A Brief History In mid-1967 the International Automobile Federation (FIA) announced that it had decided to modify the regulations pertaining to the Sport Prototype, Sport and Gran Turismo categories. As a result, the World Brands Championship was on the brink of the greatest crisis in its history. Many were the...
Porsche 917 Sales Brochure The Porsche 917 is one of the most legendary race cars in motorsport history, known for dominating endurance racing and securing Porsche’s first overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970. Built to comply with FIA’s Group 4 homologation rules, Porsche was required...
Vasily KOSTIN A cage of thin aluminum tubes, lightweight skin, double wishbone suspension and a crazy five-hundred-horsepower engine — this was the legendary Porsche 917 prototype, which forever inscribed the Porsche name in the history of Le Mans marathons. This year, the “nine hundred and seventeenth” turns forty: it’s high...
In 1996 the 30 years of the Canadian – American Challenge Cup series were celebrated, better known as CanAm and which only ran for 9 seasons (1966-1974), although it stood out for using the cutting edge technology of the moment. The CanAm series gave more than enough action to keep it in the memory of the...
Some great work by one of our colleagues who managed to put together the chassis numbers for all the Porsche 917s. Chassis Number Notes Active Years Team Details 917-001 First 917 to appear in public, at the Geneva Salon in March 1969. Used for testing and announcement of partnership with...
A total of 30 drivers managed to win races during the four-year period between 1968 and 1971. Here’s the breakdown: The 30 drivers who won at least one race with points for the World Brand Championship formed, among themselves, a total of 26 different winning pairs. These are the most successful:...
The Engines Engine Type 912 – 12 Cylinders The Porsche House made it the norm since 1967 to participate in the tests for the Manufacturers’ Championship only with new machines, because the cost of developing and building them was partially offset by the sale of the used units at the end of each season. This...
‘Scary’ is not an adjective uttered often by seasoned racing drivers in the company of their peers, but it tripped easily from the lips of the small band of heroes who drove Porsche’s first 12-cylinder Type 917 sports cars. Few racing cars since the hairy-chested Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union Grand...
Porsche 917/30-003 1975 Team Penske In 1976 Penske sold the chassis to privateer Otis Chandler. Pictured Riverside, 1979. Porsche 917/30-003 test drives ...
April 6, 1970, Volkswagen test track (Ehra-Lessien). April 6, 1970 was a test day. Factory test driver Kurt Ahrens was testing various aerodynamic solutions on chassis 006/040. The tests lasted all day, although the weather was unlucky – it was drizzling and the track remained wet. Towards evening, a package...
