www.QV500.com - Porsche 911 (1978 - '83) Part 7: 911 3.3 Turbo Gruppe B

 
For 1982, FISA introduced new motor racing categories that were intended to provide a more level playing field for manufacturers. Group's 3, 4 and 5 were ditched in favour of simplifed A, B and C classes. Group A was for production cars of which at least 5000 had to be built in any given year. By contrast, Group B required 200 identical cars be built in that same 12-month period.
   

In both cases, Evolution versions could then be introduced to homologate more extreme competition models. Group C meanwhile was for out-and-out sports racing cars that bore little resemblance to anything you'd find on the road. For this category, there were no production requirements. Porsche had absolutely dominated the Group 5 era with the legendary 935, so they more than anyone else had most to lose. To ensure their enviable winning record continued, Porsche launched the 956 and later, the 962. Like their illustrious forebears, these works and customer run prototypes were normally the class of any field. Unsurprisingly, Porsche went on to dominate the eighties in much the same way as they had before. In addition to the Group C programme, Porsche also built a handful of 911 Turbo's for Group B. Manufactured between 1982 and '83, they were most notably pitched against BMW's M1.

Group B rules stipulated that relatively few modifications from standard were initially permitted. Consequently, the suspension, brakes, bodywork and engine were largely identical to the stock 3.3-litre Turbo. Upgrades included adjustable Bilstein dampers and heavy-duty torsion bars of 22mm and 27.5mm front / rear (compared to 19mm and 26mm respectively). There were also thicker anti-roll bars of 22mm up front and 18mm at the back (the latter being adjustable). Stock 917-style brakes from the production car were used and the wheels weren't allowed to protrude wider than the standard bodywork. Cross-spoke BBS rims were adopted, the fronts being 9.5-inches wide (up from seven) whilst the rears rose from nine to eleven-inches.

Relatively few modifications were made to the engine, displacement remaining unchanged at 3299cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 95mm x 70.4mm respectively. Upgrades were restricted to 935 head gaskets, hot camshafts, a bigger engine intercooler and turbo boost increased from 0.8 to between 1 and 1.4 bar. Even with the standard Bosch K Jetronic injection, Gruppe B 930's were realising 364bhp at 5500rpm and producing 369lbs ft of torque at 4500rpm. The 935-style upright transmission was equipped with an oil pump and cooler and coupled to a clutch that was also imported from the old Group 5 machine. Externally, with the exception of a new competition oil cooler mounted in the front spoiler, these cars remained totally standard, right down to the bumpers. The front storage compartment housed a 100-litre fuel cell, a front-mounted oil cooler and aluminium strut brace. Inside they were stripped of every conceivable luxury, competition seats and a beefy alloy roll cage being installed. They were then brought back up to the minimum class weight limit by applying strategically positioned ballast. The minimum weight limit in Group B depended on a particular cars engine size and because the swept volume of Porsche's turbocharged 3.3 was equivalent to 5-litres, this meant the new car had to be no lighter than 1235kg. Porsche stripped the weight down to around 1150kg and then added the rest to make it legal.

Whereas a normal 930 would have taken 5.3 seconds to reach 100kmh, these factory hot rods could do it in 4.5. 0-160kmh came up in just 9.8 and 0-200 in a mere 15.8. Two cars were built for the 1982 season, chassis 93A 007 00171 for Georg Memminger and 930 970 00069 for Bernd Schiller. ‘93A' was a factory conversion of Memminger's 1980 930 road car. In 1982 it took World Manufacturers Championship wins at the Nurburgring, Spa and Mugello 1000km races. Meanwhile, 00171 was a regular in the German national series. Four more cars followed in 1983, one for Charles Ivey in the UK (winner at Le Mans and Brands Hatch), one for the Almeras brothers in France (third at Le Mans), one for Michel Lateste (fourth at Le Mans) and another for Edgar Doren (winner at the Nurburgring 1000km). Mid-way through 1983, these cars were permitted to adopt 935 brakes and they went on to win the inaugural Group B Championship by two points from BMW. In 1984 the tables were turned and BMW won comfortably, amassing almost twice as many points as the Porsche teams. By this time it was obvious there was little support for Group B and the category was ditched from the 1985 season.

 

Chassis History
93A 007 00171 1982, sold new to Georg Memminger, Germany.
930 003 0009 1983, sold new to Charles Ivey, England.
930 670 0590 1983, sold new to Equipe Almeras, France.
930 870 0039 1983, sold new to Michel Lateste, France.
930 870 0419 1983, sold new to Edgar Doren, Germany.
930 970 0069 1982, sold new to Bernd Schiller, Germany.
 
Date Race Drivers Entrant
#
Chassis
Qual.
Overall
Gr.B
16/05/1982 Silverstone 6 Hours Muller
Memminger
Mullerbrau Team
96
93A 007 00171
DNQ
30/05/1982 Nurburgring 1000km Muller
Memminger
Mullerbrau Team
38
93A 007 00171
29th
9th
1st
05/09/1982 Spa 1000km Muller
Memminger
Mullerbrau Team
95
93A 007 00171
37th
20th
1st
19/09/1982 Mugello 1000km Muller
Memminger
Mullerbrau Team
24
93A 007 00171
19th
12th
1st
       
 
10/04/1983 Monza 1000km Kuhn-Weiss
Memminger
Georg Memminger
83
93A 007 00171
17th
12th
3rd
    Almeras
Biancone
Guillot
Equipe Almeras Freres
85
930 670 0590
18th
13th
4th
    Steckkonig
Schiller
Bernd Schiller
81
930 970 0069
16th
DNF
08/05/1983 Silverstone 1000km Cooper
Smith
Ovey
Charles Ivey Racing
93
930 003 0009
25th
13th
3rd
    Kuhn-Weiss
Memminger
Georg Memminger
92
93A 007 00171
24th
14th
4th
    Steckkonig
Schiller
Bernd Schiller
98
930 970 0069
26th
15th
5th
    Almeras
Biancone
Guillot
Equipe Almeras Freres
95
930 670 0590
27th
DNF
    Gall
Haas
Doren
Edgar Doren
91
930 870 0419
28th
DNS
29/05/1983 Nurburgring 1000km Gall
Doren
Hamelmann
Edgar Doren
106
930 870 0419
23rd
7th
1st
    Kuhn-Weiss
Memminger
Steckkonig
Georg Memminger
110
93A 007 00171
14th
10th
3rd
18-19/06/1983 Le Mans 24 Hours Cooper
Smith
Ovey
Charles Ivey Racing
93
930 003 0009
49th
11th
1st
    Kuhn-Weiss
Memminger
Muller
Georg Memminger
92
93A 007 00171
48th
13th
2nd
    Almeras
Almeras
Guillot
Equipe Almeras Freres
95
930 670 0590
46th
15th
3rd
    Lateste
Bienvault
Touroul
Michel Lateste
96
930 870 0039
50th
20th
4th
    Haldi
Steckkonig
Schiller
Claude Haldi
94
930 970 0069
47th
DNF
    Lemerle
Yvon
Krankenberg
Doren
Edgar Doren
91
930 870 0419
51st
DNF
04/09/1983 Spa 1000km Cooper
Smith
Ovey
Charles Ivey Racing
93
930 003 0009
23rd
13th
2nd
    Hamelmann
Yvon
Edgar Doren
91
930 870 0419
28th
15th
3rd
    Kuhn-Weiss
Memminger
Georg Memminger
92
93A 007 00171
25th
DNF
    Lateste
Bienvault
Michel Lateste
96
930 870 0039
DNQ
18/09/1983 Brands Hatch 1000km Smith
Haas
Ovey
Charles Ivey Racing
93
930 003 0009
22nd
15th
3rd
    Amato
Gall
Yvon
Hans-Christian Juergensen
91
930 870 0419
23rd
DNF
16/10/1983 Imola 1000km Kuhn-Weiss
Memminger
Georg Memminger
92
930 870 00171
20th
11th
2nd
    Doren
Gall
Mertes
Hans-Christian Juergensen
91
930 870 0419
22nd
DNF
    Smith
Moreno
Cavalieri
Charles Ivey Racing
93
930 003 0009
12th
DNS
23/10/1983 Mugello 1000km Smith
Haas
Ovey
Charles Ivey Racing
93
930 003 0009
20th
13th
3rd
    Kuhn-Weiss
Memminger
Georg Memminger
92
930 870 00171
22nd
15th
4th
    Leim
Kaiser
Bo Strandell Racing
99
930 670 0590
21st
16th
5th
    Lateste
Bienvault
Touroul
Michel Lateste
96
930 870 0039
23rd
17th
6th
    Wood
Mertes
Gall
Doren
Hans-Christian Juergensen
91
930 870 0419
24th
DNF
10/12/1983 Kyalami 1000km Wiren
Leim
Bo Strandell Racing
74
930 670 0590
23rd
9th
2nd
    Cooper
Cavalieri
Smith
Charles Ivey Racing
76
930 003 0009
22nd
10th
3rd
    Braun
Brittz
Bernd Schiller
73
930 970 0069
27th
11th
4th
    Felder
Hahnlein
Lateste
Edgar Doren
71
930 870 0419
32nd
NC