On March 29, 2019, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled, “The Real Reason Porsche Ignitions Are Left of the Wheel.” The key takeaway is that the claim that left-of-wheel ignitions sped up starts in pre-1970 Le Mans races is inaccurate. Instead, this design choice originated from the need to conserve wiring in early Porsche 356 models, due to the scarcity of resources in postwar Germany, and has mostly continued out of tradition. This revelation was quite unexpected.
The supposed advantage of left-side ignition is based on racing history: before 1970, drivers participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans would dash from the starting line to their cars at the signal and quickly start them. Positioning the ignition on the left allowed drivers to clutch the gear shift with their right hand while using their left to turn the key, saving precious seconds.
However, two incidents brought about a change in this practice: an accident in 1968 involving driver Willy Mairesse, who mishandled his Ford GT40 door, and a memorable slow start by Jacky Ickx in 1969, who, despite being barely buckled in, ended up winning the race. By 1970, drivers were seated at the start, and the rolling start format was adopted in 1971.
If key placement was crucial for victory, wouldn’t that imply most pre-1970 Porsches at Le Mans had ignitions on the left? Not quite. While the average roadgoing Porsche 356 Super 90 Coupe features a left-side ignition, this was not the case for the majority of Le Mans Porsche cars.
Insights from Le Mans Porsche Interiors
Examining the dashboards from Porsche’s pre-1970 Le Mans vehicles reveals where the ignitions were actually placed. Here’s a summary: if the ignition is on the same side as the gear lever, we’ll label it as “same,” while opposite placement will be termed “opposite.”
- 356 SL Gmünd Coupe: same
- 550s: same
- 718s: same
- 356 Carrera GTL Abarth: same
- 904s: same
- 906s: same
- 910s: same
- 907s: opposite
- 908s: opposite
- 911s: opposite
- 917s: opposite
Out of 11 models, seven had the ignition on the same side as the gear lever. The 907s, 908s, and 917s had right-hand drives, but their gear levers were positioned on the right side of the car, placing the ignition on the far side of the wheel. Conversely, the 911s have consistently maintained an “opposite” key and shifter layout.
The Evolution of Ignition Placement
The first Porsche factory-backed vehicle with a left-side ignition was the right-hand-drive 907 introduced in 1967. It won its class, but the other competitors like the 910s and 906s also performed admirably, with the 906 even clinching its own class win.
Porsche has also varied key placement in their production cars over the years. The 928, released in 1978, featured the ignition on the right side, as did the 944, which premiered in 1982. In fact, as early as 1954, the 356 Speedster had its ignition on the right, contradicting Porsche’s statement in 2017 that all consumer models since 1925 utilized left-side ignitions.
Referring back to the Wall Street Journal article, author Dan Neil interviewed Klaus Bischof, a curator at the Porsche Museum, in 2008. Bischof explained that the ignition placement on the left of the 1948 Porsche 356-001 was simply a measure to save wire, as the company was operating in a resource-constrained environment in Gmünd, Austria.
Despite the historical evidence, Porsche continues the narrative that left-side placement provided a competitive advantage. However, the story about saving wire seems like a more compelling rags-to-riches tale. As Porsche prepares to exit the World Endurance Championship due to financial issues, the “riches” aspect is indeed again under scrutiny.
