Guide: Dauer 962 LM
Background
Converting racing prototypes into road-going specials has produced some of the most exciting cars in history.
Up until the late 1960s, when most competition machinery was still equipped with everything required for road use, getting these cars street legal was often no more complicated than attaching a set of number plates.
However, as ever more extreme competition cars emerged, the job of transforming them into useable road cars became considerably more time consuming and expensive.
With relatively high construction numbers and excellent parts availability, Porsche’s 962 inevitably became the Group C platform of choice for street-legal conversions.
Around 100 962s were eventually sold and, because of such a large customer programme, practically every component was available off-the-shelf.
This paved way for a variety of well-known tuning companies including DP, Schuppan and Koenig to offer their own interpretations of a road-going 962.
Perhaps the most successful exponent though was Dauer Sportwagen, the firm established by ex-962 racer, Jochen Dauer, after closing his racing team in early 1991.
Dauer already had several used chassis in his possession and others were purchased direct from Fabcar and Porsche who, by this time, had almost completely wound down the 962 operation.
After several months of development, the Dauer 962 LM was officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1993.
Porsche had been helpful in an unofficial capacity, assisting Dauer source parts and providing a degree of technical advice. However, in December 1993, the collaboration was stepped up a notch.
Le Mans GT1 regulations of the day required only one road-going example of a vehicle to have been produced in order for a racing version to be homologated. The rules also allowed GT1 cars to run engines of up to 600bhp which was 100bhp more than than the supposedly premier LMP1 class. Additionally, GT1 permitted fuel tanks that were 50% bigger than LMP1.
With this in mind, senior Porsche motor sport engineer, Norbert Singer, was convinced that a factory-prepared Dauer 962 LM would have a very good chance of winning the 1994 Le Mans 24 Hours.
A deal was struck.
In return for helping Dauer achieve type approval for the 962 LM, Porsche would be permitted to race Dauer 962s at Le Mans. The competition cars would be built at Weissach and entered under the Le Mans Porsche Team banner. Joest Racing would help manage the on-track operation.
As soon as the Le Mans governing body found out about Porsche’s plan, they unsuccessfully tried to scupper the move.
However, they did manage to introduce a flat-bottom rule for the GT1 class that banned ground effect devices within a car’s wheelbase. As ground effect was how the 962 derived most of its downforce, Porsche had to create a rebodied variant known as the Dauer 962 LM Sport to run at la Sarthe.
It proved worth the effort and the two cars finished first and third at Le Mans that summer.
Meanwhile, Jochen Dauer received the factory assistance he needed to get the 962 LM through Germany’s strict type approval process.
Chassis
Dauer built each car around a standard Porsche 962 aluminium honeycomb monocoque.
Suspension was via double wishbones with adjustable dampers and anti-roll bars.
Special hydraulics allowed the driver to raise and lower the car at the touch of a button; this was a mandatory requirement as, in standard trim, the 962 was far too low to meet the minimum ride height in Germany.
The suspension automatically lowered the car from its raised height at speeds beyond 80kmh.
An ABS braking system was installed along with enormous 330mm Brembo cross-drilled-and-ventilated discs and four piston calipers.
18-inch Speedline forged alloy wheels measured 10 and 11-inches wide front to rear respectively. They were originally shod with Pirelli P Zero tyres.
Engine & Gearbox
Engine-wise, the same three-litre water-cooled Flat 6 from the race car was used.
It came equipped with two intercooled KKK turbochargers that offered three alternative levels of boost.
Displacement remained unchanged at 2994cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 95mm and 70.4mm respectively.
Softer cams were fitted along with open-loop catalytic convertors.
TAG engine management was custom mapped and compression was set at 9.0:1.
In this configuration, the engine produced 730bhp at 7400rpm and 517 lb-ft at 5000rpm.
In addition to the standard five-speed manual gearbox, Dauer later offered a system that combined the normal 962 transmission with Tiptronic S-type buttons mounted on the steering wheel.
Bodywork
Given the original 962 ranked among the most handsome prototype racing cars of all time, no wholesale cosmetic changes were deemed necessary.
Nevertheless, Dauer did replace the original shell with a subtly reworked carbon Kevlar body designed by Achim Storz.
Among the many detail changes were a re-profiled nose and re-shaped headlight cowls.
The wing mirrors were moved from the cockpit sides to the tops of the front fenders.
The cockpit profile was unchanged.
A new hinged tail section mimicked the low drag 962 typically used at Le Mans.
All told, Dauer’s revamped bodywork had a drag coefficient of 0.31.
Interior
The snug leather-clad cockpit featured two carbon fibre seats, a detachable steering wheel and full racing harnesses.
Whereas 962 racing cars used a right-hand gear shift, Dauer relocated the gear lever to between the seats.
A proper air-conditioning system was installed and a rectangular luggage compartment built into the left-hand door housed two carbonfibre suitcases that were included in the price.
Weight / Performance
Each car typically weighed in at between 1030kg and 1180kg depending on the final specification. This compared to 900kg for a 962 racer and gave Dauer’s LM a better power-to-weight ratio than the McLaren F1.
0-62mph took just 2.6 seconds and the top speed of 251mph was set on Volkswagen’s Ehra-Leissen test track in 1997.
Launch & Production
Upon introduction, the price for a 962 LM was quoted as DM 1.36m (equivalent to £553,000 or $853,000 at the time). The McLaren F1 was £640,000.
Six examples were built and the first five were sold to the Sultan of Brunei.
The Brunei consignment included one in yellow (chassis 133), one in green (chassis 141), one in silver (chassis 151), one in black (chassis 172) and one in red (chassis 175).
One final car was built in 2001 around the same time Dauer began to offer his revamped Bugatti EB110s.
This car (chassis 962.8.001) was sold to a Swedish customer. It was unusually finished in lacquered bare carbon with yellow stripes.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Dauer Sportwagen
