OT: Why were the prototypes RHD

[Stutgart46]

My son who is 8, asked me why Porsche made the 917, 956, 962's, etc. in RHD. I never thought about it. Does anybody know why?

[jtfreels]

I've read that since most race tracks are clockwise, this puts the driver on the inside of the turn, better to see the apex.

Jay

[svandamme]

Originally posted by jtfreels
I've read that since most race tracks are clockwise, this puts the driver on the inside of the turn, better to see the apex.

Jay

i doubt that
even on a clockwise track , there is usually a good balance between lefthanders and righthanders... unless it's an oval.. which wasn't 917 and prototype playing grounds anyway.

my guess ... because they are mid engined
and the tranny is in the back, they need a shift linkage that goes around the engine

and because nobody shifts with his left hand
offsetting the steering wheel to the right will give them the shortest linkage possible , no need to go from the center, to the right, to the back , to the tranny.

less linkage, better shifting, less points where it can fail or become sloppy

[Porschekid962]

Driver changes. The rhd puts you right against the pit wall during stops and its an easier hop in and out for the drivers is what I suspect. That is on clockwise courses.

[Wil Ferch]

Both answers like this have been documented.....the predominance of right turns, putting the driver on the "correct" side for view AND for weight balance...and the associated efficiency of pit stop / driver changes.

Started about the 906 era...note that the 904 ( like so many comtemporaries of 1964-65) could be considered dual-purpose road and race cars...by 1966, the 906 was a "track-only" car and the first to be RHD for normal "production"

- Wil

[k9handler]

just to show the Brits that anyone can drive a RHD car. =oP

[PeteBrown]

Where is there documentation on the evolution of LHD vs RHD at the beginning of the automotive history. From what I've read, many if not all cars even in the U.S. were RHD which evolved out of the horse and buggy. What created the change to LHD here and in western Europe but kept RHD in the UK?

[oldE]

The story we used to be told was that armed knights wore their shields on their left arm and carried their lance in their right, so it was normal that gentlemen when meeting on the highway, (on horseback) kept their lance/sword arm near their opposite number. Thus, carts were driven on the left and motorcars followed suite. This still doesn't explain why the Brits were different from the rest of Europe, but I suspect paranoia about 'foreign ways'. In Canada, we changed over from driving on the left, (like our British cousins) to the right to make it easier when our neighbors visited, sometime in the early 20s. I'll bet those first weeks were interesting.
Les

[Wil Ferch]

The "documentation" that I refer to was focused on Porsche's change to RHD for the purposefull racing cars....this was mentioned in Ludvigsen's book and possibly Frere's, too.

I didn't mean "documentation relative to how the street cars got that way in the first place, and why GB , Japan, and Australia drive on the weird side ( ).

Wil

[jluetjen]

Originally posted by Wil Ferch
Both answers like this have been documented.....the predominance of right turns, putting the driver on the "correct" side for view AND for weight balance...and the associated efficiency of pit stop / driver changes.

Started about the 906 era...note that the 904 ( like so many comtemporaries of 1964-65) could be considered dual-purpose road and race cars...by 1966, the 906 was a "track-only" car and the first to be RHD for normal "production"

- Wil

Wil!!! I'm shocked!!!!

Both the 906 AND the 910 were left hand drive cars. Porsche did not start putting the driver on the right of the prototypes until the 907.

You should be ashamed!!!

[Walko]

Its simple correct cars are RHD and they make LHD for the masses

Michael

[svandamme]

Originally posted by Walko
Its simple correct cars are RHD and they make LHD for the masses

Michael

balls.


cars designed to drive on the right side, drive on the right side
cars that are designed to drive on the left side, are on the wrong side...

it makes sense.

[Wil Ferch]

jluetjen / john:
- - hmmm..... I think you got me, but let me check....
Certainly the 906 was considered "illegal" as a road car, and that transition from road/track (904) to track-only (906) I think is correct.... but (blush) I think you're right about the RHD....be back at ya soon with more....

Wil ( blush)

EDIT - I recall seeing many photos of 910's with LHD.....the very first RHD racing prototype was the next model after 910, the 907. I stand thoroughly corrected !!
( demoted to junior, closet - historian )

[Fishcop]

Interestingly, the USA also uses the opposite ship navigation protocol to the rest of the world... I think you guys just like to be different