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www.QV500.com - Porsche 917 Part 1: 917K 'Straße' |
Motor manufacturers have long since held a fascination for converting their most tricked up sports racing cars into experimental street machines. Many never see the light of day or are squirreled away for the factory collection, but some do make it out of captivity and acquire cult status. This is the account one such car, Count Gregorio Rossi de Montelera’s unique factory built Porsche 917K ‘Straße’. Having won Le Mans in 1970 and ’71, K-spec 917’s were normally the cars to beat and it was one of these ’Kurz’ or short-tailed variants that Porsche converted for Count Rossi’s use. Rossi was of course the founder of Martini Racing and few would argue that a more ferocious machine could be tamed for street use, the long taila 917's having been capable of speeds in excess of 245mph, this at a time when driver safety was minimal with little in the way of car or track protection. Utilising an aluminium tubular spaceframe clad with swoopy fibreglass bodywork, Porsche equipped 917’s with all the very best kit: double wishbone suspension, adjustable shocks, anti-dive geometry and a driver-adjustable rear anti-roll bar. There were centre-locking five-spoke cast alloy wheels at each corner fronting drilled and ventilated 12-inch steel disc brakes with alloy hubs and four-piston calipers. |
 1971 Zeltweg 1000km, 917 030 between a factory Ferrari 512M and works JW Automotive 917 |
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In standard 'K' trim, the 917’s five-litre air-cooled Flat 12 engine produced a formidable 630bhp at 8300rpm. Compression was set at 10.5:1, there was mechanical Bosch fuel injection and, for most circuits, a five-speed transmission. Body changes for the 'K' included revised tail fins, the finished article standing 36.5-inches high, 74-inches wide and tipping the scales at 840kg. With a power-to-weight ratio of approaching 750bhp per ton, the 917K could exceed 220mph and hit 60mph within 2.6 seconds. Rossi’s car, chassis 030, is believed to have raced just once before being converted for road use by the factory. Its sole outing came at the Zeltweg 1000km World Championship race on 27th June 1971 where it was entered by the factory but run under the Martini Racing Team flag for convenience. Featuring an experimental transistorised anti-lock braking system about which Porsche’s engineers were highly secretive, the number 28 car was painted white with red and blue Martini stripes. Driven by Helmut Marko and Gerard Larrousse, it qualified third behind the pole-sitting JW Automotive 917K of Rodriguez / Attwood and the works Ferrari 312P of Ickx / Regazzoni. However, after circulating at the sharp end of proceedings for nearly four hours, 030 crept slowly into the pits whilst lying second, a messily punctured right rear tyre damaging the bodywork. After a lengthy stop, Marko went back out in the heavily taped 917 but with the damage affecting handling, it was decided to retire the car when the rear lights stopped working on the 122nd lap. |
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 Count Rossi driving 917 030 from Stuttgart to Paris |
Afterwards, 030 was taken back to the factory where it was repaired and used as a test-bed for the aforementioned ABS braking system. It next emerged featuring a handsome coat of silver paint and a few rudimentary modifications for road use. These included exterior mirrors, an exhaust with silencers plus one or two cabin tweaks for comfort. However, this wasn’t enough to satisfy the powers that be in Europe so when Count Rossi took delivery he registered the car in the U.S state of Alabama despite keeping and using it in Europe. |