One Era Ends, Another Begins

This Ferrari versus Porsche thing isn't exactly new. Both companies achieved postwar motorsport greatness that continues to this day, although the Italians got there a bit sooner. Besides having an already impressive Formula One record, Ferrari was a sports-car-racing powerhouse in the late 1950s and early 1960s. To reference just one example, Maranello won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six straight years (1960-1965).
Ford had an impressive run there, too, winning from 1966 to 1969, but by 1970, the GT40's days were done, and Porsche was ready to stake its claim. Ferrari's fast and beautiful 512Ss were looking to restore Ferrari's endurance-racing stature and seemed a match for Porsche's awesome 917s and still-capable 908s. But Stuttgart claimed its first win at la Sarthe that year in impressive 1-2-3 fashion. So began Porsche's run to becoming the winningest-ever nameplate at Le Mans, while Ferrari hasn't notched an overall victory there since its streak ended in 1965.

The lead photograph (top of page) details the start of that 1970 race. Visible Ferraris include cars 6, 8, 15, 14, and others; 21, 22, and 18 were the first three Porsches off the line. The winning 917 (number 23) of Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood isn't visible in the shot, and the number 6 Ferrari of Ignazio Giunti and Nino Vaccarella, shown here leading at the beginning of lap one, was the first car to retire.

Coverage: May 1984

Porsche has used the Carrera name in many ways over the years. Often, it signified a special engine or model, as when applied to the high-performance 356s. In modern parlance, the name is used interchangeably with "911" and also forms part of the moniker identifying Porsche's ultimate exotic, the V-10-powered Carrera GT. As shown in cutaway form on this cover, the 911 SC received substantial updating for the 1984 model year and a name change to--you guessed it--Carrera.