1972 Porsche 917/10 Racing Spyder

Built for Willi Kauhsen team as a replacement for the crashed chassis 002, 015 was raced seven times in the 1973 Interserie by Kauhsen and Gunther Steckkonig and was also entered in the Mid-Ohio Can-Am. Kauhsen won races at the Nurburgring and Imola. In 1974 Kauhsen raced 015 in five more Interserie races, winning at Silverstone. The car was then sold to Randolph Townsend who raced it at Mosport in 1976 and SCCA events at Road Atlanta and Riverside between 1975 and 1977. The car was owned by Dan Hanna then Monte Shelton before going to Peter Kaus' Rosso Bianco Collection in 1984. The current owner purchased the car in 2006 at Bonhams' Carmel auction. The car was restored by Porsche Motorsport NA and Canepa Motorsport with work completed in 2017.

This vehicle is a 1972/1973 Porsche 917/10 Twin-Turbocharged CanAm & InterSerie Racing Spyder with chassis number 917/10-015. CanAm racing cars during this era were producing 800 - 1100 horsepower and the extremes of aerodynamic, exotic materials, and latest technology were constantly being experimented with, and tested.

The Porsche 917 Series was powered by a flat-12 cylinder, air-cooled engine finely tuned to answer the demands of endurance racing. Porsche produced four series of this car, including the short-tailed Coupes, aerodynamic Coupes intended for LeMans and other high-speed tracks, the Turbocharged 917/10 CanAm and European Interserie Spyders, and the rare 917/30 ultimate CanAm car.

This example shown was campaigned by Porsche privateer Willi Kauhsen in the InterSerie. The car is constructed of an aluminum-tub chassis frames with a body that was designed to take advantage of aerodynamic drag and high down-force. It had epoxy body panels bonded to the aluminum spaceframe chassis, as did all customer 917/10 cars. Large aluminum four-pot calibers with cooling fins and webs were used to keep the car in the driver's control. 1.1-inch thick, cast-iron, cross-drilled brake rotors were used to improve the performance in wet weather. Fuel capacity was over 65 gallons and eventually grew to 72.6 gallons.

Kauhsen campaigned his first 917/10 with chassis number 002 until it was damaged at Nurburgring late in 1972. He reverted to his backup car, chassis number 015, which is this car. The car secured a victory at the 1973 Nurburgring 300kms and Shell Coppa d'Oro in Italy. A second was achieved in the BRDC Martini Trophy at Silverstone. The car was then brought to the United States to compete in the CanAm Series. At Mid Ohio, the car qualified in fifth position. The car's racing history continued through the 1975 season with Kauhsen at the wheel.

The car was sold to Randolph Townsend of Reno, Nevada who later sold it in 1977 to Dan Hannah. It was sold again in 1980 to Monte Shelton who used the car in a few races at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California. In 1984, the car was acquired by Peter Kaus for the Rosso Bianco Collection where it has been on display since that time. This car was offered for sale at the 2006 Bonhams & Butterfields auction held at the Quail Lodge in Carmel, California where it was estimated to sell between $450,000 - $550,000. It sold above that estimate, with a high bid of $579,000.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2007