Racing with Giants: Porsche at Le Mans - narrated by Patrick Dempsey

On the 100th anniversary of the running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France, and the 75th anniversary of Porsche, Mobil 1 and Hagerty Media are proud to present a documentary on the intertwined, rich history of this storied race and the most-winning brand to ever cross its finish line.
Narrated by actor/racer and Le Mans podium-finisher Patrick Dempsey, this documentary features a mixture of archival footage with firsthand interviews of Le Mans winners Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell, Allan McNish, Nick Tandy and Patrick Long as well as with notable brand enthusiasts Rod Emory and Spike Feresten, plus future Le Mans hopeful Loni Unser.
This film also illustrates the strong and direct connection that the Porsche brand possesses when it comes to developing new technology on the track and translating that into the road cars that enthusiasts know and love.
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About the film: Racing with Giants: Porsche at Le Mans is a collaboration between Mobil 1 and Hagerty, who chose to partner with with two-time Primetime Emmy Award and Peabody Award winner Robert Dalrymple and his production company to produce a film that will connect the race cars to the road cars they inspired, showcasing Porsche’s engineering expertise and unprecedented history of dominance at the world’s most grueling endurance race.
Through this documentary, viewers will see industry titans as they dive deep into the biggest race in endurance racing, including:
• Nick Tandy: 2015 Porsche Le Mans winning driver and current Penske Porsche 963 driver
• Spike Feresten: Podcast host, television personality, comedy writer
• Rod Emory: Renowned restorer of Porsche
• Patrick Long: Former Porsche factory driver
• Derek Bell: Five-time Le Mans winning and Formula 1 winning driver
• Jacky Ickx: Six-time Le Mans winning and Formula 1 wining driver
• Allan McNish: 3-Time Le Mans winning driver including the 1998 Porsche Mobil 1 GT1 race car
• Loni Unser: Professional race car driver and member of the legendary Unser racing family
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Like what you see? Watch our other series including:
Redline Rebuilds | Time-lapse engine rebuilds from start to finish bit.ly/RedlineR...
Barn Find Hunter | Tom Cotter searches the country for abandoned cars bit.ly/BarnFInd...
Jason Cammisa on the Icons | The definitive car review
bit.ly/JasonCa...
Revelations | Untold Stories About Automotive Legends with Jason Cammisa
bit.ly/JasonCa...
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[@the.squidd]

Now that's how you make an automotive documentary.

[@AutoAnomoly]

I think they have been taking tips from you

[@jaydo1001]

Dude I been loving your content as well

[@ribbles1699]

Anything that gives me chills is a win - your stuff included.

[@boog3y]

[@alphaenterprise2232]

@@AutoAnomoly quite the opposite, I don't try to insult SQUIDD's phenomenal automotive documentaries, I just want to state that Hagerty is doing such documentaries longer.

[@budja1501]

Okay Hagerty, just casually releasing top quality content for anybody to watch

[@wcaswell11]

Rycled as wit

[@dalibormilic139]

It's a promotional video ... with due respect to their racing heritage but claiming that 911 Turbo has a linear delivery of power or that 959 was the world's *first* supercar should be a hint ... also part about people losing their mind over 959 is a blatant lie ... they COULD NOT sell them then ... F40 outsold it at leats 10 to 1 ... so next time please Hagerty don't pass it as a documentary - you should be better than that

[@YoungShul]

@@dalibormilic139 not the worlds first supercar, but the car signifying the start of the supercar era.

[@dalibormilic139]

@@YoungShul it's not what they said and in any case that is also not true ... they actually added at the end that it was a first modern supercar which is true though

[@ropi4524]

I M a simple man. I can confirm.

[@onlysilv]

I feel like Hagerty makes "historical preservation grade" videos at this point!! We are lucky to hear these stories from the men themselves!

[@jimjones-pz1tt]

With Loni "historically correct" Unser!

[@speedpatrickp174]

D Bell. Frickin' living legend.

[@mohamedalkaboom]

Fucking

[@billmoyer3254]

Pedro Rodriguez was better

[@autsvapors1612]

Share this video and spread the word, so it encourages Hagerty to keep producing amazing films like this. Great video! Historical facts, original footage, personal accounts and great narration. Thank you so much for this. It makes me sad to see the view and like count isn’t as high as it should be. I can’t thank this channel enough!!

[@midnight71_DRVR]

Simply one of the best things I have ever watched on KZbin, mindblowing to think this level of production is available for free and for everybody on this platform! Hats off Hagerty!

[@jrbuch]

The 993 GT1 for me is such a special car. This was a great 47 minute watch.

[@mjvdr]

*1996 911 GT1. They were not officially called 993's and the '97 and '98 ones were definitely not called 996's, as they were developments from the '96 GT1, just with different bodywork and lights. Sorry for the nerdy comment, but it's a very common misconception, so I'm trying to spread the word as much as possible. Oh and regardless of its name, its definitely an amazing car :)

[@bicyclist2]

Agreed. I prefer the look of the 993 GT1 to the 996 GT1.

[@marksanzone4948]

The GT1...still phenomenal!!

[@madyogi6164]

911 Turbo, 965, 917, 919. And if I had to (lol) had a pleasure to go retro and on the street *959*

[@ManrajSingh4U]

One of the best automotive documentaries I have ever watched.

[@paulmcdonald9592]

This video brings it all together. Hurly, Derrick, Jackie and Hans. Mass and Wollek. Al Holbert as well. Stuck too. The balls and determination they had.. Nicely produced presentation. Thank you.

[@m00nkinftw]

Ever since I discovered Le Mans as a kid, I'm completely fascinated by it. Due to the nature of the track there's just nothing like with ridiculously long straights (especially before the chicanes on the Mulsanne straight) and it produced some very interesting cars that clearly had a lot more focus on top speed. Watching cars do 240+ mph in the 80's was absolutely wild, and to this day the race at Le Mans is an annual get together for me and my friends as we watch the race from start to end.

[@lubricator]

Great video! When it came across my feed, I opened it with the intention of only watching a couple of minutes now, but I found it so interesting I couldn't stop watching and continued on to the end. Now, I look forward with great anticipation to this years Le Mans.

[@frankcedeno9890]

I shared this video with my brother, who also likes Porsche but is a casual fan. It ended up starting a conversation that lead to numerous Google searches and him understanding my near addiction to Porsche and racing as a whole. He's no longer a casual fan

[@kurtismotif]

I watch every documentary and clip I can find on Porsche and Le Mans. Racing in general Dakar, Le Mans, Daytona, Baja, F1, KTM, Porsche, Ferrari, NASCAR, GT, Indy, Cart, drift, flat track, dirt track, motocross, endro, adventure, this is one of the best documentaries Ive ever seen on racing and probably is the best Porsche documentary Ive ever seen. Good Job Hagerty Media and Mobil 1. So many little quotes and clips and supporting media, no British guys mispronouncing it.... its packed, the footage its awesome, really enjoyed it. Thanks. Really. This is everything thats good about human beings, Its the best of what we are made out of and what we can be and do, you literally have to leave the planet to up the game.

[@user-gl2eq2ly4g]

"British guys mispronouncing it: ??????

[@KRJoye]

Fantastic tribute to Porsche's effort and their drivers that successfully ran in Le Mans. And the story goes on...

[@棚からぼた餅-u4g]

Likeitlancajc2

[@mannygarcia1810]

Best 47 minutes I've spent today

[@YouArbTube]

How many people think Le Mans is more exciting to watch than F1?

[@Ariespradana13]

Le Mans is exciting IF Toyota not win 🗿

[@adrianprado7981]

@YouArbTube sad p

[@anesennaidoo5279]

Oh wow Hagerty! Look at you!!! Class act of a production 👏👏

[@Z-Twinturbo]

at first I was surprised Patrick Dempsey narrated this documentary but it actually makes perfect sense, since he's been an iconic face for that race for years now. It's always interesting content with Le Mans

[@vx8952]

This KZbin channel will forever be in the hearts of all modern car fans, this is one awesome automotive documentary and I am privileged to have learned about the 24hrs of Le Mans in such detail! :)

[@bicyclist2]

I've been a massive fan of Porsche since the early 80's. I got to ride in my uncles 1970's 911 SC targa as a kid. Very cool. Great documentary. Thank you.

[@orionsmith7668]

What a great story. Excellent work Hagerty!

[@dappergent9422]

Stunning and remarkable documentary. When you see these beautiful cars and hear the engines, you realise how lucky we were. EV's will never replace the soul of an engine. Period.

[@Stingraeee]

I felt goosebump every seconds of the video.

[@TheIansp997]

Fantastic video I grew up watching Porsche winning Le Mans. Born in 1963 and growing up in Germany I had to love Porsche and I have owned at least 6 👍

[@ulysse21]

Let me gues... they were all 911s

[@thecompanioncube4211]

This honestly is something deserving of a movie

[@g-woody]

What a great video. There truly is no substitute!

[@jeff69cpl]

Probably the best mini-documentary about Porsche and Le Mans I've ever seen, glad that YT recommended it to me. I wish it was a little longer (60 minutes maybe) because I feel like the ending was rushed (the Porsche 919 part feels too short and too much information was missing about what happened at the time) but, despite of that, great production, great cast of Porsche legends and the info was amazing, I learned a lot seeing this. Really loved to see this as a Porsche fan, all the success that the brand have in Le Mans as (maybe) the most successful manufacturer in endurance racing, thanks for this Hagerty 💛💚

[@2bitgypsy]

Outstanding and important work you have put together. Stunning blend of historical archive, engaging storytelling and cinematic production. Kudos!

[@EstebanDonJuanCarlos]

As a long-time Porsche lover and now, owner (986)... This doc makes me feel so proud!!

[@djosbun]

I met Patrick Long when he was driving for the Flying Lizard race team. He went out of his way to speak directly with my son, making him feel special. Patrick is a superb race car driver and the perfect ambassador for Porsche.

[@paulwright1196]

Beautiful film. Thanks. And thanks for turning off the ads.

[@SieTeppischfresser]

Much love for Patrick Long. He's a hero of mine, as are moat of the drivers featured here. What a great history of cars and drivers Porsche has.

[@mariapires7170]

Patrick of course, and nowadays , Kevin Estre for sure!

[@Roguescienceguy]

Having monsieur LeMans in this documentary, le beau Jacky (Ickx), was absolutely amazing.

[@rongreen8485]

I was bit by the Porsche bug at 19 on my 3rd 911 now. I was fortunate to meet Roger Penski in Kent Washington while working for a Detroit Diesel Distributor back in 1995 nice guy. This documentary is first class, Hagerty thanks for keeping history alive. BTW your car insurance is first class.

[@ypsilonSKY]

Great documentery about the greatest race with the greatest sportcarmanufacturer with some of the greatest drivers with one of the greatest production quality on KZbin. Thank you Hagerty!

[@MrJearley6]

Thank you for this video. This is your subscriber from Los Angeles. Just watching his video. I am so glad either met these guys or know them because I see them two or three times out of the year and I’m talking about the ones that are in Los Angeles. If you ever meet Patrick along, he is a very nice guy if you ever meet him or maybe some of you guys have met him Bruce Myers very nice guy. I see him three or four times out of the year maybe sometimes more than that depending on what type of car event is going on and I want to say thank you to Pelican Parts for letting them use the garage the workshop thank you I always love looking at those cars in the garage and last release when I first saw the 959 when they were filming and I couldn’t believe who was driving the damn car Jackie Ickx! Because I don’t live too far from where they were filming up in Palos Verdes, California. Well, thank you for this video.

[@eichler721]

Hagerty is the best mainstream car enthusiasts channel and is sadly under appreciated. Quality content from real car journalists and car people.

[@ritarossweisse_]

I love this type of video. Please do more documentaries like this! This is awesome!!

[@charlesmares4143]

Well done guys! Now I want a Porsche!

[@phukfone8428]

This is what it took to make you want a Porsche? Not growing up a little boy aware of the automotive world; But a KZbin video...

[@JoshuaC923]

Thanks for putting in such a high production value film!

[@ryanlynch7032]

Best KZbin content i've seen for a long long time. Sometimes you forget KZbin's potential.

[@Pyrrho_]

This was one of the best car documentaries I've seen in quite a while. Very well done, Hagerty... and thank you. :)

[@butziporsche8646]

Great narration by Pat Dempsey

[@TheSRC900]

Phenomenal documentary! Thank you so much, what a legendary heritage Porsche has been creating throughout the years!

[@georgeclark142]

Beautiful video thank you for sharing this wonderful history.❤

[@bruces3613]

My first race experience was the San Antonio IMSA Camel GP, Derek Bell and Al Holbert in the beautiful Lowenbrau 962. Fantastic

[@10millTrucking]

another Haggerty masterpiece 🤟🏾

[@Maxt305]

Another incredible production by Hagerty! Thank you for sharing the history of Le Mans I can’t to finish watching this. Looking forward to more videos like this in the future.

[@richchilds8173]

A top way to spend 47 minutes of my life. What a great presentation...absolutely riveting from start to finish. The interviews, commentary, history, production relativity...just fantastic. Thank you Hagerty for yet another fantastic, informative and entertaining presentation.

[@nickt8972]

Favourite Porsche race cars for me is the 917s, short and long tails, followed by a very close second, the 935s...beasts of vehicles. What's so amazing is how Porsche won so many races, and classes, in the era, right up to the 956/962s...beautiful cars too, were powered by air cooled engines. You don't see that happen again in this day and age. Never be repeated again.

[@killaco23]

Shocks me this video does not have millions of views already. Just incredible. ❤

[@DanyCesc83]

This was glorious to watch, such a treat! the best fathers Day pre-gift, thank you, Hagerty, Thank you Porsche and to the staff who put this together and worked behind the scenes.

[@KellymossInc]

Absolutely love to see this history being captured! Hats off to Hagerty, Mobil 1 and the passions behind this project!! All should be proud.

[@ciciriellov]

Thank you Hagerty for this outstanding documentary.

[@Shootout_23]

That was the best documentary I’ve ever watched. Cheers to you guys.

[@Sarmor1985]

Absolutely stunning production you’ve put out there ! Bravo !

[@rickintexas1584]

Thanks to all who brought is this wonderful documentary.

[@efro4812]

@Hagerty produce more content like this. These historical races and interviews with the drivers are just amazing and you are preserving more of the motorsport heritage by producing these great documentaries.

[@mmartel]

Excellent piece. I'm a sucker for all things Le Mans related and although I haven't always been cheering for Porsche, it is simply *impossible* not to have the utmost respect for their legacy as a champion -- the drivers, teams, programs and philosophy are top notch. Very well done!

[@karlhurn]

Love Patrick Longs Mobil pegasus sweatshirt. Where’s it from Patrick? 👌😎 Awesome video too! 💪🏻

[@Commander-McBragg]

This is serious production. Dempsey is the real deal, and the whole video oozes quality.

[@kriordan25]

Rare for me to watch something as long as this but I could not turn away Thank you

[@adityasingh1657]

Huge applause for creating such a great documentary, need more of this

[@OdyTypeR]

This is waaay too good for KZbin.

[@surfakimo2674]

Oh it’s by Hagerty, I’m in!! The group is always entertaining while teaching you something you didn’t know. Brava!! team.

[@PROJECT1_]

Nothing like hearing the stories from the men who made history themselves. What a watch.

[@c_woelfl]

This is superb. Thank you for making this and thank you for making this free to watch

[@danv8717]

The perfect guy to narrate this.

[@Derf1313]

Very nice piece of history, it filled in so many holes of what I thought I knew... Extremely well put together video, probably will re-watch a couple of times! Thanx !

[@dawndark1232]

Wow this one of the best documentaries. Thank you so much. Perfect

[@nirfz]

I think the single most underrated sentence of this video is at 5:03. It did not only win it's class, it also beat all cars of the class above! As far as i remember (i have a booklet of Porsche at Le Mans from 5-10 years ago) Porsche rented a Shed somewhere in the area where they prepped the cars for the race. And they still did that in the 70's. A handfull of mechanics, usually 3-5 cars in a shed. And the cars had to drive on public roads to the track for the race.

[@BlueHopi144]

the 24 hours are happening this week-end synchronistically , Amazing Documentary . I went to dive on small portions of the circuit 4 years ago & it felt amazing . Now i don't live very far from it .....what a Legend

[@ron8566]

Excellent! Thank you.

[@reusserfarm1]

what a great compilation of all of Porsche’s victories at LeMans and insight behind the scenes. I sure hope Roger Penske is rewarded with his first LeMans victory with Porsche this year.

[@sheckyvision]

Wow - this was FAR better than anything on “TV” - thanks Hagerty

[@sarfrazahmed8178]

This is one of the best documentaries I have seen cars. Great job!

[@billnorblat4047]

Really great, guys. Thank you

[@tommarino69]

That could've been released in cinemas, absolutely fantastic! Hopefully Porsche can get another win this year with that beautiful 963.

[@dougrobinson8602]

Just superb documentary film making. Hagerty is crushing it. Thank you to them for making such wonderful videos for us to enjoy at no cost. Their passion for automobiles and the art of driving is unmatched!

[@oldcrow187]

Beautiful, Thank You!

[@27rauf]

It's unbelievable! What a remarkable movie! Thanks Hagerty!

[@ronniet906]

Just Brilliant, thank you for producing this Le Mans Porsche documentary and Patrick for your narration 👍

[@ahmeds.2557]

This has to be one of the top documentaries about Porsche. Well done guys

[@PorscheRacer14]

Brilliant production and scope of work. Let's see if there's some magic and luck for La Sarthe this year.

[@twillis449]

Great to see those interviews with all-time great Porsche drivers Derek Bell and Jackie Ickx. There's another interview on KZbin where Bell says he liked driving down the Mulsanne Straight at night alone with his thoughts. I'd be terrified that when I come up to a smaller car it would move the wrong way and there would be a gigantic collision.

[@edimalan14]

Spike made me come and watch this and it doesn’t disappoint

[@ashleysaini3694]

Solid story telling and movie making. Love to see the evolution of cars and Porsche development. The stories explained by the drivers and their vivid details of technical understanding was well edited. 👌

[@leongmarc]

Wonderful stories about Porsche racing in Le Mans. Fantastic documentary.

[@chrislakous5236]

It is amazing to get a victory at LeMans sooooo many people put in soooo much work, luck circumstance, and raw performance 👏

[@Xbox-YouRingPiece]

First 30 secs of footage and narration, Yes please!!!! Awesome!!!! Holy shot, this keeps getting better and better. I stopped eating my food I'm so into this! 💪

[@motorraveraustralia6254]

Wow, what a great documentary. Thank you Hagerty.

[@kerongranger2229]

Really nice timing with this wonderfully produced documentary since Le Mans is next week 👏 What a manufacturer! Great job to the Hagerty team❤

[@LaCorvette]

That was really good. So happy I found this stunning documentary. Thanks Hagerty.

[@scottimusgarrett15]

What a great doc. Kudos to everyone involved in the making of this; without hyperbole, awesome job! If you've ever seen a cutaway drawing of a 917, you realize how gigantic those driver's cojones were. ✌️❤️🙂🇨🇦

[@urbanstrencan]

Amazing automotive documentary, The Porsche nameplate is just legendary, awesome to see the story :)

[@xwedel]

I never knew Jerry Seinfeld owned a 917K, that’s awesome - Just like the documentary. Hagerty is putting out extreme quality productions, and they're entirely free.

[@samsteele1786]

Nice job Hagerty. You chaps got this one absolutely right. Loved the ending scene with Jackie and Derek. Keep up the awesome work.

[@lynncunningham6606]

Well done, Hagerty. What an excellent review of Le Mans and the Porsche tradition. Thank you!!

[@gilbata]

Super impressive drive, properly sending it, such quick and smooth gear changes and heel’n’toe, as it must be. Senna was my childhood idol, this was a treat

[@robertdavis6708]

Top Notch stuff here people. I hope Roger lives long enough to see his victory at Le Mans. He deserves it.