Porsche 917 and Lockheed Super Constellation

Pedro Rodriguez in his Gulf-livered Porsche 917K (chassis #009) in the straight line and in front of a Lockheed Super Constellation airplane, that is parked on the runway behind the track, during practice for the 1971 12 Hours of Sebring (picture-above).

What is interesting in this picture is the 917’s body with vertical fins on the back instead of the traditional short-tail (Kurzheck) that we all identify the car with. Indeed, the folks at J.W. Automotive experimented with the body on both of their entries at Sebring but found it did not provide any advantage and decided to stick with the “K” body.

Trivia: If that 917 had raced at Sebring with the fins you see here, it would have been designated as a Porsche 917KH coupe.

Rodriguez and co-driver Jackie Oliver were coming off a prestigious win at Daytona six weeks earlier, but a collision with the Penske Ferrari 512M of Mark Donohue and David Hobbs would relegate them to a 4th place finish at Sebring. Victory went to the Martini & Rossi Porsche 917K, very well driven by Vic Elford and Gérard Larrousse (picture-below).