Porsche Museum Celebrating 50th Birthday Of Legendary 917

Porsche has announced a special exhibition at its German museum to celebrate the 50th birthday of the iconic 917 race car.

The Porsche 917 was first introduced in 1969 to give the German car manufacturer its first overall win at the Le Mans 24 Hours. And that’s exactly what it did, securing wins in both the 1970 and 1971 editions of the famous endurance race.

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The highlight of the special 917 exhibition is the very first example of the 917 ever built and first presented to the world at the Geneva Motor Show back on March 12, 1969. The car has been expertly restored over a period exceeding one year and has been brought back to its original condition.

Porsche’s exhibition also includes both the winning 917s from the 1970 and 1971 editions of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The 1970 car was driven to Le Mans success by Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood while the following year, drivers Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep won in another 917 and managed to cover a distance of 5335 km with an average speed of 222.3 km/h, records which remained unbeaten for 39 years.

Other remarkable vehicles included in the exhibition are the 917 PA Spyder which was used as a test car with a 16-cylinder engine. There are also seven other 917s on display as well as a full-size model of the Porsche 917 ‘concept study’ unveiled just a couple of months ago.

The special exhibition will take place between May 14 and September 15.