1970 Porsche 917 Long Tail Coupé

In 1967 the Commission Sportive International, the independent competition arm of the FIA, decided to change the regulations for Group 6 prototypes competing for the International Championship of Makes. In prior years the engine capacity was unlimited resulting in cars such as the 7 liter Form Mk. IV and 4-liter V12 Ferrari. For 1968 the CSI announced that the championship would be run for 3 liter prototypes. Well aware that few manufactures were ready to take up the challenge, the CSI also allowed 5 liter Group 5 Sports Cars, of which a minimum of 50 units had to be manufactured (later reduced to 25) to participate. This allowed existing cars like the aging Ford GT40 MKI and the newer Lola T70 coupe to compete.

Starting in July 1968, Porsche made a surprising and very expensive effort to take advantage of the Group 5 rule. Under the leadership of Ferdinand Piech, the Porsche racing department designed and built the 917 in just nine months. On April 20 Piech displayed 25 917s parked in front of the Porsche factory to stunned CSI inspectors.

The car was built around a very light space frame (92 lbs.) and powered by an air-cooled 4.5 liter (later increased to 5.0 liters) flat-12 engine mated to a 4-speed transaxle. It was capable of hitting 220 MPH on the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans!

John Wyer's team, J.W. Automotive became Porsche's 'Werks' team for 1970. They secured sponsorship from Gulf Oil and created a new wedge shape tail for the 917. The new tail transformed the car and the Gulf Porsche team dominated in 1970 and 1971 winning the World Championship for Porsche both years.

This Porsche 917K 917-015 is powered by a 12-cylinder, 5-liter engine capable of producing 630 horsepower and 415 ft-lbs. There is a Porsche 4-speed transmission and an aluminum tube space frame with bonded fiberglass panels and a fiberglass body.

In 1970 the car was driven by Pedro Rodriguez, Brian Redman, and Leo Kinnunen to 1st Overall at the Daytona 24 Hours and 7th overall with Brian Redman at Watkins Glen in Can Am Competition.

In 1971 it was converted to a Spyder by the Porsche Factory.