Porsche 917 – Building a Racing Empire Part VII

Without question, Ferdinand Piëch’s crowning glory came with the arrival of the Porsche 917 in 1969. This race car brought Porsche the one trophy that was missing from its trophy cabinet, the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Remember, this was a time of great change in many aspects of life as we knew it, as we witnessed the Apollo 11 astronauts’ moon landing on 20 July that year. It is impossible to ignore the rise of youthful emotions that culminated in the Woodstock Music Festival in August, which would set the soundtrack for a generation. Meanwhile, in Germany, significant births that year included Formula One racing driver Michael Schumacher, Sabine Schmitz, the popular racing driver and television personality (died 2021), and the much-loved tennis star Steffi Graf.