Why Porsche Puts the Ignition on the Left Side
▼ Summary
– The common belief that Porsche placed ignitions left of the wheel for faster Le Mans race starts is incorrect.
– The actual reason was to save wire in early Porsche 356 models due to resource scarcity in postwar Germany.
– In pre-1970 Le Mans races, drivers would sprint to their cars and start them, with left-side ignitions supposedly saving time.
– The standing start practice ended after a 1968 accident and Jacky Ickx’s 1969 protest, leading to seated and rolling starts by 1970-1971.
– Most Porsche Le Mans race cars did not have left-side ignitions, unlike many roadgoing Porsche 356 models.
Back in 2019, a Wall Street Journal piece turned a cherished automotive legend on its head, revealing that Porsche’s left-side ignition switch owes its origin not to racing strategy but to post-war frugality. The popular belief that this design helped drivers start faster at Le Mans turns out to be a myth. Instead, engineers placed the ignition on the left in the early Porsche 356 simply to shorten wiring lengths, saving precious materials in resource-strapped Germany. That practical choice later became a signature feature, preserved more out of tradition than for any competitive edge.
The racing story goes that before 1970, drivers at the 24 Hours of Le Mans began the race by standing across the track, dashing to their cars when the flag dropped, and starting up as quickly as possible. Supposedly, a left-side ignition allowed a driver to turn the key with their left hand while their right hand worked the gearshift, saving precious seconds in the frantic sprint start. It’s a compelling tale of clever engineering aimed at gaining an early advantage.
However, two dramatic race incidents led to the abandonment of this dangerous “Le Mans start.” In 1968, driver Willy Mairesse was involved in a serious crash, reportedly after failing to properly close his Ford GT40’s door in the rush. The following year, driver Jacky Ickx staged a quiet protest by walking calmly to his car and carefully fastening his safety belts while others sped away. Ickx went on to win the race, proving that a hurried start wasn’t essential for victory. By 1970, drivers were already buckled into their cars at the start, and a rolling start format was adopted in 1971.
If the left-side ignition truly offered a critical advantage at Le Mans, one would expect to find it on most of Porsche’s competition cars from that era. The reality is quite different. While your classic road-going Porsche 356 might feature the ignition on the left, the majority of factory race cars built for Le Mans did not follow this layout. This further confirms that the famous ignition placement was a quirk of production, not a secret weapon for the racetrack.
(Source: JALOPNIK)
