Exactly. At LeMans, they could have left the car in 1st. Hop in and start the car with either hand as long as you get the clutch down upon entering. A bigger question is how do you fasten your belts? I know, I know....I've seen the films too. They did it somehow on the run. But, I sure can't get them hooked up with one hand even while sitting still. The old aircraft latch link style (which I like) is just too much for a one handed operation.

Maybe the first stint was run unhooked. ;) Oh, now you're gonna tell me this all started before belts. OK.

So then, a better question is why do all Porsche race cars have a key anyway? (As reported on this forum years ago.)

Aussie cars on the right.
Right hand to unlock, right hand to open door, right hand to start, left hand to wipe, and shift gears!!
I'm sure you guys appreciate that when we shake hands.......

Seems kinda dumb, a few seconds saved iat the beginning of a 24 hour long race. :)

How about from keeping your kid in the passenger seat from touching the key? That's one I heard decades ago...Now you've all made me want to watch the race start scenes in the movie Lemans...I'm not sure the 917 had a key on the left...

A 917 did have the key on the left but remember, the seat was on the right. In the movie Le Mans, there was no running start. That tradition was over by the time the movie was made.

JR

This is just a guess, but didn't the early 911's have a manual cold start throttle in the center? Thus for a cold start (and I mean cold), it would be difficult to A) hold the ignition in the "start" position and B) operate the manual cold start throttle when both are on the same side of the steering wheel?

This came to mind because I can remember many a time on the older cars trying to get them to start on very cold mornings and having to do a dance and jig with the foot throttle while cranking the engine over. Imagine if the foot throttle were a manual cold start throttle on the same side as the ingition switch?

Carlton

Yes

I think we have a winner here! My 71 tub has the throttle / choke lever in the middle.

This is probably the same reason the key is on the left in my Land Cruiser. For the Land Rovers, it probably had more to do with the mechanic reaching in and trying to start as stated above :D .

because none of us are in our right mind...

I understood it was b/c of the Le Mans start, and it does seem silly for a 24 hr. race, but it probably was tradition coupled with some degree of "And they're off!" excitement for the spectators.

I read somewhere that the tradition was being challenged (by all the bang-ups at the start?). Soon after, a particular driver actually took his time walking to his car, calmly starting it up after everyone was already gone, and proceeded to win the race 24 hrs. later. This made the start quite moot and the following year, they ended the practice of the drivers running across the track and began the race with the drivers sitting in their cars, waiting for the start (like you see in the S. McQueen movie).

I saw an interview with a guy who raced a 917 at le mans...he said that they would take off and wait until they got to the mulsanne straight, then do their belts up while holding the steering wheel with their knees!!!

The reason for wanting to save time getting rolling at the start of the Le Mans race in the mid-60s had nothing to do with winning the race per se [from a time-saving aspect] but it had everything to do with being first to turn 1, and being ahead of the carnage if/when a bunch of cars get tangled up going into turn 1 and eliminated from further contention in the race! Being in the top three or four places had a great benefit ... seems like the accidents always happened when the 5-6-7 cars got crunched by stupid, over-eager drivers trying to improve their 8-9-10 position.

I love that the key is on the left side.

But I will say that is it not a good location for when a valet attendant leaves your keys in the car while they park the other vehicles that got there before you. I recently know of a 2001 Carrera that was taken for a joyride by an opportunist idiot. He walked right up to the window, and I am sure the first thing he saw was the keys in the ignition. I guess that answers the question about the ignition location of the newer water pumpers.

I'd never let my car near a varlet. Didn't you see Ferris Buehler?

A typical case of Thread Resurrection Syndrome. :D

If anything that supports JohnKo's thinking.

Good thing this thread was resurrected - I never got to put my worthless comment in.

Why is the standard to put the ignition key on the right? Doesn't seem to make any more sense than the left. It's just one of those things that you can put a lot of thought into, but in the end, it's just a coin flip and either way is just as good as the other.

Yes I heard also it was for the Le Mans start, actualy I like it like this . Its nice to be different!!

Jackie Ickx, sometime in the late '60s -- 1969?

so when the wife freaks out at your driving, she cant flip the key off..

I have heard of it due to the racing heritage. The part I dont understand is how long would it take to put on the safety harness? Back then I suppose they probably didn't have one? and the day they enforced the harness, they probably realized starting the race like that was too akward?