Porsche has put together a highly personalized 911 Carrera S in honor of Gijs van Lennep. The Dutch driver gained fame through his Le Mans victories with Porsche.
Gijs van Lennep and Porsche have been inseparable for decades. The 78-year-old Aerdenhouter got behind the wheel of a Porsche race car in 1967 and finally managed to achieve his greatest achievement in 1971: his first victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He then did this together with Helmut Marko in a Porsche 917K. Later he would win the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice in a row with a 911 Carrera RSR (class victory) and a 936 (in 1976, overall together with Jacky Ickx). After his career as a driver (in which he also participated in Formula 1, among other things), Van Lennep remained connected to Porsche as a brand ambassador. Now, as a tribute to him, the brand has put together a specially personalized 911 Carrera S.
The ‘Lava Oranje’ painted car – a reference to the color of the cars of Racing Team Holland – is the largest eyecatcher a fingerprint of Van Lennep on the nose. According to Porsche, this has been done with a special ‘printing technique’, which has recently opened up more options for putting personal designs on cars in detail. Van Lennep is also reminded when boarding that it is his very own car. The sills do not bear the Porsche brand name, but Gijs’ own name. In addition, his own signature is displayed. The special orange color returns to the stitching in the interior. Van Lennep is obviously very pleased: “I think it’s special that Porsche Netherlands honors me with this unique 911. It doesn’t get much more personal than a car with your fingerprint.” Van Lennep will, among other things, drive the car next year at the 10th ‘Gijs van Lennep Legend’.