This "Porsche key on the left" malarkey???

[tazzieman]

Oft repeated , said to have started the craze in 1962.

https://foxvalley.porschedealer.com/news_events/why_is_the_key_on_the_left.html

http://www.wheelsguru.com/why-a-porsche-car-has-its-ignition-key-on-left-side/

"When someone gives you the keys of a Porsche car, the first unique thing you would get to see when you get behind the wheels is the placement of the ignition. All the cars in the world have their ignition point placed on the right side of car steering. But in a Porsche car the ignition things are different; it isn’t on the right side of the steering, unlike the rest of the cars in world."

 

Yeah right. My 64 Fiat , 66&67 Mercs and 73 Land Rover have their keys on the left. Mind you they are RHD. 

LHD & RHD 928s have right sided keys. A 1950s Porsche 356 has the key on the left .

Anyhow , even though a second or two advantage in a 24 hr race is hilarious , isn't a pushbutton less weight?

And why couldn't they get their drivers to do some secret sprint training to give them an advantage?

What is this "key" thing you ask?

...You had to be born before 1995

 

 

[OZ930]

Not only did he walk, he put his seat belt on and drove away sedately to warm up the car......and won !

 

[tazzieman]

Well he was making a stand , partly because he hated sprint training and partly because he feared death.

By the mid 60s , Porsche obviously realised their brilliant innovation didn't help much...

[Coastr]

Saab’s have it in the Center console, which is far more odd than on the left.

i bet it was a design decision for some mundane reason on the 356 that had a post-hoc Motorsport explanation created.

[Stew F]

I suspect the notion of the key placement in a 911 being for LeMans is bullshit. One of those urban myths. Go to your car, jump in, start it as if the key was on the left, and drive off. Remember, you have to shut the door and dodge other cars as well.  It wouldn't have been a very quick process regardless of where the key was.

[tazzieman]

The next Q ; if Le Mans and most other circuits are clockwise/right turn dominant , thus favouring RHD (any 917 for example) , why did they go with LHD on the 908?
btw any outlws here tape their spare fuses to the steering wheel? 
Oh no I've given them ideas!

[OZ930]

On 06/04/2018 at 8:02 PM, tazzieman said:

Oft repeated , said to have started the craze in 1962.

https://foxvalley.porschedealer.com/news_events/why_is_the_key_on_the_left.html

http://www.wheelsguru.com/why-a-porsche-car-has-its-ignition-key-on-left-side/

"When someone gives you the keys of a Porsche car, the first unique thing you would get to see when you get behind the wheels is the placement of the ignition. All the cars in the world have their ignition point placed on the right side of car steering. But in a Porsche car the ignition things are different; it isn’t on the right side of the steering, unlike the rest of the cars in world."

 

Yeah right. My 64 Fiat , 66&67 Mercs and 73 Land Rover have their keys on the left. Mind you they are RHD. 

LHD & RHD 928s have right sided keys. A 1950s Porsche 356 has the key on the left .

Anyhow , even though a second or two advantage in a 24 hr race is hilarious , isn't a pushbutton less weight?

And why couldn't they get their drivers to do some secret sprint training to give them an advantage?

What is this "key" thing you ask?

...You had to be born before 1995

 

 

LHD 911s the key is on the LHS, RHD 911s the key is on the RHS.