The incredible story of the Porsche Monte Carlo 911 rally car

The story of the inspirational Porsche Monte Carlo 911 rally car

In 1965, Porsche gave the 911 its motorsport debut. Six decades later, it’s inspired a new TAG Heuer watch

January 22, 2025

Porsche Monte Carlo 911 1965 car, driven by Walter Röhrl

The 911 is an icon on the road but also of motorsport. Discover how its racing career began – and about the new TAG Heuer watch created in its honour

Porsche DNA has motorsport running through it. It’s been that way since the very beginning when, back in 1948, the first Porsche sportscar – the 356 – was unveiled to the world. Its prime attributes – light weight, superb aerodynamics and great handling – would inform the next great sportscar from Porsche, a decade and a half later. A car that since its launch in 1963, has become a bona fide automotive icon, on road and on track, over the ensuing 60-plus years. The 911.

The Porsche 911 enters the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally

The 911 was designed for the road but had all the necessary attributes to excel in motorsport too. An opportunity to show the world what this new sportscar could do wasn’t lost on Huschke von Hanstein, who was both racing director and press officer at Porsche in 1964. So he came up with the idea to enter a 911 in one of the world’s toughest and best-known races, the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally. Taking place each January, the Monte Carlo Rally was – and still remains – one of the highlights of the winter motorsport calendar. Back in 1965, significant media coverage across Europe and beyond was guaranteed, making it the perfect event for the 911 to make its debut in a motorsport competition.

Porsche 911 on snowy road during 1965 Monte Carlo Rally — When the Porsche 911 made its motorsport debut at the Monte Carlo Rally in 1965, it was seen as a chance to raise the new car’s profile and showcase its performance and reliability credentials. Sixty years later, the 911 is an icon of both the road and motorsport Photo: Porsche

The first Porsche 911 used in motorsport: the details

A 911 2.0 Coupé in Ruby Red was picked from the production line to compete in the rally, its interior featuring the now-legendary Porsche Pepita cloth, with artificial leather. There was only relatively minor mechanical adjustments made to the rally car from the road-going 911, in the form of a slight power boost (from the standard 132PS to around 142-152PS) and upgraded Weber carburettors.

Besides this, the 911 received the kind of necessary adaptations that cars taking part in rallying generally received – including a rollover bar, a pair of extra front headlights, and a roof headlight which could be operated by the co-driver for those cold, wintry night stages. The car also featured a Halda Twinmaster, a dashboard-mounted box that was able to measure distances and check speeds, as well as a Heuer Rally Master timekeeping device. Despite all these additions, the car’s weight remained changed from the road-going version.

Herbert Linge and Peter Falk with Porsche Monte Carlo 911 — The two men tasked with piloting the Porsche 911 in its competitive motorsport debut at the Monte Carlo Rally were Porsche race driver Herbert Linge (right) and Peter Falk (left) – seen here with the 911 2.0 Coupé in January 1965 Photo: Porsche

Who drove the Porsche 911 at the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally?

The two co-drivers who were given the nod to drive the Porsche 911 in its maiden motorsport event were Germany’s Herbert Linge and Peter Falk. But they were more than just regular pilots – the two men also had the technical skills to keep the car in tip-top shape, in what would be gruelling conditions.

In those days, competitors were able to depart from a point equidistant from Monte Carlo, with all entrants finishing at the Royal Palace in the Principality. Cars departed from venues including London, Paris, Athens and Stockholm. Linge and Falk started out from Bad Homburg, just north of Frankfurt, before heading to Chambéry in the foothills of the Alps in south-west France to join up with the other competitors. The winter of 1964-1965 was particularly fierce and Linge and Falk had to battle snow throughout their route across Holland, Belgium and France. “We often just used the compass to drive in the snowstorms,” Falk would later admit.

Herbert Linge and Peter Falk with Porsche 911 in 2016 — In 2016, Peter Falk and Herbert Linge recreated their pose from the debut 911 motorsport campaign with a fully-restored version of the car they drove Photo: Porsche

Conditions worsened as they entered France’s Alpine region, but the unique attributes of the 911, combined with the skill of the men piloting it, meant that it kept ploughing on southwards towards the finish, while many others had fallen by the wayside. The fact that competitors who made it to the finish line would be greeted by the monarch, Prince Rainier, and his actress wife Grace Kelly – one of the biggest Hollywood stars of the post-war era – meant there would be even more eyes on the 911 were it to make it to the end.

But to do that, Linge and Falk would have to conquer the notorious final night-time stage of the rally, over the infamous Col de Turini. The duo had put aside a set of studded tyres in anticipation of the icy challenge – but had to give them up to another Porsche car in the form of a 904 driven by Eugen Böhringer and Rolf Wütherich, who were lying in second place overall. Despite this setback for the 911 drivers, Linge and Falk managed to finish fifth overall, one of just 22 finishers out of the 237 that originally set out for Monte Carlo. A remarkable achievement given that it was the car’s competitive debut.

Interior of restored Porsche Monte Carlo 911 — Having been bought by a German collector, the historic Monte Carlo 911 driven at the 1965 rally underwent a full restoration by the experts at Porsche Classic in 2013. Note details like its Pepita cloth seats and dashboard-mounted Heuer Rally Master on the far right Photo: Porsche

The 911 breaks Monte Carlo Rally records

That fifth-placed finished confirmed that the 911 had everything that was needed to be competitive in motorsport. And, just three years later, the 911 would win its first Monte Carlo Rally when legendary British driver, Vic Elford, with co-driver David Stone, triumphed in a 911 T after a dramatic battle with the Renault Alpine of France’s Gérard Larrousse on the final night stage on the Col de Turini.

A 911 took the winner’s garland in 1969 and 1970 too, driven on both occasions by one of rallying’s all-time greats, Sweden’s Björn Waldegård. It meant that the 911 had pulled off an unprecedented hat-trick. While Porsche did not enter a works 911 in the rally from 1971 onwards, the success of the 911 on the rally led to a host of privateers driving their own 911 racecars in future years. Six decades on and the 911 – both in classic or contemporary forms – is still competing in and winning races on track and rallies all over the world.

Heuer dashboard timer and clock in Porsche Monte Carlo 911 — This Heuer Rally Master stopwatch and timer was fitted in the 1965 Monte Carlo 911 rally car. Six decades on, the car itself has helped inspire a new TAG Heuer timepiece Photo: Porsche

How the first Porsche 911 Monte Carlo Rally car was restored

After competing in the first-ever competitive race for a 911, the 1965 Monte Carlo car would end up being driven in local race meetings in the south of France for many more years. Eventually, the decision was made to retire after the decades of wear and tear started to take its toll. After a Porsche historic racing car specialist was alerted to the special provenance of the 911, the car was sent back home to Germany, having been bought by a Porsche collector.

Porsche Monte Carlo 911 in French town, Walter Röhrl behind — The Monte Carlo 911 – seen here resplendent in restored form and watched over by legendary race driver and Porsche ambassador, Walter Röhrl – surprised many with fifth place overall on its race debut in 1965 Photo: Porsche

And this is where the third life of this extraordinary 911 racecar would begin. In June 2013, the Monte Carlo 911 was handed to the restoration experts that know how to revive a classic 911 better than anyone else – Porsche Classic in Stuttgart. A complete resto was required, with extensive new components, a body shell dipped in a cathodic coating and new electrics. It sparkles inside and out, with its freshly Pepita-trimmed seats as much of a wow factor as ever and the Twinmaster and the Heuer Rally Master clock and stop watches – the latter wearing its patina beautifully – remaining true standout features on the car’s dashboard.

The TAG Heuer Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche Rallye watch – inspired by the Monte Carlo 911

The first 911 to compete in a motorsport event would prove to be an inspiration for every racecar model since. Now, that Monte Carlo 911 has also inspired a new timepiece – the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche Rallye watch. At its heart is a TH20-08 Chronosprint movement, while its design draws from elements of the legendary Monte Carlo 911, referencing the Heuer Rally Master dashboard timer fitted in the car, such as its black dial. Its strong contrast and legibility was an essential element during the low visibility conditions encountered by Linge and Falk on the rally itself.

Model wearing TAG Heuer watch inspired by Porsche rally car — The TAG Heuer Carrera Chronosprint x Porsche Rallye watch takes plenty of inspiration from the famous 1965 Monte Carlo Rally Porsche 911 car Photo: Porsche

The watch’s beige markings are further inspired by the steering wheel of that first 911 rally car, while the dial’s shimmering finish is a reference to the restored car’s sparkling bodywork. Meanwhile, the red lines on the right-hand side of the watch face are designed to give the impression of speed – with a 0-100km/h (0-62mph) calculated acceleration time of 8.4 seconds during the rally, the car had posted a mark 0.7 seconds quicker than the 911 launch model in 1963 (back when it was originally known as the 901).

Elsewhere, the caseback reveals a Porsche-inspired rotor while the watch is presented in a Ruby Red-coloured lacquered wood box, complete with a miniature model of the 911 rally car – number 147 – that inspired it.

Consumption and emission information

911 Carrera S (WLTP): Fuel consumption combined: 10.9 – 10.3 l/100 km (preliminary value); CO₂ emissions combined: 246 – 233 g/km (preliminary value); CO₂ class: G (preliminary value).

Two boys hug, looking at Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7

The top Porsche events of 2025

From the Bay Area to Bangkok, sportscars to racecars, air-cooled to turbo-charged, discover the top events and experiences bringing the Porsche community together in 2025

Porsche Taycan Turbo pod car in Den of Thieves 2

Porsche Taycan turns into a movie stunt car for Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

The inside story of the five specially modified Porsche Taycan Turbo models used in the film’s heart-pounding car chase sequences

Collage of some top Porsche social media moments of 2024

The top Porsche community moments on social media in 2024

How the best photographers, videographers and digital artists represented their passion for Porsche in 2024 on social media