The Porsche 917 is one of the most legendary race cars ever built. It features a 4.5-liter, air-cooled flat-12-cylinder engine. Initially was tuned to produce 520 HP but was capable of much more than that - later versions were tuned and turbocharged to produce from 1,000 to 1,500 HP.
The 917 had some initial problems with stability at high speeds and the design did not fare too well during its first season in 1969. It was during the 1970 racing season that the 917 became a dominant force. A re-designed and shortened tail section solved the stability problems and gave the car much needed down force on the rear wheels. The Porsche 917 won 9 out of 10 races to claim the endurance racing championship. The design also dominated throughout the 1971 season.
The 917 was raced in the Can Am series and dominated the 1972 and 1973 seasons. It was during the 1973 Can Am season that the 917/30 variant was developed. he car had all new bodywork, and the twin turbocharged engine was bored out to 5.4 liters giving it 1100–1580 horsepower, It is perhaps the most powerful sports racing car ever to have existed.
This print shows the winning Porsche 917 chassis 015 as it appeared during 1970 at the 24 Hours of Daytona race. It was driven by Pedro Rodriguez, Leo Kinnunen and Brian Redman. Gulf-sponsored Porsches finished 1-2 in the race and broke the distance record by 190 miles. It was the first race in which the 917K variant appeared,
There are two versions of this artwork - one featuring the car as it appeared at the start of the race and the other featuring the car with the wear and tear the endurance race caused on the machine.