917, a fantastic machine

The Porsche 917 was created in 1969 with the objective of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Main opposition came from the powerful Ford GT40, Lola T70 and Ferrari 512S. It will succeed in this objective in 1970 with Herrmann and Attwood and in 1971 with Marko and van Lennep.

Imagined by Ferdinand Piëch, the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, the Porsche 917 is a coupe (65 were built), powered by a Flat 12 (180°) of 4.5 litre to 4.9 litre, developing 580 to 630 bhp.

Picture above: John Wyer’s team (JW Automotive) entered two Gulf-sponsored Porsche 917K at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen in 1970. Number 1 car was driven by Jo Siffert and Brian Redman, who finished a close second (in the same lap) to the sister car #2 driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Leo Kinnunen.

These fantastic 917’s dominated the race, leaving the Ferrari 512’s of Andretti-Guinti (3rd) and Ickx-Schetty (5th), more than three laps behind. A domination that will continue all through the 1971 season.