Vernon "Vern" Schuppan (born 19 March 1943) is a racing driver from Whyalla, South Australia. He drove in various categories, but arguably most of his success was as a sports car driver and was heavily associated with Porsche till the end of his career.
He won the 1974 and 1976 Macau Grand Prix races (a prestigious non-championship event) - in 1974 by four laps.
He participated in 13 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, mostly for Ensign and Surtees, debuting on 12 May 1974. He scored no championship points.
He competed in three Indianapolis 500 races (1976, 1979, 1981), with a best result of third in 1981 driving a McLaren-Ford. Also, in Australia in 1976 Schuppan won the Rothmans International Series (a Formula 5000 series) in a Lola T332.
He was the 1983 Japanese Sports-Prototype Champion, and followed his 1976 5th place finish and 1977 & 1982 2nd place finishes of the 24 hours of Le Mans by winning in 1983 driving a Porsche 956 with Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood.
With Japanese backing, he also produced a road going evolution of the Porsche 962 called the Schuppan 962CR. At the then price of 195 million yen (1.5 million USD) only six were built.
Payment failed to arrive for two of the vehicles after they were shipped to Japan. This, coupled with the high cost of the car's construction and the worldwide recession, forced Schuppan to declare bankruptcy. Schuppan then also co-owned an Indy Lights team with Stefan Johansson.
In May 2006, Schuppan was elected into the Club International des Anciens Pilotes de Grand Prix F1, an eminent organisation based in Monaco.[1]
