After pursuing open-wheel racing in F1, F2, F5000 and Indy Car (including finishing third and winning Rookie of the Year in the 1976 Indy 500), Vern Schuppan joined drivers Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell and Jochen Mass on Porsche’s elite factory sports prototype racing team in 1982. Codriving with Americans Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood, Schuppan piloted the famed Rothmans Porsche 956 to outright victory at the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans and subsequently earned almost 30 podiums in both the 956 and its successor, the 962.
Remaining with Porsche, Schuppan also gained fame through the latter 1980s in Japan racing the Porsche 962 in that country’s wildly popular Sports-Prototype Championship series, which he ran with additional support from Japan’s Art Sports Corporation (ASC).
After retiring from racing, in 1991, Schuppan founded two U.K.-based firms: the racing-focused Team Schuppan and Vern Schuppan, Ltd., which provided engineering and production expertise to other racing teams and the production car industry worldwide. By then, Porsche had built approximately 150 956/962 racers, many of which were past their racing prime, so it was no surprise that some were being converted for road use. With backing from his ASC patrons, Schuppan opened a brand new 60,000-square-foot facility to develop and produce his own versions of the 962—the Schuppan-Porsche 962LM and 962CR.
Closely based on the factory racers, the 962LM used a standard Le Mans-spec chassis, carbon fiber bodywork and a Porsche-supplied 2.65L, 935-79-spec, turbocharged flat-6 with air-cooled cylinders and water-cooled heads, producing 630 HP at 8,200 RPM.
In contrast, Schuppan’s 962CR was a radical departure that featured an all-new body designed by fellow Australian Michael Simcoe (who, significantly, is now General Motors’ vice president of Global Design) and incorporated styling cues from the fabulous 959, including a full-width hoop-style rear wing. The all-carbon fiber chassis built by famed U.K. racing constructor Reynard was 2 inches wider to increase interior width. The doors were redesigned to better suit road use, and large openings in the rear body sides allowed better cooling. Interior accommodations bordered on luxurious, incorporating plush leather upholstery, padded leather bucket seats, a sound system, air conditioning and a rear-view camera in place of the inside mirror.
The 962CR’s air-cooled, twin-turbocharged engine was designed by legendary Porsche engineer Hans Mezger, who was responsible for not only the Porsche 911’s iconic air-cooled, flat-6 boxer engine and the 917’s flat-12, but also the TAG Turbo Formula 1 V-6 engine that powered McLaren to three consecutive World Driver’s Championships and two Manufacturers’ Championships in the mid-1980s. Supplied by American race team Andial, the Mezger-designed, IMSA-spec, 3.4L flat-6 produced more than 600 HP, incorporated adjustable boost and promised a top speed of 215 MPH. In reality, the 962CR’s reported top speed of slightly over 230 MPH bested the Bugatti EB 110 by nearly 10 MPH, with the 962CR briefly holding the title as the world’s fastest production car in 1992 before the McLaren F1 swooped in to steal the crown that same year at a tick over 240 MPH.
Schuppan originally planned to produce 50 examples in order to homologate the car for Le Mans, but the project soon proved untimely; the Japanese economy took the brunt of the global economic downturn in 1992, causing Schuppan’s investors to back out of the contract and pull their funding, thus forcing Schuppan to halt production and declare bankruptcy. Production of the Schuppan 962 comprised a single LM prototype, which was lost to a fire during testing, a second prototype LM, a single production LM, two prototype CRs and two production CRs. Priced at $1.5 million (in 1992), these were the most expensive production cars ever built—significantly more than the McLaren F1.
Built on the third 2-inch wider Reynard-supplied chassis, this 1992 Schuppan 962CR, Chassis No. 05/50, is the final example of the seven cars produced. Originally, the plan was to deliver the completed car to ASC against a contract that stipulated payment in full upon its delivery. However, ASC refused delivery and the car was sent back to the U.K., where further court proceedings ruled that Schuppan was permitted to sell it to another client, notwithstanding the existing agreement between Schuppan and ASC. Around this time, 05/50 was featured in Alain de Cadanet’s “Victory by Design” TV series, resulting in broad exposure of this exceptional Porsche. Schuppan then sold the car to his neighbor, who kept it in his collection for almost 30 years.
In 2006, U.K. Porsche gurus Group C, Ltd. performed the work necessary to obtain Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) certification to allow its use on public roads. The modifications included a Motec engine management system to comply with contemporary emissions standards, a collapsible steering column, updated headlights, Polycarbonate side windows and legal, speed-rated tires.
As one might rightly expect, this automotive treasure is accompanied by extensive documentation that includes an original Vern Schuppan Limited sales brochure, a certificate of authenticity, declaration of provenance and production history from Vern Schuppan, the original U.K. registration document, letter of statement from the Porsche Club of Great Britain, the original VOSA road-legal approval letter, MOT certificates and miscellaneous invoices.
The final production Vern Schuppan 962CR, Chassis No. 05/50 remains in exquisite condition, the result of meticulous maintenance and preservation throughout its life. It retains its original black-on-black color scheme on designer Michael Simcoe’s 959-inspired bodywork and wider Reynard-produced carbon fiber chassis. It is arguably one of the rarest road-legal Porsches ever produced—rarer by far than the McLaren F1—and exhibits the unsurpassed build quality worthy of a road-going example of the greatest sports-prototype endurance racer of the 20th century.
Mecum’s Monterey Auction will take place August 15-17. For more information, be sure to visit Mecum.com.
