How A Soda Distributor Beef Led To One Of The Most Photographed Race Cars Ever

The great thing about motorsports is that you’ll never hear all of the stories. I love racing in almost every form and have been privileged enough to meet some of the all-time greats, and yet every time I’m in a room with racers there’s always something new to learn. For instance, I thought I knew a lot about the famous Porsche Coca-Cola livery, but I didn’t know why it came to exist in the first place.

Is the Coca-Cola paint scheme the most iconic livery in American sports car racing? It’s up there, certainly, along with the red-white-and-blue Bob Hall Datsuns and the IMSA Toyota colors. If you’re less of a racing fan, the Apple-sponsored Porsche 935 is also a big deal. I definitely believe Bobby Akin when he says in this latest episode of “My Porsche Story” that it’s the most photographed IMSA car of the era.

You don’t have to know anything about racing to get excited about the Coca-Cola swish and that instantly recognizable bright “Coke Red” color. The Domino’s Pizza squares make it even more unforgettable. Years of advertising will generate a Pavlovian response in even the most media-phobic among us.

I’d always assumed that the reason this car existed was simply that Coca-Cola decided to sponsor a race car as that’s usually what happens. The reality is a little more interesting, though.

As Akin explains, his dad Bob Akin had started out in vintage racing before deciding to buy a Porsche 911 RSR and try his hand at Daytona. He did well enough that he attempted more races, including Le Mans, and his natural talent led him quickly into the ranks of the professionals.

But it wasn’t just his talent that led to the Coca-Cola partnerships, as his son Bobby Akin explains:

“Daytona International Raceway, built by the France Family, really came to fruition because of several partners. One of those partners was a guy named Chapman Root. The Root family owned the Coca-Cola bottling franchise for most of the South. Somebody at NASCAR decided it would be a great idea to sell the sponsorship rights to the Daytona Speedway to Pepsi. Champan Root was not happy.

The 24-Hour was the first race to happen at Daytona under the Pepsi sponsorship. Root wanted a car on the front row that first race to be covered in Coca-Cola Red. And that’s how it began. My dad got a phone call one day and [Root] said “Bob Akin, I want to sponsor your race car.”

That car was a Porsche 935 and it did its job. Technically, the deal was over, but Akin thought the Porsche looked great and having Coca-Cola’s name on it would help him get more sponsored. Who wouldn’t want to be associated with Coca-Cola?

“Five or six races in we’re at Road Atlanta and this guy walks up to my dad and says ‘Hi, are you the team owner?’ and my dad says ‘Yes’ and he says “Well, I work for Coa-Cola, and you can’t just use our brand on your car without permission. But we like it! Come see us on Monday after the Atlanta race and we’ll work something out.’ And they did, and that sponsorship went on, I think, for 12 years.”

There’s a lot more in this video about the Porsche 962 that is the most recognizable version of this livery. Bob Akin, unfortunately, died after a bad crash testing out a vintage race car at Road Atlanta in 2002, which is why Bobby is sharing the story.

As a funny footnote to all of this, back when I worked in video production at TangentVector we were tasked with making a video about the first modern use of Coca-Cola on a Porsche race car, which features a literal head-nod to the #5 Porsche 962:

There’s a lot more history about Bob and the car in the My Porsche story so please enjoy. And if you like that, check out the other ones.

Top photo: Porsche