After pursuing open-wheel racing in F1, F2, F5000 and Indy Car (including finishing third and winning Rookie of the Year in the 1976 Indy 500), Vern Schuppan joined drivers Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell and Jochen Mass on Porsche’s elite factory sports prototype racing team in 1982. Codriving with Americans Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood, Schuppan piloted the famed Rothmans Porsche 956 to outright victory at the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans and subsequently earned almost 30 podiums in both the 956 and its successor, the 962. Remaining with Porsche, Schuppan also gained fame through the latter 1980s in Japan racing the Porsche 962 in that country’s wildly popular Sports-Prototype Championship series, which he ran with additional support from Japan’s Art Sports Corporation (ASC). After retiring from racing, in 1991, Schuppan founded two U.K.-based firms: the racing-focused Team Schuppan and Vern Schuppan, Ltd., which provided engineering and production expertise to other racing teams and the production car industry worldwide. By then, Porsche had built approximately 150 956/962 racers, many of which were past their racing prime, so it was no surprise that some were being converted for road use. With backing from his ASC patrons, Schuppan opened a brand new 60,000-square-foot facility to develop and produce his own versions of the 962—the Schuppan-Porsche 962LM and 962CR. Closely based on the factory racers, the 962LM used a standard Le Mans-spec chassis, carbon fiber bodywork and a Porsche-supplied 2.65L, 935-79-spec, turbocharged flat-6 with air-cooled cylinders and water-cooled heads, producing 630 HP at 8,200 RPM. In contrast, Schuppan’s 962CR was a radical departure that featured an all-new body designed by fellow Australian Michael Simcoe (who, significantly, is now General Motors’ vice president of Global Design) and incorporated styling cues from the fabulous 959, including a full-width hoop-style rear wing. The all-carbon fiber chassis built by famed U.K. racing constructor Reynard was 2 inches wider to increase interior width. The doors were redesigned to better suit road use, and large openings in the rear body sides allowed better cooling. Interior accommodations bordered on luxurious, incorporating plush leather upholstery, padded leather bucket seats, a sound system, air conditioning and a rear-view camera in place of the inside mirror.
