Anyone that’s been reading this site since the beginning knows I’m a fan of the Porsche 917 (especially the Pink Pig). In fact, it’s probably my most favorite Porsche of all time. In addition to its Le Mans wins, the 917 holds the record for highest average speed during the race (an incredible 222 km/h) and the highest top speed on the Mulsanne Straight (387 km/h). Not to be out done, here in the US, Penske 917/30 set a closed-course speed record of 355.85 km/h.
Atlanta – March 9, 2009 — Forty years ago, on March 13, 1969 at the Geneva International Motor Show, Porsche unveiled a car that would exceed its creator’s wildest dreams, and develop into one of the most iconic race cars of all time: the Porsche 917.
Project 917 began in June 1968 in response to an edict from the international motor sports authority (FIA). They had announced a class for “homologated sports cars” with up to a five-litre engine capacity and a minimum weight of 800 kilograms.
Under the supervision of Porsche family member and gifted engineer Ferdinand Piëch, the FIA-stipulated minimum 25 units of the new race car were to be completed by April 1969 so that the 917 could race during the 1969 international season. Initially, Porsche built six cars and had “all the bits and pieces to build 19 more for the homologation,” according to Rico Steinemann, Porsche’s Racing Manager at the time. Then the FIA decided that all 25 cars would have to be built. As all of the racing department’s resources were being utilized, the workers to build the cars would have to come from elsewhere.
Ferdinand Piëch (right) and Gerhard Mitter (left) at the presentation of the Porsche 917
“We put together apprentices, messenger boys, bookkeepers, office people and secretaries,” remembered Steinemann years later. “Just enough people, taught just enough to put together 25 cars!”
The original 25 “Secretary Cars,” as they came to be called, passed the FIA inspection with flying colors, despite the fact they would barely run on the street, let alone a race track. After the inspection, all but two of the cars were completely disassembled and rebuilt by the factory’s race team mechanics.
The engine of the 917 was also unique. While it retained Porsche’s traditional horizontally-opposed, air-cooled “boxer” engine configuration, the 4.5-litre, 520-horsepower, 12-cylinder engine was bigger than any engine Porsche had built before.
The frame, designed more for durability than lightness, was constructed of TIG-welded aluminum tubing (later switched to magnesium), with fiberglass re-enforced resin bodywork.
The 917 shape underwent constant evolution, with Porsche engineers developing different body configurations to best meet the demands of the varied circuits on the World Championship calendar.
In the late 60’s and early 70’s, the World Championship of Makes visited four different continents, all sporting many different styles of racetrack. The so-called short-tail, or “Kurzheck” bodywork was designed for high-downforce tracks, such as Watkins Glen and Brands Hatch, while the original “Langheck” long-tail bodywork was further developed to optimize straight-line speed and stability on the long, ultra-high-speed circuits like Le Mans, with its 3.5 mile long Mulsanne Straight. The ultimate development of the 917 came with the open 917 Spyders, which later dominated both the CanAm and Interseries circuits.
Success was not immediate for the 917
After initially dropping out of its first three races due to technical problems, the 917 success story began in August 1969 at a 1,000-kilometer race at the Österreichring with a victory by Jo Siffert and Kurt Ahrens.
Delays and lack of development time prevented the 917 from winning the championship in 1969. But by the end of the 1970 race season, Porsche demonstrated the superiority of the 917 and the 908/03 models by taking the World Championship of Makes by winning nine of ten possible victories.
This series of victories began with the Daytona 24 Hours and continued at Brands Hatch, Monza, Spa, the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Targa Florio, Watkins Glen 6-Hour and at the Österreichring. However, the season’s high point was the long-desired overall win at the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race, a trophy that Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood brought home to Zuffenhausen on June 14, 1970. The number 23, 917K short-tail model, painted in the red and white colors of Porsche Salzburg, successfully fought off the combined factory efforts of Ferrari, Matra and Lola while battling horrible weather conditions during the race.
The 1971 season was once again dominated by the 917
Porsche defended their World Championship of Makes crown by winning eight out of the ten races on the schedule. For the second year running, a 917 was again victorious at Le Mans – this time with Gijs van Lennep and Dr. Helmut Marko driving, who set world records with an average speed of 222 km/h and a total of 5,335 kilometers driven, records that still stand today. The 917 long-tail coupe also set another record in 1971: car number 21 turned in the highest speed ever recorded on the Mulsanne Straight of 387 km/h.
The 1971 Le Mans race also marked the debut of one of the most fabled iterations of the 917. A cross between the short-tail and the long-tail models produced the 917/20, a car distinguished by its wide cross section and its striking pink color. Although the car, nicknamed “The Pink Pig,” dropped out halfway through the race, its unusual paint scheme made it one of the most famous Porsche models ever, joining the 1970’s “Hippie Car” as a Porsche Racing classic.
When the European FIA regulation for “5-liter sports cars” expired at the end of the 1971 season, Porsche decided to enter the Sports Car Club of America’s Canadian American Challenge Cup (CanAm). There had been exploratory efforts in CanAm as early as 1969, but this was the first championship-level effort from Porsche. Tony Dean, driving his own independently entered 908/2, took a surprise rain-soaked win at the Road Atlanta CanAm race in 1970.
After many months of testing and development in Weissach, done in conjunction with Penske Racing’s legendary driver and engineer, Mark Donohue, the 917/10 made its CanAm debut in June of 1972. Now turbocharged, the 12-cylinder boxer engine pumped out an incredible 1,000 horsepower, but an early season testing accident caused Donohue to sit out most of the season. His replacement, George Follmer, went on to dominate the series and won victories at Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio, Elkhart Lake, Laguna Seca and Riverside, thus clinching the 1972 CanAm championship and virtually chasing the formerly invincible Team McLaren from the series.
A Race Car that Changed the Rules
For an encore, Porsche and Penske went to work on its 1973 challenger, the 917/30. In what turned into the ultimate development of the 917 platform, the 1,200 horsepower car was the class of the field at every race. The superiority of the car, driven by Mark Donohue, was so obvious that the CanAm series regulations were changed at season’s end in order to prohibit the 917/30 from competing in 1974. The 917/30 did live on in the Interserie series in Europe, where Herbert Mueller won the championship in 1974 and 1975. Also in 1975, at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, Donohue set the World Closed Course Speed Record driving the Penske 917/30 at an average speed of 355.85 km/h.
As is typical of Porsche, the technologies developed during the racing career of the 917 were successfully transferred to its road cars; one of the most obvious examples is the original 911 Turbo, a car synonymous with performance, efficiency and engineering excellence.
The reputation of the Porsche 917 is legendary
When 50 international motor sports experts from the famous British trade magazine “Motor Sport” were asked to name the “greatest racing car in history,” they cited the Porsche 917. Overall, Porsche built 65 units of the 917: 44 sports cars as short-tail and long-tail coupés, two PA Spyders as well as 19 sports cars as CanAm and Interseries Spyders with up to 1,400 hp from their turbocharged engines.
Today, seven of the most important 917 models – among them the Le Mans-winning cars from 1970 and 1971 and the 917/30 CanAm Spyder – are currently on exhibit in the new Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. Most of the other 917s are in the hands of proud collectors around the world, and have been seen – and heard – at the most prestigious vintage events, including Goodwood, Amelia Island, Monterey Historics, and Porsche’s three Rennsport Reunions in the U.S. in 2001, 2004 and 2007. Porsche Motorsport North America, the racing arm of Porsche in North America, services, restores, rebuilds and maintains many of these 917s for collectors at its shop in Santa Ana, California.
In the first part of this post I explained how the 917 came into production and how it made Porsche synonymous with endurance racing. This post, Part II on the history of the 917, explores some of the early problems Porsche ran into prior to their win(s) at LeMan and how the fix for those problems turned the 917 into one of the most storied Porsches ever.
When the 917 was first tested in 1969 it was anything but stable. The new “long tail” styling of the car left it very skittish and unsuited for racing. “It used all the road at speed,” according to Brian Redman (winner of the 1970 Targa Florio in a Porsche 908.) At first pass, most felt the problems resulted in an overpowered engine on an under-strengthened frame. However, after repeated modifications the problems remained. Remember, at this time Porsche was used to producing cars with low drag in order to compensate for their underpowered motors. Now, with the new 4.5 litre, 12 cylindar motor, the car was anything but underpowered. It was soon determined that all the extra power was creating additional lift on the straights (the car was 19 mph faster than anything yet raced at Le Mans.) Despite these problems Porsche pushed ahead with their racing schedule.
The 917 was entered into many races in 1969 with little to show for their efforts, expense and appearance. In fact, the instability of the 917 combined with the inexperience of British prviateer John Wolfe, resulted in a deadly first lap crash in the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans. Even though Wolfe was not a “works” or factory driver, his death was a black spot for Porsche that took a long time to get past.
Porsche’s First Win in the 917
Porsche’s first win in the 917 didn’t come until the last race of the 1969 championship season, the 1000 km Zeltweg. Two privateers, Jo Siffert and Kurt Ahrens, succeeded in the privately entered Porsche 917 of German Freiherr von Wendt. The factory, being much more focused on development, left the racing to customer teams.
It wasn’t until 1970 when Porsche officially partnered with John Wyer and the famous Gulf Team that things started looking up for the Porsche 917. Immediate improvements/changes made to the tail of the 917 added much needed downforce, greatly improving stability and Porsche’s chance to capture the checkered flag.
In the next post I’ll explore the various 917 models. Their racing history and what’s become of the 917 today.
So much has been written about these great cars, their development, their race history and the people responsible for them that I could never give them the proper respect they deserve in the format of this web-site. In no way is this meant to be a complete history of the 917. Instead, this is a multi-part story that should provide the casual enthusiast with enough background to pique your curiosity and links to resources where you can learn more.
Part I on the History of the Porsche 917
The 917 is best known as the race-car that put Porsche on the map in endurance racing with their first overall win(s) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and again in 1971. Based on the Porsche 908 and powered by a 4.5, 4.9 or 5.0 liter flat 12, air-cooled engine, the 917 posts performance figures on par with almost any race-car of the modern era.
We can thank the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) as the catalyst for the creation of the Porsche 917. Looking to bring manufacturers who were currently building 3 litre motors for Formula One Racing into the endurance racing fold, the CSI opened enrollment to the World Championship of Makes for a 3 litre cars across a four year period from 1968 to 1971.
As there were very few manufacturers who could accept the challenge in the time frame provided, the CSI opened the category up to those 5 litre cars that would be able to meet the homologation requirements of at least 50 cars. This new group, known as Group 4, became part of the Sport category. Shortly thereafter, CSI reduced the minimum production requirements from 50 to 25 (at the request of Ferrari) so the 250LM could compete.
An Open Door for Porsche
This reduction in homologation requirements opened the door for Porsche. Although it would turn out to be extremely difficult and expensive, it was one of the best decisions Porsche made, with regard to racing, ever. The 917 was conceived, designed and manufactured in only 10 months time. This is an amazingly short period for the development of any vehicle, let alone one subject to the homologation rules of the time. The first 25 cars are pictured below:
Despite the 917’s short but storied history, its career as a racer did not start well. I’ll explore the beginning of Porsche’s race history in the 917 more in-depth on my next post in this series. In the interim, please enjoy this great video that showcases just how amazing these cars truly are.
Admittedly, not all the news that Porsche releases to the press is exciting. However, what caught my eye on this particular news note, was the display they are planning with regard to various Porsche exhibits. More specifically, on display (among other interesting Porsche cars) will be the 1971 Porsche 917 “short-tail” that won the ’24 Hours of Le Mans” in 1971 and still holds the record to-date for both distance (5,335.313 km) and average speed (222.304 km/h). That’s pretty impressive considering we’re talking 37 + years.
For those of you not familiar with the 917, this is the model that basically put Porsche on the endurance racing road-map with wins at Le Mans in both 1970 and 1971. Of course, we can’t forget the car was made even more famous by Steve McQueen in his epic racing story Le Mans. The 917, with a flat 12 motor, was capable of speeds in excess of 248 Mph and a 0 to 60 time of 2.5 seconds. That’s comparable to today’s F1 cars.
The Porsche Pink Pig
My favorite of all 917s, for no other reason than the name, is the 1971 917/20 otherwise known as the “Pink Pig”. Click on the thumbnail to the left to see a larger version. The car got its name from the paint scheme that showcases the names of certain cuts of meat (written in German) similar to that of a butcher diagram.
I must say, were I going to be anywhere near Essen, Germany this looks like a great event with the chance to see some fantastic current and historic Porsche cars. If anyone happens to go, please send me some picture!!!! What event am I talking about? Read below for more information.
Porsche Press Release
Stuttgart. This year at the Techno-Classica in Essen, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, and its Classic Customer Centre will be giving visitors a glimpse behind the scenes. The company’s Classic department, which has its home on the main Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen site, will be on show from 27th to 30th March 2008 at the greatest vintage car fair in the world. Under the spotlight will be its product and service range in connection with repair, maintenance, care, restoration and the procurement of original spare parts for Classic Porsche models.
On the Porsche stand in Hall 3 the emphasis will be on detailed advice provided by Porsche’s own restoration specialists. The experts will be happy to answer visitors’ questions – ranging from the availability of spare parts for Porsche Classic models to the maintenance and servicing of historic vehicles. Porsche drivers who enjoy working on their Classic vehicles themselves will also be well served: there will be a large range of literature available on the stand, from owners’ manuals through parts catalogues and CDs to repair instructions. In addition, the ‘living workshop’, in which Porsche specialists will be demonstrating their skills to enthusiasts and experts alike, will give visitors a chance to see original works’ restoration.
As well as the Classic Customer Centre, the approximate 800 square metres of exhibition space will house eight Porsche clubs displaying various privately-owned vehicles. Collectors and souvenir hunters will be able to view the current product range from the ‘Porsche Design Driver’s Selection’.
Porsche lovers will particularly relish the various exhibits on display: for example, a current 911 Turbo from Porsche Exclusive is shown side by side with another 911 Turbo dating from 1974, privately-owned by Ferry Porsche. The top attraction for motorsport fans will definitely be the vehicle which won the 1971 ‘24 Hours of Le Mans’. The Porsche 917 short-tail, racing as 22, set the standard as a light-construction prototype with a special magnesium lattice-tube frame. Driven by Dr. Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep, the vehicle won Porsche the second of a current total of 16 victories at Le Mans and set the still unbeaten records for distance (5,335.313 km) and average speed (222.304 km/h).
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In the first part of this post I explained 
. The 917, with a flat 12 motor, was capable of speeds in excess of 248 Mph and a 0 to 60 time of 2.5 seconds. 
