First Person in a Porsche 908/3 at Laguna Seca

Gunnar Jeanette is our eyes and ears in this clip, as we ride along with him piloting a Porsche 908/3 at Laguna Seca during the 2015 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

“From a driving perspective it’s definitely not one of the safest cars that I’ve ever driven. Your feet are about a foot in front of the front axle.”

With the 917 well on the way in 1969, Porsche still had a lot of work planned for their earlier 908. Its lithe chassis, small size and lighter flat eight motor made it better suited for lower-speed tracks like the Nürburgring and the Targa Florio. So in 1970 Porsche took the already-petite 908/2 and made it shorter and super lightweight.

Only 13 908/3s were made and they clocked in at under 1,200 pounds each. They were extremely successful in general, but in particular in brutal races like the 1000 Kilometers of Nürburgring and Targa Florio. Vic Elford and Kurt Ahrens, Jr. won the 1970 1000 Kilometers of Nürburgring, and Gérard Larrousse and Vic Elford would follow that effort up in 1971 when 908/3s locked out the podium.

Jo Siffert and Brian Redman would take the 908/3 to glory in the Targa Florio in 1970, but while fast, the 908/3 was not so successful in 1971. Vic Elford set the fastest lap, but all three 908/3s crashed out of the race.

In this video Gunnar Jeannette’s at the wheel of one of the later 1971 revisions featuring vertical fins on the rear, and clearly not afraid to give it some stick.