1996 Porsche TWR WSC-95
Pilots: S. Johansson, M. Alboreto, T. Kristensen
Team: Joest Porsche Racing
Race: 1st GC (LMP class) at Le Mans in 1997
Troféu - 903 (diecast)
Published 08/23/17
Way back in 1774 Lavoisier postulated that ”Nothing is created, nothing ends – everything is transformed”. And that’s how the WSC-95 came to be. In 1995, Porsche started to develop a prototype for the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) series under the World Sports Car (WSC) regulations. To do so, they established partnership with Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). Porsche would provide the engine and help in the development and TWR would provide the chassis. For the project, TWR used an old Jaguar XJR-14 Group C car chassis (chassis #791). Porsche provided the venerable (and oldie) Type 935/76, a twin turbocharged flat-6 with 2994 cm³. Unfortunately though, the IMSA WSC regulations were changed prior to the 1995 season, so Porsche canceled the project.
However, in early 1996 the Joest Racing team convinced Porsche to give them the unused prototype, to be used in the 24 Heures du Mans. Porsche approved, and Joest footed the bill. They would make the car compatible with Le Mans Prototype (LMP1) regulations, with technical assistance from Stuttgart.
But the old Jag had a Ford-Cosworth V8 in the engine bay. So because of that, Porsche had a lot of work to modify the carbon fiber tub to accept their boxer. But in the end, two cars came out of the workshop. The WSC-95 #7 (chassis #691) here went to La Sarthe in 1997 and managed a 1st place overall. Not bad for a Porsche that was born a Jaguar chassis using a 20 year old engine.
This model was a chance buy for me. Being a winner, the initial idea was to get the Spark version of this WSC-95 #7. But I found this Troféu locally (!) for an irresistible price. It’s my second model from Troféu, and probably better than my first. So it’s definitively not Spark-good but VERY decent IMO.
10/18/20: The W-143 Garage now has a better version of this model.