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Porsche revisits its remarkable SC East African Safari rally car

Porsche and motorsports just seem to go hand-in-hand. The brand has defined itself by its ability to compete on the track with the concept that racing bred better road cars. While we are used to seeing 911s speeding along circuits around the world, the rear-engine icon's success in rallying is somewhat less well known. The Porsche Museum aims to fix that by highlighting a 911 SC that competed in the 1978 East African Safari Rally.
The 911 rally car definitely projects a '70s vibe. You wouldn't see too many racecars with a pink brush bar sliding through the stages these days, but it looks amazing. Its bank of spotlights and two, giant, hood-mounted horns definitely give away the car's purpose. Best of all, that fantastic Martini livery defines the looks of Porsche racers from this era.
The 911 SC performed well in the East African Safari Rally, but some suspension damage meant that this particular one never raced again. It's been a part of the Porsche Museum ever since. Scroll down to learn a little more about one part of the brand's off-road legacy.

Do we finally know which hybrid hypercar is fastest?

In order to properly compare and contrast the performance characteristics of competitive automobiles, a number of variables have to be sorted out. For instance, to diminish the human component, the same driver must be used for each lap, that driver has to be capable of wringing the maximum level of performance from each vehicle, and they should all be checked and prepared to make sure they are within manufacturer specs before hitting the track. Speaking of which, the conditions at the track – and, of course, it goes without saying that the cars have to be tested at the same location, on the same day – have to be as similar as possible. Naturally, arranging all of these variables is difficult, if not impossible, and that's especially true when the contenders are the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1, and Porsche 918 Spyder. As range-topping models from well-established performance players, these three hybrid hypercars are often lumped into the same category. But which one is fastest? Well, that's been a tough nut to crack, in part because the manufacturers themselves haven't always been willing to play along when it comes time to test these machines head-to-head-to-head. And so, with all that (probably unnecessary) preamble out of the way, we present to you the video above, in which this particular vehicular pedestal is toppled. All three cars are owned by a man named Paul Bailey, they were tested on the same day at the Silverstone circuit in England, and each had British Touring Car driver Mat Jackson at the helm. We're not going to spoil the results, other than to say that all three vehicles were incredibly fast and within spitting distance of one another at the finish line, as you would expect. Intriguingly, this video is said to be part one in a three-part series, so we have more Ferrari vs. McLaren vs. Porsche action to look forward to. Related Video: News Source: TheSUPERCARDRIVER via YouTube Green Ferrari McLaren Porsche Convertible Coupe Hybrid Performance Supercars Videos porsche 918 spyder mclaren p1 silverstone hypercar ferrari laferrari laferrari

The mid-engine Porsche backstory

As an automaker's identity evolves over years, its signature becomes defined by any number of factors - heritage (Mercedes-Benz), image (Lamborghini), or market share (Toyota). In the case of Porsche, it was an engineering quirk that forged the German company's most enduring character trait.
Porsche would not have survived - let alone, thrived - in today's saturated landscape had it not been for the 911, and that slope-tailed sports car wouldn't have sprung to life without its predecessor, the 356. While phenomenal success of those rear-engine icons built the company, forays into the mid-engine configuration have played a significant part in establishing the brand's identity.
The Mid-Engine Prototype Of Ferry Porsche's Dreams