Post by ferrari512s on Apr 13, 2014 9:58:00 GMT -5
Porsche 917
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.
Powered by the Type 912 flat-12 engine of 4.5, 4.9, or 5 litres, the 917/30 Can Am variant was capable of a 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time of 2.3 seconds, 0–124 mph (200 km/h) in 5.3 seconds, and a top speed of up to 240 mph (390 km/h).
There are at least eleven variants of the 917. By 1973 the 917 Porsche design dramatically changed.
The original version had a removable long tail/medium tail with active rear wing flaps, but had considerable handling problems at high speed because of significant rear lift.
The Wyer-Gulf team then experimented with a shorter, upswept tail, and solved the aerodynamic and handling problems at testing sessions at the Österreichring, at the expense of some top speed.
Porsche adopted these changes into the 917K, which dominated in the 1970 and 1971 World Sportscar Championships.
In 1971, a variant of the 917K appeared with an altered tail and vertical fins, which together reduced drag and maintained down force.
These versions produced around 620 bhp.
There were also streamlined versions specifically for Le Mans (1970 and 1971 917LH) that were 20 mph faster in a straight line[citation needed], but more stable than the original 1969 long tail.
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.
2009 marked the 40th anniversary of the 917, and Porsche held a special celebration at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (3–5 July).
The birth of the 917
In an effort to reduce the speeds generated at Le Mans and other fast circuits of the day by the unlimited capacity Group 6 prototypes (such as the 7-litre Ford GT40 Mk.IV and 4-litre V12 Ferrari P).
The Commission Sportive Internationale (then the independent competition arm of the FIA) announced that the International Championship of Makes would be run for three-litre Group 6 prototypes for four years from 1968 through 1971.
This capacity reduction would also serve to entice manufacturers who were already building three-litre Formula One engines into endurance racing.
Well aware that few manufacturers were ready to take up the challenge immediately.
The CSI also allowed the participation of five-litre Group 4 Sports Cars, of which a minimum of 50 units had to be manufactured.
This targeted existing cars like the aging Ford GT40 Mk.I and the newer Lola T70 coupe.
In April 1968, facing few entrants in races, the CSI announced that the minimum production figure to compete in the Sport category of the International Championship of Makes (later the World Sportscar Championship) would be reduced from 50 to 25, starting in 1969 through the planned end of the rules in 1971.
With Ferrari absent in 1968, mainly Porsche 908 and Ford P68 were entered there, with the Ford being a total failure.
As a result, old 2.2-litre Porsche 907 often won that category, with John Wyer's 4.7-litre Ford GT40 Mk.I taking wins at faster tracks.
Starting in July 1968, Porsche made a surprising and very expensive effort to take advantage of this rule.
As they were rebuilding race cars with new chassis every race or two anyway, selling the used cars to customers, they decided to conceive, design and build 25 versions of a whole new car with 4.5-litre for the Sport category with one underlying goal: to win its first overall victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on May 14, 1970.
In only ten months the Porsche 917 was developed, based on the Porsche 908.
When Porsche was first visited by the CSI inspectors only three cars were completed, while 18 were being assembled and seven additional sets of parts were present.
Porsche argued that if they assembled the cars they would then have to take them apart again to prepare the cars for racing.
The inspectors refused the homologation and asked to see 25 assembled and working cars.
On March 12, 1969, a 917 was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show, painted white with a green nose and a black #917.
Brief literature on the car detailed a cash price of DM 140,000, approximately £16,000 at period exchange rates, or the price of about ten Porsche 911s.
This price did not cover the costs of development.
On April 20 Porsche's head of motorsports Ferdinand Piëch displayed 25 917s parked in front of the Porsche factory to the CSI inspectors.
Piëch even offered the opportunity to drive any of the cars, which was declined.
Disappointed by the poor results of the 917 in 1969, and facing new competition, Porsche concluded an agreement with John Wyer and his JWA Gulf Team, which became the official Porsche team, and also the official development partner.
During tests at the Osterreichring at Zeltweg, works drivers Redman and Ahrens tested the car, and the car still performed like it did before.
The Osterreichring was the circuit where the car had won its only race at that time, Wyer's chief engineer John Horsman noticed that the bodywork had a pattern of dead gnats dashed against it, revealing the airflow.
The tail was clean—the presence of no dead gnats indicated that the air was not flowing over the tail.
A modification to the tail was cobbled-up on the spot in the pits with aluminium sheets taped together.
This new short tail gave the 917 much needed downforce.
The plastic engine intake cover had already been removed.
Redman and Ahrens were doing only one lap at a time before, they each did 10 laps and were satisfied with the improved performance.
The new version was called 917K (Kurzheck, or "short tail").
Source
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_917
Porsche 917 Die-cast
Several diecast manufacturers have produced this Porsche 917 model.
And Mattel did a superb release of this back in 1970 and as recent as 2011...see for your self!
Oh don't forget the Redline slicks release...
And then in 2013 Mattel Redline Club releases the new Gulf Series and unleashes the Porsche 917 with a "K". Yeah, wow!!!
All images of the Porsche 917K above are courtesy of John Rino (Wow, amazing photography here!!!)
Further Porsche 917 history...
Another of Ferdinand Piech’s innovative design’s, the 917 was revealed in March of 1969 at the Geneva Motorshow. Two dozen 917’s were displayed to inspectors in front of the Porsche factory in April. Slim and sleek styling led to slip and slide results with the long tailed version; high speeds led to fishtailing and rear lift in straight-aways. Initial low placing finishes, racing against rival Ford GT40’s, Lolas and Ferrari 312’s, would in no time be reversed.
917’s (and Ferrari 312’s and 512’s) were prominent in the “coolest of the cool” actor Steve McQueen’s 1971 movie “Le Mans” filmed at the 1970 24-hour endurance race in France. Multi-projection and on-board cameras make this cult hit a classic for rabid race lovers! Having to keep up at 200 mph, a McQueen owned 1968 Ford GT40 was used as a primary camera car for shooting and just sold for $11 million at auction in July of 2012. The featured short-lived models of the then current 917 and 512 sports cars were replaced in racing venues by newer prototypes in 1971 making viewing this actual race footage that much more sweeeeeeet!
Coincidence or fate? With the numbers ‘1’,’7’, and ‘9’: Porsche would tally back to back Le Mans and World Sportscar Championship wins in both 1970 and 1971 with the 917!
Hot Wheels’ 917 has always been a favorite of mine; its detail and heft, as a redline, clearly stand out to me. Restoring “beater” versions has always been difficult because it seems that the most common missing part is the ribbed back windshield. I molded a plastic non-clear replacement that was fitted and painted to match my desired paint color schemes; this was before Mattel came out with updated versions of this favored model in their revived Hot Ones series in 2012.
Please visit these references pages as well.
Source
lamleydlm.blogspot.ca/2013/12/first-look-hot-wheels-rlc-exclusive.html
lamleydlm.blogspot.ca/2012/12/the-custom-flame-work-of-tim-phelps.html