RE: Porsche 917K: You Know You Want To

RE: Porsche 917K: You Know You Want To

Author
Discussion

ukaskew

10,642 posts

220 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
I'm not great as Porsche model designations, how does this differ from the 917 I photographed at FoS a few years back (which appears to have a different 'wing')...

Goodwood FoS 2014: Porsche 917 by Chris Harrison, on Flickr

Puggo1960

1 posts

85 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
Hi all, if you're really interesting in seeing a 917, then pop along to the London Classic Car show. There's a modern replica not only with all the original details, but also many engineering improvements. Best of all you might just get one for the price of a late GT3. I know which would win the smiles-for-miles ranking.

wibble cb

3,586 posts

206 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
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3yardy3 said:
Quote: There are certain cars in the history of sportscar and Le Mans racing that are fondly remembered as legends: the Ford GT40, the early Bentleys, the Jaguar D-Type and probably one of the 21st century Audis now too.

What about the fantastic Mazda 787b?
I think you answered your own question there...

jl34

523 posts

236 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
ukaskew said:
I'm not great as Porsche model designations, how does this differ from the 917 I photographed at FoS a few years back (which appears to have a different 'wing')...

your photo shows the 1971 model bodywork, the car in the feature has 1970 bodywork. Gulf racing later abandoned the vertical fins and went for an adjustable horizontal spoiler that sat in the central rear tunnel.

Incidentally I understand the asking price for this car from Canepa to be $20M

Goodwood FoS 2014: Porsche 917 by Chris Harrison, on Flickr

Dusty964

6,919 posts

189 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
ukaskew said:
I'm not great as Porsche model designations, how does this differ from the 917 I photographed at FoS a few years back (which appears to have a different 'wing')...

Goodwood FoS 2014: Porsche 917 by Chris Harrison, on Flickr
The one in your post looks like the original short tail...which was developed after the original model was found to be unstable (the long tail)...the one in the article is the second update of the short tail. These are 917k....the long is a 917L...then there are later cars 917/10 and the equally mental 917/30.

I think.

darreni

3,759 posts

269 months

Tazio77

224 posts

261 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
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I have to confess that when I was at a Corporate day at Millwood, having fun with Barrie Williams in a Porsche 944 Turbo, set aside in a hospitality tent was amongst other things Dickie Atwoods Le Mans winning 917, festooned with 'Do not Touch' stickers...

No one was around so I just found myself sitting in it...overwhelming impression left on me were it's fragility, chassis tubing was like a Birdcage Maserati, bodywork opaque....smells...

Lucky I didn't get caight lol.

generationx

6,645 posts

104 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
Tazio77 said:
<snip> ...overwhelming impression left on me were it's fragility, chassis tubing was like a Birdcage Maserati, bodywork opaque....smells...
Anorak fact: The tubular chassis was made in such a way that it was one single hollow structure which was then lightly pressurised with an inert gas. A pressure gauge was fitted in the driver´s peripheral vision and therefore if the rollcage developed a crack the subsequent drop in pressure indicated this.

I believe this story is from Brian Redman who drove the Gulf cars. On an early test the chief engineer (Norbert Singer?) told him that if, while driving, he saw the pressure gauge dropping he should immediately slow down and return to the pits for an inspection. Redman´s answer was "If I see that gauge dropping I´ll park the fking thing and get out, you can collect it yourself".

The 917 in early guise was not a popular car. Another story from Redman was that whenever Porsche called him to go on a test he would always ask why they hadn´t asked "Quick" Vic Elford. "Mr Elford says he is too busy". Apparently Elford was always busy on such occasions...

Of course Porsche being Porsche and, to a lesser extent John Wyer, turned it in to an all-conquering machine.

There´s more like this.

Davey S2

13,075 posts

253 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
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generationx said:
Davey S2 said:
SirSquidalot said:
When i win the lottery, i'll have one and convert it to be a road car!
Why? It would be an utterly st road car and you'd implode the value of it as a race car.
Not as unlikely as you might think



smokin
But it's still st as a road car and no longer a pure race car.

Publicity aside its just a stupid thing to do.

Dusty964

6,919 posts

189 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
Didnt the tubular framing also contain oil instead of separate oil pipes.
So if crashed, your mangled feet also got hot oil over them- assuming the fuel tank which the back of the seat was attached to didnt split too....

Halmyre

11,148 posts

138 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
generationx said:
Anorak fact: The tubular chassis was made in such a way that it was one single hollow structure which was then lightly pressurised with an inert gas. A pressure gauge was fitted in the driver´s peripheral vision and therefore if the rollcage developed a crack the subsequent drop in pressure indicated this.

I believe this story is from Brian Redman who drove the Gulf cars. On an early test the chief engineer (Norbert Singer?) told him that if, while driving, he saw the pressure gauge dropping he should immediately slow down and return to the pits for an inspection. Redman´s answer was "If I see that gauge dropping I´ll park the fking thing and get out, you can collect it yourself".

The 917 in early guise was not a popular car. Another story from Redman was that whenever Porsche called him to go on a test he would always ask why they hadn´t asked "Quick" Vic Elford. "Mr Elford says he is too busy". Apparently Elford was always busy on such occasions...

Of course Porsche being Porsche and, to a lesser extent John Wyer, turned it in to an all-conquering machine.

There´s more like this.
That Redman quote is actually attributed to Aussie Frank Gardner, he was told if it went to zero, drive back to the pits "mit care". His reply was he wasn't driving anywhere "mit care", he was going to park the bd, walk back to the pits and collect his Deutschmarks. Another Gardnerism was, on first encountering the 917, saying to co-driver David Piper, "bloody hell Dave, if we lose this lot we'll need a map and compass to find our way back to the track". I think he also said that the short tail 917s had "the aerodynamics of a grand piano with the lid open".

I got Frank and David's signatures at Goodwood many years ago. David Piper says the early ones were pretty bad, but the later ones were lovely things to drive.


TheRocket

1,510 posts

248 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
As someone else here mentioned seeing and hearing one in the flesh is something to to behold, I'm not sure it gets any better, battling and beating Ferrari's 512m, the golden age of Sports car racing.

wibble cb

3,586 posts

206 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
TheRocket said:
As someone else here mentioned seeing and hearing one in the flesh is something to to behold, I'm not sure it gets any better, battling and beating Ferrari's 512m, the golden age of Sports car racing.
Wasn't it the (unofficial) reason Ferrari retired from sports car racing?

lucido grigio

44,044 posts

162 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
I like this one.



nicknamed the Pink Pig.



Updated with better pic.

Edited by lucido grigio on Wednesday 22 February 20:32

Car_Nut

598 posts

87 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
lucido grigio said:
I like this one.



nicknamed the Pink Pig.

I'm not sure if I've ever seen one outside of Stuttgart museum....confused

The pic is no bigger by clicking on it, was taken with an old mobile bitd.

Edited by lucido grigio on Wednesday 22 February 19:31


Edited by lucido grigio on Wednesday 22 February 19:32
The 917/20 was a one off "aerodynamic experiment"

Car_Nut

598 posts

87 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
I am loving the photos on this thread - keep posting them lads! a few more of mine:








Halmyre

11,148 posts

138 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
lucido grigio said:
I like this one.



nicknamed the Pink Pig.

I'm not sure if I've ever seen one outside of Stuttgart museum....confused

The pic is no bigger by clicking on it, was taken with an old mobile bitd.

Edited by lucido grigio on Wednesday 22 February 19:31


Edited by lucido grigio on Wednesday 22 February 19:32
A 917/20, there was only one.

lucido grigio

44,044 posts

162 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
quotequote all
Sorry,what I meant was haven't seen any 917 outside of Stuttgart.

Couple more ,better pics.






anonymous-user

53 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2017
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lufbramatt said:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K0YCGF3ncEY

Surprised they don't need trailers on the back of the cars to carry their gonads around, 650bhp monsters with no driver aids on huge tyres in a monsoon.
I remember that well, I was fking soaked. Was lucky enough to see them at LM that year as well, pays to be an old git sometimes. spin

coppice

8,562 posts

143 months

Thursday 23rd February 2017
quotequote all
I have seen several race , but only a couple in period. My first was the Gesipa Rivets Jurgen Neuhaus car which raced in the Interseries round at Croft in 1970; difficult to believe now that the biggest draw at Croft is Jason Plato and his chums exchanging paint. The 917 is a brutal looking beast which makes a lovely noise,but look inside one and you sure wouldn't want to hit anything very hard .

Aesthetically and aurally the Ferrari 512 is the nicer car , although rarely enjoying great success. But when it looks like that and makes that spine-tingling V12 howl , my critical faculties leave the building and are replaced by an idiot grin. Good gearchange too - easier than the 917s- ask Mark Hales...If I could go back in time to see one event it would be a draw between the 1967 Belgian GP -Eagle's only GP win ) and any Targa Florio with Nino Vaccarella driving the 512...