The race that keeps us young
This year, we are celebrating 70 years of the sports car. And yet we haven't aged a day at heart. Because there is a place where we always seek a challenge. Where we push the boundaries. And continually set ourselves new goals. We are referring to the world's toughest long-distance race: the 24h of Le Mans.
This year, we are honoring our long tradition in this race by entering not only the largest GT squad of all time – a works team comprising four 911 RSRs – but also celebrating our legends of bygone days. With two of our 911 RSRs featuring our historic livery. The first bearing the design of the Rothmans Porsche 956, the Le Mans record holder, and the second sporting the pink livery of the Porsche 917/20, also affectionately known as "Big Berta" or simply "Pink Pig".
It may well be that we look back on this year and salute our legends. But we already know one thing - after this 24h race, only the future will lie ahead of us.
The year of the "pig".
Why would you paint a Porsche 911 RSR pink and then label it with butcher-style cuts like a "pig" ready for roasting? The answer can be found almost 50 years ago. The design of our current 911 RSR dates back to the legendary Porsche 917/20. At Le Mans in 1971, the car’s appearance caused real uproar.
It was this humorous paintwork that earned the Porsche 917/20 the nicknames "Pig", "Big Berta" and "The Truffle Hunter of Zuffenhausen". It inspired controversial debate amongst both fans and officials. The idea was conceived by Anatole Lapine, the Head of Design at that time, who viewed his proposal as a continuation of the previous year’s bizarre paint finish: a Porsche 917 painted like a hippie with wild splashes of green and purple. But for all the debate that the 917/20 inspired at the time, nowadays it has long been considered an icon.
So, the 917/20 brings back unique memories for us. And to celebrate 70 years of sports cars, we are reflecting on these memories. With our current 911 RSR. At the 24 hours of Le Mans. Painted in pink. And of course, it will be labelled with butcher-style cuts like a "pig" ready for roasting
http://www.porsche.com/international/motorsportandevents/motorsport/worksracing/