50 Years of Porsche 917 in Porsche Museum

The Porsche Museum at the company headquarters in Zuffenhausen has earned a good reputation for special exhibitions over the past ten years. Due to the historical significance of the 917 as a racing car, it’s not surprising that now a large part of the exhibition area is dedicated to it and related exhibits. Until September 15, there are 7,490 horsepower gathered in this area alone, spread over just ten vehicles. The title of this special exhibition is ’50 Years of the Porsche 917 – Colours of Speed’.

The racing cars on display include, among others, the 917 with chassis number 001, which was restored to state of presentation in 1969 by the team of the Porsche Museum workshop and which was shown at the Retro Classics Stuttgart in March for the first time since it was finished. In addition, there are the winning cars of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1970 and 1971, the first two overall victories there for Porsche. Add to that the ‘pink sow’ 917/20, a 917 K with Gulf livery, a 917 LH with Martini livery, a 917/10 Spyder and a 917/30 from the CanAm series. On the other hand, the 917 PA Spyder, which Porsche never used for racing, is less-known to visitors. Instead, the open white Spyder was used to test a naturally aspirated sixteen-cylinder engine, which was ultimately replaced by a twelve-cylinder turbo engine and was put into the depot without any race outing.

Other exhibits in the Porsche Museum include technical components such as a crankshaft, camshafts and turbochargers as well as a complete engine block. Next to them is a design model in scale 1:4 from 1970 from the development of the 917/20 and another 1:1 model of 2013, which under the name ‘917 Living Legend’ pays homage to the legendary racing car and arrived just in time for the return of Porsche in the LMP1 category of sports car racing. Various posters and small exhibits complete the special exhibition.

Just in time for the start of the 917 exhibition, the Porsche Museum also presented a new book on the history of the racing car. Another item inspired by the 917 is a BBQ apron in the design of the 917/20 ‘pink sow’.

Images: Porsche