1969 - 908 Long-Tail Coupé
At the end of 1967, when the displacement limit for prototypes in the Constructor's World Championship was reduced to 3 litres of displacement (homologated Sports Cars were allowed 5 litres), the 908, with its new 350-hp eight-cylinder engine, could be raced in the long or short-tail version depending on track and competition. A tail unit with 2 rear fins and a transverse wing whose flaps moved with the spring deflection of the rear wheels meant that the power of the eight-cylinder engine came into its own when the long-tail version was in action. The debut race of the 908 Coupé at Monza was followed by the 1,000-km Nürburgring race on May 19, 1968. Siffert/Elford won, but this was to be the only victory at a major event in 1968. However, in 1969, the 908, by then fitted with an aluminium space frame, showed reliability and endurance and won the Constructor's World Championship for Porsche for the first time. In one of the most exciting Le Mans races of all time, Hans Herrmann and Gérard Larrousse were beaten into second place by a margin of 150 metres by the 5-litre Ford driven by Jacky Ickx, at the end of an extremely tough 24-hour battle.
