Porsche 911 Parade Sets New World Record

A glittering parade of more than 1200 Porsche 911s took to the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit earlier today (28 July) – a world record number of the machines – as the Silverstone Classic celebrated the 50th anniversary of the world’s most iconic sportscar.

Over 1200 sparkling examples of the 911 took to the track

In the spirit of being the biggest and best classic motor racing event in the world, the plan to produce a parade of 911 x 911s was almost immediately exceeded when the celebrations were announced, with registrations building hugely in the months leading up to the event. Records are there to be broken, however, so rather than settling for the initial target, organizers manage to squeeze an incredible 1208 of the Porsches on to a packed circuit – creating a breathtaking sight in the process!

It was a record-breaking day for the Porsche 911 at Silverstone

The sensational spectacle, which raised funds for the Hope for Tomorrow cancer charity, was led by a number of famous Porsche legends as tens of thousands of fans watched on. This incredible parade – organized by the Porsche Club GB and Silverstone Classic – included the most famous models from past and present, such as legendary Carrera, RS, RSR, GT, Speedster, Targa and Turbo variants.

Mark Porsche drove one of the lead cars, the original designed by his father

Mark Porsche, son of 911 designer Ferdinand ‘Butzi’ Porsche and great-grandson of the marque’s original founder, Ferdinand Porsche, who got proceedings underway said, “the 911 means a great deal to me as it’s my father’s big design and it will always have a special place in my heart. It’s a family member over all the generations of the 911 series and I’m very proud to be here today to represent the Porsche family at this great event. I think that to have these 1200 cars on track is the attention that the 911 deserves for its 50th birthday. I can’t thank the Porsche Club GB enough for making this event possible.”

Legendary Porsche racing drivers David Piper, Richard Attwood, Derek Bell and John Fitzpatrick all drove in the parade

Former F1 driver and five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell MBE drove a 911 as part of the parade and Richard Attwood – winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours for Porsche in 1970 – was also on hand to pilot another 911. Porsche owners made up the remainder of the wonderful convoy culminating in the remarkable world record number of 911s. Other notable legends taking part in the parade included John Fitzpatrick and David Piper.

Derek Bell enjoyed the fantastic celebration of the Porsche 911

Derek Bell said: “It’s because of the 911 that Porsche had the financial resources to go racing and create the history of the 917, 956, 962 and all the wins that we had around the world with all my fabulous team-mates. Porsche did a heck of a lot for me so to be here in this parade driving around my home track Silverstone is a great honour.”

The Silverstone circuit provided a special Carrera ‘S’ moment

Since its launch at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1963, the 911 has been at the heart of the Porsche brand with more than 820,000 having been built in the proceeding five decades – making it the most successful sportscar in the world.