50 Years of Porsche 917 to be Celebrated at Goodwood

Driving the cars at Goodwood will be Le Mans winners Richard Attwood and Neel Jani along with former F1 and LMP1 racer Mark Webber.

Four world premieres will be at 77th Goodwood Members Meeting in Great Britain as Porsche shows driving examples of the 917 around the Goodwood Motor Circuit – including the first 917, chassis 001 which has been restored in Sussex in time for this year’s jubilee. The 917-001 and the 917/30-001 meet for the first time at a driving event.

Joining the first ever built 917 and the 917/30-001 will be the 917 KH and the 917/30 Spyder. One of the most iconic is the 917 KH short-tail car, chassis 15 in Gulf Oil livery. After having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 917 short tail did it again the following year by carrying Martini Racing colors and the number ’22’ and with Gijs van Lennep and Helmut Marko sharing the driving. They averaged 222 km/h and covered a distance of 5,335 kilometers – a record which stood for 39 years.

The ‘Sunoco’ 917/30 Spyder is a regular visitor to Goodwood of course. Developing in the region of 1,200 hp from its 5.3-liter V12, the 917/30 Spyder weighs just 850 kg – allowing it to reach a top speed of 375 km/h. With the engine suitably optimized, Mark Donohue set a closed-course speed record at Talladega Speedway in the sister car, to average 355.848 km/h.

Finally, the newest of the 917s at Goodwood is the 917/30 Spyder carrying the distinctive livery of 1975 sponsor, the central heating manufacturer Vaillant. Carrying a wheelbase extended by 184 mm over the conventional 917, the car was built in 1972. The following year the car won on its debut, with Vic Elford driving, in the Interserie race in Hockenheim.

Driving the cars at Goodwood will be Le Mans winners Richard Attwood and Neel Jani along with former F1 and LMP1 racer Mark Webber. Following Goodwood, the cars will leave the UK to re-join the Porsche Museum collection in Stuttgart. From 14 May to 15 September 2019, the Porsche Museum will honor the 50th anniversary of the 917 with an extensive special exhibition entitled “50 Years of Porsche 917 – Colors of Speed”.