HPI's latest group of hyper-detailed 1:43 scale die-cast model cars features the world-beating Porsche 956 Le Mans race car in accurate racing livery and colors for discerning model car collectors! A wide range of Porsche 956 models are available, from the #7 New Man sponsored 1984 Le Mans winner, to the Kenwood and taka-Q privateer 956 teams. We even have a show car version, in white, from the Frankfurt Auto Show!

These precision cast models are 1:43 scale, a convenient size (approximately 10 x 4 x 3cm) for any desk or display case. Each Porsche 956 version comes in a crystal clear acrylic case with black base so you can easily stack the cases if you wish. All versions have a removable engine cover so you can display the car whole, or show off the fine engine detail!

Incredible attention has been paid to make the cars as true to scale as possible. Fine exterior details like radiators, disc brakes, brake calipers, mirrors, wings, exhaust, headlight buckets, mirrors, tow hooks and radio antennae combine to make the models extremely realistic. The paint and even the sponsor logos are color-matched for exact scale representation. Each car has a fully painted and detailed interior, complete with a roll cage, racing seat, fire extinguisher, steering wheel, and dashboard. Engine detail includes the full cylinder block, exhaust system, turbos, radiators, oil coolers and more!

HPI uses the drawings and plans from the manufacturer to accurately reproduce what we feel are the finest 1:43 scale die-cast models available. Look at one close up and you'll agree! Remember: All of these fantastic recreations are made in limited quantities, once gone they will never be available again.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
When the FIA announced in 1981 a departure from its Group 5 and Group 6 rules for sportscars, Porsche had a keen interest in developing a car for the new Group C regulations. It had, after all, produced a Le Mans winning Group 5 car (the 935) and a Le Mans winning Group 6 car (the 936). In fact, while the 936 won it’s third Le Mans in 1981, the factory at Zuffenhausen was busy developing the car that would ultimately win the 1982 contest.

The Group C car that they would produce, the Porsche 956 (which later grew a few inches to become the 962) would become the most successful sportscar ever produced. While the Audi R8 has dominated Le Mans in recent years, it has won but a mere five Le Mans contests while the 956/962 won seven. In fact, the 962 won it’s final Le Mans in 1993, a full 11 years after the 956 won its first race there.

Porsche unveiled the 956 at the Frankfurt Auto show, in plain white livery. That car would never turn a wheel in anger, but in fact, would serve as a test mule for the engine Porsche developed to race at the Indianapolis 500. When that project was halted by a USAC rules change, the engine was adopted for endurance racing.

The next example produced by HPI, the #21 Kenwood Kremer Racing Porsche 956, was driven at Le Mans that year by none other than the great Mario Andretti, his son Michael Andretti, and Frenchman Phillippe Alliot. The team finished third that season behind two works-entered 956’s.

One of the men most responsible for Porsche’s sportscar racing success is Reinhold Joest, proprietor of Joest Racing. The 1984 Le Mans 24 Hours saw him enter two cars – the #7 New Man Joest Racing Porsche 956, and the #8 Taka-Q Joest Racing Porsche 956. While the Taka-Q car would retire just past the halfway point of the race, the New Man car crossed the finish line first, driven by Henri Pescarolo and Klaus Ludwig. That same car won at Le Mans in 1985, with Ludwig, Paolo Barilla, and “John Winter” behind the wheel – becoming one of only a handful of chassis to ever win at Le Mans twice.

(“John Winter” was the pseudonym for French driver Louis Krages. Krages had adopted the name so that his mother wouldn’t find out about his hobby – but she found out when Krages won Le Mans and was on the cover of a newspaper!)

That same driver lineup returned to Le Mans in 1986, with the next car in the HPI collection, the #7 New Man Joest Racing Porsche 956, but they would retire with engine problems in the 12th hour.

#939 PORSCHE 956 LH (#7) 1984 LE MANS WINNER
#941 PORSCHE 956 LH (#21) 1983 LE MANS 3RD
#942 PORSCHE 956 LH SHOW CAR 1983 FRANKFURT
#8031 PORSCHE 956 LH (#8) 1984 LE MANS
#8034 PORSCHE 956 LH (#7) 1986 LE MANS

Look out for more car models as HPI expands its list of 1:43 die-cast model car offerings!