“I’m a big fan of the Porsche PDK dual-clutch transmission and proud that I was allowed to test it in the 962 back then. Being able to keep my hands on the steering wheel when changing gears at full throttle felt great right from the start.”
Once in the cockpit, it was as if Stuck had never been away.
“You sit down, you get in, you automatically know where which button is, where the boost pressure is adjusted. It’s unbelievable how I remember everything, it’s just like coming home.”
Stuck was also reunited with his original race suit as he took the beast for a spin at Porsche’s Weissach development facility, but despite the familiarity, it made the car no less challenging.
“Easy to drive? Not true at all, because the car was not only physically but also mentally very demanding,” he commented. “All attempts to get power steering at the time were rejected by Mr Singer. ‘You have to train, you lazy lads!” he said.”
962 mid-restoration
Porsche AG
Singer was also present at the restored car’s return to the track, explaining how difference between this 962 and a typical Le Mans challenger.
“Because the Supercup was a short distance race, we made everything much lighter and then we also developed the PDK.”
Original livery designer Robert Powell worked on restoring the 962’s striking Shell colours, and remembered what made this colour scheme special.
“Although the racing cars were only moments in time, a couple of days drawing and a couple of days in the paint shop, they are something that I remember more than my production cars,” he said.
Powell utilised his livery painting skills circa-1987 when restoring the Porsche to its former Shell colours.
“The car [livery] is handled in the old fashioned way: we put on the lines using tapes,” he said. “The painter then puts his painting tapes next to these tapes and starts to paint. It’s an incredible finish, we had about three weeks to work on the car, compared to three days back in the day.”
The rejuvenated 962 is set to appear at more events throughout the year as part of a planned ’40 years of Group C’ anniversary.