VIN: the Gulf Racing Porsche 917 chassis 029
History of chassis 029
029 was a new-for ‘71 example of the 917 that raced under the identity of an existing car, 014, for carnet reasons. The actual 014 had done four events in 1970 which included a win at the Spa 1000km.
Chassis 029 would serve throughout 1971 as a team car for the works and Gulf Oil-backed John Wyer Automotive Engineering squad (JWAE). JWAE ran seven 917s at various times during the 1971 campaign (plus a handful of 908/03 Spyders at tracks like the Targa Florio and Nurburgring).
The JWAE cars were typically fitted with all the latest factory-supplied parts; for example, 029 arrived for the season-opener in Buenos Aires with new berellium brake discs. Although Jo Siffert blew an engine during practice, 029 qualified third behind the pole-starting sister car and the Giunti / Merzario Ferrari 312 PB. Unfortunately, Ignazio Giunti would lose his life in a nasty crash during the race.
Despite the sad events in Argentina, Jo Siffert and Derek Bell took a maiden victory for 029 while the sister car of Rodriguez / Oliver was second.
JWAE next raced chassis 029 at the Brands Hatch 1000km three months later. By this time, JWAE had picked up further wins at Daytona and Sebring. Siffert and Bell were once again behind the wheel; they qualified third behind a pair of nimbler three-litre Ferrari and Alfa Romeo Group 6 cars.
In the race, Bell and Siffert were plagued by gearbox problems and came home a distant third behind the aforementioned Alfa and Ferrari.
The Spa 1000km five weeks later saw chassis 029 again allocated to Siffert / Bell; they took pole position and JWAE went on to control the race from start to finish. Rodriguez / Oliver secured the win for the Gulf-backed crew while Siffert / Bell were second in 029 (the only car not to be lapped).
Chassis 029’s final two appearances came over a weekend in late July when it contested the Watkins Glen 6 Hour World Sportscar Championship race and the following day’s 82 lap Can-Am contest.
Siffert was partnered by Gijs van Lennep for the six hour race and they started second behind the Penske Ferrari 512M. Although a rash of punctures and rain-soaked electrics stifled the races of both Gulf 917s, 029 came home second, two laps behind one of the works Alfa 33s.
The next day, van Lennep used 029 for the Can-Am race. Meanwhile, Siffert was in Porsche’s brand new 917/10 Group 7 car. With the number of pure Group 7 cars in Can-Am having risen dramatically since 1970 (combined with some extremely rapid development), the Group 5 917s were no longer competitive in this discipline of racing. After qualifying well down the order, van Lennep was the best 917 finisher in ninth.
Chassis 029 was not raced again and returned to Porsche soon afterwards.
In 1974, Porsche loaned the car out to the Schloss Langenburg Automusem in Westphalia where it resided for the next 30 years.
2004 saw chassis 029 return to Porsche, since which time it has served as part of the firm’s heritage collection.
Notable History
John Wyer Automotive Engineering / Gulf Racing
10/01/1971 WSC Buenos Aires 1000km (J. Siffert / D. Bell) 1st oa, 1st S class (#30)
04/04/1971 WSC Brands Hatch 1000km (J. Siffert / D. Bell) 3rd oa, 1st S5.0 class (#6)
09/05/1971 WSC Spa 1000km (J. Siffert / D. Bell) 2nd oa, 2nd S5.0 class (#20)
24/07/1971 WSC Watkins Glen 6 Hours (J. Siffert / G. van Lennep) 2nd oa, 1st S class (#1)
25/07/1971 CAM Watkins Glen (G. van Lennep) 9th oa, 2nd S5.0 class (#92)
1974 Schloss Langenburg Museum, Westphalia
2004 Porsche Museum, Stuttgart
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com
