1972 Porsche 917/10
Chassis No. 017

The Porsche 917/10 Spyders were the most powerful machines ever prepared for road racing. Developed from the incredibly successful 917 coupes, the 917/10 won championships on both side of the Atlantic — Can-Am and FIA Interseries from 1972 to 1975. Mark Donohue said, “ It is the only car I have ever driven that will spin the tires at 200 mph”. Drivers described the massive down force bodywork — “ Lifting the throttle is like hitting the brakes on a normal car”. With 800 ft. lbs. Of torque and speeds of 0-100 mph in 3 seconds and 0-200 mph in 12 seconds, there is left doubt why this remains the fastest road racing car of all time.

This car was located in Sweden in 1991 and eventually purchased in 1997 buy Bruce Canepa. It was in its original (as raced) condition and considered one of the most original 917’s in existence. 917/10 no. 017 is one of only twelve 917/10’s built by Porsche.

After extensive research with Porsche to determine the exact specifications, the restoration began by totally disassembling the vehicle. This included the removal of all the bonded fiberglass floor, firewall, inner panels and structures. New molds were fabricated from the original inner panels and new parts were created using the original materials from the 1970’s production process. The frame was restored back to its original condition.

The entire suspension was disassembled, crack tested, repaired as needed and rebuilt to original specifications. This included miscellaneous plating and finishes — anodize, black oxide, cad plating, Dow chemical, etc.

The engine assembly was completely rebuilt by Gustaf Niechy, the same gentleman who built the original 917 engines at the Porsche factory. The body of the vehicle, including the nose, door and tail are original and were restored and repainted to the original racing livery. In all, more than 3,000 hours were spent to restore Porsche 917/10 no. 017.

This car was driven in the early 1970’s by several noted drivers including John Fitzpatrick, Rolf Stommelen, George Loos, Tim Schenken, Wilie Kauhsen, and Bob Wollek. Some of the race winning history includes wins at Zandovoort, Nurburgring and Hockenheim. Chassis no. 017 was the outright winner of the 1975 German Interserie Championship the European version of the CAN-AM series in the United States.

Additional specifications include aluminum tube space frame chassis, fiberglass body, magnesium and titanium suspension components, 5.4 liter flat 12-cylinder air cooled engine, twin-turbo chargers, Porsche 4-speed transaxle transmission with titanium half shafts and Fuchs magnesium wheels (12x15 front, 18x15 rear).

Overall weight – 1650lbs.
1150 H.P. @8,000 rpm
0-100 mph in 2.9 seconds
0-150 mph in 5.7 seconds
0-200 mph in 12 seconds
Top speed –220 mph

Race History
1973 Sold new to Georg Loos of the GELO Racing Team in Germany
1973 Interserie
4/1/73 Nürburgring Loos 6th
5/1/73 Imola Loos 6th
5/20/73 Silverstone Loos 3rd
6/3/73 Norisring Loos 2nd
7/15/73 Hockenheim Loos 2nd
8/19/73 Misano Loos DNF
9/30/73 Hockenheim Loos 2nd
1975 Interserie
8/24/75 Zandvoort Schenken 1st
9/7/75 Nürburgring Schenken 1st
9/28/75 Hockenheim Schenken 1st

About the Porsche 917

In April 1968, the CSI announced that the minimal production figure to compete in the Sport category of the World Championship of Makes (later the World Sportscar Championship) was reduced from 50 to 25 cars starting in 1969, mainly to allow the homologation of the Ferrari 250 LM and the Lola T70 (which was not manufactured in sufficient quantities) as there were still too few entries in the new 3 litres Prototype category.

Starting in July 1968, Porsche made a surprising effort to take advantage of this rule. They designed and build 25 versions of a whole new car for the Sport category with one underlying goal: to win its first overall victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In only ten months the Porsche 917 was developed. On April 20 Ferdinand Piëch displayed 25 917s parked in front of the Porsche factory to the stunned CSI inspectors.

The car was built around a very light spaceframe chassis (42kg) and powered by an air-cooled 4.5 litre Flat-12 with a 4 speed transaxle. To keep the car compact despite the large engine the drivers seat was so advanced to the front of the chassis that the feet of the drivers were in front of the front wheel axle. Porsche scored their first overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970, winning again in 1971.

The car had remarkable technology: Porsche’s first 12-cylinder engine, and many components made of titanium, magnesium and exotic alloys that had been developed for lightweight "Bergspider" hillclimb racers.

After their successes with the 917 mainly in Europe, Porsche instead decided to focus on the North American markets and the Can-Am Challenge. For that series, larger and more powerful engines were needed. A 16-cylinder with about 750hp was tested, but a turbocharged 12-cylinder had initially the same power, with more to come.

The turbocharged 917/10 entered by Penske Racing won the 1972 series with George Follmer, after a accident sidelined primary driver Mark Donohue. This broke the five-year stranglehold McLaren had on the series. The further evolution of the 917, the 917/30 with revised aerodynamics, a longer wheelbase and an even stronger 5.4 litre engine won the 1973 edition winning all races but one with Mark Donohue driving.

The 917/30 was the most powerful sports car racer ever built and raced. The 5.4 litre 12 cylinder twin-turbocharged engine could produce 1500 bhp with twin turbochargers run up to full boost, a simply astonishing 39 p.s.i, though it usually raced with around 1100bhp to preserve the engine. The 917/30 dominated in the Can-Am series during the 1973 season. The 917/30 could go from 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds, 0-100 in 3.9 seconds and 0-200 in 10.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 245 mph+. These staggering levels of performance, the attendant fuel thirst of the engines, and ever increasing risk, has led to the 917/30 sometimes being cited as the car that killed Can-Am racing.