Short: Herbert von Karajan's Porsche 930 3.0 Spezial chassis 9305700208

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HISTORY OF CHASSIS 9305700208

Thanks to a unique specification requested by its famous first owner, chassis 9305700208 ranks among the most significant Porsche 930s.

The car was built to the special order of Herbert von Karayan, a long-time Porsche customer and arguably the world’s best known conductor at the time.

As a prolific recording artist, von Karayan was able to indulge in a long list of fine motor cars after World War 2. Among his most famous acquisitions were a Porsche 550, a brace of sixties Ferrari Berlinettas and one of the seven Ford GT40 Mk3 road cars.

After his 356 A Speedster and 550 (purchased during the 1950s), von Karajan returned to Porsche in a big way in the 1970s. A 911 2.2 S Coupe was initially replaced by a 3-litre Carrera RS in 1974. However, the RS was sold after a few months to make way for a truly individual machine; von Karayan’s famous 930 Spezial.

Delivered in early 1975, Porsche supplied their client with a uniquely appointed 930 from the first year of production. It came equipped with a tuned engine, Cibie spot lamps and a roll bar trimmed in blue leather to match the rest of the upholstery.

It also had a very special colour scheme.

On his many visits to the Porsche racing department, von Karayan had seen the factory 911 RSRs up close and, for his 930, he commissioned a one-off livery inspired by the 1973 and 1974 Martini team cars.

0208 was registered on the Austrian licence plate GR-46892.

In 1976, von Karajan was photographed sitting in the car for the cover of his 'Famous Overtures' album.

0208 was later acquired by Porsche for their museum in Stuttgart.

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VIN: the works / Gesipa Racing Team Porsche 917 / 917 K chassis 007

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HISTORY OF CHASSIS 007

25 917s were originally assembled to secure homologation but not all were fully operational. Once homologation had been approved, 15 cars were dismantled to be properly built at a later date.

As for the ten 917s that remained, the first (001) was used for promotional and development duty while the other nine all saw some kind of competitive action during 1969.

Chassis 007 was one of three 917 Langhecks raced at Le Mans that year. Two of these were works cars while the third was delivered to privateer John Woolfe.

Driven by Rolf Stommelen and Kurt Ahrens Jr., chassis 007 was painted white with a yellow nose and ran a special 585bhp engine. It started from pole position but succumbed to an oil leak after 148 laps.

Whereas several of the other 1969 917s were subject to Porsche’s Long Distance Life Test and scrapped, 007 escaped such a fate.

At the end of the season, it was rebuilt to 1970 Kurzheck trim. 007 was then sold to Hans-Georg Biermann who ran GESIPA Blindniettechnik GmbH in Frankfurt, better known as Gesipa Rivets.

007 was painted the company colours of light blue and yellow. In this configuration, it contested more than a dozen races during 1970 including a trio of World Sportscar Championship events and the entire Interserie campaign.

The six-race Interserie programme yielded two wins and three seconds which enabled Jurgen Neuhaus to claim the inaugural title.

Neuhaus also won non-championship races at Zolder and Mainz-Finthen.

However, in its final race of 1970, chassis 007 was heavily damaged at Montlhery. That weekend, Neuhas was joined in the car by Porsche’s new test driver, Willi Kauhsen. Kauhsen had a monumental accident at Virage de la Ferme.

The car was subsequently returned to Porsche and rebuilt as a Group 7 Spyder for the 1971 season.

That year, Michael Weber was employed to drive. His best result was a second place finish at Hockenheim.

Weber finished the season third in the standings.

At the end of 1971, chassis 007 was retired from competition duty.

Notable History

Porsche System Engineering

21/04/1969 Factory homologation presentation
15/06/1969 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (R. Stommelen / K. Ahrens Jr.) DNF oil leak (#14)

Sold to Hans-Georg Biermann (GESIPA Blindniettechnik GmbH), Frankfurt

29/03/1970 IND Zolder (J. Neuhaus) 1st oa, 1st S class (#??)
25/04/1970 WSC Monza 1000km (J. Neuhaus / H. Kelleners) 10th oa, 7th S5.0 class (#14)
17/05/1970 WSC Spa 1000km (J. Neuhaus / H. Kelleners) DNF crash (#30)
31/05/1970 WSC Nurburgring 1000km (J. Neuhaus / H. Kelleners) DNF wheel (#54)
21/06/1970 IND Mainz-Finthen International (J. Neuhaus) 1st (#??)
28/06/1970 INT Norisring (J. Neuhaus) 1st oa (#12)
05/07/1970 INT Hockenheim (J. Neuhaus) 6th oa (#16)
11/07/1970 INT Croft (J. Neuhaus) 2nd oa (#22)
16/08/1970 IND Wunstorf (J. Neuhaus) 2nd oa, 2nd SRP2.0+ class (#8)
23/08/1970 INT Keimola (J. Neuhaus) 2nd oa (#2)
20/09/1970 INT Thruxton (J. Neuhaus) 1st oa, 1st 2.0+ class (#1)
11/10/1970 INT Hockenheim (J. Neuhaus) 2nd oa, 1st S2.0+ class (#62)
18/10/1970 IND Paris 1000km, Montlhery (J. Neuhaus / W. Kauhsen) c. 12th oa, 4th P class (#3)

Although classified as a finisher at Montlhery 007 was heavily crashed
Returned to the factory and rebuilt as 917 Spyder

02/05/1971 INT Imola (M. Weber) 6th oa (#14)
06/06/1971 INT Zolder (M. Weber) 5th oa, 4th Gr.7 class (#14)
04/07/1971 INT Hockenheim (M. Weber) 4th oa (#13)
11/07/1971 INT Norisring (M. Weber) 7th oa (#14)
22/08/1971 INT Keimola (M. Weber) 5th oa (#??)
12/09/1971 INT Imola (M. Weber) 6th oa (#??)
03/10/1971 INT Hockenheim (M. Weber) 2nd oa (#13)
17/10/1971 IND Paris 1000km, Montlhery (H. Marko / M. Weber) DNF overheating (#5)

1973 sold to Albert Pfuhl, Germany

1974 sold to Hans-Dieter Blatzheim, Germany

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Guide: Porsche 917 / 71 L - a Historical & Technical Appraisal

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BACKGROUND

At the 1970 Le Mans, had it not been for some rain-soaked electrics, one of Porsche’s long tailed 917s may well have won.

Further refinements were made in anticipation of a return to la Sarthe in 1971.

Porsche’s 917 Langheck was designed solely to win at Le Mans and would have been pretty uncompetitive at any other circuit on the World Championship calendar.

However, with its exceedingly long straights, Le Mans was an exceptional challenge and Porsche were prepared to forego precision handling in favour of monster top speed.

BODYWORK

The subtly reworked 1971 Langheck body was a collaboration between Porsche’s Norbert Singer and the SERA R&D organisation in Paris headed by pioneering aerodynamicist, Charles Deutsch.

Once again, the 917 L nose was devoid of spoilers. Air was ducted through the front radiator and out through vents below the windscreen.

For 1971, the leading edge of the nose was flattened much like the 917/20.

The headlight cowls were re-shaped and large banks of air vents were carved out from above the front wheels.

The cockpit remained the minimum width specified by the FIA.

The rear bodywork section was now devoid of the NACA engine cooling ducts and large brake cooling scoops used in 1970.

As before, the long smooth tail terminated in two vertical fins that formed the sideplates for a full width rear spoiler.

The rear wheels were now enclosed above hub level with an arced cooling slat cut from in front of each tyre’s leading edge.

Overall, the body was 48mm wider and 45mm shorter than in 1970.

CHASSIS

Underneath, the same lightweight tubular alloy spaceframe was employed. As usual this was permanently gas-pressurised to detect any cracks.

Double wishbone suspension incorporated titanium coil springs with adjustable Bilstein-de-Carbon shocks and magnesium uprights.

Girling ventilated disc brakes and calipers were fitted.

The centre-lock wheels were mounted on titanium hubs. The same 15 x 10.5-inch magnesium alloy rims were used at the front with wider 17-inch rims installed at the back (up from 15-inches).

Firestone tyres would be used in 1971.

ENGINE / TRANSMISSION

Although Porsche had a five-litre Type 912/11 version of Hans Mezger’s air-cooled 180° Flat 12 developed in time for Le Mans, all three Long Tails ran the proven 4907cc Type 912/10 unit coupled to a five-speed gearbox.

With a bore and stroke of 86mm and 70.4mm respectively, the Type 912/10 motor brimmed with advanced alloys. It employed mechanical Bosch fuel-injection with two separate ignition distributors to feed the 24 spark plugs.

Compression was 10.5:1 and peak output was 570bhp at 8100rpm.

PRODUCTION

Of the original four Long Tails built in 1970, the first pair (040 and 041) were destroyed in massive testing accidents.

The remaining two (042 and 043) had been used at Le Mans and returned to the factory after the race. Both were re-bodied to the latest configuration and one new chassis was also built up for 1971 (045).

1971 LE MANS TEST

Chassis 043 was selected to run at the annual Le Mans test weekend over April 17th and 18th where it was joined by three other factory-supported 917s.

This trio comprised a standard Gulf-liveried 917 K brought along by John Wyer Automotive Engineering (JWAE), a brand new plain white Kurzheck built on a special magnesium chassis, and the revamped 917/20 that would later become known as the ‘Pink Pig’.

Jackie Oliver drove the new long tailed car (also painted plain white) and went close to five seconds quicker then the new magnesium chassis 917 K that he shared with Jo Siffert and Derek Bell. This car was in turn one second faster than the standard 917 K that JWAE had brought along for direct comparison by same three drivers.

Fourth fastest time and just one tenth of a second behind the Gulf-liveried Porsche was the Ferrari 512 M of Escuderia Montjuich.

The 917/20 driven by Willi Kauhsen and Jo Siffert was fifth.

The re-bodied 917 L had proven even faster in a straight line than the previous year; it went through the speed trap along the Mulsanne Straight at over 240mph (compared to 227mph in 1970).

Under the extremes of cornering and braking, it still lacked the exactness of the Kurzheck, but was a massive improvement on the earlier streamliners.

A three hour race was also held during the test weekend in an attempt to increase attendance.

Derek Bell was down to drive chassis 043 and set a time quick enough for pole by a clear 7.5 seconds. However, the car was withdrawn before the start which left the 917/20 of Kauhsen / van Lennep as the only 917 representative.

After lapping the entire field within ten minutes, the 917/20 retired at mid distance when the engine cut out at Arnage and refused to re-start.

Over the next two months, further private testing took place with the 917 Ls in preparation for the Le Mans 24 Hours on June 12th and 13th.

1971 LE MANS 24 HOURS

Three Long Tails to la Sarthe for the big race, two of which were painted Gulf colours for JWAE. The third appeared in silver Martini livery. All three were factory prepared and stuck with the proven 4.9-litre engines and five-speed gearboxes.

In support were a pair of 917 Ks (one for JWAE and a mag chassis example for Martini). Also present was the works 917/20 that ran under a Martini entry but was painted a wild pink colour scheme inspired by a butchers pig diagram.

The JWAE 917 L of Pedro Rodriguez and Jackie Oliver qualified on pole. It went one second faster than the Martini example driven by Vic Elford and Gerard Larrousse. Next up, a further three seconds back, was the JWAE sister Langheck of Jo Siffert and Derek Bell.

In fourth was the beautifully prepared Penske Ferrari 512 M of Mark Donohue and David Hobbs with Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep fifth in the mag chassis Martini Kurzheck. The ‘Pink Pig’ of Willi Kauhsen and Reinhold Joest started seventh while the standard JWAE 917 K of Richard Attwood and Herbert Muller was back in eleventh.

1971 was the first year of a rolling start at Le Mans and the three 917 Ls got off to a flyer. Together they proved they were easily the fastest cars in the race.

However, all three were forced into retirement after experiencing various engine and suspension troubles.

In the ninth hour, the engine cooling fan on the Elford / Larrousse Martini entry became detached which led to its Flat 12 motor overheating.

The same problem nearly afflicted the 917/20, but the problem was caught in time and the pink car continued until the twelfth hour when it crashed at Arnage.

Two hours later, the JWAE 917 L driven by Rodriguez / Oliver was also out. An oil pipe broke while Rodriguez was travelling at full speed down the back straight which showered the cockpit with scolding oil. The Mexican managed to limp back to the pits but by this time the engine had been terminally damaged.

This left just the JWAE sister car of Siffert / Bell which had experienced lengthy delays for rear quarter rebuilds due to broken shock absorbers. The same problem had also affected the Rodriguez / Oliver entry – it seemed the aero efficiency of the new bodywork was putting unexpected strain on the rear suspension.

Despite soldiering on, Siffert / Bell were out for good after sunrise on Sunday morning. A cracked crankcase forced their retirement in the 18th hour.

Only two 917 Ks remained and both ran the distance.

The white mag chassis Martini entry of van Lennep / Marko took victory by two laps from Attwood / Muller in the conventional JWAE machine.

Porsche had secured their second consecutive outright win at Le Mans.

POST LE MANS

After the race, the Martini long tail (042) was retained by the factory and later went on display at the Porsche Museum.

The new JWAE example (045), was gifted to the Le Mans Museum and re-painted Martini colours.

Chassis 043 (which had finished second in the 1970 race) was returned to the factory, put back to the 1970 body style and re-numbered 044. It was sold as a new car to Vasek Polak in 1975 who placed it on display at his Hermosa Beach Porsche dealership in California. Its true identity was later discovered, corrected by Porsche and the car now resides at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia.

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VIN: the Martini Racing Porsche 911 2.2 Carrera RSR Turbo chassis 9114609016 R9

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HISTORY OF CHASSIS 9114609016 R9

R9 was one of four 911 RSR Turbos campaigned by the Martini-backed works team in the Group 5 three-litre Prototype class of the 1974 World Sportscar Championship. The programme’s aim was to provide valuable experience for a new line of turbocharged 911 racing cars.

As the RSR Turbos were pitched directly against scratch-built Group 5 Prototypes from Matra, Mirage and Alfa Romeo, the production-based 911 was not expected to be in contention for class or outright wins. Nevertheless, several highly impressive results were achieved during the season.

Along with chassis R12, R9 was present for the RSR Turbo’s first public showing at the annual Le Mans Test in late March. Completed late, the cars were totally unsorted and a real handful to drive. Gijs van Lennep and Herbert Muller posted seventh quickest time in R9.

The test weekend closed with a non-championship two hour race. Muller and van Lennep started fifth but retired at mid-distance with turbocharger trouble.

R9 then served as the T-car at Monza and Spa before being recalled for competition duty at the Nurburgring 1000km. Driven on this occasion by Manfred Schurti and Helmut Koinigg, it qualified 14th and finished seventh.

Both RSR Turbos looked decidedly second-hand afterwards; the big rear wing was blamed for obscuring rear vision which led to a number of bumps with other cars during the seven hour race.

At the newly opened Imola circuit two weeks later, R9 was back in the hands of van Lennep and Muller.

After an initially fast start from sixth on the grid, van Lennep began to slow. The freshly laid surface had caused his tyres to blister severely. The car was also jumping out of gear and operating without the second cog at all.

R9 limped on for several more hours, slowly getting worse until Muller stopped when the gearbox finally expired.

The car’s last outing came at the Zeltweg 1000km. This was two weeks after the sister car, R13, had taken second overall at Le Mans.

R9 posted sixth fastest time in qualifying and ran reliably for most of the Austrian event. However, late on, Muller was hampered by a broken throttle linkage which he pulled over and fixed out on track. Muller and van Lennep eventually claimed sixth overall.

With the season over, R9 returned to the factory.

In 1975 it was sold to Dr. William Jackson who was building an exceptional Porsche collection in Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Jackson retained the car for the next 25 years before it passed to the late Matt Drendel in Hickory, North Carolina.

Notable History

Porsche System / Martini Racing Team
Silver Martini livery

24/03/1974 IND Le Mans Test (G. van Lennep / H. Muller) 7th oa, 7th S3.0 class (#9)
24/03/1974 IND Le Mans 4 Hours (G. van Lennep / H. Muller) DNF (#9)
25/04/1974 WSC Monza 1000km (T-car) - (#8T)
05/05/1974 WSC Spa 1000km (T-car) - (#14T)
19/05/1974 WSC Nurburgring 1000km (M. Schurti / H. Koinigg) 7th oa, 7th S3.0 class (#9)
02/06/1974 WSC Imola 1000km (G. van Lennep / H. Muller) DNF (#6)
30/06/1974 WSC Zeltweg 1000km (G. van Lennep / H. Muller) 6th oa, 6th S3.0 class (#7)

1975 sold to Dr William Jackson, Denver, Colorado

2000 sold to Matt Drendel, Hickory, North Carolina

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VIN: the Martini Racing / Count Rossi Porsche 917 K chassis 030

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HISTORY OF CHASSIS 030

Chassis 030 raced just once.

Its sole competition outing came at the Zeltweg 1000km on 27th June 1971 which was the penultimate round of that year’s World Sportscar Championship.

Entered by the factory but run under the auspices of Hans-Dieter Dechent’s works-assisted Martini International Racing Team, the car featured an experimental transistorised anti-lock braking system about which Porsche’s engineers were highly secretive.

In the hands of Helmut Marko and Gerard Larrousse, 030 qualified third behind the pole-sitting John Wyer 917 K of Pedro Rodriguez / Richard Attwood. The works Ferrari 312 P of Jacky Ickx / Clay Regazzoni lined up second.

After circulating at the sharp end of the race for nearly four hours, 030 crept into the pits. While lying second it had suffered a right rear puncture that damaged the bodywork and sent Larrousse off track.

A lengthy pit stop ensued, after which Marko was sent back out. However, the by now heavily taped 917 K was handling unpredictably and, when the rear lights stopped working on the 122nd lap, chassis 030 was retired.

Zeltweg would be the last time a Martini 917 appeared as Dechent’s team were not present at Watkins Glen for the world series finale a month later. Porsche had already wrapped up the 1971 championship and only the Gulf-backed John Wyer squad did any further racing with works 917s.

030 returned to the factory for repair.

Over the next twelve months, the car was used as an ABS test bed during which time it was modified with distinctive cooling vents atop each front wing. It was then retired from active duty and stored.

After starting an association with Porsche in 1968, Martini & Rossi continued to back the works team for much of the 1970s. As a token of their appreciation for his patronage, in 1975, the factory supplied Count Rossi with chassis 030, the only 917 ever officially prepared for road use.

Chassis 030 was painted silver with matching wheels and fitted with a black leather.

Exhaust mufflers were installed but, as the 917 had never been type approved, the car’s registration proved problematic.

After several European authorities refused to cooperate, 030 was eventually accepted by the US state of Alabama. A licence was granted on the understanding the Porsche never came close to the state border.

Count Rossi was true to his word and, after he took delivery in April 1975, the car remained in Europe.

With a power-to-weight ratio approaching 750bhp per ton, a top speed of around 240mph and 0-62mph time of 2.6 seconds, 030 was undisputably the fastest road car on the planet.

Count Rossi retained the silver Porsche until his death in 2003 at which point it passed to his son.

Notable History

Martini International Racing Team
White Martini livery

27/06/1971 WSC Zeltweg 1000km (H. Marko / G. Larrousse) DNF (#28)

Used for test and development

1975 converted for road used by the factory
Repainted silver with black interior

April 1975 gifted to Count Teofilo Guiscardo Rossi di Montelera, Italy
Registered on Alabama licence plate 61-277 37

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Guide: Porsche 917 / 70 Spyder 16C - a Historical & Technical Appraisal

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BACKGROUND

Having made a solid debut in Can-Am with the 1969 Group 7 917 Spyder, Porsche had nevertheless been soundly beaten by the works McLaren M8Bs with their seven-litre 635bhp Chevrolet engines. In comparison, the Flat 12 engine used by Porsche in 1969 had displaced just 4.5-litres and produced 580bhp.

If they wanted to catch up, Porsche had three options: add displacement, add cylinders or add turbochargers. To get it right, they would sit out the 1970 Can-Am season and focus on developing a suitable engine.

It was thought Hans Mezger’s existing Flat 12 could be taken out to around 5.5-litres but an additional 1000cc would not be enough to close the performance gap.

Both remaining options had their drawbacks: taming turbocharger delivery was still a black art while adding cylinders would inevitably increase the size and weight of an engine. With neither route seeming the obvious solution, Porsche decided to explore both avenues in 1970.

Initially, a Flat 16 engine seemed the most likely to succeed. Porsche also thought a five-litre version of the 16 cylinder engine could be used to stay ahead of Ferrari in the World Sportscar Championship. Furthermore, the Flat 16 would have applications of up to 7.2-litres - perfect for Group 7 where there were no restrictions on engine size.

ENGINE

Ferdinand Piech was the inspiration for the Flat 16. His grandfather, Ferdinand Porsche, had created the supercharged V16 used by Auto Union to great effect between 1934 and 1937.

However, whereas the Auto Union approach was extremely complex, Porsche decided on a simpler route; they took the existing 180° Flat 12 motor and added a cylinder at each corner thus retaining the original pistons, rods and valves.

The original 4.5-litre Flat 12 would therefore become a 6-litre Flat 16 with an estimated output of 750bhp.

Canted inlet valves required the inlet trumpets to sit at an angle which happily allowed room for a larger Bosch mechanical fuel-injection system that employed a pair of 908 pumps.

Dyno tested with 690bhp at 9200rpm, such engine speeds initially resulted in overheating and damage to the outlet valves. The problem was solved by Acheson Colloids who supplied Porsche with a dry-film molybdenum disulphide lubricant.

Otherwise, the Flat 16 engine used a similar mix of exotic alloys to the Flat 12.

Compression was kept at 10.5:1 and dyno tests eventually got up to 755bhp with 880bhp predicted from the 7.2-litre version.

All this was promising enough to warrant installation to a car.

Porsche opted to try a 6.7-litre configuration that produced 840bhp at 8300rpm. So secret it never received a type number, the Flat 16 engine was fitted to Porsche’s original 917 Group 7 Spyder mule from 1969 (chassis 027).

To accommodate the massive engine, Porsche had to extend the original 2300mm wheelbase by 270mm. This inevitably reduced torsional rigidity and, with the Flat 16 engine weighing 80kg more than the twelve cylinder version, the 917 Spyder was unable to cope.

TESTING

Jo Siffert and Mark Donohue both tested the car at Weissach, but neither was impressed with the handling.

The Flat 16 programme was quickly set aside in favour of pursuing the turbocharged route.

SUBSEQUENT HISTORY

After shelving the 16 cylinder engine, rumours of its existence began to circulate.

To confuse Ferrari, Porsche admitted they had been working on the engine and released a photograph of the Flat 16 next to their Flat 12. Cunningly, they shrunk the Flat 16 image so the two motors appeared dimensionally similar.

This led Ferrari to conclude Porsche had a five-litre Flat 16 ready for the 1971 World Sportscar Championship. It is understood to have influenced the Italian’s decision to drop the 512 M project despite its promising victory at the Kyalami 9 Hours in November 1970.

Sadly for race fans, Ferrari switched focus to their 312 P for 1971.

Four complete Flat 16 engines were made by Porsche and two survive, one of which remains in chassis 027.

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Guide: Porsche 917 / 70 L - a Historical & Techncial Appraisal

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BACKGROUND

Although the Kurzheck configuration had transformed the Porsche 917 from an unstable and ill-handling pig, the trade off was a big drop in top speed; these short tailed variants topped out at around 190mph whereas the long tailed cars from 1969 had exceeded 220mph.

At most circuits on the World Sportscar Championship calendar, this was not a problem and the 917 K’s improved dynamics led to much quicker lap times. However, with its exceedingly long straights, Le Mans was the exception.

To give themselves the best chance of victory at la Sarthe, Porsche developed a new Langheck version of the 1970 car.

Ferrari were also developing a long tailed version of their 512 S for Le Mans, but whereas the Italian firm simply opted for a bolt-on rear clamshell that could be fitted to any 512 S, Porsche went to the trouble of designing an entirely new low drag body for their car.

BODYWORK

The 917 L was 52mm wider and 540mm longer than the 917 K.

It also had more pronounced surface curvature with bodywork that sunk away from the tops of the wings.

Re-shaped headlight cowls were introduced along with more rounded front corners.

The forward section of the cockpit was unchanged but behind it, the engine was enclosed rather than open to the elements.

The extended rear end flowed smoothly down towards the tail where two large cooling scoops were located.

The 917 K’s cutaway back end was replaced by a more conventionally shrouded tail complete with two huge vertical fins.

CHASSIS

Aside from its new bodywork, under the skin, the 917 L was little changed.

It employed the same lightweight tubular alloy spaceframe that was permanently gas-pressurised to detect any cracks in the structure.

Double wishbone suspension incorporated titanium coil springs with adjustable Bilstein dampers and magnesium uprights.

The ventilated disc brakes and calipers were supplied by Girrling.

15-inch diameter centre-lock magnesium alloy wheels were mounted on titanium hubs. Like the 917 K, the wheels measured 10.5-inches wide at the front and 15-inches wide at the back.

For 1970, Goodyear tyres would be used.

ENGINE / TRANSMISSION

Although Porsche had their enlarged 4.9-litre version of the Hans Mezger-designed air-cooled 180° Flat 12 on stream soon after the 917 L made its debut at the Le Mans test weekend in April, both long tailed examples that attended the 24 Hour race used the standard 4.5-litre Type 912/00 engine.

This was the uprated 1970 version with its strengthened crankcase and twin pipe exhaust system.

It employed mechanical Bosch fuel-injection with two separate ignition distributors to feed the 24 spark plugs.

Compression was 10.5:1 and peak output was 560bhp at 8000rpm.

Given the enormous top speeds predicted, a five-speed gearbox was essential for Le Mans – a four-speed would have been bouncing off the rev limiter.

TESTING

On April 7th, the first 917 L (chassis 040) was taken to Volkswagen’s high speed Ehra-Lessien test track where Kurt Ahrens Jr. conducted a shakedown one week before the annual Le Mans trials.

The test took place on a soaking wet day and Ahrens Jr. had an enormous accident coming off the banked section.

Chassis 040 aquaplaned into the barriers at around 160mph and split in two. The back half of the car travelled several hundred metres down the track.

Miraculously, Ahrens Jr. wasn’t seriously hurt but internal bruising prevented him racing for the next few weeks.

Frenzied work by the Porsche mechanics produced another 917 L in time for the Le Mans test (chassis 041).

1970 LE MANS TEST

The date of 1970’s Le Mans test clashed with round three of the World Sportscar Championship at Brands Hatch so it was rather poorly attended and wet weather kept lap times down.

Herbert Linge was on hand to drive the new plain white long tailed car which appeared only briefly and posted 15th quickest time.

Also present was the Gulf Oil-backed John Wyer Automotive Engineering team (JWAE) who went fastest with their 917 K in the hands of Brian Redman and Mike Hailwood.

SUBSEQUENT TESTS

Further testing was carried out over the next few weeks during which time, chassis 041 was destroyed in another high speed crash.

This and the earlier incident convinced John Wyer not to run the 917 L at Le Mans. His team ran a trio of 917 Ks instead.

1970 LE MANS 24 HOURS

Despite its reputation for instability in fast corners and a liability to aquaplane in the wet, Porsche entered two new 917 Ls for Le Mans.

One was for the quasi-works Salzburg team (042) and the other was entered under the Martini Racing banner and run by Porsche themselves (043).

Each car had a full width rear wing added between the tail fins to improve stability.

The Salzburg entry was painted white with red airflow stripes. It was allocated to Vic Elford and Kurt Ahrens Jr. who qualified on pole with a time just two tenths of a second quicker than the works Ferrari 512 S of Nino Vaccarella and Ignazio Giunti.

Jo Siffert and Brian Redman started third in their JWAE 917 K followed by another 512 S (Merzario / Regazzoni) and the sister JWAE car of Rodriguez / Kinnunen in fifth.

The Martini-backed 917 L of Gerard Larrousse and Porsche test driver, Willi Kauhsen, qualified twelfth. This car arrived at Le Mans in a wild purple livery with white psychedelic stripes to which green centres were added after qualifying.

Backing up these cars were a further three 917 Ks including another from JWAE, one from Salzburg and one from the AAW Racing Team.

The race was held over June 13th and 14th and Porsche were determined to break their duck. Crushingly, the JWAE Ford GT40s had beaten them by a tiny margin in 1968 and again in 1969.

A high attrition rate with heavy rain overnight saw only 16 of the 51 starters go the distance. Two 917 Ks retired with crash damage, one blew its engine and another threw a con rod.

By early Sunday morning, just three 917s remained at which point the white and red Salzburg Langheck of Elford / Ahrens Jr. held a convincing lead.

However, handling problems caused by an unidentified slow puncture began to plague the car. It had dropped to second by 8:30 on Sunday morning when it came in with a broken inlet valve and was retired.

By this time, the purple and green Martini-backed 917 L of Larrousse / Kauhsen was struggling; the wet weather had affected its electricals but both this and the remaining 917 made it to the finish.

Despite having been the slowest 917 in qualifying, Porsche Salzburg’s 4.5-litre orange and white Kurzheck driven by Richard Attwood and Hans Herrmann took the win. Five laps behind in second place was the purple and green Martini Langheck driven by Larrousse / Kauhsen.

Porsche had recorded their maiden Le Mans victory and a revamped 917 L would be back again for 1971.

Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com

VIN: the works Porsche 917 / 917 K chassis 001

<<<PORSCHE PORTAL
<<<917 PORTAL / <<<917 K PORTAL
<<<917 FOR SALE

HISTORY OF CHASSIS 001

Chassis 001 was the first Porsche 917 built. Painted white with a green nose and matching rear wing uprights, it was completed on March 10th 1969.

Two days later, it was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show.

On April 21st 1969, chassis 001 was used as the reference car for homologation into the Group 4 Sport class. It headed the 25 917 Langhecks that were lined up at the factory for the FIA to inspect.

Unbeknown to the FIA, most of the cars could have their engines started and first gear engaged but could drive no more than a few metres. The 917s were positioned in such a way they could be manoeuvred forwards but not actually driven out.

Homologation was granted and became effective from May 1st. The majority of cars were then dismantled to be re-assembled at a later date as and when required.

001 was the only one of the original 25 917s not to see some kind of competitive action, serving instead as a presentation vehicle.

In this role it was wheeled out a stunning blue and orange colour scheme to publicise Porsche’s two-year partnership with Gulf Racing for 1970 and ‘71. While in the UK as part of this promotional tour, 001 went on display at October 1969’s London Motor Show.

Subsequently used for a little light development work, 001 fortunately escaped the infamous Long Distance Life Test that claimed several other early 917s.

Porsche instead retained the car and had it rebuilt to 1970 Kurzheck trim for promotional purposes. 001 was later painted orange with white flashes to replicate the 1970 Le Mans-winning car driven by Richard Attwood and Hans Herrmann.

Chassis 001 remained that way until January 2018 when Porsche began to restore the car to its original configuration for the 917’s 50th anniversary. 001 was then unveiled to the press in April 2019.

Notable History

White with Green nose and rear wing uprights

12/03/1969 Geneva Motor Show

21/04/1969 Factory homologation presentation

15/10/1969 London Motor Show

Rebuilt to 917 K specification

Painted Orange with White flashes to replicate the 1970 Le Mans winning car

2018/2019 restored to 1969 trim

Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com

VIN: the Giuseppe Bianco Porsche 934 chassis 9306700157

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<<<934 PORTAL
<<<934 FOR SALE

HISTORY OF CHASSIS 9306700157

Chassis 9306700157 was one of 31 Porsche 934s manufactured of which all but two were raced.

0157 was delivered to Italian amateur driver, Giuseppe Bianco, who ran his car under a Jolly Club entry often with backing from the famous exotic car dealership, Achilli Motors of Milan.

During Bianco’s ownership, the Porsche was usually maintained by Tam Auto Tuning. The proprietor of Tam Auto Tuning, Giuseppe Tambone, would also occasionally co-drive with Bianco.

Early 1976 saw 0157 take GT class wins in four of its first five events.

These victorious outings included the Vallelunga 6 Hour World Sportscar Championship race and the Targa Florio.

In June 1976, Bianco had the car partially uprated to 934/5 trim with wide Group 5 rear wheelarch extensions. He was still able to compete in Group 4 events when standard rear wheels were fitted. After the 934/5 arches were added, 0157 most notably won the European GT Championship race at Misano.

Bianco retained his white 934 with its blue and orange stripes for 1977. That season, it ran a limited but no less successful campaign.

The highlight was when, co-driven by Arturo Merzario, Bianco won the GT class in the Mugello 6 Hour World Sportscar Championship race. This was followed by second overall and first in class on the Giro d’Italia.

Bianco’s last race with 0157 yielded an outright win at Magione; he then retired from competition.

By 1979, the Porsche had been sold to Roland Ennequin an amateur driver from Paris.

Ennequin ran the car under a Kores Racing entry and contested five big events that season. Now back in standard 934 trim, the car posted three DNFs but did see the chequered flag at Le Mans and the Brands Hatch 6 Hours. Ennequin’s 16th overall and second in class at Le Mans was the year’s undoubted highlight.

0157 was campaigned in a plain white colour scheme throughout 1979.

For its two outings in 1980, an eye-popping black and pink chequered livery was adopted. Due to the paucity of GT class opposition, Ennequin and his co-drivers claimed another second in category at la Sarthe and then third in class at the Dijon 1000km despite quite lowly finishes.

In November 1980, Ennequin sold the 934 to Valentin Bertapelle, a Citroen main dealer from Alsace.

When the car appeared for its next and final outing, it had mysteriously been renumbered 930 670 0177. This was probably done for Carnet reasons to enable some kind of tax dodge.

Bertapelle raced the car just once; it contested the 1981 Le Mans 24 Hours re-liveried in a bright pink colour scheme. Despite finishing second to last, it was the only GT car still running and therefore secured an all-important class win at Le Mans.

In June 1983, Bertapelle sold 0157 to Manfred Freisinger who stored it until 2007.

0157 was then restored in Freisinger’s famed Karlsruhe workshop.

Notable History

Sold to Giuseppe Bianco, Italy (Jolly Club entry)

White with Blue & Orange striped livery

21/03/1976 WCM Mugello 6 Hours (G. Bianco / G. Schon / G. Gargano) DNF clutch (#14)
04/04/1976 WCM Vallelunga 6 Hours (G. Bianco / G. Schon / L. Tommasi) 5th oa, 1st GT class (#12)
02/05/1976 IGT Monza (G. Schon) 1st oa, 1st Gr.5 3.0+ class (#5)
16/05/1976 IND Targa Florio (G. Bianco / G. Tambone) 4th oa, 1st GT 3.0+ class (#45)
30/05/1976 IG4 Varano Trofeo Renzo (G. Bianco) 3rd oa, 1st 3.0 GT class (#??)

Uprated to partial 934/5 specification with wide rear wheelarch extensions

27/06/1976 WCM Zeltweg 6 Hours (S. Frisori / A. Moncini) 10th oa, 9th Gr.5 class (#9)
01/08/1976 EGT Misano (G. Tambone) 1st oa, 1st GT class (#16)
05/09/1976 EGT Monza 6 Hours (G. Tambone / L. Tommasi) 4th oa, 4th GT 1.6+ class (#14)

20/03/1977 WCM Mugello 6 Hours (G. Bianco / A. Merzario) 4th oa, 1st GT class (#18)
17/06/1977 RDC Giro d'Italia (G. Bianco / G. Tambone) 2nd oa, 1st 4/4 class (#499)
10/07/1977 IGT Misano (G. Bianco) ran (#??)
27/09/1977 IND Magione (G. Bianco) 1st oa (#??)

Sold to Roland Ennequin, France (Kores Racing entry)

White livery

Standard 934 bodywork

18/03/1979 WSC Mugello 6 Hours (G. Bourdillat / A.M. Bernard) DNF (#58)
22/04/1979 WSC Dijon 6 Hours (G. Bourdillat / R. Ennequin) DNF (#57)
10/06/1979 IND Le Mans 24 Hours (G. Bourdillat / R. Ennequin / A.M. Bernard) 16th oa, 2nd GT 3.0+ class (#86)
05/08/1979 WSC Brands Hatch 6 Hours (G. Bourdillat / R. Ennequin) 19th oa, 10th GT class (#11)
16/09/1979 WSC Vallelunga 6 Hours (G. Bourdillat / R. Ennequin) DNF (#56)

Black & Pink chequered livery

15/06/1980 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (G. Bourdillat / R. Ennequin / A.M. Bernard) 24th oa, 2nd GT class (#90)
28/09/1980 WSC Dijon 1000km (G. Bourdillat / R. Ennequin / A.M. Bernard) 14th oa, 3rd GT class (#27)

18/11/1980 sold to Valentin Bertapelle, France

At some stage renumbered 930 670 0177 probably for Carnet

Pink livery

14/06/1981 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (V. Bertapelle / T. Perrier / B. Salam) 17th oa, 1st GT class (#70)

06/06/1983 sold to Manfred Freisinger, Germany

Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Supercar Nostalgia

Guide: Porsche 917 K / 70 - a Historical & Technical Appraisal

<<<PORSCHE PORTAL
<<<917 K PORTAL
<<<917 FOR SALE

BACKGROUND

Following back-to-back defeats at Daytona and Sebring in early 1969, Porsche decided they wanted a partner organisation to race their cars. Such a move would enable the factory to focus purely on development.

Just as importantly, Porsche were haemorrhaging vast sums of cash on the combined 908 and as yet still secret 917 programme. A day of reckoning with the accountants was inevitable so, to protect their motor racing activities, Porsche enlisted John Wyer Automotive Engineering (JWAE) whose Gulf Oil-backed operation was the best in the business.

Having worked as Aston Martin’s team manager for David Brown, John Wyer left to set up Ford Advanced Vehicles (FAV) and masterminded the enormously successful GT40 programme. From his base at the old FAV works in Slough, Wyer’s 40-man operation included team manager, David Yorke, deputy managing director, John Horsman, and head mechanic, Ermanno Cuoghi.

At Sebring, Porsche held secret meetings with Wyer and Gulf executive, Grady Davis, to flesh out a potential arrangement.

After the 1969 Spa 1000km race in May, Wyer and Davis flew to Stuttgart to meet Ferdinand Piech and Ferry Porsche where an agreement was signed that, for 1970 and 1971, would put the full 917 project at John Wyer’s disposal.

Wyer got the cars at no cost but, from the moment everything left Stuttgart, it was at JWAE’s expense. JWAE were responsible for preparation and servicing but blown engines would be rebuilt by Porsche back at the factory.

The 917s would race in Gulf colours and driver salaries were split between the two firms; Jo Siffert and Brian Redman were paid by Porsche, Pedro Rodriguez and Leo Kinnunen by JWAE.

When the agreement was signed, John Wyer understood his team would have the only factory-backed Porsches racing. However, still hungry for competition, a frustrated Ferdinand Piech began racing quasi works 917s through his mother’s Austrian import distributorship, Porsche Konstruktionen Salzburg. Factory drivers Kurt Ahrens Jr., Vic Elford, Rudi Lins and Hans Herrmann were employed and the first John Wyer knew of the Salzburg operation was when they turned up for the season opener at Daytona.

Porsche and JWAE went public with the news of their partnership in October 1969, soon after the that year’s World Sportscar Championship had concluded. JWAE’s most pressing issue was to resolve the 917’s chronic handling and stability problems.

A test session was organised at Zeltweg in early October to which Porsche took a 917 Coupe and their new Group 7 Spyder. With its upswept tail but otherwise identical chassis and engine, the Spyder proved around four seconds a lap quicker.

Wyer’s men unceremoniously began cutting away at the Coupe’s back end and improvised a rudimentary new tail using aluminium sheets. Lap times began to drop quickly and the ‘Kurzheck’ was subsequently perfected back in Germany.

BODYWORK

This new configuration, with its bodywork completely cut away from behind the rear wheels up to the height of the tyres, formed the basis for 1970’s much-improved 917 K.

What remained of the upper rear bodywork was extended further back than the Spyder and the original rear windscreen was ditched in favour of an uncovered engine with flying buttresses either side.

Also discarded were the suspension-activated aero flaps.

Changes at the front were less drastic. The familiar looking nose was subtly widened and given enlarged ducts to improve radiator and brake cooling. The winglets used in 1969 were deleted.

CHASSIS

The lightweight tubular alloy gas pressurised spaceframe chassis was unchanged. It was initially still used to pipe oil to the front radiator. However, during the course of 1970, JWAE upgraded to external oil pipes to reduce cockpit heat.

Suspension was via double wishbones, coil springs, adjustable Bilstein dampers and magnesium uprights.

Ventilated disc brakes were fitted, first with ATE and later Girling calipers.

The 15-inch diameter centre-lock five spoke magnesium alloy wheels were once again mounted on titanium hubs. The wheels themselves were widened from 9 to 10.5-inches at the front and from 12 to 15-inches at the back.

Firestone, Dunlop and Goodyear tyres were all used.

ENGINE / TRANSMISSION

Although a 4.9-litre version of the Hans Mezger-designed air-cooled 180° Flat 12 would become available in April 1970, the Type 912/00 4.5-litre units were initially retained but with several enhancements.

The crankcase, which had a reputation for cracking in 1969, was strengthened by deleting the two small inspection hatches where the cracks always started.

A new exhaust system was also added, the old four-pipe arrangement gave way to a neater twin pipe layout.

Mechanical Bosch fuel-injection was retained and, as before, there were two separate ignition distributors feeding the 24 spark plugs.

Compression stayed at 10.5:1 and the 1970 season began with these engines producing 560bhp at 8000rpm.

Regarding the longitudinally mounted all synchromesh transmission, several drivers had complained about the gearchange. With this in mind, the selection was modified to ensure first could only be engaged when the car was at rest.

Four or five-speed gearboxes could be installed depending on circuit characteristics.

WEIGHT / PERFORMANCE

All this led to enormous gains in directional stability albeit at cost to maximum speed: the 917 K topped out at around 190mph, some 30mph less than the Long Tailed 917s had reached at Le Mans in 1969.

TESTING

In the last week of November 1969, JWAE and Porsche went testing at Daytona with the newly finished 1970-spec. Kurzheck. Over the course of a 26 hour session, the 917 Ks proved much more stable and smashed the lap record by nearly seven seconds - an astonishing leap in performance.

The revamped car was officially unveiled during the Porsche Press Day at Hockenheim in early December. JWAE took delivery of their first three 917s that same week – they would use eight during the season.

The Salzberg team would later receive four cars while another five went to privateers.

For 1970, the FIA re-named Group 4 as Group 5.

1970 BUENOS AIRES 1000KM

One of the privateers to race a 917 in 1970 was David Piper whose 1969 car (chassis 010) started the season with a combination of the new Kurzheck rear bodywork and a 1969 nose with its winglets still in place.

Piper flew his car to Argentina at the start of the year to contest the Temporada series. Historically, the Temporada had been a Formula 2 contest but, for 1970, it comprised a pair of sports car races held on different permutations of the Buenos Aires circuit.

The first race was a 1000km event on January 11th.

Piper was joined in his white and green car by factory driver, Brian Redman.

Having qualified on pole, they set the early pace until persistent tyre problems hampered progress. A blowout on on lap 16 was followed by two more rear tyre failures in quick succession. The last of these led to a minor collision with a Lola that put the Porsche out for good.

Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo won the race for Matra in a works MS630/650.

1970 BUENOS AIRES 200 MILES

A 200 mile race was held one week later for which Piper drove single-handedly. He qualified sixth but retired early on with gearbox trouble. On this occasion, victory went to the works Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3 of Piers Courage and Andrea de Adamich.

1970 DAYTONA 24 HOURS

The 1970 World Sportscar Championship kicked off with the Daytona 24 Hours held over January 31st and February 1st. This was also the first race for Ferrari’s new 512 S but, given the 917 K’s performance during those November ‘69 tests, JWAE were confident of beating the Italians.

Four 917s were entered for the race, two from JWAE, one from the Salzburg squad and David Piper’s example that was a late arrival from Argentina. Piper was actually driving for Luigi Chinetti’s Ferrari team at Daytona but Tony Dean’s Porsche 908 had gone astray on its way back from Buenos Aires so Dean arranged to race Piper’s car which was sitting at the docks.

It didn’t arrive until the Thursday afternoon practice session and was under-geared for Daytona which resulted in a blown engine after just a few practice laps. There was no spare so the car, which Dean had expected to share with Gerard Larrousse, failed to start.

JWAE took three Gulf-liveried cars to Daytona, two to race and one for practice. All had Graviner automatic fire extinguishers and an additional window let into the roof for improved visibility on the banking.

Salzburg had one car for Kurt Ahrens Jr. and Vic Elford which was painted white with red air flow flashes.

Both the JWAE and Salzburg cars were running four speed gearboxes.

The Ferrari of Mario Andretti and Arturo Merzario sprang a surprise in qualifying to secure pole. Jo Siffert and Brian Redman started second for JWAE with Pedro Rodriguez / Leo Kinnunen third in the sister car. Ahrens Jr. / Elford lined up fourth for Salzburg.

At 2:10am (a little over eleven hours in), the Salzburg entry of Ahrens Jr. / Elford required a 42 minute pit-stop to fix a petrol tank leak caused by damage from an earlier shock absorber failure. The car did subsequently go out for a few more laps but quickly returned to the pits where it was retired. A few weeks later, this 917 (chassis 011) was destroyed by a mechanic while testing for the Targa Florio.

By contrast, JWAE scored a memorable one-two finish at Daytona and smashed the distance record in the process. Rodriguez and Kinnunen were later joined by Redman in the winning car while the Siffert / Redman entry placed second. Jacky Ickx jumped ship to the Andretti / Merzario Ferrari after his original car retired and they took third for Ferrari.

1970 JARAMA COPA ALFIL

Between Daytona and Sebring, Spanish privateer, Alex Soler-Roig, received his new 917 K (chassis 018).

This plain white car was campaigned under the Escuderia Nacional banner in the 1970 Spanish Sportscar Championship.

Soler-Roig’s first race in the new car came at Jarama on March 1st. He took pole and won convincingly from team-mate Jorge de Bagration’s Porsche 908/02.

1970 SEBRING 12 HOURS

Three weeks later, the World Sportscar Championship headed to Sebring for the 12 Hour race on March 21st.

Four 917 Ks were entered with two each for JWAE and Salzburg.

After six weeks at the Gulf research centre in Pennsylvania, the JWAE cars had new cockpit and damper cooling ducts, improved dampers, larger front wheel bearings, wider wheels and wider bodywork.

The Daytona practice car was entered for Rodriguez / Kinnunen with Siffert / Redman in a refurbished car last raced in 1969. Salzburg had a pair of brand new examples for Ahrens Jr. / Elford (white with blue flashes) and Herrmann / Lins (blue with white flashes).

The Ferrari of Andretti / Merzario took pole with Siffert / Redman second, Ahrens Jr. / Elford third, the Ickx / Schetty Ferrari fourth and Rodriguez / Kinnunen fifth.

Herrmann / Lins started down in eleventh and were the first to retire (with an over-revved engine on lap 28).

The Ahrens Jr. / Elford entry was next to go after 61 laps. Elford was hit by a slower car while trying to avoid another incident. He limped on and had almost made it back to the pits when a wheel came off and tore up the suspension.

The JWAE cars both suffered wobbling uprights as a telegram from Porsche that called for the titanium retaining bolts to be replaced with steel ones had been missed. Multiple changes were required during the race and the problem eventually forced the Siffert / Redman entry to retire.

Rodriguez and Kinnunen (later joined by Siffert) placed fourth.

Victory went to Ferrari’s Ignazio Giunti, Nino Vaccarella and Mario Andretti. Steve McQueen / Peter Revson were second in the Solar Productions Porsche 908/02 and Toine Hezemans / Masten Gregory finished third in a works Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3.

1970 JARAMA

Three minor races then took place before the next World Sportscar Championship event at Brands Hatch. Alex Soler-Roig won the first which was a minor race at Jarama (March 22nd).

1970 ZOLDER

One week later, the Gesipa Racing Team debuted their 917 K at Zolder non-championship event.

This car (chassis 007) had been raced by the factory in 1969 and rebuilt to 1970 K trim over the winter.

Painted the Gesipa Rivets company colours of blue with yellow stripes, it was raced to a maiden victory at Zolder by Jurgen Neuhaus on March 29th.

1970 THRUXTON EMBASSY TROPHY

The Thruxton Embassy Trophy on March 30th (round two of the British Sports Car Championship) marked the return of David Piper’s car which had by now been fully uprated to 1970 K-spec. complete with a new engine and gearbox.

Painted white, the car was entered for Jo Siffert who only got out in second practice which was wet.

Despite setting a time five seconds faster than anyone else in the wet session, Siffert started from the third row of the grid. Undeterred, he took the lead on lap two and won convincingly from Brian Redman in a works Chevron B16.

1970 LE MANS TEST

On April 11th and 12th, the Le Mans organisers held their annual test weekend. As the date clashed with the World Championship race at Brands Hatch, it was rather poorly attended and wet weather kept lap times down.

JWAE took a brand new car for Mike Hailwood who would be driving for the team at the 24 Hours. Brian Redman also flew out from Brands.

Although the Kurzheck body gave tremendous handling advantages, it paid dearly in terms of top speed. To counter, Porsche had designed a new long tailed body for Le Mans that they hoped would maintain stability on the Mulsanne Straight.

With Kurt Ahrens Jr. having destroyed the first 917 Langheck in a crash at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg test track the week before (chassis 040), a second example was hurriedly built up (041). It appeared only briefly over the test weekend and was driven by Herbert Linge to 15th fastest time.

By contrast, the Redman / Hailwood 917 K went quickest. Ickx / Giunti / Schetty were second in a works Ferrari 512 S.

1970 BRANDS HATCH 1000KM

The same weekend, Brands Hatch hosted a 1000km race for round three of the 1970 World Sportscar Championship.

Five 917 Ks were entered, two each for JWAE and Salzburg plus David Piper’s car which had now been painted red to reflect sponsorship from Herb Wetson’s hamburger chain. Co-driven by David Hobbs, Piper’s car broke a camshaft in practice so did not start.

After the debacle at Sebring, the troublesome four-stud front hubs on the JWAE cars had been replaced with a stronger single fixing arrangement. Weight had also been reduced a little and the engines were now rated at nearly 570bhp.

A rebuilt 1969 race car was entered for Siffert / Redman while Rodriguez / Kinnunen got a brand new chassis.

The brace of Salzburg cars comprised a brand new plain white example for Vic Elford and Denny Hulme (who was replacing the recovering Ahrens Jr. after his Long Tail testing crash). There was also the blue car used at Sebring with its white airflow flashes for Richard Attwood / Hans Herrmann.

Once again, a Ferrari was on pole (Amon / Merzario) with another 512 S second (Ickx / Oliver). Best of the Porsche entries was Elford / Hulme in third with the Matra MS650 of Brabham and Beltoise fourth. As for the other three 917s, Siffert / Redman were fifth, Rodriguez / Kinnunen seventh and Attwood / Herrmann ninth.

The race was predominantly run in torrential rain, but Porsche emerged victorious in the slippery conditions and 917s filled the top three positions.

Having been demoted to fifth while leading for passing under yellow flags, Pedro Rodriguez put on an incredible display of wet weather driving and was simply uncatchable.

Elford / Hulme and Attwood / Herrmann rounded out the podium for Salzburg while Redman slithered off the track and crashed under pressure from Amon while lying second. This car (004) was subsequently rebuilt with a new chassis for Spa (017) but continued to race with the identity of 004.

1970 MONZA TESTS

One week before the Monza 1000km took place on April 25th, Porsche tested a 4.9-litre version of the Flat 12 engine at the Italian circuit. An engine of up to five-litres had been homologated at the end of 1969. Herrmann, Elford and Kinnunen covered a full race distance without any problems.

Outwardly similar to the 4.5-litre unit, the new Type 912/10 engine displaced 4907cc. This was achieved by taking the bore out from 85mm to 86mm and extending the stroke from 66m to 70.4mm. A new crankshaft and rods were fitted but compression stayed at 10.5:1.

These 4.9-litre units started out with 570bhp at 8100rpm but 600bhp at 8400rpm was expected down the line. Two engines would be available for the race at Monza in one week’s time.

1970 MONZA 1000KM

No less than seven 917 Ks were entered at Monza. There were two each for JWAE and Salzburg plus David Piper’s Wetson’s backed car (with another new engine) and the blue and yellow Gesipa machine. There was also a brand new Shell-backed car (021) painted yellow with red lower trim. This car was entered by the AAW Racing Team run by Finnish industrialist, Antii Aarnio-Wihuri.

JWAE ran the 4.9-litre engine for Siffert / Redman and a 4.5 in the Rodriguez / Kinnunen entry.

Salzburg had their plain white car for Elford / Ahrens Jr. (4.9) and their blue with white airflow flashed example for Herrmann / Attwood (4.5).

All four of these cars had a new Girling brake system that used Ford GT40-type front calipers with ventilated discs. To accommodate this new arrangement, special front uprights had been made in Stuttgart.

Siffert / Redman were on pole in the 4.9-litre Gulf entry but an oil leak late in the session saw them revert to a 4.5 for the race. Amon / Merzario started second for Ferrari with Elford / Ahrens Jr. third in the Salzburg 4.9. Giunti / Vaccarella were fourth in another Ferrari, Rodriguez / Kinnunen fifth for JWAE and the Surtees / Schetty 512 S sixth. Gesipa, the second Salzburg entry and AAW were seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. David Piper’s car started down in 17th.

The victorious Rodriguez / Kinnunen 917 saved the day for Porsche after all the other works-assisted examples had problems.

Siffert was forced to spin at Lesmo to avoid a slower car and touched a barrier which necessitated a 24 minute stop for new rear suspension. This car finished twelfth.

A few laps after Siffert’s incident, the Attwood / Herrmann entry went out when the engine was over-revved.

In the sister Salzburg car, Ahrens Jr. retired from the lead after a tyre blowout smashed the oil tank, ripped off most of the left hand rear wing and damaged the suspension.

The AAW car of Gijs van Lennep and Hans Laine touched a barrier on the opening lap and it took two stops to properly cut away the damaged bodywork. They eventually finished eleventh, one position behind the Gesipa entry of Jurgen Neuhaus and Helmut Kelleners.

The David Piper / Tony Adamowicz 917 went out with a seized gearbox at around one third distance.

1970 TARGA FLORIO

On May 3rd, the Targa Florio hosted round five of the World Sportscar Championship.

For the twisty road course, Porsche produced their latest version of the three-litre 908 Spyder: the 908/03.

JWAE and Salzburg both preferred the 908/03 to the unwieldy 917s and it was the Gulf-backed squad that finished first and second.

Salzburg had taken their blue and white striped 917 K to Sicily and Elford did try a few practice laps in the car but quickly decided against any more.

1970 JARAMA

The same day as the Targa Florio, Alex Soler-Roig took another domestic Spanish championship win in chassis 018 at Jarama.

1970 FASSBERG

A week later, a non-championship race at Fassberg was expected to see three 917s race. However, the Porsche Salzburg entry never materialised after their transporter crashed en route.

Gesipa decided to run their 908/02 due to a lack of spare engine parts for the 917.

That left David Piper as the sole 917 representative.

After qualifying second (behind Teddy Pilette’s Lola T70 Mk3B GT), Piper lost control early on. He hit a straw bale at the chicane hard enough to damage the front end which forced him out of the race.

1970 SPA 1000KM

May 17th saw the World Championship head to Spa for another 1000km race.

JWAE arrived with two 4.9-litre cars for Rodriguez / Kinnunen and Redman / Siffert. The Salzburg team also had their plain white 4.9-litre car for Elford / Ahrens Jr. plus the older blue and white striped 4.5-litre example for Attwood / Herrmann.

Additionally, the yellow and red AAW car was on hand for Laine / van Lennep (complete with new 4.5-litre engine) plus the blue and yellow Gesipa entry for Neuhaus / Kelleners.

JWAE 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 Rodriguez / Kinnunen Porsche took pole with Siffert / Redman second and the Ickx / Surtees Ferrari third. Gesipa had their best qualifying session of the season with Neuhaus / Kelleners fourth. AAW were sixth and the Salzburg entries eighth (Attwood / Herrmann) and twelfth (Elford / Ahres Jr.).

The Kinnunen / Rodriguez entry went out with a seized gearbox after 44 laps when lying second but, thanks to Siffert and Redman, JWAE took their fifth win of the year. Ickx and Surtees were second in a Ferrari with the 4.9-litre Salzburg 917 of Elford / Ahrens Jr. third.

Hans Laine and Gijs van Lennep placed fifth behind the Giunti / Vaccarella 512 S with Attwood / Herrmann sixth for Salzburg.

The only other non-finishing 917 was the Gesipa entry that retired after Neuhaus hit Andre Wicky’s Porsche and took both cars out. Thankfully, neither vehicle was seriously damaged.

1970 NURBURGRING 1000KM

Like at the Targa Florio, the Nurburgring 1000km race on May 31st (round seven) saw the JWAE and Salzburg teams run 908/03s.

AAW’s top drivers, Laine and van Lennep, also preferred their team’s older but more nimble 908/02 so Pauli Toivonen and Sten Axelsson were entered in the 917.

Unfortunately, just before the end of Saturday practice, Hans Laine crashed the AAW 908 down the straight having got airborne over a bump after losing a spoiler. Tragically, Laine was trapped underneath the car which then caught fire and burned uncontrollably for many minutes.

Hans Laine suffered a most gruesome death and naturally the AAW 917 was withdrawn from the race.

Neuhaus and Kelleners had qualified the Gesipa entry ninth but retired after nine laps with a broken wheel bearing. The wheel had actually come off in the South Curve and, although Kelleners got it back on and limped round to the pits, the car was pushed away.

The Salzburg crew took their first win of the year with the 908/03 of Elford / Ahrens Jr. finishing ahead of Herrmann / Attwood’s sister car in second. Neither of the Gulf 908/03s made it to the end.

1970 JARAMA TROFEO POR REGIONES

That same weekend, Alex Soler-Roig won another Spanish championship event, the Jarama Trofeo por Regiones, in his Escuderia Nacional car.

1970 DIJON

A week later, David Piper entered his red 917 for a non-championship race at Dijon where he finished second to Richard Attwood who won in Piper’s Lola T70 Mk3B GT.

1970 LE MANS 24 HOURS

Next up was the biggest event in motor racing, the Le Mans 24 Hours, which took place over June 13th and 14th.

For this, round eight of the World Sportscar Championship, John Wyer opted not to run the largely unproven Langheck. The long tailed 917 had proven unstable in fast corners and prone to aquaplaning in the wet: two had already been destroyed in testing accidents.

Instead, JWAE arrived for Le Mans with several upgrades to their 917 Ks. One of the modifications was a small spoiler located in the central section of the rear bodywork’s trailing edge. This increased downforce and meant less aggressive angles for the other rear spoilers were required. JWAE had also trialled an F1-style wing mounted above the engine as part of their pre-Le Mans aero tests back in England.

Other upgrades included two batteries, two alternators and two starter motors (all specially developed by Bosch). There were also quick-change headlamp units, strengthened front wings plus a thicker front and thinner rear anti-roll bar. Separate oil pipes were introduced by JWAE as the existing arrangement (where the chassis tubes carried the oil) had made the cockpit too hot.

Both the JWAE and Salzburg cars also got strengthened gearboxes plus new uprights that had been modified to better suit the Girling brakes.

Seven 917s were entered for the race including two Langhecks, one of which was painted white with red airflow flashes for the Salzburg pairing of Ahrens Jr. / Elford. The other was a Martini-backed entry run by Porsche themselves for Gerard Larrousse and Willi Kauhsen. This factory car was painted purple with psychedelic white and green stripes. Both these 917 Ls ran 4.5-litre engines and five-speed gearboxes.

The Salzburg crew also had a 4.5-litre 917 K painted orange with white flashes for Attwood / Herrmann.

JWAE arrived with a trio of Kurzhecks for Siffert / Redman (4.9), Rodriguez / Kinnunen (4.9) and a brand new car for Hobbs / Hailwood (4.5). All three used the four-speed transmission.

One privateer 917 K was also on hand: the yellow and red AAW machine which had been specially prepared for Le Mans by Porsche themselves. After the death of Hans Laine, Gijs van Lennep was joined by David Piper who brought sponsorship from drinks firm, Sandeman.

For Le Mans, Ferrari had designed long tail rear body sections for the 512 S.

Qualifying was closely fought.

Elford and Ahrens Jr. took pole in the white and red Salzburg 917 L followed by the works Ferrari of Vaccarella / Giunti. Siffert and Redman started third in their JWAE 917 K. Then came another factory 512 S (Merzario / Regazzoni) and the sister JWAE car of Rodriguez / Kinnunen in fifth.

Hailwood and Hobbs were tenth in the new 4.5-litre Gulf 917 K followed by Piper / van Lennep in eleventh for AAW. Larrousse / Kauhsen started twelfth in the Martini Langheck and Attwood / Herrmann lined up 15th in the orange and white Salzburg 917 K.

Only two of the seven 917s finished the race.

First to retire was the Gulf 917 K of Rodriguez / Kinnunen which stopped at Arnage after 22 laps with a broken con rod.

Next out was the sister car of Hailwood / Hobbs on lap 49; Hailwood smashed into a recently stopped Alfa 33 when fighting for control in slippery conditions. This car (chassis 026) was rebuilt with a new chassis (031) but continued to race with the identity of 026.

The AAW entry was retired after 122 laps. David Piper had been off and damaged the front bodywork when lying third. It was mended back at the pits but the crash had knocked the wheels out of alignment and, shortly after Gijs van Lennep went back out, a tyre blew at 180mph. The debris tore through the wing and that was that for the AAW crew.

While holding a seven lap lead, Siffert missed a gear at 2am on Sunday in the last remaining JWAE entry. He came into the pits with oil pouring from the exhaust pipes; the engine had been over-revved to 9600rpm.

Just three 917s remained.

Having led convincingly after the Siffert / Redman Gulf entry retired, the white and red Salzburg Langheck began to experience handling problems. It turned out to be a slow puncture. When lying second at 8:30am, the engine broke an inlet valve and the car was retired.

Thankfully, the other two 917s went the distance.

Attwood and Herrmann, who had been slowest in qualifying, came through to win by five laps from the purple and green Martini long tail of Larrousse and Kauhsen.

The Martini car had been delayed by wet weather affecting the electrics but to Porsche it mattered not as their maiden victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours had finally been secured.

1970 MONTLHERY COUPES DE L’ACIF / MAINZ-FINTHEN INTERNATIONAL

On June 21st, David Piper finished second driving his red Sandeman-backed 917 in the ACIF Cup at Montlhery.

The same day, Jurgen Neuhaus won the Mainz-Finthen International meeting for Gesipa.

1970 NORISRING INTERSERIE

One week later, the opening round of a new competition was held at the Norisring.

The Interserie championship was Europe’s answer to Can-Am and permitted cars from Groups 5, 6 and 7 to participate.

AAW were on hand with a new 917 K. After the damage sustained at Le Mans, it had been quicker to give the old car (021) a new chassis (012). This new chassis raced on with the identity of 021 for carnet reasons.

The old damaged chassis (021) was repaired and later used for AAW’s 1971 Group 7 Spyder. It was re-numbered 01-021 in the process.

012 turned up at the Norisring looking quite tatty with the original car’s yellow tail section and primered panels everywhere else.

Gijs van Lennep qualified second behind the Racing Team VDS Lola T70 Mk3B GT of Teddy Pilette. Jurgen Neuhaus started sixth in the blue and yellow Gesipa 917.

Neuhaus won the race with van Lennep second and Pedro Rodriguez third in the Sports Cars Brostrom Porsche 908/02.

1970 HOCKENHEIM INTERSERIE

Hockenheim hosted the second Interserie race a week later.

This time there were four 917 Ks in attendance, all of which were still using 4.5-litre engines as there was proving to be a shortage of fresh motors and long rebuild times at Porsche.

Having looked decidedly dog-eared at the Norisring, the AAW entry had been repainted a similar purple and psychedelic green to the 917 L that finished second at Le Mans. The new colour scheme reflected its forthcoming appearance at Watkins Glen where it was to be sponsored by Martini.

Pole went to the Auto Zeitung-backed March 707 of Helmut Kelleners. Van Lennep started fourth for AAW, Neuhaus was fifth for Gesipa and David Piper sixth.

Qualifying down in 13th was a new plain white 917 K (chassis 025) that had been purchased by Bolivian industrialist, Jaime Ortiz-Patino, for his godson, Dominique Martin. Campaigned under the Zitro Racing banner, Martin finished the race eleventh.

At the sharp end, Vic Elford won in the Paul Watson McLaren M6B with van Lennep second for AAW. Piper was fourth and Neuhaus sixth.

1970 CROFT INTERSERIE

Interserie round three took place at the Croft circuit in England one week later but for this event, only Jurgen Neuhaus showed up with the Gesipa 917 (now fitted with ATE brakes).

After qualifying third behind the Team Evergreen McLaren M8C of Chris Craft and the Auto Zeitung March 707 of Helmut Kelleners, Neuhaus moved up to finish second in the race when Craft span out.

1970 WATKINS GLEN 6 HOURS

That same weekend, World Championship racing resumed with the Watkins Glen 6 Hours in New York state. This was round nine of ten and a good result would see Porsche take the title.

JWAE were on hand with a pair of Gulf-backed entries for Siffert / Redman and Rodriguez / Kinnunen. These cars arrived with wider wheels and bodies plus the additional rear spoiler used at Le Mans.

The Salzburg squad were also present and appeared under the Porsche+Audi banner. Two blue cars with white flashes were entered, a darker blue example for Elford / Hulme and the lighter blue one for Attwood / Ahrens.

Present too was the Martini-backed AAW car which had been painted purple and green to mimic the 917 L that finished second at Le Mans. This car still had a 4.5-litre engine whilst all the others were running 4.9s.

Siffert and Redman were on pole with the Ferrari 512 S of Andretti / Giunti second and Rodriguez / Kinnunen third. Ickx / Schetty were fourth for Ferrari followed by van Lennep / Larrousse fifth for AAW-Martini. Then came the Salzburg entries of Attwood / Ahrens Jr. in sixth and Elford / Hulme seventh.

Team-mates Siffert and Rodriguez banged wheels in the opening stages but eventually took a commanding one-two for JWAE.

Rodriguez / Kinnunen emerged victorious with Siffert / Redman second.

Both Salzburg cars struggled with chunking tyres. The Elford / Hulme entry placed fourth behind a works Ferrari 512 S with Attwood / Ahrens Jr. sixth. Back in ninth was the Martini-backed AAW entry of van Lennep / Larrousse.

Porsche won the 1970 World Championship with one event still to run.

1970 WATKINS GLEN CAN-AM

The following day, Watkins Glen played host to round three of the Can-Am championship and, given the substantial prize fund on offer, it was no surprise that all the 917s were wheeled out despite being up against more-fancied Group 7 opposition.

JWAE ran their two race cars plus the spare.

Although in qualifying they were not able to match the outright speed of the works McLaren M8Ds (or many of the Group 7 cars for that matter), the Porsches put on a very good show in the race.

Denny Hulme won for McLaren while in the 917s, Siffert was second, Attwood third, Elford fourth, van Lennep sixth and Redman seventh.

The only non finisher was Pedro Rodriguez who retired at one third distance with a broken gearbox.

1970 MAGNY COURS

On July 14th, David Piper was classified third driving his red Sandeman and Wetson’s-backed 917 in a non-championship race at Magny Cours.

He finished behind Jean-Pierre Beltoise who was driving Piper’s Lola T70 Mk3B GT and David Prophet’s McLaren M12.

1970 SWEDISH GP, KARLSKOGA

The Karlskoga circuit in Sweden then hosted the Swedish GP on August 9th but this most prestigious event was run under a cloud after a major accident earlier in proceedings. Two saloon cars had touched in a fast left hander and rolled end over end for 50 yards leaping across the safety bank and into the crowd. Five spectators were killed and 27 more injured.

The Finnish AAW squad were in attendance with their purple and green car for Gijs van Lennep along with David Piper, but the 917s were not really suited to such a tight circuit and finished fourth and sixth respectively.

Chris Craft won in the Ecurie Evergreen McLaren M8C followed by Helmut Marko in a Porsche 908/02. Jo Bonnier’s was third in his Lola T210.

1970 WUNSTORF

A contest for prototype and sports racing cars at the Wunstorf airfield track on August 16th saw Jurgen Neuhaus take second for the Gesipa Racing Team. Helmut Kelleners won in the Auto Zeitung-backed March 707.

1970 KEIMOLA INTERSERIE

One week later, Neuhaus was out again, this time to defend his Interserie championship lead at Keimola in Finland.

David Piper was also present along with AAW for a rare outing on home soil. AAW’s car (chassis 012) had by this time been repainted yellow with red psychedelic stripes.

Neuhaus started from pole for Gesipa with van Lennep second for AAW and Piper back in seventh where he finished the race. Gijs van Lennep took the win for AAW and Neuhaus claimed the runner up spot.

FILMING FOR THE SOLAR PRODUCTIONS MOVIE LE MANS

The Keimola race would prove to be David Piper’s final professional drive.

A few days later, he broke his leg in three places along with two bones in his foot during a nasty accident while shooting for the Steve McQueen film Le Mans.

Piper had been instrumental in helping Solar Productions source cars for the movie but lost control at high speed in the fast Maison Blanche kink near where John Woolfe had perished the previous year.

The car (a JWAE supplied 917 K, chassis 013) was completely destroyed.

Piper ultimately lost his leg. He would continue as an entrant but his top flight driving career was over.

1970 ALCANIZ

On September 6th, Alex Soler-Roig secured the Spanish Sportscar Championship with a win at Alcaniz.

1970 IMOLA 500KM

A week later, the non-championship 500km race at Imola attracted a very strong entry including two 917 Ks from JWAE and the Zitro Racing example which now looked very smart painted white with blue stripes.

For this race, Dominique Martin was joined by Nino Vaccarella but, after qualifying sixth, a slow puncture caused the Italian to crash out and crunch the car’s nose.

The 4.9-litre JWAE 917s started second and third behind the Escuderia Montjuich Ferrari 512 S.

The Porsche of Pedro Rodriguez was eliminated trying to avoid a spinning Chevron while Redman’s 917 had an easy win in the sister car.

1970 ZANDVOORT DUNES TROPHY

The annual Dunes Trophy at Zandvoort followed on September 20th and, although the date clashed with the Thruxton Interserie race, AAW opted to attend the Dutch event.

In its fabulous yellow and red psychedelic colour scheme (and still with a 4.5-litre engine) Gijs van Lennep started on pole in the AAW entry and won the race from Helmut Kelleners in his March 707.

1970 THRUXTON INTERSERIE

At Thruxton, against a thin field, championship leader Jurgen Neuhaus took pole and won for Gesipa to give himself a practically unassailable lead in the Interserie standings.

1970 MONTLHERY COUPES DU SALON

One week before the World Championship wrapped up at Zeltweg, the Coupes du Salon was held Montlhery.

Zitro Racing had their best result of the year at this event. Driving solo in his immaculately repaired car after its crash at Imola three weeks earlier, Dominic Martin qualified second and finished third behind Jose Juncadella’s Escuderia Montjuich Ferrari 512 S and the winning Porsche 908/02 of Gerard Larrousse.

1970 ZELTWEG 1000KM

Despite the championship having already been decided in Porsche’s favour, there was still a very healthy entry for the Zeltweg 1000km on October 11th.

Making its debut was the updated Ferrari 512 ‘M’ which qualified second.

JWAE took two cars. The Rodriguez / Kinnunen 917 started on pole with the Siffert / Redman entry fifth behind the pair of Salzburg machines of Ahrens Jr. / Marko (blue with white flashes) and Elford / Attwood (orange with white flashes).

This would be the last race for the Salzburg operation as their cars were being leased to Hans Dieter Dechent’s Martini International Racing Team for 1971.

Rodriguez was forced to pit on lap five and retired with broken exhaust valves. Ahrens later ran out of fuel when leading. The Elford / Attwood entry was slowed by a broken oil cooler and stopped eight laps from the end but had covered sufficient distance to be classified fourth.

Siffert / Redman won the race but, for the last half hour, their car was running very rough having suffered a partial camshaft failure.

1970 WORLD SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Zeltweg capped off an enormously successful season for Porsche.

John Wyer’s team had won seven of the ten World Championship races in 1970 (once with the 908/03) while the Salzburg crew took victory at Le Mans and the Targa Florio (with a 908/03).

Porsche finished the year on 63 points to Ferrari’s 37.

1970 HOCKENHEIM INTERSERIE

Also ending on October 11th was the inaugural Interserie championship which fell to Porsche driver Jurgen Neuhaus in the blue and yellow Gesipa Racing Team entry.

Neuhaus placed second in the race at Hockenheim behind the March 707 of Helmut Kelleners while Gijs van Lennep took third for the AAW squad. Dominique Martin failed to start.

1970 PARIS 1000KM, MONTLHERY

For the non championship Paris 1000km race held at Montlhery on October 18th, the yellow and red AAW machine had a brand new engine and further backing from Martini. Gerard Larrousse partnered Gijs van Lennep and they qualified second behind the Matra MS660 of Jean-Pierre Beltoise / Henri Pescarolo.

In the Gesipa entry, Jurgen Neuhaus was joined by Porsche’s new test driver, Willi Kauhsen, and they lined up third.

Dominique Martin was once again co-driven by Nino Vaccarella in the white and blue Zitro entry but Vaccarella blew the engine during practice (the motor dropped a valve and holed a piston).

The race was disappointing for the remaining Porsches. Van Lennep retired after 17 laps with a bent valve while, 30 laps from the finish when lying fourth, Kauhsen had a monumental accident at the Farm which wrote off the Gesipa 917. Kauhsen fortunately escaped unhurt.

The car (chassis 007) was retained by Gesipa and rebuilt by Porsche into a Group 7 Spyder to contest the 1971 Interserie championship.

Jack Brabham and Francois Cevert took victory for Matra. The Escuderia Montjuich Ferrari 512 S of Jose Juncadella / Jean-Pierre Jabouille finished second.

1970 KYALAMI 9 HOURS

The final big race of 1970 took place in South Africa as part of the Springbok winter series. A nine hour race at Kyalami on November 11th kicked things off.

The yellow and red Martini-backed AAW machine was entered for factory drivers, Jo Siffert and Kurt Ahrens Jr., while David Piper’s car was on hand for John Love and Richard Attwood. Painted orange with brown stripes to reflect backing from Gunston tobacco, this car qualified third behind the AAW / Martini entry and Ferrari’s pole starting 512 M which was being driven by Jacky Ickx and Ignazio Giunti.

After a year of Porsche domination, Ferrari won from Siffert and Ahrens Jr.

Sadly, it wasn’t enough to convince the Italian firm not to abandon their works involvement with the 512 in 1971.

David Piper’s car was retired from the Kyalami race with a split fuel header tank.

Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com

VIN: the Oldenkott / Kremer Racing Porsche 911 2.8 Carrera RSR chassis 9113600885

<<<PORSCHE PORTAL
<<<911 2.8 CARRERA RSR PORTAL
<<<911 2.8 CARRERA RSR FOR SALE

HISTORY OF CHASSIS 9113600885

49 examples of the 2.8-litre 911 Carrera RSR were built for the 1973 racing season and chassis 9113600885 was among the most successful.

It was sold to the Oldenkott pipe and tobacco company who had it prepared and campaigned by Kremer Racing in Cologne.

Painted a striking black and orange colour scheme, 0885 was driven throughout 1973 by Clemens Schickentanz.

From July 1973, the car often ran an uprated 2940cc engine.

With consistent podium finishes plus victories at Nivelles and Monza, Schickentanz won the 1973 European GT Championship.

In addition to several rounds of the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, 0885 also contested a trio of World Sportscar Championship events in 1973.

At the Monza 1000km race, Schickentanz shared the car with Erwin Kremer and finished eighth overall to win the three-litre GT class. There was also a twelfth overall and second in class at the Nurburgring 1000km where Schickentanz was co-driven by Paul Keller and Gunther Steckkonig.

By the end of 1973, Schickentanz had racked up enough points to secure the 1973 Porsche Cup that honoured the season’s most outstanding privateer Porsche driver.

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The car was sold to French privateer Hubert Striebig for 1974. He had it uprated to the latest 3.0 Carrea RSR specification at which point the colour was changed from black and orange to gold.

Preparation was undertaken by Garage Louis Meznarie.

Striebig’s 1974 campaign included an entry for the Le Mans 24 Hours (DNF).

For 1975, chassis 0885 was repainted silver.

In its new colour scheme, the car again ran at Le Mans and then the Tour de France.

Later it was sold to fellow Frenchman, Alain Schick, for hillclimbing.

Schick then sold the car to the Almeras brothers in 1977 and they retained it until 1986.

Notable History

Sold to Oldenkott Pipes & Tobacco, Germany
Prepared by Kremer Racing
Black and orange livery

31/03/1973 EGT Nurburgring 300km (C. Schickentanz) 16th oa, 10th Gr.4 3.0 class (#130)
15/04/1973 IND Nordsee Trophy, Nivelles (C. Schickentanz) ran (#80)
25/04/1973 WSC Monza 1000km (C. Schickentanz / E. Kremer) 8th oa, 1st GT 3.0 class (#84)
29/04/1973 DRM Nurburgring (C. Schickentanz) 2nd oa (#6)
06/05/1973 WSC Spa 1000km (C. Schickentanz / J. Fitzpatrick) 14th oa, 4th GT class (#46)
13/05/1973 EGT Paris GP, Montlhery (C. Schickentanz) 2nd oa, 2nd Gr.4 3.0 class (#32)
27/05/1973 WSC Nurburgring 1000km (C. Schickentanz / P. Keller / G. Steckkonig) 12th oa, 2nd GT 1.6+ class (#54)
02/06/1973 EGT Trofeo Bevilacqua, Imola (C. Schickentanz) 2nd oa, 1st Gr.4 3.0 class (#87)
24/06/1973 EGT Coupes Benelux, Nivelles (C. Schickentanz) 1st oa, 1st Gr.4 3.0 class (#26)
01/07/1973 DRM Mainz-Finthen (C. Schickentanz) 2nd oa (#12)
08/07/1973 EGT ACP GP, Estoril (C. Schickentanz) 2nd oa, 2nd Gr.4 3.0 class (#4)
15/07/1973 DRM Diepholz (C. Schickentanz) 3rd oa (#104)
05/08/1973 EGT Thruxton (C. Schickentanz) 3rd oa, 3rd Gr.4 3.0 class (#33)
19/08/1973 DRM Kassel-Calden (C. Schickentanz) DNF (#4)
26/08/1973 EGT Preis der Nationen, Hockenheim (C. Schickentanz) 2nd oa, 1st Gr.4 3.0 class (#21)
26/08/1973 DRM Hockenheim (C. Schickentanz) 2nd oa (#21)
02/09/1973 EGT Coppa Intereuropa, Monza (C. Schickentanz / E. Kremer / P. Keller) 1st oa, 1st Gr.4 3.0 class (#11)
09/09/1973 DRM Norisring (C. Schickentanz) 2nd oa (#4)
07/10/1973 DRM Sauerland (C. Schickentanz) 7th oa (#217)

Sold to Hubert Striebig, France
Uprated to 3.0 Carrera RSR specification
Gold livery

Prepared and entered by Garage Louis Meznarie

24/03/1974 IND Le Mans Test (H. Striebig) 19th oa, 7th GT class (#34)
24/03/1974 IND Le Mans 4 Hours (H. Striebig) 8th oa, 5th GT class (#34)
15/04/1974 IND Nogaro (H. Striebig) 1st Gr.3/4 class (#36)
30/04/1974 IND Magny Cours (H. Striebig) 2nd Gr.4 class (#36)
16/06/1974 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (H. Striebig / H. Kirschoffer / J.L. Chateau) DNF (#60)
29/09/1974 DRM Hockenheim (H. Striebig) 6th oa (#15)
10/11/1974 IND Rheintal Hockenheim (H. Striebig) 2nd oa, 2nd GT 2.5+ class (#??)

Silver livery

15/06/1975 IND Le Mans 24 Hours (H. Striebig / H. Kirschoffer / P. Mauroy) 28th oa, 12th GT class (#50)
23/09/1975 IND Tour de France (H. Striebig / Jung) DNF (#193)

Sold to Alain Schick, France

07/08/1977 EMC Mont Dore Hillclimb (A. Schick) 14th oa, 2nd Gr.5 class (#??)

Sold to the Almeras brothers, France

Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Porsche - https://www.porsche.com

VIN: the Zitro Racing / Fittipaldi Porsche 917 / 917 K chassis 025

<<<PORSCHE PORTAL
<<<917 PORTAL / <<<917 K PORTAL
<<<917 FOR SALE

HISTORY OF CHASSIS 025

Chassis 025 was one of the few Porsche 917s sold to a privateer. Most were reserved for works use or the factory-supported John Wyer / Porsche Salzburg / Martini Racing outfits.

025’s purchaser was Swiss-domiciled Bolivian millionaire, Jaime Ortiz-Patino.

Patino hailed from a tin mining dynasty and his grandfather, Simon Iturri Patino, had controlled practically the entire Bolivian tin industry. Simon Iturri Patino was considered among the world’s five wealthiest men upon his death in 1947.

In May 1967, Jaime Ortiz-Patino had purchased a new Ford GT40 road car which was subsequently converted to competition trim for his godson, Dominique Martin, to race in 1968. The GT40 was entered under the Zitro Racing banner, Zitro having been a reversal of Ortiz.

Used successfully for two seasons, the GT40 was sold in spring 1970 and replaced with this brand new Porsche 917 K.

Delivered in a plain white livery for its maiden outing at the Hockenheim Interserie race in July 1970, inverted blue stripes were then added along with a distinctive roof-mounted rear mirror.

Dominique Martin was ever present in chassis 025 throughout 1970 and 1971. His most notable result was third overall in the non-championship 1970 Montlhery Coupes du Salon.

At the end of 1971, Martin listed the 917 for sale in Road & Track from his base in Geneva. The classified ad read: “Porsche 917. Last race Le Mans 1971. Completely rebuilt. Like new. Never crashed. Many spare parts. $30,000.”

It was purchased by the Fittipaldi racing stable in Brazil and repainted yellow.

Wilson Fittipaldi drove the MotoRadio-backed car in the Copa Brasil races at Interlagos in December 1972 where he secured two second places and a won the finale.

Chassis 025 stayed with the Fittipaldi’s for ten years during which time it was repainted green.

In 1982, the car was sold to David Piper. He in turn sold it to renowned collector, Miles Collier, in 1984.

Notable History

Plain white

Sold to Jaime Ortiz-Patino

05/07/1970 INT Hockenheim (D. Martin) 11th oa (#30)

Blue stripes added.

13/09/1970 IND Imola 500km (D. Martin / N. Vaccarella) DNF crash (#4)
04/10/1970 IND Montlhery Coupes du Salon (D. Martin) 3rd oa (#9)
11/10/1970 INT Hockenheim (D. Martin) DNS (#64)
18/10/1970 IND Paris 1000km, Montlhery (D. Martin / N. Vaccarella) DNS (#4)
10/01/1971 WSC Buenos Aires 1000km (D. Martin / P. Brea) 10th oa, 7th S class (#34)
18/04/1971 IND Le Mans Test (D. Martin) 9th oa, 7th S5.0 class (#57)
18/04/1971 WSC Le Mans 3 Hours (D. Martin) DNS (#57)
25/04/1971 WSC Monza 1000km (D. Martin / G. Pillon) 9th oa, 5th S5.0 class (#5)
02/05/1971 INT Imola (D. Martin) 9th oa (#4)
09/05/1971 WSC Spa 1000km (D. Martin / G. Pillon) DNF (#24)
13/06/1971 WSC Le Mans 24 Hours (D. Martin / G. Pillon) DNF (#57)

Sold to the Fittipaldi racing stable, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Repainted yellow.

09/12/1972 CBR Interlagos (W. Fittipaldi) 2nd oa (#2)
10/12/1972 CBR Interlagos (W. Fittipaldi) 2nd oa (#2)
17/12/1972 CBR Interlagos (W. Fittipaldi) 1st oa (#2)

1982 sold to David Piper

1984 sold to Miles Collier

Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: unattributed