Porsche 907 had a 2,200 cc Type 771/1 flat-eight engine developing 270 PS. The new 3-litre Type 908 flat-eight produced 350 PS at 8,400 rpm. It was traditionally air-cooled and had two valves per cylinder. The 908 was designed by Helmuth Bott (chassis) and Hans Mezger (engine) under the leadership of racing chief Ferdinand Piëch.

The first incarnation of the 908, sometimes referred to as 908 Langheck or 908LH, was a closed coupe. From 1969, the 908 was mainly raced as the 908/2, a lighter open spyder. A more compact 908/3 was introduced in 1970 to complement the heavy Porsche 917K on twisty tracks that favored nimble cars, like the Targa Florio and Nürburgring.

The 908 was not ready for the first three rounds of the 1968 World Sportscar Championship. Porsche won the North American rounds with the 2.2 litre variant of the Porsche 907. The 908 was introduced at the 1968 1000km Monza. The two 908s had teething problems and finished 11th and 19th. The 908 finally scored its maiden win at the 1968 1000km Nürburgring, backed up by a 907, ahead of the Wyer-GT40.

At the 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Porsche 908 LHs were the fastest in qualifying and the early stages of the race. Troubles with the alternator caused delays and disqualifications. A V8-powered Ford won, and an older smaller private Swiss 907 LT came in second in front of the sole surviving standard 908 of the factory. Ford won the 1968 International Championship for Makes.

For 1969, the Group 6 prototype rules were changed, favoring open top cars. Porsche lowered the weight of the 908, removed the roof and the long tails, to get the new version called Porsche 908/02 spyder by 100 kg. The 1969 24 Hours of Daytona was a disaster for Porsche, as all three 908/02 failed. The 908/02 started to succeed at the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch, finishing 1-2-3. With additional wins at the 1000km Monza, the Targa Florio, the 1000km Spa and a 1-2-3-4-5 at the 1000km Nürburgring, the 1969 International Championship for Makes was secured early for Porsche by the 908/02.

Despite the more powerful 917 improving, the career of the 908 continued for the 1970 World Sportscar Championship. Porsche built dedicated cars for each type of racing track. The new open cockpit version, the 908/03, was even shorter than the 908/02, and only weighed 500 kg. In May 1970, this version, chassis #008, was successful in the 1970 Nürburgring 1000 km and the Targa Florio.

For the 1971 World Sportscar Championship, vertical fins were added to the rear of the 908/03. The 908/03s were needed for the twisty tracks of the Targa Florio and the 1000km Nürburgring. All entered 908/03s eventually crashed at the Targa Florio. At the Nürburgring, the race saw a 1-2-3 finish for the works 908/03.

Porsche dominated the International Championship for Makes from 1969 to 1971. With new rules in effect in 1972, large engine "sportscars" like the 917K were no longer allowed. Porsche decided to end its 20-year history of factory sports car racing and sold the 908/03 cars to customers. For 1972, the 5,000 cc Group 5 sports car category was discontinued. A three-year-old Porsche 908LH coupé was entered by Reinhold Joest in the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing third. Customers continued to race several 908/03s.

In 1975, some 908s were fitted with turbocharged engines, similar to those used in the Porsche 934 GT car. The Porsche 908/80 turbo of Joest and Ickx, which finished second in the 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans, turned out later to have a real Porsche 936 chassis. The 908 won the 1000 km Nürburgring in three different decades, winning four years in a row from 1968 to 1971 and again in 1980.

This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.