Think of your favourite Porsche Le Mans racer. Many would plump for the 917 or, just as likely, the 956/962. Relatively few would pick the car that is sandwiched between them in the lineage of Stuttgart sports-prototypes. Yet this car scored more victories in the Le Mans 24 Hours than the 917, allowed Jacky Ickx to drive his best-ever race and set Derek Bell on the road to becoming a sportscar superstar. It was even the catalyst for the car that followed. Step forward the 936.

The 936 is the forgotten Porsche sports-prototype. That’s bizarre considering its record. This Group 6 roadster went to Le Mans every year between 1976 and 1981 and was a frontrunner each time. It won on three occasions and arguably should have done so twice more. Not bad for a parts-bin special built in double-quick time, a car that was more than once rushed back into service at short notice.

The 936 was conceived at a meeting held at Weissach late in 1975, though exactly who suggested it is a matter of debate. Norbert Singer, Porsche chief engineer at the time and project leader on the 935 Group 5 contender, says it was the invention of head of the board, Dr Ernst Fuhrmann.