Watch Bruce Canepa Beat Higher Power Cars In A Porsche 910

Sometimes lightweight and nimble are what you need to beat the big-power CanAm cars.

byBradley Brownell|
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We've been going to the Monterey Historics since 2013 when we moved to the western US. Unfortunately, this display of car control from the vintage racing king of Northern California was a couple years before we started attending. Thanks to the Revs Institute, we were given the opportunity to check it out anyway, as they uploaded this 2011 onboard in preparation for next month's festivities. If you have a spare 20 minutes, you can climb into the passenger's seat of Canepa's 1960s Porsche 910 fiberglass flyer. It's clear that his car is outmuscled by some of the larger engined beasts on the grid, but just wait until the misty rain begins and they have to be more conservative with their throttle applications. 

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There is an, um, interesting moment just after 11 minutes of racing that sees the Porsche facing the wrong way, preventing the car from winning the race outright, but it's a pretty impressive display for the first half of the race. Recovering from a spin and charging back through the field is an impressive feat as well. If you've always wanted to see how these old cars ran in their day, and listen to the wail of a glorious flat-six engine, check out this insider-experience. It's amazing to see what these cars are capable of, even today. 

This 910 is pretty great, because even though it runs like a race car, it has all of the trappings of a street car. Note the air vent blower on the dash, and in particular when Bruce puts the car in reverse to back the car into it's spot at the end of the race. Even at low speeds, the car doesn't stumble or stall like many high-powered race cars with heavy clutches would. Impressive stuff. 

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