Porsche 917: The Flat 12 Beast that Conquered Ferrari

[@lucwerner]

It was NOT the 917-30 that ended CanAm. I'm baffled to see how many people insist in saying this nonesense. CanAm ended because the series biggest sponsor, Johnson Wax, pulled the plug.

[@MrGaryGG48]

The 917-30 was an exceptionally competent racecar, and as such it was also an expedient target in that "blame-game" conversation. The money drying up for the CanAm series and no new source being available would clearly stop up the works. I would imagine that from the perspective of a competing team, not having that Porsche on the grid would have made life much easier. It was unfortunate that the financial problems finished the series. It was one of the best.

[@Steven91637]

Wunderbar i love the 917 Porsche

[@JohnCompton1]

The seating looked as brutal as the rest of the car... Lol... The twin tailed version looked like a fighter jet taking off! Thanks for sharing!

[@Phalanx11]

I was lucky enough to see this car in action when I was 12. My dad took me to Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta in the '70s. Although I favored the 512, I liked the 917 which was very squirrely on the back stretch at Sebring. Also I saw my first boobies . Some girl was dancing on top of a Uhaul at Sebring,

[@djpalindrome]

I enjoyed this video very much, but there is a general lack of coordination between the file footage being shown and the narration. The 917/30 was in blue and yellow Sunoco livery. The 917/10 was in red and white L&M livery. And you show a 4-cylinder Speedster engine when talking about a flat-12…

[@Firosche]

This documentary would have been better with some more sound clips of the different versions of this car.

[@MSLegends1]

Thanks for the feedback! I’ll keep that in mind for future videos!

[@Firosche]

@@MSLegends1 Some awesome work and great information!

[@djpalindrome]

I remember seeing the 917/30 at Watkins Glen. It seemed to devour the track like a giant Hoover

[@nicolaasjansevanrensburg7543]

Love the 917k version

[@SJR_Media_Group]

The flat 12 engine in 917's were actually (2) flat 6's bolted together. Porsche already had successful flat 6 engines. By putting (2) shorter 6's together, engine didn't suffer from a long crankshaft or camshafts typical on 12 cylinder engines. in center where engines met, there were gears that transferred power to the trans-axle. It also turned a large fan used to air-cool flat engine. After Porsche worked development problems out, cars dominated every endurance race. So successful it was eventually banned from racing.

[@TheXJRMAN]

met a chap at the Goodwood Festival who had bought one direct from Porsche, explained how they wiped the snow off each to identify them, he bought a Rodriguez car if I recall, incredible - you can't do that with the 919. 917 held the distance covered @ Le Mans until the Group 3 era, some 2 decades. Nothing else comes close. Can Am? ended it.

[@josebrown5961]

I just don’t get why the 917 doesn’t get more love. When I was a model building kid in the late 70s through the 90s I could not find a 1/24 scale model to build to save my life. I haven’t looked lately but I do see that they make some really good pre built ones. When Ford came out with the GT in 05 I thought how cool it would be for Porsche to update it and release it for the streets. The 963 would be nice in a streetable version. But you have to name it 917!

The power of this car is scary. I love to drive this car around the historic SPA circuit in Assetto Corsa. For this, you need some balls. Can't imagine the feeling in real life.

[@LeeePowers]

I could never even afford it in GT7,but I know it's a beast. I believe I had to drive it on some license tests.

[@rainerrutten1101]

Am..... Jealous!!!!!!!

@@rainerrutten1101 Why jealous? Assetto Corsa costs like 10€, mods (SPA track and Porsche car are free downloads). Only you need - some decent steering wheel.

[@Steven91637]

I had a Porsche 917 K Superkings Matchbox Die Cast Toycar

[@jaygillotti610]

Better than some 917 videos on KZbin, but too many inaccuracies.

[@HoosierRooster]

Every major road race in the world has been won by some type of 917 at least once

[@jaygillotti610]

If entered, yes. The 917 never won the Targa Florio (not entered and not suited to the course).

[@BobGeogeo]

Flub in title and narrative: the reigning Le Mans champs pre 917 were Ford. There's much sloppiness on dates of development 1969 vs 1970 and later plus mismatch of narrative and video.

[@julianwilson9365]

the 963 is not like that at al, and is the susesor of the 962 le mans winer car

[@MSLegends1]

Considering this is a video about the 917 and not the 963. I would assume you are correct….

[@julianwilson9365]

i said it coz the video shows a imagen of the 963, wich is not the actualy 963. and it also sais that the 963 is the predessesor of the 917 wich is not@@MSLegends1

[@houseyUK]

The L&M car is a 917/10...