After the late 70s energy crunch, increasing safety and emission requirements and rising fuel cost, Ford turned to its profitable European operations for the way forward. Walter Hayes moved from the UK to Dearborn to run the company’s public relations.
Erwin and Manfred Kremer of Cologne, Germany developed their own version of Porsche’s 935 race car. Starting in 1977 with the K1 and the K2 for 1978, the K3 was introduced for 1979. The Kremer team partner with the American Whittington brothers to win the Le Mans 24 Hour race. After Le Mans, the Whittington’s purchased the car for use in the IMSA series.
Porsche created the Type 956 in response to Group C regulations governing the World Endurance Championship for Makes. The Federation Internationale de Sport Automobile (FISA) rules, effective with the 1982 season, allowed one-off chassis. Fuel consumption was limited to tank capacity of 100 liters and maximum car length was set at 480cm, width at 200cm, and height at 100 to 110cm. Engine size and induction were unregulated. In addition, only five fuel stops were allowed for 1000km races, and 25 stops for twenty-four hour races.
