Porsche’s initial production run of 25 917s was unable to meet demand. In total, more than 50 chassis were manufactured. Porsche, which had been the underdog in sports car racing for 20 years, had emerged as the new front-runner with the 917.
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Model Guides for the Porsche 917
The sequence 9-1-7, at least in terms of racing, is the most well-known of all the prominent number combinations at Porsche. It represents not only the most potent and quick Porsche race car to date, but also an entire generation of race cars that only rule changes, not other drivers on the track, could put an end to. There were 13 different “versions” of the Porsche 917 produced between 1969 and 1973. Below, we go over each in detail using our unique model instructions.
On the Racetrack, a Porsche 917
Ferdinand Piech had no doubts about his intentions when it came to the Porsche 917: he wanted it “being the best Everywhere “(Reference: Porsche) Although the car was debuted in 1969, it would take some time before it would become truly amazing.
In the early races, the car’s handling was so bad that several drivers shunned it. Two BMW drivers were asked to compete in a 1969 race at the Nurburgring by Porsche, but they declined, citing the car’s high level of hazard. Later, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a driver by the name of John Woolfe was killed while racing a 917. Only one race was won by the vehicle in 1969 [source: Lieberman].
Once the Wyer crew worked out the quirks in the 917’s handling, the 1970 racing season turned out to be a better one. The vehicle went on to win races at Daytona, Brands Hatch, Monza, Spa, the Nurburgring, the Targa Florio, Watkins Glen, and the Austrian Osterreichring. The highlight of the season occurred in June when the 917 took home the much-anticipated overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The vehicle captured the World Championship of Makes trophy that year by winning nine out of ten races [source: Porsche].
The Steve McQueen movie “Le Mans,” which featured the 917 prominently in the plot, was made using footage from the 1970 Le Mans race. Michael Delaney, played by Steve McQueen, competed against Ferrari’s 512 race cars while operating the Gulf Oil 917K.
The succeeding year was also prosperous. In 1971, the vehicle successfully defended its world championship by winning eight out of ten races, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. On the Mulsanne straight of the course, it did so this time, setting a record that has not been surpassed as of the present.
The 917 grew to be so dominant that the FIA again revised the rules, excluding the vehicle from competition. Porsche transported it to North America and entered it in the Canadian American Challenge Cup, also known as CanAm, organized by the Sports Car Club of America. The automobile was able to compete with significantly more than 1,000 horsepower because this type of racing had significantly fewer rules than FIA competitions. It also won there, as was to be expected [source: Porsche].
There were just 65 Porsche 917 models produced in total. While many more are in the possession of collectors around the world, seven are on display at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Due to their illustrious pasts, they frequently command large premiums at auctions, and even now, people are still in awe of their might.
Prices
Between 1969 and 1971, Porsche produced 59 917s, of which 36 were K-spec variants. Although the 917K’s price is not yet known, the original 917 was first offered for 140,000 German Marks, which is equivalent to the cost of 10 Porsche 911s. Even though it was one of the priciest race vehicles, the cost of development was not covered by the price.
Since not all 917Ks were produced, they are now highly sought-after collectibles. Nevertheless, as the majority of authentic 917Ks are either in private collections or museums and don’t trade hands very frequently, purchasing one is essentially impossible. Examples that win races are predicted to sell for more than $10 million.
Understanding the data; the Porsche 917 movie cars.
Porsche made 59 917s in all. It came in a broad range of sizes and shapes throughout the model’s lifetime. With or without turbochargers, a roof, a long or short tail, and turbochargers or no turbochargers. The 917’s career is so varied that it even competed under the Kremer name ten years after its prime. The provenance of each 917 exemplar can be difficult to trace down because of the huge variety of 917s that have been constructed and repaired after crashes and development. One such instance is Mark Finburgh’s 917, which is described below.
Finburgh’s 917 is, in a Ship of Theseus-like manner, either chassis /013 or chassis /034. The vehicle (formerly chassis /013) was utilized in the 1970 filming of Steve McQueen’s Le Mans, but David Piper crashed it. David Piper suffered a leg injury in the collision, and a spare chassis with the serial number /034 was required to completely rebuild the vehicle.
Englishman Mark Finburgh, who talks about the car in the movie, bought the repaired car in 1973. The vehicle has been raced frequently in recent years since being rescued from beneath the snow behind the Porsche facility. The vehicle still sports its original Wyer-Gulf Oil livery and has participated in every Goodwood Festival of Speed since it began. Shortly after its 1970 rebuild, /034 achieved a number of noteworthy victories, including the 24 Hours of Daytona victory and the victories in the 1971 1000km races at Monza and the Osterreichring.
1971
Early in the season, a new competitor to the 917 emerged: Roger Penske had purchased an old 512M chassis that had been completely disassembled and rebuilt. A huge rear wing and a rapid refueling system with aviation influences were two of the numerous distinctive elements added to the car when it was properly prepared for lengthy races. The engine was tweaked by Traco, a CanAm V8 expert, and is likely capable of producing more than 600 horsepower. It is currently impossible to determine how much Ferrari Works supported Penske’s idea. Sunoco and Californian Ferrari dealer Kirk F. White sponsored this 512M, which was finished in a blue and yellow livery. It qualified first for the 24 Hours of Daytona under Mark Donohue’s direction and finished second despite a collision. The “Sunoco” started on pole for the 12 Hours of Sebring, but after making contact with Pedro Rodriguez’s 917, finished in sixth place. Despite this setback, the vehicle had shown itself to be a formidable foe of the 917. This car had the quickest refueling time in addition to being the fastest on the circuit in Daytona and Sebring.
Alfa Romeo’s 33/3, which won Brands Hatch and the Targa Florio, as well as the 512M “Sunoco,” compelled Porsche to continue their research and development efforts. As a result, the 917K and 908/3’s tails were changed with vertical fins, and the 917 LH’s aerodynamics underwent additional upgrades. Despite the fact that magnesium may burn vigorously in the event of a fire, new chassis built of this material were designed.
The 917/20 was designed as a substantially modified test vehicle for upcoming CanAm components and aerodynamic “low-drag” ideas. The 917/20 that had won the test race at Le Mans was given the moniker “Der Truffeljager von Zuffenhausen” (The Truffelhunter of Zuffenhausen) or simply “Pink Pig” because it was painted pink for the 24-hour race and had names of meat cuts written across it in German in a manner resembling a butcher’s carcass diagram.
But once again, the upgraded equipment did not prevail in Le Mans. The magnesium-framed, white #22 Martini-entered 917K driven by Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep still holds the record for the longest mileage traveled.
the tragedy
On the first lap, Woolfe’s collision with the barriers led to the tragedy. The 917 then overturned and started to burn. Woolfe passed away immediately. He wasn’t buckled into his seatbelt. As a result, starting in 1970, the “Le Mans Start”—the dash from the opposing side of the road to the car—was no longer used. In an effort to avoid losing too much time at the start of the race, too many drivers started the race without attaching their seatbelts. This demonstrated both the sporting officials’ total disregard for safety and their own carelessness. It is understandable why motor racing in the 1960s–1980s was a game of life and death. across all motorsport divisions.
What was going on with Porsche at the end of the 1960s? Ferdinand Piech, who was in charge of a deadly Porsche armada in Stuttgart at the time, had devoted all of his attention to making the company go from being a class winner to an all-around winner. vs General Motors, Ford, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and others. Win the Brand World Championship was the plainly stated goal. The 24 Hours of Le Mans was the ultimate classic, and winning it was the main objective. Success finally arrived in 1970, when Herrmann/Attwood and Kauhsen/Larrousse finished first and second, respectively. But the two works 917s left while in charge in 1969, the year of the Woolfe incident.
One of the finest automobiles of the 20th century must be the Porsche 917, which Ferdinand Piech called “the greatest risk of my life.” In order to win the world championship championships in 1970 and 1971, racing coupes with 4.5-litre twelve-cylinder engines and more than 600 hp defeated all opposition. The FIA then modified the regulations. The 917 lost the ability to keep up. Porsche, though, kept working on the 917. They created the Spyder, which has turbocharged engines with up to 1,100 horsepower. Even the competitors couldn’t compete with these automobiles. neither in the North American CanAm series nor the European Interserie.
The “917s” of today (whether as coupes or Spyders) are extremely rare, and collectors are willing to pay millions of dollars for them. The former-Jo Siffert 917 Spyder was kept by Willi Kauhsen, who himself raced in these 917 thunderbolts from 1970 to 1974. In 2000, he refurbished the best racing vehicle and sold it at auction in Pebble Beach. He has just completed his second 917 of his life.
There are how many Porsche 918s?
Of course, the hype was fully justified. The sleek two-door, which was painstakingly engineered, has a 4.6-liter V-8 that produces 887 horsepower and 944 ft lbs of torque. This enables it to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in a jaw-dropping 2.5 seconds and achieve blazing speeds of up to 214 mph.
Only 918 Spyders, as the name suggests, were produced in 2015. Only 230 of those are thought to have had the Weissach package. Porsche collectors prize this particular black beauty in particular because it is one of these uncommon models.
The Weissach configuration, so named after the brand’s motorsport hub in Germany, decreased the Spyder’s combat weight by about 100 pounds in order to enhance its aerodynamics. Utilizing exposed carbon-fiber highlights, magnesium alloy center-lock wheels, ceramic wheel bearings, titanium chassis bolts, and lightweight Alcantara inside trim, the weight was reduced.
2015 saw the delivery of the 13th Spyder off the production line to its one and only owner. It has a little over 12,400 kilometers on it and has gotten routine maintenance from Porsche to maintain it in good shape.
This is, quite simply, the ultimate Porsche, according to the auction house, who describes it as “an intoxicating combination of technology, legacy, and mind-bending performance.”
You’ll pay for all of that. At the June 23–30 RM Sotheby’s Open Roads auction, the four-wheeler is anticipated to sell for between $1.14 million (EUR950,000) and $1.38 million (EUR1,150,000). Better organize your bids.
The Porsche 917 was released when?
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Porsche 917, one of Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen’s most powerful number sequences ever.
The Porsche Museum is marking the milestone birthday with plans to restore the first 917 ever produced to its original condition, as it was when it was initially presented 50 years ago. The most well-known racing automobile of all time made its premiere at the Geneva Motor Show on March 12, 1969. The 917-001 underwent a number of modifications over time. According to Achim Stejskal, Director of the Porsche Museum, “Our approach to the accurate handling of old automobiles has altered dramatically over the past ten years.” The museum places a high priority on preserving original components and taking into account the pertinent history of its exhibits when repairing automobiles from the company’s historical collection.