Cool Wall: 1992-1994 Schuppan 962CR

[Snikle]

Poll 1466: 1992-1994 Schuppan 962CR nominated by @Cristobal1234

Body Style: 2-door coupe
Engine: 3.3 L Type-935 Twin-Turbocharged Flat-6
Power: 600 HP / 7000 rpm
Torque: 479 lb-ft / 6800 rpm
Weight: 1050 kg
Transmission: 5-Speed manual
Drivetrain: Mid engine, rear wheel drive
Additional Information: The Schuppan 962CR was a sports car built from 1992-1994 by Australian racecar driver Vern Schuppan. It was built as a tribute to Schuppan's 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans victory and 1983 All Japan Sports Prototype Championship title (Schuppan won both driving a Porsche 956).

The 962CR is based on the dominant Le Mans-winning Porsche 962 race car which Schuppan raced and owned with his own team. The carbon monocoques were built entirely by Reynard Motorsport and the body by Schuppan, although it featured design elements from the 962 race car. Final assembly took place at the 60,000 ft² Vern Schuppan Ltd production facility in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Funding was provided by Japanese investors who supported Schuppan's race team that competed in the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. Failure of payment from Japan for two cars, coupled with the high cost of the car's construction and a worldwide economic recession, forced Schuppan to declare bankruptcy, folding his car company.
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Spoiler: Additional Pictures

Chassis: #AS962CR06

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[Snikle]

A true race car for the road, even down to the looks. Curvier than the 962, and with a front end that brings to mind the Porsche 968 (and maybe even a bit of then-unreleased 996 911 in those little intakes on the front bumper below the lights) instead of the flat lines of the 962 race car. Over 10 years ago there was another "962 for the road" polled, the Dauer 962, and I think the Schuppan one does a better job of being its own thing, rather than looking like a 962 without sponsor decals. I'll hit this with a high cool, if only because while I like the design changes they made and how that differs it from a race 962, the headlights do look a little awkward. Plus I can't really get a feel for how the general public/some date would react to seeing this.

 

[Epic B]

Cool, but I'd still say the Dauer 962 is cooler.

 

[ZGBox]

I think it's Cool, but with the round headlights look a tad too strange for me, I guess?
But it's cool nonetheless.

 

[TheCracker]

A 962 for the road is cool. A 962 that looked as terrible as this did is uncool. Meh on balance.

 

[Twisteddrift]

To be honest I had no idea this car had Australian DNA in it. Sure it's a tribute to the 956 but it's a pretty unique car in Australian car culture.

 

[JohnBM01]

When most people think of Group C sportscars, a great majority of people will think of the Porsche 962C. This reminds me of something similar I saw in the beautiful "Victory by Design: Porsche" featuring Alain de Cadenet. This style is quintessential '90s supercar- wide and low. In no way do I think this car is trying to steal Porsche's thunder, trying to be a poser/poseur Porsche, or anything like that. I don't consider it Sub-Zero, and I think it is disrespect to say "Meh" or worse to this. So my call is Cool.

 

[05XR8]

I dig the wheels and the canopy. Not the front end. Looks like it could be an F50 type car, but it’s gone wrong. I’ll give it a Cool for someone making their own car.

 

[Matt Goku 59]

I like it Schuppan 962CR 1992
Schuppan 962CR his Body - half Ferrari F50 and Dauer 962 LM

 

[Tornado]

I like the conceptual idea to have a road version of the 962 look more a 959/911 instead of just slightly tweaking the 962 like Dauer did; and the rear of the car actually looks pretty good.



But oof that front end.

 

[Centroid]

Uncool, because you would have to keep explaining that its not actually a Porsche.

 

[Snikle]

Uncool, because you would have to keep explaining that its not actually a Porsche.

I mean...

You could always just lie

 

[MisterWaffles]

This one's a weird one.

I have a bit of a love/hate with homologation specials. They're really interesting because of the stories behind each of them, and having such an obvious race car driving around on public roads is always interesting and head-turning. A lot of them have become engrained in car culture, like the CLK-GTR for example. A car that only exists to go racing but is dripping in style and presence in road form. But it has a good reason for being as exclusive and impractical as it is.

The problem with homologation specials is that you buy them to essentially have a race car for the road, and you get one and driving it around is a horrible experience. The suspension is rock-hard, the steering is insanely heavy, you can't get over any speed bumps, the noise is deafening and the car is super cramped and hot, because, well, it's a race car. Then you get to the track to drive it and unfortunately it's much less effective at that sort of thing than the actual racing car it's based on. So you end up with a car that's too hard, uncomfortable and difficult for public roads, but is less useful at being a racecar than the real deal because they had to soften it up for road use.

So you sort of kind of get stuck. Homologation specials suck at being both things they were meant to be, in all honestly. Uncomfortable and impractical as a road car, less effective than their purebred counterparts.

This 962CR by Schuppan has the distinction of having all of those issues that are becoming of a homologation special, while not actually being a homologation special. Some crazy lunatic decided he wanted to drive a Group C car on the road, but he didn't have to. There were no rules to get around, no racing series to enter. Just someone who wanted to drive an almost decade-old Group C car on the road for no good reason.

Homologation specials are silly and mostly pointless as road cars, but there's a good reason why they're pointless as a road car. This is just pointless everywhere so it gets a meh. The other road-going 962C by Dauer looks much better and is a real homologation special. The Schuppan cars just aren't that pretty, and the ones with body-colour leather interiors are doubly so.

Given the choice between this and a much more mundane car like a Ferrari 355 or BMW E46 M3, I'd probably go with the latter options because they're actual road cars which were designed to be drivable, rather than a race car with leather seats that never actually raced.

 

[Matt Goku 59]

Schuppan 962CR
Between the two side of 1992 and 1994
Head 1992 better