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Re: Can Am Cars - 917 Clarification
Come on guys, Porsche not only ran in Can-Am, it ran away with Can-Am...
The Porsche 917 was designed under Porsche technical chief at that time,
Ferdinand Piech (Audi content), for the FIA's 5-litre class homologated
sportscars (a production run of 25 was required) for the 1968 season. The
new rule was to allow US-engine-based teams compete for the world
championship of makes. The original car was a long tail coupe, the 25 were
shown for homologation just a month after the factory announced the
project. The stories of soda-vending machine repairmen and janitors
helping to get the cars together in that timeframe is not too far from the
truth... they just had to run. But I digress, the car was made in the
following versions:
1969 917 coupe 4494cc 12cyl 580hp
1969 917 L coupe 4494cc 12cyl 580hp
1969 917PA open 4494cc 12cyl 580hp Can-Am prototype - only one made
1970 917K coupe 4494cc 12cyl 580hp
1970 917K coupe 4907cc 12cyl 600hp top speed at Le Mans - 354km/h
1970 917L coupe 4907cc 12cyl 600hp
1971 917K coupe 4998cc 12cyl 630hp two of these (917-052 and 053 with
magnesium frames)
1971 917/20 coupe 4998cc 12cyl 600hp only one made
1971 917L coupe 4907cc 12cyl 600hp now 386 km/h at Le Mans
1971 917/10 open 4998cc 12cyl 630hp Can-Am proto, two made
1971 917/10 open 5374cc 12cyl 660hp
1971 917/10 open 4494cc 12cyl 850hp twin-turbo, 18.5 psi boost
1971 917/10 open 4998cc 12cyl 1000hp twin-turbo, 18.5psi boost
1973 917/30 open 5374cc 12cyl 1100hp single turbo, 18.5 psi boost
The 917/10 was the Can-Am/Interserie car, and the first 11 of the 14 built
were delivered for the 1972 season, the following having been raced:
917/10-001 W.Kauhsen Interserie/Can-Am
917/10-002 W.Kauhsen Interserie
917/10-003 G.Follmer Can-Am winner of 1972 series, ran by Penske
917/10-004 L.Kinnunen Interserie winner of 1972 series, ran by AAW
917/10-005 M.Donohue Can-Am
917/10-006 M.Minter Can-Am
917/10-007 P.Gregg Can-Am
917/10-011 M.Donohue Can-Am magnesium frame car
The 917/10 fon six of its inaugural seasons nine races in Can-Am, and seven
of nine in Interserie. The factory performance figures for the 917/10 gave
it approx 0-100mph in 3.9sec, and 0-200mph in 13.9 sec. The fuel mileage
was approximately 2.5-3 miles per gallon.
The 917/30 was a Penske-only deal by the factory, and ultimately this car,
and its engine, which was delivered by the factory for the older 917/10
customer cars as well, absolutely dominated Can-Am racing in the 1973
season. The final SCCA Can-Am standings were such that the 917/30 having
won, there were three 917/10's in the following places. Mark Donohue was
even accused of sand-bagging to keep his leads reasonable in order for the
SCCA not to make rule changes.
Getting back to the question in hand, yes the 917 raced in North America on
the Can-Am circuit, and yes for the two years it was allowed to run, it won
the championship. The 917 is most certainly remembered for its dominance.
The pictures you are referring to are probably those of the Penske cars,
white for the 1972 season (L&M tobacco colours) and blue/yellow for the 73
season (Sunoco).
Sorry wor the wasted BW, but I had to spew that out, especially for it was
a great success for the young Ferdinand Piech.
Jouko Haapanen
----------
> From: Daniel Hussey <GY3WSX@VM.SC.EDU>
> To: Brendan Rudack <rudack@ucsub.Colorado.EDU>
> Subject: Can Am Cars
> Date: 28. elokuuta 1997 18:06
>
>
> Brendan,
>
> OK, those can am cars pretty much had nothing to do with Audi.
It was
> a Porsche car (loosely). It had "Porsche + Audi" on it because Porsches
and
> Audis were once (and still usually are) sold side by side (same
company..all
> part of VW of America). So, they were just trying to get thier cars
sold.
>
> Next thing....I don't think the 917 was a Can Am car. Yes, it
was
> baby blue and had "Sunoco" and "Porsche + Audi" plastered all over it,
but I
> don't think the 917 is what you are thinking of. If my memory serves me
> correctly, the 917 had a small 6 cylinder motor (based of porsche's
desighn,
> i.e. air cooled) and produced much less horsepower than the car am cars.
I
> think they were raced in Le Mans type racing (kinda like what GTP is).
>
> There was however a Porsche (or Porsche powered Can Am car). I
think
> this may be what you are thinking of as these beasts could have unlimited
> engine size and horsepower. They were very basic and very fast! Common
names
> here were Lola, Mc Laren, Chapparal, and Chevron. Engines were from a
variety
> of sources, some from Porsche. Now, I don't know much about these cars,
or
> what thier powerplant was or how much horsepower they produced (I don't
think
> it was 1,000 although they were getting up there) but I do know a little
from
> years of spectating vintage racing events.
>
> BTW, an interesting side note. The Can Am cars racing in the
> Chicago Historics last month were beating the times they had on that same
track
> back in the late 60's! In essence, they were hauling ass! ;)
>
> Later,
> Dan