1970 Porsche 911 S/T

POA
banner image
  • 1971 Le Mans and Spa 1000 Kms with Jacky Dechaumel and JC Parot
  • Kept by the Dechaumel family for more than 40 years
  • Full Prill Porsche Classics restoration to 1971 Le Mans specification
  •  Eminently eligible for Tour Auto, Le Mans Classic and more


Purchased in 1970 as a 911 2.2S by Porsche privateer racer and Parisian garagiste Jacques Dechaumel, 9110300551 was upgraded by Jacques to full S/T Group 4 specification for the 1971 season using Sonauto factory parts, and valiantly took part in the gruelling Spa 1000 Kms, Le Mans 24 Hours and Paris 1000 Kms.


Ever since Porsche's dawn, motorsport has been running through the German brand’s veins, whether through works racing cars or in support of privateer teams, from grassroots-level club racing to Le Mans. The introduction of the Porsche 911 in 1965 revolutionized the world of customer racing all over the world. The rear-engined 911 provided an accessible and very versatile platform for privateers to go rallying, hill climbing, or circuit racing throughout the second half of the 1960s and all the way through to the mid-1970s. The Weissach-based factory actively encouraged their clients to go racing, producing a workshop manual of sorts (the “Sports Purpose manual”) to guide Porsche racers through their endeavours. Such was the popularity of Porsche cars in racing that grids quickly became packed with GT Porsches by the end of the 1960s, to the point that 23 of the 26 cars entered in the GT class at Le Mans in 1971 were Porsches! In parallel, Porsche developed their first factory lightweight racing 911 in 1967, the highly exclusive fibreglass-bodied 8000rpm lightweight 911R, although the time was not quite yet ripe for such a 911 Prototype amongst privateers.


From 1970 however, Porsche started offering special racing parts for the 911S, allowing customers to homologate their 911 to the new FIA Gr. IV specification. Effectively applying the homologated body weight of the 911T to the more dynamic 911S drivetrain and platform, the aptly, but un-officially, named 911 S/T became an instant hit for both factory and privateers. Available options included wide fibreglass wheel arch extensions, bonnet, and front wings, plexiglass windows as well as aluminium boot-lid and doors. Approximately 62 cars are said to have been built between 1970 and 1972, all ranging in specification from mild to spicy, with track cars typically going all out on engine preparation and lightweight panels. 


Like many Porsche privateer customers, Jacky Dechaumel was a French “garagiste” from the Paris region with a strong racing “itch”. Having raced a Porsche 356 in the early 1960s before upgrading to a 904 GTS, Jacques purchased his first 911S for racing purposes in 1969 in order to finally attack the greatest race of them all, Le Mans. Finishing a respectable 14th overall in 1969 and 4th in the GT class, and then 13th overall on the road in 1970 despite not being classified.


For 1971, Dechaumel embarked on the S/T hype and purchased a 911 2.2S, chassis 9110300551, with the intention of upgrading it to Gr. IV S/T specification for the 1971 season. The large majority of S/Ts were built by private racers and dealers just like Dechaumel’s “Jacky Auto Sports” garage in the Paris suburb of Levallois, himself sourcing his S/T parts from the French Porsche importer Sonauto. With FIA rules allowing for a 100cc increase in engine displacement over series production versions, Dechaumel upgraded the 911’s engine to 2.3L short stroke specification and with his Le Mans 1971 entry secured, took the car to the Le Mans 3 hours race on 18th April, a new event for 1971 used by the ACO as a test for the big race.  


The car’s first championship event was the Spa 1000 Kms, which took place on the grueling, and already abandoned from Formula 1, 14km-long Francorchamp circuit. Dechaumel, partnered with Jean-Claude Parot, qualified last in a field dominated by the dangerously faster Porsche 917s and Ferrari 512s and probably spent most of the 38 laps they managed looking more in their rear-view mirrors than out the windscreen! One month later, the pair were back on the Circuit de la Sarthe after their 1970 outing together amongst a sea of privately entered 911S and S/Ts. In a race where just 12 of the 49 starters finished, Dechaumel and Parot unfortunately suffered from engine troubles, translating in an exit from the race at the 13th hour.


The ST’s last international outing was at Montlhery for the Paris 1000 Kms, where it managed 72 laps of the fabled French banked circuit before an accident ended her race. Jacky rebuilt the car using his extensive Porsche expertise, although it appears the car was subsequently kept and shelved by Dechaumel while he moved on to race a much more competitive Porsche engined BBM prototype for 1972. Late in 1998, the decision was taken by Jacques’ son Daniel revive his father’s old steed and to campaign the car in historic rallying in France, securing FIA papers and taking part in multiple rallies such as the Rallye Lyon-Charbonnières and Rallye National des Vins Mâcon.


Remarkably, 9110300551 was kept by Jacky and Daniel for 43 years before selling it on in 2015 to her current discerning owner. The latter began a complete ground-up restoration by Prill Porsche Classics back to 1971 Le Mans specification, during which she was fitted with a period correct 2.5L S/T prepared engine, original fibreglass bonnet and front wings, aluminium skinned doors and aluminium lid as well as plexiglass windows.


From the golden age of privateer racing, this 911 S/T is a great opportunity to acquire one of few customer 911s to have taken part in multiple international World Sports Car Championship events including the fabled 24 Hours of Le Mans. Offered fresh from restoration, the Dechaumel S/T is now ready to tackle the roads of Tour Auto, Modena Cento Ore, or to rumble again on the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans having secured an entry at Le Mans Classic 2025.