Porsche GB unveiled its 'Project 50' historic 911 racing car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed preview event this week. The 1965 model will appear at events around Europe throughout 2013 to celebrate 50 years of the 911. Confirmed events include the Silverstone Classic and Nürburgring 'OldTimer' as well as selected 'Masters Series' meets. Richard Attwood, 1970 Le Mans winner driving for Porsche, and Barry Horne, the inaugural Porsche Carrera Cup champion in 2003, will drive the car with some surprise guest drivers also promised.

As a 1965 car the Project50 911 uses a 2.0-litre, flat-six, which developed 130hp in road trim. It was ordered in right-hand drive by a customer from Italy and the car also spent some time in America before being imported to the UK in the late 1990s. The Porsche Classic workshop near Stuttgart will check over the Project50 car before it takes to the track. Just 6,607 short-wheelbase, 2.0-litre 911s were built between 1964 and 1968; as the model evolved it gained larger engines, a longer wheelbase and flared wheel arches to cover wider tyres.

Porsche claims that 20,000 of the company's race victories have been achieved with versions of the 911; that figure is described as two thirds of the total number of race victories to date. As well as historic sport Porsche will return to Le Mans in 2014 with a factory entry in the LMP1 category. The new racing machine will make its debut in mid-2013.

John Lambert - 24 Mar 2013