This fabulous racing car gave Porsche it's first of 16 wins to date at LeMans (up to their last win in 1998). Introduced in April 1969, the 917 boasted a 4.5 litre air-cooled flat-12 engine which produced over 560bhp. Porsche initially had to complete 25 cars to homologate the 917 for international sports car racing. The first cars had long tail bodywork which turned out to be aerodynamically unstable. As a result, the cars handling was terrible, and none of the cars entered in the 1969 LeMans race finished.
Porsche were disappointed to say the least, but the privateers found a solution. By drastically shortening the rear bodywork and adding small spoilers at the end of each wing, the car was found to be far more stable on the track, if slightly slower in a straight line. The new version of the car was called the 917K ("K" for Kurtz, or short), to differentiate it from it's long tail predecessors, the 917L's.
1970 was a great year for the 917, winning Porsche's first outright victory at LeMans (driven by Richard Attwood and Hans Herrmann Winner) and the Sports Racing Championship outright.
Interestingly, the car had a bad reputation among drivers as being dangerous to drive. Most who drove it appreciated it's race winning capability but feared it as it did not offer much driver protection in a crash. For example, the drivers feet were well ahead of the front axle line, which spelt trouble in the event of a head on crash. The aluminium spaceframe chassis was fragile, and was filled with pressurized inert gas. A gauge on the dashboard could inform the driver of chassis damage by measuring the gas pressure. If the gauge read zero, then the chassis was broken.
The 917 dominated sports car racing again in 1971, this time with a 5 litre engine and slightly more power. Once again it won LeMans, but for the last time. For 1972, new regulations banning the 5 litre class (in an effort to slow the cars down overall, and increase safety) meant the 917 could no longer compete. However, the 917 story did not end there. The 917/10 and 917/30 turbocharged open versions dominated the North American CanAm series, winning in '72 and '73. These monsters put out in excess of 1000bhp and were basically unbeatable.
This model is one of a series of 917 models produced by Eagles Race. The overall body shape and paint finish are quite good, as are the racing wheels and tires. The headlamps and windscreen area are very realistically finished and the model generally looks good. The main criticism is that there are no opening doors or panels, and there doesn't seem to be an engine at all (at least not without dismantling the car to get at it!). In fact, it's just like a 1:18th scale 1:43rd model! (Many 1:43rd scale models have no opening features). The interior is race car basic with a nice steering wheel and a harnesses on the drivers seat. Overall, the Eagles Race 917's get only 4/10, reflecting the lack of opening features, lack of engine detail and so on, but even though I'm giving them a low rating I do like how they look and I still think they look good displayed among far more detailed models.
AUTOart introduced their 917 range shortly after I bought these 917's around 2000. As expected, they are better models with opening doors, bonnet hatch and rear decks, as well as more engine and interior detail. However, the AUTOart versions are twice the price of the Eagles Race versions so you would expect a higher level of detail (mind you, as of 2005, the Aa versions can often be found at sale prices not too much more than the Eagles Race 917s new prices, making them very good value indeed). I have the AUTOart "Steve McQueen" Gulf No.20 917 (as used in the movie "LeMans") as well as the new 917L "longtail" also by AUTOart, and as you would expect for the price, they are better models than the Eagles Race 917s. I also have two of the "Hippie" 917Ks by AUTOart as the psychedelically coloured Martini sponsored 917Ks were known. However, the Eagles Race version is a good budget model. I don't have the McQueen 917 listed under LeMans/Racing cars, but instead it can be found on the "Famous Cars" page of this site.
