Porsche Racing

The Porsche 917 is a race car that gave Porsche its first overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. There are at least eleven variants of the 917. The original version had a removable long tail/medium tail with active rear wing flaps, but had considerable handling problems at high speed. A shorter, more upswept tail was found to give the car more aerodynamic stability at speed. The changes were quickly adopted into a new version of the 917, called the Kurzheck, or short-tail, with the new version being called the 917K. The 917K, and the special Le Mans long-tail version (called the 917 Langheck, or 917L), dominated the 1970 and 1971 World Sportscar Championships. In 1971, a variant of the 917K appeared with a less upswept tail and vertical fins, and featured the concave rear deck that had proved so effective on the 1970 version of the 917L (see below). The fins kept the clean downforce inducing air on the top of the tail and allowed the angle of the deck to be reduced, reducing the drag in direct proportion. The result was a more attractive looking car that maintained down force for less drag and higher top speed. By this time the original 4.5-litre engine, which had produced around 520 bhp in 1969, had been enlarged through 4.9-litres (600 bhp) to 5-litres and produced a maximum of 630 bhp. The 917K models were generally used for the shorter road courses such as Sebring, Brands Hatch, Monza and Spa-Francorchamps. For Le Mans' long, high speed straights, the factory developed special long tail bodywork that was designed for minimum drag and thus highest maximum speed. For 1970, an improved version was raced by the factory (the John Wyer team still preferred the security of the 917K) and for 1971 the definitive 917L was raced by both factory and JW. These cars were so stable that the drivers could take their hands off the steering wheel at speeds which reached 246 mph. In 1971 Jo Siffert raced an open-top 917PA Spyder (normally aspirated) in the 1971 CanAm series. There is also the "Pink Pig" aerodynamic research version (917/20), and the turbocharged 917/10 and 917/30 CanAm Spyders. Porsche 917s also raced in the European Interseries in various configurations. In the 1973 Can-Am series, the turbocharged version Porsche 917/30 developed 1,100 bhp (820 kW). The 917 is one of the most iconic sports racing cars of all time, largely for its high speeds and high power outputs, and was made into a movie star by Steve McQueen in his 1971 film Le Mans. In keeping with FIA regulations, Porsche created a new lightweight 356 with help from Abarth. After Porsche had considered numerous Italian companies to manufacture a lightweight 356 body, they settled on Abarth. Franco Scaglione penned the first initial drawings which attemped to reduce frontal area, overall height. Included was an adjustable scoop on the rear deck lid. Made entirely of aluminum, Abarth’s body was smaller than the Reutter 356 in every dimension and reduced drag from 0.398 Cd to 0.365 Cd. This new body also contributed to considerable weight loss, coming in at 1762 lbs, very near the FIA’s minimum 1780 lbs. The cars were delivered directly from Abarth's Torino plant, starting Feb 1960. Before production began, the rear engine cover was modified with an excess of louvers on both prototypes to avoid hot air reaching the Schubladenmotor’s cooling fan. After the first prototypes had been sent to and tested at Zuffenhausen, Porsche commited to 20 orders for the GTL. Carlo Abarth took advantage of the cottage industry in Turin, outsourcing the aluminum bodies to Rocco Motto. The final version sold for 25,000 deutsche marks or $6,500 USD. There was many detail differences from car to car with regard to body shape, taillights and side windows. The first production GTLs appeared at the Nürburgring 1000km alongside the factory’s prototype fitted with experimental disc brakes. Produced 1964-1965. Officially named Porsche Carrera GTS due to the same naming rights problem w/ Peugeot that required renaming the Porsche 901 to Porsche 911. After having withdrawn from Formula One at the end of the 1962 season, Porsche focused again on sportscar racing. The 904 debuted late in 1963, for the 1964 racing season, as a successor to the 718, which had been introduced in 1957. Porsche designed the GTS variant to compete in the FIA-GT class at various international racing events. The street-legal version debuted in 1964 to comply with homologation regulations requiring a certain number of road-going variants be sold. Porsche produced 106 904s, 4-5 a day, price US$7245 (FOB Stuttgart). The 904's mid-engine layout was inherited from the 718. It was powered by the 1,966 cc (120 cu in) Type 587/3, 4-cam flat four-cylinder engine producing 198 hp. It drove a 5-speed transmission with a standard 4.428:1 final drive, with available 4.605, 4.260, 3.636, and 3.362 ratios. Hemispherical combustion chambers. Twin choke 46 mm Webers. Ladder chassis and fiberglass body bonded to the chassis for extra rigidity. Some 904s had 6-cylinder engines (from the 911) hence the 904/6, and a few even had 8-cylinder engines