By Robert Emslie
With a rumored top speed of 240 mph and a record track speed of 224.4 mph at Le Mans, the Porsche 917 says let’s hurry up the weekend.
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Jeff Glucker
I was made keenly aware, at a young age, of how tiny the Porsche 914 is when my uncle, my cousin and I took one on a long drive. Yes, all three of us at once. So it always blows me away to see how much bigger the 914 is than the 917, which in pictures looks like a hungry giant built to chase you through your nightmares, but in the daylight of a car show parking lot…
https://digitaldtour.com/tag/197-porsche-salzburg-917-k-recreation/
https://digitaldtour.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/dsc_0240-version-2.jpg
917s are tiny. If there is any car that is an engine with a seat, that’s it. Canepa has at least one complete 917, and the first time I went, they had the body work off of it. Engine exposed, as well as the forward control (for a race car) cockpit & pedal box. Probably my favorite thing there. (Ok, they had one of the original Dodge Charger Daytonas with its giant wing, silly body work, wood accented dash and full cage; that was pretty awesome, and a solid contender against the 917 for me.)
I didn’t know that. Now I wonder if there were hill climb activities, too.
You can certainly camp in a VW Gulf.
Yep
Looks like Ron Weasley.
NACA Ducts and gulf livery. There is just so much greatness here.
That’s all nice, sure, but you’re missing the point that this is about the craziest, most out of control automobile ever made. Back when people still had spines. Crunchy, snappy spines.
There are lots of ways to die a fiery death, and any number of cars that would qualify as “most out of control automobile ever ”
I just see beauty is often a biproduct of function. The paint might not be, but I’m sure those ducts aren’t just there to make it look fast.
purpose built machines which have form follow function have always shown a certain eye catching appeal. 917s are just that. a design to turn horsepower into downforce.
the F-16 viper looks as if it going mach2 while sitting still. hard to believe it is designed to do it’s best maneuvering at only 350kts. turning thrust into turning rate.
i recall jim halls chaparral group 7 cars of the 70’s and how they looked so ground hugging. everything about them was about winning in the corners and keeping the advantage in the straights. pleasing to my engineers eye.