Porsche 917 is First Produced

The Porsche 917 is a racecar that gave Porsche its first overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. Powered by the Type 912 flat-12 engine of 4.5, 4.9, or 5 litres, the long-tailed version was capable of a 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time of 2.7 seconds (917/30 0-200 km/h 5.3 seconds) a top speed of over 240 mph (390 km/h).

All of the 917 versions in total are 6 unique cars. The least-powered version is the 917K (the most successful), produces around 620bhp. There is also a long-tail version (917LH), a "pig" version, modified 917K with the 908 rear spoilers and the 917/30. In the 1973 Can-Am series, the turbocharged version Porsche 917/30 developed over 1,100 bhp (820 kW), and as much as 1,580 bhp (1,180 kW) in qualifying tune.
The 917 is one of the most iconic sports racing cars of all time, largely for its high speeds and high power outputs, and was made into a movie star by Steve McQueen in his 1971 film Le Mans.

2009 marks the 40th anniversary of the 917 and Porsche will hold special birthday celebrations at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed (3-5 July).

In an effort to reduce the speeds generated at Le Mans and other fast circuits of the day by the unlimited capacity Group 6 prototypes (such as the 7 litre Ford GT40 Mk.IV and 4 litre V12 Ferrari P) the Commission Sportive Internationale (then the independent competition arm of the FIA) announced that the International Championship of Makes would be run for 3 litre Group 6 prototypes for four years from 1968 through 1971. This capacity reduction would also serve to entice manufacturers who were already building 3 litre Formula One engines into endurance racing.
Well aware that few manufacturers were ready to take up the challenge immediately, the CSI also allowed the participation of 5 litre Group 4 Sports Cars, of which a minimum of 50 units had to be manufactured. This targeted existing cars like the aging Ford GT40 Mk.I and the newer Lola T70 coupe.

In April 1968, facing few entran...

Just because we love it….and because it's just turned 40.

This week marks the 40th anniversary of the Porsche 917.

The car was first displayed at Geneva on March 12, 1969.

Development of the 917 commenced in July of 1968 in complete secrecy to avoid leaked information of its existence reaching Porsche’s number one competitor – Ferrari. The car features a 4.5 lite flat 12 engine and a spaceframe that many consider too light and flexible, however; during the development period Porsche also developed a flat 16 prototype designed for a capacity up to 7.2 litres.

The Spa 1000km of 11 May 1969 saw the 917’s competition debut.

The car was initially deemed “incredibly unstable” by development driver Brian Redman and “extremely dangerous” by Hans Herman.

However an intense development programme through 1969 saw the car ultimately developed into one of the most successfully race cars of all time. It went on to win Le Mans in 1970 and returned in ’71 with the Martini and Gulf-Wyer teams to completely dominate the event.

The Long Tailed Le Mans racer was capable of 0-100km/h in 2.5 seconds and a top speed of 406km/h

The Gulf Team livery 917 was immortalised by Steve McQueen in the 1971 film Le Mans. It has since that time -- along with the Bullit Mustang -- become one of the two most iconic movie cars.

For the 1973 Can-Am series, a turbo-charged version was produced; developing 820kW in race tune and 1180kW in qualifying tune. This version, the 917/30 could accelerate from 0-100km/h in 1.9 seconds and 0-160km/h in 3.9 seconds, hitting a top speed of 414km/h.

Mark Donohue set the land speed record for a closed circuit in a 917/30 at Talladega Sperspeedway in 1975. The average speed was 356 km/h and the record stood for four years.

The Porsche 917 is one of the most significant race cars of all time with current (2009) values at between $3 million to $7 million. If though chassis number 917 – 022 (the primary Steve McQuenn Le Mans film ca...

After Porsche burst onto the racing scene in the early 1950s, the German company had slowly, but gradually progressed through the sportscar racing classes with one goal in mind: an overall victory at Le Mans. Porsche's first success at the legendary 24 Hours race came in 1952, when a 356 took the victory in the 751 - 1100 cc class. Patiently Porsche developed new racing cars like the 550, which still used many parts from the road going Porsche 356. By the mid-1960s the gap between road and racing cars grew bigger and bigger, and with it the racing successes increased as well.

Ford and Ferrari were fighting for the Le Mans victory with very advanced and powerful cars in the mid-1960s. The cars fielded by Porsche were equipped with engines displacing only a fraction of those found in the leading cars. This however did make them more nimble and competitive on tight and curvy tracks. Unfortunately the Le Mans track consisted of long straights, best suited to the most powerful of cars. A rule change at the end of the 1967 season seemed to bring Porsche's new three litre racer, the 908 into contention. The old prototype class was abandoned in favour of a limited production 5-litre Sportscar class (Group 4) and a 3-litre Prototype class (Group 6).

Only two cars were built in sufficient numbers (50) to be homologated for Group 4; the Lola T70 and Ford GT40 Mk I. Both cars were powered by 400+ bhp engines, which was too much for the new 908 to compete with on Le Mans. A JWA / Gulf entered GT40 took the Le Mans win, but chased by two Porsches, victory was closer than ever! A number of manufacturers appealed the new regulations stating that a 50-car production run in one year was too much for a racing car. For 1969 the number was decreased to 25, which opened the door for a number of manufacturers to at least consider designing and building a car to take on the Lolas and Fords.

Decision making time
Under the leadership of Ferdinand Piech, the Porsche racing depart...