Special museum exhibit honours the most famous racing car of all time.
Porsche is celebrating the landmark 50th birthday of the iconic 917 with a series of specially curated museum displays including a restoration of the first 917 ever made and an all-new modern interpretation of the much-loved race car.
Paying homage to the Salzburg colours which took Richard Attwood and Hans Hermann to victory in 1970 the red and white concept car was designed by a small team of designers and engineers purely as a technical study.
For more than a year the Porsche Museum has been working to restore 917-001 to its original 1969 condition. 917-001 was the first of the 25 vehicles required for type approval and made its debut in Geneva in March 1969. The restoration project proved particularly challenging as the car had undergone multiple transformations during its time as a test and presentation vehicle.
The success story of the 917 is legendary, producing Porsche’s first overall victory at Le Mans in 1970 and again in 1971. Further development into the 917/10 and 917/30 turbo variations saw the model producing over 1,000hp, dominating the North American CanAm series in 1972 and 1974.
From 14 May to 15 September the Porsche Museum will honour the 50th anniversary of the 917 with an extensive special exhibition entitled “Colours of Speed – 50 Years of the 917”. A total of 14 exhibits – including ten 917 models which alone have a combined output of 7,795hp will be on display.