Porsche Presents Its Five Favorite 917 Liveries, Which One Is Your Pick?

The Porsche 917 may not be the most successful model in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but it’s definitely one of the most terrific cars to have ever raced at La Sarthe.

You can always swap ‘terrific’ for ‘terrifying’ when describing the 917, seeing as many drivers were scared to drive it because of how brutal and rough around the edges the iconic racer was. Not many drivers were able to tame the Porsche 917, but those who did felt tremendous satisfaction winning races in it.

As the first Porsche to win the Le Mans 24 Hours, the 917 will forever have a special place in the carmaker’s history and in the hearts of motorsport fanatics worldwide. The 917 owes part of its fame to the many cool liveries it featured during the three years it competed in the World Sportscar Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Without further ado, here are the five coolest liveries of the Porsche 917, ranked by the automaker itself.

#5: Porsche 917-001 with green and white color scheme

Porsche unveiled the 917 at the 1969 Geneva Motor Show in this cool combination of green and white, only two days after being completed. Fast forward 50 years and this particular car was restored to its original condition and paint scheme using cutting-edge 3D technology.

#4: 917/20 “The Pink Pig”

This is one of the most recognizable Porsche 917s because of its pinkish color that earned it the affectionate nickname of ‘The Pink Pig.’ Why pig? Because it was more than 240 mm (9.4 in) wider than the regular 917 and underwent further modifications to improve aerodynamics. Furthermore, designers applied markings that show cuts of meat when the car was built in 1971 showing that Germans do have a sense of humor.

#3: Porsche 917 ‘Long-Tail’ with Martini livery

The Porsche 917 ‘Long-Tail’ with Martini livery also dates back to 1971, when it received the iconic colors of the Italian drinks brand. A year earlier, the psychedelic green and purple stripe pattern did not bring it luck as it retired from Le Mans due to engine failure. It did not manage to cross the finish line in 1971 either; nevertheless, it became the first racing car to set a record average speed of over 240 km/h (149 mph) at Le Mans.

#2: Porsche 917 in Gulf Oil livery

The Gulf-liveried Porsche 917 needs no presentation as the light blue and orange scheme became famous mainly due to its appearance in Steve McQueen’s “Le Mans” movie. To this day, it has remained one of the most valuable 917 models.

#1: Porsche 917 in Salzburg Red

The most special 917 livery in Porsche’s book is the Salzburg Red car – and for good reason. Red and white are the colors of the 917 that gave the carmaker its very first overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970. Interestingly, the livery is inspired by the colors of the Austrian flag, which should not be surprising given that both the Porsche and Piëch families come from Austria.

Now that we mentioned the Piëch branch of the Porsche empire, it’s worth noting that the 917 was designed under the supervision of Ferdinand Piëch, a brilliant engineer later turned ruthless auto executive who orchestrated VW Group’s takeover of the Porsche brand, among other things, and its expansion into the automotive ziggurat it is today.