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Porsche AG is mourning the loss of Hans Herrmann. The former racing driver passed away on 9 January 2026, at the age of 97. During his motorsport career, he achieved more than 80 overall and class victories, the vast majority of them for Porsche. Herrmann not only competed in all major endurance races and European hill climb championship events, but also conducted countless test drives at the Weissach Development Center. Above all, Hermann was instrumental in making Porsche a serious competitor in endurance racing.
“The passing of Hans Herrmann has deeply affected us all,” says Thomas Laudenbach, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “He was one of Porsche AG’s most successful factory racing drivers. With the victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 in the Porsche 917, Richard Attwood and he made history.”
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Hans Herrmann was born on 23 February 1928. He completed training as a confectioner, intending to later take over his mother’s café. However, this did not come to pass, as his talent and passion lay in motorsport. In 1952, the Stuttgart native started his first circuit race at the Nürburgring in a Porsche 356. He won. The following year, he achieved a class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche 550 Coupé. Also in 1953, Herrmann claimed the title of German Sports Car Champion. Mercedes-Benz then recruited him for their factory team, making him a colleague of Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, and Karl Kling. In 1954, Herrmann continued to race for Porsche in smaller displacement classes and won class victories in the 550 Spyder at the Carrera Panamericana and the Mille Miglia. The Mille Miglia is remembered for a particularly breathtaking moment: Herrmann drove the open mid-engine sports car under a closing railway barrier. He later captioned the image as a postcard with the words: “You have to be lucky.”
After Daimler-Benz withdrew from motorsport, he spent years with Maserati, B.R.M., Borgward, and repeatedly Porsche. In 1960, Olivier Gendebien and Herrmann triumphed with a 718 RS 60 Spyder at the 12 Hours of Sebring – Porsche’s first overall victory in a World Sportscar Championship race. Shortly afterwards, Herrmann and Joakim Bonnier won the Targa Florio in the Porsche 718 RS 60 Spyder. In the same year, he was celebrated as Formula 2 European Champion with the Porsche 718/2. In 1962, he switched to Carlo Abarth to become a factory driver for the Viennese constructor from 1963. In 1966, he returned to the Porsche factory team alongside drivers Jo Siffert, Vic Elford, Rolf Stommelen, Udo Schütz, and Gerhard Mitter.
In 1970, Herrmann faced the toughest race of his life in the Porsche 917 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “In 1969, I narrowly lost the victory to Jacky Ickx after we overtook each other several times in the last hour and a half of the race. In 1970, Ferdinand Piëch ensured we had a stronger engine and a real chance of winning. Winning exactly one year after the narrowly missed victory at Le Mans was, of course, special. It was also Porsche’s first overall victory – and it was my last race,” Herrmann said. He had already lost too many friends by that June day; his wife was worried, and Herrmann himself was clear: “It can’t be that I’m so lucky, and at some point, this phase might end.”
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About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Porsche Laments the Death of Hans Herrmann
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Porsche AG is mourning the loss of Hans Herrmann. The former racing driver passed away on 9 January 2026, at the age of 97. During his motorsport career, he achieved more than 80 overall and class victories, the vast majority of them for Porsche. Herrmann not only competed in all major endurance races and European hill climb championship events, but also conducted countless test drives at the Weissach Development Center. Above all, Hermann was instrumental in making Porsche a serious competitor in endurance racing.
“The passing of Hans Herrmann has deeply affected us all,” says Thomas Laudenbach, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “He was one of Porsche AG’s most successful factory racing drivers. With the victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 in the Porsche 917, Richard Attwood and he made history.”
Click for more.
Hans Herrmann was born on 23 February 1928. He completed training as a confectioner, intending to later take over his mother’s café. However, this did not come to pass, as his talent and passion lay in motorsport. In 1952, the Stuttgart native started his first circuit race at the Nürburgring in a Porsche 356. He won. The following year, he achieved a class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche 550 Coupé. Also in 1953, Herrmann claimed the title of German Sports Car Champion. Mercedes-Benz then recruited him for their factory team, making him a colleague of Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, and Karl Kling. In 1954, Herrmann continued to race for Porsche in smaller displacement classes and won class victories in the 550 Spyder at the Carrera Panamericana and the Mille Miglia. The Mille Miglia is remembered for a particularly breathtaking moment: Herrmann drove the open mid-engine sports car under a closing railway barrier. He later captioned the image as a postcard with the words: “You have to be lucky.”
After Daimler-Benz withdrew from motorsport, he spent years with Maserati, B.R.M., Borgward, and repeatedly Porsche. In 1960, Olivier Gendebien and Herrmann triumphed with a 718 RS 60 Spyder at the 12 Hours of Sebring – Porsche’s first overall victory in a World Sportscar Championship race. Shortly afterwards, Herrmann and Joakim Bonnier won the Targa Florio in the Porsche 718 RS 60 Spyder. In the same year, he was celebrated as Formula 2 European Champion with the Porsche 718/2. In 1962, he switched to Carlo Abarth to become a factory driver for the Viennese constructor from 1963. In 1966, he returned to the Porsche factory team alongside drivers Jo Siffert, Vic Elford, Rolf Stommelen, Udo Schütz, and Gerhard Mitter.
In 1970, Herrmann faced the toughest race of his life in the Porsche 917 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “In 1969, I narrowly lost the victory to Jacky Ickx after we overtook each other several times in the last hour and a half of the race. In 1970, Ferdinand Piëch ensured we had a stronger engine and a real chance of winning. Winning exactly one year after the narrowly missed victory at Le Mans was, of course, special. It was also Porsche’s first overall victory – and it was my last race,” Herrmann said. He had already lost too many friends by that June day; his wife was worried, and Herrmann himself was clear: “It can’t be that I’m so lucky, and at some point, this phase might end.”
AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.