VIN: the works Porsche 917 chassis 052
History of chassis 052
Chassis 052 was the second of three short tail 917s built with an experimental magnesium chassis.
The magnesium chassis was created specially for 1971’s Le Mans 24 Hour race where Porsche would also be running a revised long tail 917 plus an ugly 917/20 that came to be nicknamed ‘the Pink Pig’.
The three magnesium chassis cars were numbered 051, 052 and 053. They followed the 917 Langheck series (040 to 045) and the 36 original 917 chassis (001 to 036).
The first mag chassis car, 051, was used to determine fatigue rates and was never seen in public. After 740km on Porsche’s rough road track at Weissach, it underwent the Long Distance Life Test and was scrapped.
052 was the plain white car that appeared at the Le Mans Test in April 1971. The Porsche crew also debuted the 917/20 that weekend and took along one of their reconfigured long tailed cars (chassis 043). On hand with a standard 917 K was the Gulf-backed John Wyer Automotive Engineering squad whom Porsche had brought on board to do most of the racing in 1970 and 1971.
Unsurprisingly, it was the revamped 917 L that set the fastest time. The Langheck had been conceived purely to suit the high speed characteristics of the Le Mans track and went round nearly five seconds quicker than chassis 052 which posted second quickest time.
Jo Siffert, Derek Bell and Jackie Oliver all got to drive 052 at the Le Mans Test. For comparison, they also piloted JWAE’s standard 917 K; the magnesium chassis proved to be good for around one second a lap compared to the original.
Following its appearance at la Sarthe, chassis 052 returned to Weissach for further testing.
After 1020km of running, it too fell victim to Porsche’s Long Distance Life Test, after which it was scrapped.
Notable History
Porsche System Engineering (appeared as a John Wyer Automotive Engineering entry)
White
18/04/1971 IND Le Mans Test (J. Siffert / D. Bell / J. Oliver) 2nd oa, 2nd S5.0 class (#17)
Subject to Porsche’s Long Distance Life Test
Scrapped
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com
