1995 Kremer K8 Spyder #4
Pilots: T. Boutsen, J. Stuck, C. Bouchut
Team: Porsche Kremer Racing
Race: 6th overall (2nd in WSC class) at Le Mans in 1995
Spark - S0328 (resin)
Published 02/11/25
The story of the brothers Erwin and Manfred Kremer began in 1962, in Cologne, Germany. With a passion for speed and a knack for engineering, they began preparing and racing Porsche 911s. They were quite good at it, to the point that by 1968 Erwin won the European Touring Car Manufacturers’ Championship. Their good results persisted throughout the 60s and 70s, when they got Porsche officially interested in them. In 1976, when Porsche introduced the mighty 935, Kremer was one of the first client teams to use the car. However, (with Porsche’s support) Kremer didn’t only race the 935; they made it better. So, they bought brand new 935 chassis from Stuttgart and modified them, creating the “K series”. In 1976 they created the 935 K1, followed by the K2, K3 and the K4 in 1980. Culminating in 1979, when their 935 K3 won Le Mans!
However, race cars always evolve, and in 1982 Porsche replaced the 935 with the 956. In the same year, Kremer came out with the CK5. And when Porsche replaced the 956 with the 962C, in 1987 Kremer created the 962 CK6. Kremer used the CK6 in the WSC up until 1990, when the FIA introduced a new engine formula for 1991. For a small team costs became prohibitive, so Kremer abandoned the championship. The Interserie Championship, on the other hand, allowed the 962 CK6, so they kept on using the car there. However, Interserie teams opted for an open-cockpit car, due to the higher downforce generated by the design. That meant that the CK6 was at a disadvantage, prompting Kremer to create the K7 Spyder in 1992.
The K7 used a modified CK6 chassis to accept a new spyder body. However, most of the mechanicals of the CK6 were unaltered, including the 3211 cm³ flat-6 Typ-935 engine. The K7 did very well in the Interserie in 1992 and 1993, prompting Kremer to look back to Le Mans. Yet, as it was, the K7 was illegal for Le Mans. That being so, Kremer began working on the K8 Spyder. To race at La Sarthe, the K8 needed to be a two-seater, like the CK6. With that, Kremer replaced the large body of the K7 with a much lower design and also added a roll bar. Engine requirements were also different, so Kremer decreased the previous 3.2 flat-6 to 2994 cm³. Kremer produced four K8, and debuted one car (chassis #07SP) at Le Mans in 1994. With a Gulf Oil sponsorship, they finished in sixth place.
With the good result in 1994, Kremer was back at Le Mans in 1995. This time with two cars, chassis #WSC01 (car #3) and #WSC02 (car #4). Unfortunately, K8 Spyder #3 had big electrical issues at half-race and DNF. On the other hand, K8 Spyder #4 had a smooth race, and finished in sixth overall (second in class). With results like those, Kremer undoubtedly proved its mettle at La Sarthe. They proved many times over that they can compete toe to toe with the big dogs. However, despite not being a factory team, I don’t think I can consider them as a garagista team. After all, they do have (full?) support from Stuttgart, so…🤔Nonetheless, winning Le Mans and making your own car is nothing short of outstanding – with or without factory support.
Therefore, when I found this model up for grabs, I was quick to buy it. An older mold from Spark, so it’s not the usual “Spark-fantastic” of their current releases. Even so, it’s a very nice model, especially if found for a good price. That’s my case, though I was very lucky to get it. Nowadays, the K8 Spyder, and specially the 1994 Gulf version, are hard to come by.