Skip to main content

This Monegasque Maniac Makes The Monocles Drop in his Street-Legal Porsche 917K

It’s almost hard to believe given its motorsporting excellence but until 1970, Porsche hadn’t won an overall victory at Le Mans. Then came the 917.

Making somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 hp at the wheels thanks to a 4.9-liter flat 12 and tipping the scales at just 600 kg (~1,325 lbs), the 917 managed to hit that highest of automotive achievements: 1,000 hp per ton.

Looking at the 917 now, it’s hard to believe it ever actually existed, much less that racers drove it. Not only did racers drive it to victory, not only did it star in Le Mans, not only did it win twice at Le Mans, this one’s also street legal.

[See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com]

That’s right, if you happen to find yourself in Monaco this summer, you may well be greeted the roaring thunder of the most original 917 in existence.

Now, despite its liberal attitude towards taxes, Monaco takes car registrations pretty seriously, so it wasn’t exactly easy for its owner Claudio to get his Porsche on the road. In the best tradition of the exceedingly wealthy, though, a legal loophole allowed Claudio the register the 917.

Claudio, and indeed the rest of Monaco, has Count Rossi, to thank for getting this car on the road because according to local law, if a car has been registered for road use in the past, another identical car can be registered, too. Luckily for us all, the man who got Martini into the motorsport sponsorship game, also had a street legal 917 (chassis 030) in the ’70s. 

But Claudio had to prove that this 917 was identical to Count Rossi’s. That was no mean feat because this car, chassis 037, was never finished. It was an extra car that was eventually sold to Baur, a German coachbuilder.

After decades of disuse, chassis 037 was sold to a US collector who set about getting it ship shape. Fortunately, no one’s buying a 917 to hot rod it, so a healthy respect for its history was always a priority and Porsche was always aware of the chassis’ location.

That means that the car now is now made up of 95% original parts. Since all the other 917s were used for racing and modified through the years to keep them eligible or to repair damage, chassis 037 is the most original 917 out there.

Which, along with a mountain of paperwork, allowed Claudio to get his 917 registered for the road. Even in Monaco, not exactly known for the low quality of its cars, the 917 is a trump card that Claudio can play against the best super and hypercars the principality has to offer.

The post This Monegasque Maniac Makes The Monocles Drop in his Street-Legal Porsche 917K appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex https://ift.tt/2H91IJJ
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Project SportWagen: Going Stage 2 with APR

    When we last left you, the humble little SportWagen was fresh from the development process with our friends at AWE Tuning, sporting a new downpipe, exhaust and intake, allowing things to breathe a bit easier.  The car sounded great, but there was no getting around the fact that our wagon was still quite, well, slow.   While we realize that nothing we do to the Golf SportWagen at this point will make it a race car, we still felt compelled to do something .  To put it bluntly, we had a fever, and the only cure was more power. Flash forward a few hours, and we found ourselves at Waterfest, staring down APR’s palatial spread and the numerous tuned vehicles surrounding it.  Earlier in the year, APR had hinted to us that their 1.8 TSI files would be quite impressive, and based on what they were able to do with the 2.0 TSI found in the new GTI and our time in their Golf R, we knew it’d be worth the wait.  So with this in mind, we lined our G...
Post a Comment
Read more

Volkswagen’s Gone to California with Grand California Camper

Volkswagen is bringing the California XXL concept to production. It will debut at the Dusseldorf Caravan Salon as the Grand California. It’s set to be based on the medium wheelbase Crafter van. That’s the company’s full-size commercial van, larger than the T6 Transporter based California. The high roof means room for adults to stand up, though it won’t get the concept’s extended length. The Grand California offers a full wet bathroom. It’s not exactly spacious, though, measuring in at around 31.5 x 33-inches. A toilet, shower, and sink are all crammed into that space, but at least there are motion sensor lights to stop you from reaching for a switch. Standard, the Grand California it comes with berths for two adults. Space for two children is optional, but they’ll be stuck in a berth amove the driver’s area. The kitchen offers a sink, stove, and two fridges. The front seats swivel to add seating space when the RV is parked. It’s also got solar panels, an integrated satellite dish,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Novitec, Unsatisfied with Aventador SV, Adds More Veloce

The Lamborghini Aventador SV is no slouch, but if you’re into Lamborghinis, chances are you’re into big numbers. Whether it’s in the bank or under the hood, a big number could, and perhaps should, always be bigger, which is where Novitec steps in. Novitec has been modifying Italian cars for years, and their Torado line is dedicated to making ridiculous Lamborghinis even more ridiculous. Their latest effort takes the Aventador SV and remaps the engine to give it 786hp and 544 lb-ft of toque. They’ve also fitted the car with a new exhaust system that cuts 50 lbs off the car. Other mods include a carbon fiber aero package, spoiler, front splitter and air intake, all of which helps it shed even more weight. The Aventador also sits on 21 (back) and 20 (front) inch Vossen wheels. So if you think that a regular Aventador is just a little too pedestrian, give Novitec a call and they’ll hook you up. The post Novitec, Unsatisfied with Aventador SV, Adds More Veloce appeared first on VWVor...
Post a Comment
Read more