- The Porsche 917 was developed under Ferdinand Piech’s leadership to win Le Mans- and it did.
- Initially built as a racer, one of these monsters was converted to be road-legal for an Italian Count.
- This 917K now resides in southern France and is regularly driven, despite being 50 years old.
You’re certainly excused for not knowing who Teofilo Guiscardo Rossi di Montelera was; neither did we, actually. He admittedly had an impressive name, but it was also a bit too long, so the Italian businessman and heir of the Rossi family, who co-owned the Martini & Rossi “kings of vermouth” company, was known simply as Count Rossi.
If you’re a motorsport fan, though, you have no excuse for not being familiar with the Porsche 917 in Martini’s colors, second in fame only to the Gulf one immortalized on the silver screen by Steve McQueen.
An Italian Count Asked For This Masterpiece And Porsche Made It
In any case, in 1971 a Martini-liveried 917K (for Kurzheck, or “short-tail”) scored the brand’s second consecutive win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, forever securing its place in racing history. During that time, Count Rossi, apart from a businessman, a two-time powerboat world champion racer and a bobsledder, was also a Porsche enthusiast. So when he knocked on Weissach’s door and asked them for a street-legal 917K, they kindly obliged.
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Only they didn’t build a new one but chose an ex-racer, chassis #30, that had competed in just one event (in which it retired) and converted it to the count’s preferences. Finished in Martini Silver, the road-legal 917 featured rudimentary exhaust mufflers, additional mirrors, side indicators, and even a horn. It also had a – mandatory – spare tire under the rear clamshell (quite a feat, given the limited space that housed the flat-12 engine and its cooling fan on top) and was originally fitted with Alabama license plates obtained by Count Rossi since the car couldn’t be registered in Europe.
Just The Basics, Please – And Some Hermes Leather
The term “spartan” is not enough to describe the interior. The 917 makes even the McLaren F1 look like a Rolls-Royce as it has nothing that isn’t absolutely necessary. Which isn’t that much; just a steering wheel, a gear lever, three pedals, instruments, harnesses and two seats, as required by endurance racing regulations. However, in this one, Porsche retrimmed the seats in tan leather by none other than uber-luxury house Hermes, and the dashboard, doors and roof lining in color-matching suede.
Other than that, it had no changes, retaining the (now legendary) wooden gear shifter that, decades later, would be replicated in the Carrera GT, and even the same drilled, in order to save some ounces, key. See, the 917 didn’t have a start button but drivers fired up the engine just like they would in any other car: by turning a key.
The Crown Jewel Of Porsche’s History
In case you didn’t already know, the reason Porsches have the ignition on the left of the steering wheel is that endurance racing teams wanted to save precious seconds in getting their motor running. Back then, the cars were lined up sideways and, when the flag dropped, drivers rushed to get into them. This was later deemed too dangerous, as some didn’t bother to wear their seat belts in order to gain positions at the start. Dr. Ferdinand Piech, the mastermind behind the 917, knew that a few seconds can make a difference between the winner and the runner-up (aka the first loser) in a 24-hour endurance race that includes a multitude of pit stops and driver changes.
Watch: Could You Daily Drive This Street-Legal Porsche 917K Replica?
Nowadays, the street-legal 917K, which is 50 years old, is wearing UK license plates and is driven by its current owner in the roads of southern France, where it resides. Moreover, it was recently subjected to some restoration work, which preserved the original paint and interior, to keep it in tip-top shape, hopefully for at least the next 50 years.
The future might be electric, but the past has a charm of its own. Just look at this 917; I bet petrolheads would happily toast a Martini Rosso or a Negroni to it and Count Rossi’s memory, since he perished in 1991, aged 89.
Is History About To Repeat Itself With A Road-Legal 963 Le Mans Racer?
While the story about the 917 chassis #30 and Count Rossi is fascinating, what’s perhaps even more interesting is Porsche hinting that, half a century later, it might do the same with its current endurance racer.
At the end of a video about the Count’s 917 50th anniversary, it displayed a shadowy image of a car’s profile which looks conspicuously like the 963 LDMh hypercar that won the 2024 WEC Drivers’ Championship and the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams, which includes privateer entries, with Jota.
The 963 uses a carbon fiber chassis by Multimatic and is powered by a 4.6-liter twin-turbo V8 derived from that of the 918 Spyder, itself based on the IMSA LMP2 class-winning RS Spyder racer. The V8 is mated to the standardized, by FIA, Bosch MGU that delivers an extra 67 hp and X-track’s seven-speed sequential transmission.
An Exciting Premise, But What About The Mission X Electric Concept?
According to the LDMh regulations, maximum combined power is capped at 671 hp (680 PS) to level the playing field and increase competition between different brands. Obviously, the hybrid powertrain is capable of a much higher output in road-legal trim as it won’t have to comply with FIA’s specs.
What’s tantalizing is that Porsche also teased us with a “What If?” blurb, which means that this project may very well be already under development. That’s despite the brand having unveiled in mid-2023 the Mission X all-electric hypercar concept that many speculated would be the 918 Spyder’s successor.
However, as public reception was less than stellar, it’s possible that they’ll ditch the electric hypercar for a hybrid one that should be much lighter due to it not having to lug around a huge battery pack and, thus, the car would be nimbler.
What’s more, converting the 963 would be much easier, and faster, than developing an all-new EV. At the end of the day, Porsche does need a hypercar to rival the likes of the Ferrari F80, McLaren W1 and Aston Martin Valkyrie, which have already been launched, so the clock is ticking…