VIN: the Gulf Racing Porsche 917 chassis 014
History of chassis 014
Chassis 014 was one of the eight 917s used by the Gulf-backed John Wyer Automotive Engineering operation during the 1970 season. Porsche had recruited Wyer’s team (JWAE) with a two-year deal to run works-supported 917s on their behalf.
014 made its debut appearance at the opening World Sportscar Championship race of the year: the Daytona 24 Hours which took place over the weekend of January 31st / February 1st.
Four 917s were entered for the race: two from Gulf, one from the factory-backed Salzburg squad and David Piper’s privateer example. The Gulf cars had Graviner automatic fire extinguishers and an additional window let into the roof for improved visibility on the banking. Both the Gulf and Salzburg cars were running four speed gearboxes.
014 was allocated to Jo Siffert and Brian Redman. It qualified second behind the Ferrari of Mario Andretti and Arturo Merzario. The sister Gulf car of Pedro Rodriguez / Leo Kinnunen lined up third.
The John Wyer team ultimately scored a memorable one-two finish at Daytona and smashed the distance record in the process. 014 finished in the runner’s up spot.
It next appeared three-and-a-half months later for round six of the championship: the Spa 1000km (May 17th).
JWAE arrived with two 4.9-litre-engined cars and 014 was once again allocated to Redman / Siffert. The Gulf team experimented with 12.5-inch wide front wheels in practice but struggled with tyre blowouts so reverted back to the 10.5-inch rims instead.
The sister car of Rodriguez / Kinnunen took pole with Siffert / Redman second in 014 and the Ickx / Surtees Ferrari third.
Although the Kinnunen / Rodriguez entry went out with a seized gearbox after 44 laps when lying second, Siffert and Redman claimed JWAE’s fifth win of the year. Ickx and Surtees were second in a Ferrari with the Salzburg 917 of Elford / Ahrens Jr. third.
Chassis 014’s final competitive appearances were made at Watkins Glen over the weekend of July 11th and 12th. A 6 Hour World Championship race took place on the Saturday followed by an 87 lap Can-Am event on the Sunday.
JWAE were on hand with a pair of Gulf-backed entries for Siffert / Redman (014) and a sister car for Rodriguez / Kinnunen. Both arrived with wider wheels and bodies plus the additional rear spoiler that had been used at Le Mans.
Siffert and Redman took pole with the Ferrari 512 S of Andretti / Giunti second and Rodriguez / Kinnunen third.
Team-mates Siffert and Rodriguez banged wheels in the opening stages but eventually took a commanding one-two for JWAE. It was Rodriguez / Kinnunen that emerged victorious with Siffert / Redman claiming second in 014.
The result meant Porsche won the 1970 World Championship with one event still to run.
The following day, round three of the Can-Am championship took place and, given the substantial prize fund on offer, it was no surprise that all the 917s in attendance were wheeled out despite being up against more-fancied Group 7 opposition.
Although in qualifying the Porsches were not able to match the outright speed of the works McLaren M8Ds (or many of the Group 7 cars for that matter), the 917s put on a very good show in the race. Having started twelfth, Siffert went on to finish second, 28 seconds behind Denny Hulme’s McLaren.
Chassis 014 was subsequently retired from competition duty.
For 1971, a new car was built on chassis 029 which used the identity of 014 for carnet reasons.
Precisely what happened to the original chassis from 014 is unknown...
Notable History
John Wyer Automotive Engineering / Gulf Racing
4.5-litre engine
01/02/1970 WSC Daytona 24 Hours (J. Siffert / B. Redman) 2nd oa, 2nd S class (#1)
4.9-litre engine
17/05/1970 WSC Spa 1000km (J. Siffert / B. Redman) 1st oa, 1st S5.0 class (#24)
11/07/1970 WSC Watkins Glen 6 Hours (J. Siffert / B. Redman) 2nd oa, 2nd S5.0 class (#1)
12/07/1970 CAM Watkins Glen (J. Siffert) 2nd oa, 1st S5.0 class (#1)
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com
