The Porsche 917K is one of the world’s most iconic endurance cars and in this video from RM Sotheby’s, we discover the process required to actually start its engine.
This particular car is owned by Paul Lanzante and firing up the famed flat-12 involves much more than simply turning a key. For starters, you need to warm up the oil and to do this, you have to plug in the heating pad located underneath the oil tank into a regular household power socket.
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With the oil up to temperate, you turn on one of the master switches on the outside of the 917K before moving into the interior and flipping the second master switch. The standard battery also has to be supplemented by an auxiliary battery to ensure it has enough voltage. The key can then be turned, activating the fuel pumps.
From there, the engine cover needs to be removed and brake cleaner (or petrol) must be sprayed into each of the 12 cylinders. Someone inside the car can then fire up the engine while someone else uses the mechanical throttle linkage on the engine to hold the revs at around 2,000 rpm until all the fluids are up to temperature. Once that is done, the engine can be revved up and the car can be driven.
The most expensive Porsche 917K to sell at public auction fetched $14 million back in 2017 and in the years since, prices have inevitably increased further.