Past Exhibit: Fabcar (April-June 2023)
The Fabulous Fabcar has been here for years. Dayton, Ohio, with its extensive automotive history has a rich and active car culture. And where there is automotive culture there is undoubtedly automotive racing.
Porsche, regardless of how anyone pronounces it, is synonymous with the sports car. From the beginning, the German automaker was dedicated to making light, sporty cars that transitioned seamlessly to the racetrack.
Most race cars after the Second World War were stock cars only slightly modified to perform on the track. However, the most famous racecars of the post-war period were built specifically for races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans. While Ford and Ferrari dominated the 1960s, Porsche would become a leader in auto racing, and is still to this day.
This Porsche 962 is a record breaking and winning race car. In the first four races of 1987, the Fabcar Team finished second in the 24 Hours of Daytona, won the 12 Hours of Sebring, won the Miami Grand Prix, and finished second in the West Palm Beach GP. This Chassis, 001, set an all-time IMSA record with over 5,200 racing miles in one year, without a single mechanical failure. The car continued to offer podium finishes for the team until its retirement in 1989. Lead driver Chip Mead drove the car to the Porsche Drivers Cup in 1987.
Dayton native and Porsche racing veteran John Higgins purchased this car from acclaimed Atlanta builder Dave Kylm of Fabcar Engineering in 1986. Kylm, considered to be a master racecar builder, built many winning Porsches. This “Fabcar” was so well engineered that it was endorsed by the North American Director of Porsche Motorsports.
The Fabcar remains in Dayton today, and many of its original drivers still take it to the track, ensuring that its legacy remains intact and proving that old race cars finish, but never quit.
Images courtesy White Allen Euro Group & Skip Peterson – Text by Stu Morris