Carrera DIGITAL 132 Porsche 917 K 'Porsche Salzburg No. 23'
Item No.: 30833
The road to the first Le Mans victory
The year was 1970. This year was one of the most significant years in Porsche's motorsport history. In 1970, Porsche won the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time.
The winning vehicle is here in front of me as a current model in 1:32 scale:
The famous red Porsche 917K with the white stripes. The legendary livery of Porsche Team Salzburg. Drivers: Hans Hermann and Richard Attwood.
(The car is now in the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen)
Le Mans: The road there was long.
In the 1960s, Ford and Ferrari dominated the legendary race. The development effort undertaken by both factories presented a financial challenge for Porsche. The reason was the minimum production run of 50 vehicles that had to be produced for Le Mans homologation. Porsche only entered the competition in 1969, when the minimum production run was reduced to 25 units. Since developing a production racing car was very expensive, reducing the production run reduced the financial risk for Porsche of being stuck with a large number of vehicles should the sporting success fail to materialize. Development manager Ferdinand Piech later called the car "the riskiest car of his life."
The technical specifications, engine power, horsepower, frame, and so on—excellent information about all of this can be found online. The Wikipedia entry on the Porsche 917 and its history is highly recommended.
Since I don't want to repeat the whole thing (or paraphrase it, as von Guttenberg would say...), here are some lesser-known facts about the 917 and Porsche's Le Mans involvement:
For example, as early as 1969, Porsche rented an IBM 360/40 computer to calculate a so-called "computer lap time" using relevant data (curve radii, track length, gradient, gear ratios, and so on). The IBM System 360 was one of the most successful mainframe computers of its time.
All of the Porsche racing department's experience in lightweight construction over the past few years was consistently implemented in the 917K. The carbon fiber body was only 1.2 mm thick and reinforced with tubing, which is why the entire chassis was constructed from aluminum tubing. Later, even magnesium tubular frames were used.
Incidentally, Piëch had the welds of the tubular space frame tested by installing a valve at the rear of the tubular space frame, injecting 4 bar of air, and checking at the end of the test drives whether the pressure had dropped.
The 600 hp V12 engine featured Nikasil liners for the first time in motorsport. The connecting rods were made of titanium, also a first in racing engine construction. And while one might expect problems to arise with such a completely new design using some untested materials, one of the greatest advantages of the Porsche 917 was the renowned durability of its engines.
One of the drivers, Hans Hermann, ended his racing career after the Le Mans race. The reason: he had promised his wife that he would retire from racing after a Le Mans victory.
By the way, if anyone is interested in driving a Porsche 917 on the road, there is a possibility:
The only Porsche 917 with official road registration (chassis number 917 – 037) is owned by Monegasque Claudia Roddaro, who occasionally drives the car in Monaco.
The likelihood that the young collector will part with his Porsche is slim, but you never know. However, you should bring an eight-figure sum with you. Steve McQueen's GULF-917 was auctioned for $14 million in 2017. But it's not road legal...
CoMod Alex
Item No.: 30833
The road to the first Le Mans victory
The year was 1970. This year was one of the most significant years in Porsche's motorsport history. In 1970, Porsche won the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time.
The winning vehicle is here in front of me as a current model in 1:32 scale:
The famous red Porsche 917K with the white stripes. The legendary livery of Porsche Team Salzburg. Drivers: Hans Hermann and Richard Attwood.
(The car is now in the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen)
Le Mans: The road there was long.
In the 1960s, Ford and Ferrari dominated the legendary race. The development effort undertaken by both factories presented a financial challenge for Porsche. The reason was the minimum production run of 50 vehicles that had to be produced for Le Mans homologation. Porsche only entered the competition in 1969, when the minimum production run was reduced to 25 units. Since developing a production racing car was very expensive, reducing the production run reduced the financial risk for Porsche of being stuck with a large number of vehicles should the sporting success fail to materialize. Development manager Ferdinand Piech later called the car "the riskiest car of his life."
The technical specifications, engine power, horsepower, frame, and so on—excellent information about all of this can be found online. The Wikipedia entry on the Porsche 917 and its history is highly recommended.
Since I don't want to repeat the whole thing (or paraphrase it, as von Guttenberg would say...), here are some lesser-known facts about the 917 and Porsche's Le Mans involvement:
For example, as early as 1969, Porsche rented an IBM 360/40 computer to calculate a so-called "computer lap time" using relevant data (curve radii, track length, gradient, gear ratios, and so on). The IBM System 360 was one of the most successful mainframe computers of its time.
All of the Porsche racing department's experience in lightweight construction over the past few years was consistently implemented in the 917K. The carbon fiber body was only 1.2 mm thick and reinforced with tubing, which is why the entire chassis was constructed from aluminum tubing. Later, even magnesium tubular frames were used.
Incidentally, Piëch had the welds of the tubular space frame tested by installing a valve at the rear of the tubular space frame, injecting 4 bar of air, and checking at the end of the test drives whether the pressure had dropped.
The 600 hp V12 engine featured Nikasil liners for the first time in motorsport. The connecting rods were made of titanium, also a first in racing engine construction. And while one might expect problems to arise with such a completely new design using some untested materials, one of the greatest advantages of the Porsche 917 was the renowned durability of its engines.
One of the drivers, Hans Hermann, ended his racing career after the Le Mans race. The reason: he had promised his wife that he would retire from racing after a Le Mans victory.
By the way, if anyone is interested in driving a Porsche 917 on the road, there is a possibility:
The only Porsche 917 with official road registration (chassis number 917 – 037) is owned by Monegasque Claudia Roddaro, who occasionally drives the car in Monaco.
The likelihood that the young collector will part with his Porsche is slim, but you never know. However, you should bring an eight-figure sum with you. Steve McQueen's GULF-917 was auctioned for $14 million in 2017. But it's not road legal...
CoMod Alex
