46 - The Birth Of Porsche Motorsport

Author: Bill Wagenblatt (Editor), Doug Nye (Contributor), Sean Cridland (Contributor), William Edgar (Contributor), Gary Horstkorta (Contributor), Rod Emory (Contributor), Chris Greenwood (Contributor), Randy Leffingwell (Contributor)

Forty Six: The Birth of Porsche Motorsport tracks Porsche’s successful rise after World War II. Porsche overcame multiple setbacks and went on to break records in their first year of racing at Le Mans, the Liege-Rome-Liege Rally, and Montlhéry. The success of SL 356/2 063 launched the competitive juggernaut that is Porsche Motorsport today.


After arriving in the US, the car enjoyed racing victories under John von Neumann, and its resultant body shape helped predict and define Porsche’s future commercial success. In 1982, SL 356/2 063 became a mainstay at the Monterey Historic Races.

When Cameron Healy acquired the car in 2010, he gathered the experts who confirmed that SL 356/2 063 was Porsche’s first Le Mans combatant and class winner. Over several years, Rod Emory and his team restored the car to the moment it sat on the starting grid in 1951 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

46: The Birth of Porsche Motorsport tells the complete story with never-before-seen photographs and documentation.