Schuppan 962CR
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The Schuppan 962CR was built in 1994 by Australian racecar driver Vern Schuppan. The car was built as a tribute to Schuppan’s 1983 victory at Le Mans and the 1989 All Japan Sports Prototype Championship title. The 962CR is essentially a chassis recreated by Schuppan to resemble a modified, street legal version of the Le Mans-winning Porsche 962 racecar.
The 962CR is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive vehicle weighing 2,315 lb. Powering the car is a 3.3 L twin-turbocharged flat 6 giving 600 hp (about 182 hp/L) mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. The car’s top speed is 230 mph (370 km/h), and it has a 0-60 mph acceleration time of 3.5 seconds.
The only element of the car manufactured by Porsche is the engine, which was the air-cooled, 3.4 liter, twin turbo version, incidentally, assembled in the United States for the 962C North American IMSA-spec cars. The chassis and body were built entirely by Schuppan. The car was built in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England by Modena Wycombe with Japanese backing, and at least two of the cars were shipped to Japan.
It is hard to pin a specific nationality to the car, since it was built by an Australian racecar driver in England with Japanese money, and powered by a German engine assembled in the United States.
The Car was built at the Modena Wycombe Ltd (Team Modena) Factory in High Wycombe, England, which is a Lamborghini dealer and a Racing Team that manufactures its own composites.
Only five of these cars were ever built. At just over US$1.5 million in 1994, the Schuppan 962CR is the second most expensive vehicle ever sold new. The record for the most expensive car sold new goes to the 2005 Ferrari FXX at US$1.8 million. The 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR roadster comes in a close third at US$1.5 million.
Rumors circulated for several years that the 962CR was sold new for US$2.5 million. This rumor was eventually dispelled by author and Porsche enthusiast Karl Ludvigsen who listed a price of ¥195 000 000.
The 962CR is the only car Schuppan ever made. Payment failed to arrive for two of the vehicles after they were shipped to Japan. This, coupled with the high cost of the car's construction and the worldwide recession, forced Schuppan to declare bankruptcy. Only six of these cars were ever produced.
