Christmas 1969. There’s a party raging at the racing department in Zuffenhausen. It had been a good year for Ferdinand Piëch’s band of young drivers and engineers; Porsche had taken the sports car manufacturers’ title, triumphed at the Targa Florio and won the Monte Carlo rally. Furthermore, the troublesome new 917 sports car had taken its first win at the final race of the year. Yes, it must have been one hell of a party.
Brian Redman was a popular figure at the event. Having co-driven with Jo Siffert for Porsche in a 908, he was celebrating winning five of the 10 World Sportscar Championship races in 1969. Still, Redman was distracted by something he’d just seen. During the party, an engineer had taken him to a darkened corner and removed the cover from a new racing car. When Redman climbed in, he was amazed to find that his feet were ahead of the front axle.
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