1961
At Le Mans in 1961, Maston Gregory and Bob Holbert came in fifth in their W-RS Spyder, still powered by a Porsche 4 cylinder engine. Porsche's new 8-cylinder engine was on the drawing board, the first real step towards going head-to-head with the larger-displacement cars of Ford and Ferrari.

More important, 1961 saw Porsche introduce a new car, the Type 718, another example of a Porsche conceived as a racecar but driveable as a street car. It was also a year that saw Porsche engineers take part in the recently  convened Le Mans practice trials held in April. Among the items tested that weekend: Porsche's new disc brakes.

1962
For the 1962 Le Mans, the W-RS Spyder was fitted with a new flat-8 engine, a testament to the integrity and ingenuity of their chassis design. It is important to note that Porsche, unlike many manufacturers who enter Le Mans, almost always build the complete car - chassis and engine.

1963
In 1963, Porsche committed itself to the development of a new GT car, the Type 904. A mid-engine coupe, the 904 could be fitted with either a 6 or 8-cylinder engine. The 2.0-liter eights were especially suited to the three-kilometer back stretch of the Le Mans circuit, the famed Mulsanne Straight. Combined with the car's aerodynamic efficiency, they helped the 904 achieve speeds of 175-mph when tuned at 225 hp for endurancing racing.

Again, the 904 was a racecar that was also built in limited numbers for use as a streetable sports car. You simply went to your Porsche dealer and placed an order.

1965

In 1965, a Porsche 904 powered by a 6-cylinder engine finished fourth at Le Mans, winning the Le Mans handicap and the Index of Performance. As testament to the role the race plays in the development of specific Porsche components, the brake calipers used on the 904, and later on the 906, became known as "Le Mans calipers".

It was at this same time that Porsche's long-awaited successor to the 356 arrived. Originally named the 901, it was later renamed for legal reasons to a designation that has since become legendary: 911. Like the 904, the design of the 911 was the work of Ferdinand Porsche III, grandson of the firm's founder.

1966
In 1966, Porsche prepared a new racecar, the 906. Nicknamed the Carrera 6, it was a breakthrough design, shaped ­ as a Porsche man said at the time ­ "from the inside by the regulations and from the outside by the wind."

Most important, the engine that powered the 906 was a modified version of the new 911's six. A remarkable number of the Carrera 6 engine parts were the same used in the production 911, including the forged steel crankshaft, the eight main crankcase bearings and the oil pump. For other components, Porsche engineers introduced exotic metals such as titanium and magnesium to help cut engine weight to a mere 286 lbs.

The evolution of the 911 powerplant had begun. With an initial goal of raising power output from 130 hp to 220 hp, Porsche engineers would eventually transform this engine into one of the most powerful ever placed in a  racecar.

The quest for speed also led Porsche engineers to experiment with radical aerodynamics. By the late 1960s, the ingredients were in place for Porsche to engineer an overall victory at Le Mans.

1967

The first step in that effort was taken in June 1967. Nicknamed the Langheck, due to its long rear deck, the Porsche 907L was designed to optimize speeds on the Mulsanne Straight, where Porsche's 2.0-liter engine needed to hold its ground against the four- and five-liter cars such as the Ford GT40.

While the 907L didn't take the overall win from Ford, it did win another important Le Mans trophy, one that carried prize money equal to the overall winner's: the Index of Performance.

1968
In 1968, Porsche put the flat-8 into the lightweight tubular chassis of the 907. Speed was immediately evident. But as Porsche engineers learned at the April practice at Le Mans, so was instability. In a solution that recalled the fins fitted to the Porsche RSKs at Le Mans ten years earlier, Porsche engineers added vertical fins to the tail of the Langheck.

With political unrest in France, race organizers moved the 24 Hours of Le Mans from its traditional June date to September 1968. And Porsche moved one step closer to its goal of overall victory. A factory-prepared, private-entry 907L finished second, good enough to secure its second consecutive World Challenge Cup for Speed and Endurance, a championship based on the combined record at Sebring, the Targa Florio, the Nurburgring and Le Mans.

1969
In 1969, Porsche engineers took a bold step: by bringing a 3.0-liter flat-8 to Le Mans. For the first time in the firm's history,
it planned to race the largest engine allowed in prototype sports classification. Up until then, Porsche's 1.1-, 1.5-, 2.0- and
2.2-liter engines had fought heroically, often passing cars several classes up...but never beating the biggest sports racers: the
3.0-liter and larger cars.

With the 350-hp engine mated to a new 6-speed transmission, Porsche's bid for an outright win at Le Mans reached a dramatic, if ultimately disappointing, new height. In one of the closest and most spectacular finishes in the history of Le Mans, the white Porsche 908 of long-time Porsche factory driver Hans Herrmann and co-driver Gerard Larrousse battled the blue Ford GT40 of Jacky Ickx. After an epic last lap with the lead changing back and forth, it was the blue GT40 first out of the final chicane and past the checkered flag. By two seconds, Porsche had missed its first outright Le Mans win