The loophole Porsche racecar Ferrari couldn't touch!

[@FicarraClassic]

I'll be answering your Porsche 917 questions live this Saturday at noon eastern time on my new channel. Come get your car geek on with me at kzbin.info ! If you can't make it just hit me with your questions below.

[@chefcc90]

Number one question is the secretary car aspect of them, as they have been called. Did they really call upon all their workers to just build the cars?

[@rahulsudhir666]

One of my fav race cars ever! Can't wait for more insight from the Q&A. Ficarra, u rock!

[@the_frankc]

Is there a reason they changed the Gulf livery on the cars to have different patterns?

[@theanomalous1401]

I just set a reminder on my phone. I wouldn't miss this for anything!

[@rahulsudhir666]

1. Can you share some insight on what it took for the Count Rossi car to be road legalized? 2. What's your take on Icon Engineering's 917 Replicas? Are they worth the asking price?

[@michaelflinn7692]

I honestly could listen to him telling car stories like this all day! By far my favorite story teller on here!

[@halnutt1790]

Could tell a story of how to make Mac and cheese I would listen same as michel

[@andrewpacheco3541]

No body beats Rabbit!!! But I do like how this guy tells a story lol

[@blockpartyvintage1568]

And Doug!

[@starga-fr7qx]

but everytime he tells stories, it's riddled with factual errors.

[@davida.737]

The first time Redman got into the car, he wanted to see how the windscreen wiper was going to do, so he turned it on, the wiper goes flying off, he smiled.."well, we won't be using that," and guns it out of the pits.

[@risingwind8943]

Every time a car is banned or the rules are changed because a car is "too good", I die a little inside. If this car had been allowed to continue, what monster might another company have created in response? Competition fuels INCREDIBLE development in the human race. Peak ingenuity born of pressure is a pinnacle characteristic of the human race. Competition created the safety mechanisms in modern cars. Competition between companies creates better products for consumers. Competition got us to the moon. Killing competition is a murder of the human spirit.

[@eamonia]

Damn bro, that's heavy. You're 100% right though.

[@PREPPERSQUIRREL]

They did the same thing with the 426 hemi in NASCAR

[@thedoctor2102]

It doesn’t just occur in racing. Effectively everything that deemed “too good” by an authority or governing body either gets banned outright or just outlawed anyway. Profit politics and mitigation of any potential “threats”, then for shit and giggles a bit of kicking the little independents in the guts after screwing them. Human nature in all its glory.

[@Spencer481]

The Porsche 917 road car makes the Lamborghini Countach seem like a practical family hatchback in comparison.

[@colinmunro7337]

Count Rossi had 1 and Allan Hamilton's 917 30 in Australia

[@willbeasy2898]

@@colinmunro7337 Alan Hamilton also used to have a road legal 908 coupe.

[@colinmunro7337]

@@willbeasy2898 legit ,Allan had the maddest Porsches on the road anywhere in the world

[@willbeasy2898]

@@colinmunro7337 I was lucky enough to go into his work shop a few years ago, and I spotted some unpainted 908 front bodywork, plus I was shown a storage area where there was piles upon piles of Porsche racing parts, including a 917 titanium spool, and heaps of 935 parts.

[@devandrasimanjuntak1646]

legit, the cabin of the 917 might be smaller than some Kei cars 😂

[@jean-francoispirenne6518]

I was 10 years old when my father brought me to Le Mans 1970, where I saw the legendary car in action. More than 50 years later, when someone talks about race cars, the Porsche 917 comes to my mind!

[@GameOver-nm2us]

Aren't you like 62 now?

[@jean-francoispirenne6518]

@@GameOver-nm2us Toi y en a compter vite.

[@chinodave3769]

We’re the same age, I remember the 917 at Riverside,it’s speed near the end of the back straight was incredible and the sound, wow remember it like it was yesterday..

[@Duh6666666]

Great memories for sure! In my case, some family friends had given me a ticket to the inaugural Montreal GP for my 11th bday, which was the day Gilles Villeneuve won with his superb Ferrari 312T4. one of the best days of my life.

[@redplanet7163]

@@GameOver-nm2us Damn dude, you're a mathematician!

[@paulsummers2640]

This man can tell a proper story.

[@jondoe-eg1ty]

he call le mans lemons

[@unsaved013]

@@jondoe-eg1ty He was probably referring to the Lemons racing series where people race clapped out sub $500 cars in endurance races for fun. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_Hours_of_Lemons

[@starga-fr7qx]

​@@unsaved013 no he wasn't his pronounciation is rubbish Piech as peach isntead of pi eck Lemons when he wants to say le maans Wyer as Weer instead of Why ur

[@sirstrongbad]

@@starga-fr7qx when he's talking about them forming the new tail with sheets of aluminium self tapping screws and duct tape he's definitely referring to Lemons, because he pronounces LeMans properly elsewhere in the video.

[@starga-fr7qx]

​@@sirstrongbad ok wel fair enough, but his other pronounciation is just shit all the way. as are his factual mistakes

[@impalaSS65]

Hesitated, "24minutes it's a little long, I need to do stuff" - felt like 5minutes. So glad to hear a person that is telling a story so well time isn't even noticed - AND knows the engineering well enough to incorporate it for us nerds. Thank you!

[@wsshead]

Thank you Ficarra and VINwiki, today's episode washed away the filthy taste of NFT Bro with the delightfully nostalgic minty flavor of Porsche racing dominance.

[@BlueCollarBTC]

why was the nft story bad lol you’re the type of person to complain about not enough content than get the content and just never stop bitchin be happy they put out videos consistently

[@joshuagibson2520]

Naaaah. Ed is on probation. He's putting out complete garbage 2-3 days a week usually. Ad revenue is not more important than quality content. If you only have 2 worthwhile videos a week, so be it. Don't put out trash just for the sake of having a new video everyday.

[@bwofficial1776]

How long will NFT Bro get blasted in the comments? Answer: forever, unlike his NFTs.

[@wsshead]

@@bwofficial1776 NFT Bro feigned being a car guy and just crapped buckets on all automobile hobby enthusiasts. If his idea of art is chaotic demise, great, go blow up a Chrysler Sebring, there are tons of em. There are not a ton of Lamborghini's, though. It's like a poacher shooting a tiger for its fur then cackling like a maniac as he shoots the rest of the streak (a group of tigers) for fun. The Xtreme Xperience guy didn't even make me this mad. He at least respects the brand and that people dream about those vehicles.

[@theawsomekicker]

He could've invited streetspeed717. Would've been just as bad

[@voxelmaniam]

This is a great history lesson. I remember going to Watkins Glen with my brother in 1970. I had just turned 20 in June and my brother 17 in March. A couple of kids really. We traipsed around the track all day taking pictures with a long lensed Nikon F motor drive. I was originally a Ford fan but the Porsche 917 had stolen my allegiance. Seeing the two 917s come in 1 and 2 against the Ferraris was a dream come true. Just wish I still had all of those pictures that we took.

[@rhryguy]

R ccx/

[@nuckels188]

I can't even imagine how awesome it sounds in person. Even a damn youtube video of 917 flybys is jawdropping Love watkins glen too, those barriers amplify car noises beautifully

[@VINwiki]

We love Ficarra's deep dives into racing history! Enjoy.

[@riskyb250]

so do I. More pls

[@theanomalous1401]

Between the John Ficarra and Euroasian Bob stories over the past 2 days. All is forgiven for Monday's uhhh, story? Let @Ed Bolian know that his penance will consist of confession of his sins at the altar of the Prancing Horse followed by 10 Hail Enzo's. All is forgiven, go and sin no more!

[@Jay1369]

@@theanomalous1401 hahaha hail Enzo's amazing!

[@stijnvandamme76]

Deep Dive ?? he's almost reading the books. You make it sound like he dug up some unknown story when it's all well known and documented information. if this was a Thesis, he'de flunk for not quoting his various sources. Obviously We all know what those are.. Hans Mezger's book, Ludvigsen and some others.

[@snirtgonzo354]

No more NFT bro plzzzz

[@tomnekuda3818]

I loved it when you said, "Ferrari saw the 917 as a threat." Enzo saw EVERYTHING as a threat! LOL

[@the_frankc]

Day 2 of being thankful there aren't anymore Crypto/NFT Bros. John Ficarra also has the most unique and genuine stories on this channel.

[@MrHondablink]

.... but still disappointed a Casey response video hasn't been posted.

[@eddyevl]

100% agreed! NFTboy just doesn't fit well with the spirit and vinwiki channel theme.

[@its_only_karma7440]

We need rabbit back

[@STRGHTSXBNZ]

@Mike Gresko The truth

[@devintrudeau6351]

@@its_only_karma7440 Rabbit and Arnie

[@tetereres]

One of the best story tellers of all time. You can feel his passion.

[@KentBuchla]

You guys are easy to please

[@busman2050]

I disagree with you Kent

[@prestonlyle]

you really should hire this man full time, he is honestly one of if not the best storyteller you guys have on

[@breadfanornofan1148]

Lol hiring him would be useless.

[@terdferguson1736]

@@robbiddlecombe8392ya what are these people talking about, this guy is mediocre at best at story telling . He sounds like he is making most of it up.. great story tellers don’t . Go like and like and use nonsense metaphors in need for grandiose. Great story tellers , when it comes to historical information are unrivaled on their Knowledge of a subject and can use bc the facts alone to paint that awesome picture

[@R0FLC4T5]

That bit about having a pressurized frame to check for cracks was something I've never heard of. That's amazing!

[@whodat90]

They do the same with helicopter blades.

[@AlexWeiss94]

IMO, John Ficarra is just THE best at telling stories. He could tell me how he left a paper straw in the glove box of a car and I’d be there to listen

[@joshuagibson2520]

You should get out more. Or read. Find a good book.

[@AlexWeiss94]

@@joshuagibson2520 okay?? 😆

[@jakesmith2341]

@@joshuagibson2520 I like how that's your first assumption about some rando comment on a vinwiki vid. Maybe you should get a life ;)

[@nigelft]

@@joshuagibson2520 Years ago, in the early 1980's, before I turned 13, or so, I used to read to my younger sister ... alot. Reason being, she was, and is, severely disabled to the point she just can't read, rather like an infant, before they find language, and speech, properly. So, I would read my favourite stories to her, as she would cuddle up next to me. It's from there I learned about inflection, and intonation, and whilst I hated reading out aloud to my class, I got decent (but not like, in the As, but, say, B+) grades, because of learning that; one reason I can 'mask' my Autism pretty well, because of including inflection and intonation when speaking, and thinking a second or so before saying anything, although it doesn't always work. That's what makes a good narrator great, as by adding both those teo skills, plus the correct degree of enthusiasm, you can turn a mundane story into something else, due to being able to put just the right amount of emotional energy, into a story, without sounding like you're mentally bouncing around the place. I could go into how, during the day of sail, being able to write, and perform sea-shanties, not just to 'mark time', just as entertainment, as well as spinning tall-tales, was essentially to keeping the morale of the crew up, especially when hundreds, if not thousands of miles away from home. Instead, I'll just say this: if you either have, or will have, kids of your own, or your siblings do, and you start reading them stories, perhaps you may find out why great narrators, like Morgan Freeman, and Sir. David Attenborough, are held in high esteem ... and why hyperbole is used in describing both men, because of the 'infectious' many of telling a story that, by halfway through, you've become semi-consciously emotionally invested ... Perhaps it is you whom should read a book, or two, or, better yet, find an unabridged, audio version, of a favourite book, that you can relax listening to, as, especially being emotionally uptight, leads to high blood pressure, which is not healthy for the heart at all, and is the leading cause of Aneurysms, Strokes, and Heart Attacks ... Take care, and be well.

[@starga-fr7qx]

full of factual mistakes , no not the best at telling stories. at all.

[@mariapires7170]

I´m 68 years old, and I had the privilege to see Le Mans in 69 until 72 and I saw the 917´s victories in 70 and 71´s years, but only today, 27 April 2022, I knew about the birth, development and the all the issues that are in the base of, for me, the most incredible, beautiful and iconic endurance racing car ever, what a car! Thank you VINwiki and Mr John Ficarra for your explanation for this Historic iconic car.

[@colinritchie1757]

Never clicked on a VinWiki story so fast - All hail John Ficaffa the master story teller

[@FlVE]

I rarely feel this much engaged in a video, amazing work, no music no distractions, just pure content. love it

[@flyboy7399]

I love active aero and mechanical solutions to problems, so the sketch at 18:52 just blew my mind. I really like the idea of a wing adjusted by suspension position, and I think that adds a lot of possibilities for making a fast car!

[@napoliansolo7865]

Good representation of how different analog and digital engineering works. Now days they'd use senors and micro processors with a computer box to do the same thing. Thanks for pointing that out.

[@starga-fr7qx]

it was never on the homoligated cars... because it was already banned by then

[@angelprincess4414]

I saw Le Mans in a theatre, sitting in the front row. That was quite the car experience for a kid. When the engine noise kicked in and the race got underway was one of the best cinematic experiences of my like.

[@adamdesii09]

Another Legendary John Ficarra Story I could Listen To His Stories All Day Long

[@stijnvandamme76]

he's just reading a mashup of info found in the various books on the subject.. but ok.. let's call it a "legendary John Ficarra Story"

[@fullmetalf4i]

John could talk about the engineering of a toaster and it would be interesting. Love that guy's stories

[@halycon404]

Here is a 19 minute video about the engineering of an antique toaster, it gets really geeky. And I watched all of it, cause it was interesting. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4DJqZ-JfJuka7s

[@no1DdC]

There are channels for things like that on KZbin and they are great: Here's a video on a toaster from 1948 that is better than your current toaster (except when it tries to kill you): kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4DJqZ-JfJuka7s

[@johnsullivan676]

The Sunbeam Radiant Control toaster is quite interesting on it's own but I'm sure John could tell a good story about one.

[@starga-fr7qx]

if you like mistakes , sure

[@simonmauricemusic2742]

Great story telling - was lucky enough to spend time with John Horsman a few years ago, and others in the JW Gulf team. Just one thing… your “Ferrari 512” that is pictured is actually a Lola T70. They both ran the Sunoco livery, but the Ferrari pictured ain’t no Ferrari!!

[@dmg796]

I love this guy’s stories. I’ve watched his “Ford vs Ferrari story you never heard of” about a dozen times now. Great stories, great delivery. Good job by you.

[@patrickclawson9622]

I know what you mean. I had watched it twice before seeing the movie, and was "fact-checking" the film against Ficarra's descriptions.

[@tirebiter1680]

They should make a sequel to Ford vs Ferrari, and call it Porsche vs. Ferrari. Back then all Porsches had air cooled engines. Most cars that had air cooled engines were Volkswagens. Porsche offers to buy Ferrari. Enzo refuses to build the air-cooled race car that Porsche wanted, and tells Ferry Porsche he must be some kind of a retard because he thinks a race car doesn't need water cooling. Then a German who had a 1200 lbs. Lotus Europa, that he crammed a souped up 911 S engine into, wins a race. Ferry hires him to build a 16 cylinder Porsche and win Le Mans.

[@Kaptain13Gonzo]

I remember the Can-Am cars firing up in Edmonton, when I was a kid. We lived miles away. The roar was stupendous. My dad wrenched a Formula Ford at the time. I heard about the cars. In the 70's I loved reading the sports car magazines when I could find one. The Porches were absolute beasts. But that sound. I wish I could have seen them race. this story is great. 3 years of utter domination.

[@AshBloodFox]

It blows my mind these incredible drivers with years of experience couldn't determine or communicate there was no rear downforce. Awesome video, thanks man!

[@paulmirza2083]

How could they, when they had no idea what downforce meant to the stability of a race car at high speeds. Aerodynamics was in it's infancy in regards to racing. Airplanes engineers were still figuring it out with test flights. That's if the plane actually made it back. The sixties was the wild west when it came to experimental development.

[@gerhardlegeland4523]

What I miss in this great video are the other races besides the 24h of Daytona and Le Mans in these two years 1970 and 71. As a matter of fact the 917 was not competitive at the Targa Florio and at the 1000 km at the Nurburgring Nordschleife. Porsche used for these races the lighter 908/3. They won three of these races, the Targa Florio 1971 was won by the Alfa Romeo TT33/3. The second race 1970 the 12h of Sebring was the only victory for the Ferrari 512S. The Alfa TT33/3 won two more races in 1971 (1000 km Brands Hatch and 6h Watkins Glen). In all other races the 917 came first. Remarkable is the victory of the Salzburg 917 1971 in Le Mans. The drivers Helmut Marko (now a big man at Red Bull) and Gijs van Lennep won with an incredible new distance record of 5333 km and an average speed of 222 km/h. This record lasted until 2010. I should mention here that there were two chicanes built at the Mulsanne straight in 1990. Another incredible performance of the 917 was the 1000 km race at the old extremely fast race track of Spa Francorchamps. Petro Rodriguez and Jack Oliver finished the race in there Gulf 917 #21 in 4h 1min and 9sec.with an average speed of over 249 km/h Just 0,4 sec behind was the Gulf 917 #20 driven by Joe Siffert and Derek Bell. I saw this race. It was just insane how Joe and Petro were pushing each other to new lap records in their last stint. Finally Joe did the fastes lap with an average speed of over 262 km/h and they were racing bumper to bumper on this very dangerous track which was an ordinary road (except of Eau Rouge). These 5 l sport cars were more than 10 sec faster than the fastes lap of F1 in 1970 (won by Petro Rodriguez). I'm quite sure with Joe and Petro in the same car, with less slower cars and less traffic these guys could have done the 1000 km in less than 4 hours, i.e. a speed of more than 250 km/h. Insane. You guys should give it a change. You are using already liters instead of inch³ so do it as the rest of the world does it, the Canadians do it since decades. Think metric! Other great 917 drivers were Brian Redman, Hans Hermann, Vic Elford and Leo Kinunen. So sad both Petro and Joe died both in an accident in 1971. Not in a 917 though. Petro shortly after Le Mans in a private Ferrari 512S and Joe in October in his BRM F1 car. The 917 was an incredible machine.

[@302racing3]

Seeing the #22 1971 Porsche 917 that shattered all those records is one of the greatest vehicles I’ve ever seen. Fantastic story again!

[@TausendjährigesTrump]

The number of people who are completely unaware of these incredible and historical racing stories and events is saddening. I was having a conversation with a coworker, who is a big time racing fan, and I mentioned the 24-hour Daytona race. He said, "Wow, imagine driving that oval for 24 hours straight." I explained to him that the 24-hour race is the road course layout of Daytona, to which they were completely unaware existed. Unfortunately, the larger racing series, such as NASCAR, have gone so extremely far away from thier roots that they have driven fans away. The excitement of ingenuity and the uncertainty of a new idea that gave NASCAR its popularity among racers and fans has completely evaporated. Keep these stories alive by continuing to share them!!

[@rhettgalloway3199]

Talked to Ficarra about this at the Amelia. Great to finally see the story.

[@kencreppin2146]

I remember the 917/30 at Mosport. It was literally so powerful that you could feel the engine sound vibrations in your chest. A wicked car!!!

[@mabs503]

One of the best VINwiki episodes ever. Well prepared, well executed and with really good use of period photos.

[@Seventschiko]

u gotta love the fact that all manufacturers do to defeat ferarri, is basically find a loophole so they finally can. speaks volumes on how strong ferarri really is.

[@decnet100]

That is not what happened there. Porsche essentially said "this new class could be competitive for overall victory, and it requires not so many prebuilt homologoation cars - let's build a car for that." Also figuring out a whole lot of things in the process - when they set out, there was no tire rated for the speeds this thing went. Also, Porsche had no wind canal for testing. So they had to come up with a whole lot of new things on the spot, and entered thus class.As did Ferrari,a year later. This isn't even much of a loophole, it's just entering a new class with a new car that was actually designed for it.

[@etoineschrdlu9382]

I remember seeing 917s and 908s racing in Can Am at Mid Ohio in the 70's. It killed every class it was entered. When the turbocharged 917/30 came along, all the other teams had been running bored and stroked Chevy big blocks as big as 8.5 liters in size. Many tried turbocharging those huge engines and found little success compared to the Porsche. BTW: at 11:06 a Lola T70 in Sunoco/Penske livery is shown and implied to be Ferrari's 512M, which Penske did race in nearly identical livery. The T70 was what privateers raced in the WEC if they couldn't afford the Porsche or Ferrari.

[@BIGBLOCK5022006]

And the 917/30 Can-Am car was nicknamed the "Turbo Panzer".

[@caribman10]

"Many" did not try turbocharging Chevy engines, but some did. The problem was that Chevy themselves didn't support the effort. As a matter of fact, the only GM factory-supported turbo effort was the Olds/McKee, which was a victim of the Jim Hall 2F effect, i.e., too many new ideas in one car at one time. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Chevy had gotten behind Traco et al and developed a smaller, simpler turbo engine that could have been purchased. We now know that the Reynolds-block "Chevy" could take 20+ pounds of boost, good for 800+ hp....in a lighter car than a 917/30.

[@MiguelGarcia-vj7oo]

@@caribman10the typical shoulda, woulda, coulda, but didn't................

[@paulcajkasr9600]

Penske raced a Ferrari 512 with a 917K tail and a small added wing. It worked until the engine quit.

[@nomojo1110]

Dickie Atwood spent more time at the wheel of he and Elford's 917 at the cars first Le Mans than anyone but he sure wasn't saying, "It's a little disturbing." He was praying the thing would break down so he could get the hell out of it. It ultimately did break down... after 300+ laps and 22hrs.

[@loc-o5282]

When I saw the title I was hoping it was a John Ficarra story. Awesome story John. I always enjoy learning about racing history from you. A+ story teller.

[@sebvv5219]

3:40 He's talking about torsional vibrations which restult in a stationary wave. In the center of the crankshaft, there's a node of oscillation, ie: a point where the amplitude is always =0. 4:38 Interestingly enough, this book has got it wrong. It was NOT a "Boxermotor". It was a 180° V12. A 180° V12 can have equidistant ignition spacing and be fully balanced, without venting channels in the crankcase or repulsion losses. Thanks for the great video.

[@starga-fr7qx]

he's getting a lot wrong, they were not 2 911 engines butt to butt because the crank journals are shared and opposite pistons are not offset as much as on a 911 if they were 2 911 engines the 912 engine would be much longer . the long crank was the main reason for a V crank as it makes the crank and thus the entire engine shorter. John is good at making it sound like he knows his stuff, but he's reading out of books and adding his mistakes.

[@Robsphotographync]

These are the stories I care about on VINWiki. Thank you, John for always being awesome!

[@ricklarimer5495]

Ficarra is the best at the smooth story explaining any subject. Must be a wonderful thing to be next to him, learn so much just listening.

[@carjourney5157]

Great story, really learned a lot. But when you mention the Ferrari 512 around 11:09, you actually show a Lola T70, which has another fascinating story of it's own.

[@bloqk16]

That story of the # 6 Lola T70 that won at Daytona in 1969 was a remarkable feat by the Penske team.

[@Miklos82]

Good catch!

[@babydriver8134]

Oh, and I liked Lolas too. I hope I get to drive all of my dream cars in Heaven.

[@DADMAN57]

I was looking to see if anyone had caught that, only a real race car fan spots it, good job!!!! My favorite T70 is the John Surtees Riverside winning Spyder. It sat outside on its trailer at the PAM shop in Manhattan Beach during the 1966 CanAm season. Vasek Polak Porsche in Hermosa Beach had a collection of 908s and 917s on display all the time when Vasek owned it. Then there was a little storage garage with created 917 engines, parts and cars crammed into it on racks up to the ceiling that I used to walk by on the way home from school. It was a great childhood!!!!!

[@mueesli4745]

The rear end section was ahead of it's time. Porsche did it to the 917 to improve rear end stabilit,, but Lola did it a few years earlier.

[@mattcuddy814]

The car that killed Can Am. My dad, Bill Cuddy was a privateer, driving an M8E & F. He said some fast 917 driver, Denny Hulme I believe, went by him like he was standing still, and my father was no slouch in a race car. Were they ever turbocharged? I believe qualifying horsepower on 917 Can Am car was what, 1200? McClaren's put out 800 max. Amazing. My favorite car, next to an Auto Union Type C.

[@hemichanga8939]

It's always a good day with a story from John!

[@Reverberocket]

From 1971 - 75, I was studying automotive technology in a trade school in the U.S. Even without any of the substantial background provided in this video, I was immediately drawn to the 917's design when I first read about it. Thanks for this.

[@danielsotelo3942]

John, the way you tell the 917 story is nothing less than watching a full length, 2.5 hour long, nail biting, edge of your seat, high budget motion picture... I'm 67, and grew up in LA not far from Burbank where I got to see a genuine 917 on a flat bed trailer at a gas station. The truck was having tire issues, so for about an hour I got to see and touch the 917 as it was being trailer-ed to a movie set somewhere in Burbank. I asked permission if I could see it up close and maybe touch it... They said it was ok, as long as I did not try to sit in it. I was so amazed by how rough the car was built on the inside. And how massive the rear tires were! I was a big fan before, but after seeing it up close and touching it, I was inspired to become a race driver one way or an other... I eventually became the top three 400cc production class racer in So Calf for three years in a row. It wasn't quite car racing but that's all I could afford and I also didn't have the connections. Regardless my two dream cars have always been the 917 K, and a red 1963 Corvette. Back in 1996 I co-founded a bicycle component company called onZa and wanted to purchase a 917 road worthy replica from Australia, until my wife caught wind of it, and had to settle for an RX-7 R2.... Great Story, sincerely Dan Sotelo

[@stuffhappens5681]

John is such a great story teller. He could talk about the history of soap box derby cars and I’d be riveted.

[@Santosh-ug6lu]

I've gotta say, this is one of my favorite vinwiki episodes ever. Something about uncovering lesser known facts about a legendary race car. Old race cars and crude techniques hahaha, love it

[@yannikau4521]

I love hearing about the 917s Story! Would've loved to hear a bit about the 917/30 aswell but maybe another time I've been obsessed with this car for years because my grandpa used to work at porsche and actually built some 908s and 917s. His team maintained the camera car from the le mans movie! I actually don't know what he looked like back in the days so he might actually be somewhere in this video. Might have to go through some of his old pictures together with him at some point :D

[@yannikau4521]

I just skipped through the video together with my grandpa. He even remembered working with one of the guys at 3:25. Geniuenly love being this privileged regarding porsches history. I hope I still have lots of years left with him!

[@Astrofrank]

Telling something about the 917/30 would have been nice, but also showing a picture of the 917/20 with a short explanation of the words written on it. ;-)

[@colinspasm3329]

@@yannikau4521 My dad used to work for Gulf Porsche back then, unfortunately, he died back in 1990, leaving lots of photos and memorabilia. Wondering if your Grandpa might have known him?

[@yannikau4521]

@@colinspasm3329 that's cool! I'm pretty sure he my grandpa didn't knew your dad tbh. My grandpa (and the rest of my family) is from germany. He mostly had to do with porsche directly in germany, only went to the US once (for panamericana I think)

[@josebrown5961]

I have been obsessed with the 917 since I was in kindergarten! 1970 I was 5 and was watching Wide World of Sports with my dad and l saw that car. Then a few weeks later at Woolworths with mom and I was looking at the Hot Wheels cars and what did I see-A Porsche 917! It was my first proper introduction, I couldn’t really read but that shape was like no other,I grabbed up that little car and pleaded my mother to let me have it. Now back in those days our parents often gave us “the speech” before going into places like Woolworths. My mom had given me the speech that day, in short it basically said “don’t ask for NOTHING!” I must have looked cute that day because she didn’t even blink she took the car from my hand and dropped it in her basket! When I started thinking about driving, around 1980 I saw in Car and Driver an ad for a kit car the Laser 917. All you needed was a VW and you would have a street legal 917. My parents had broken up by then and I lived with mom. We lived in an apartment so no 917 for me. Then Ford had the GT in 2005, a great take of the GT40. It was larger than the original but to us but close enough. If Ford could make a street version of a race car from the 60s surely Porsche could… Make a carbon fiber tub for the chassis, and make it a bit larger than real ones. Have seating for 3 like the McLaren F1. They could use a standard flat 6, or use the V10 from the Carrera GT. The hard part would be designing an air conditioning system for the darn thing. Okay fantasy over.

[@francoisdvanderwesthuizen]

This, Porsche 917, Ken Miles' 1966 Ford GT40 and the 1991 Mazda 787b must be my favorite Le Mans stories...

[@astariatechnologyandconsul5931]

John is a legend … he’s type a guy you wanna hang out after the football party drink till 4 o’clock in the morning and listen to the stories… what a great dude

[@madMARTYNmarsh1981]

It is such a joy and privilege to listen to this man speak. He has a lot of knowledge, and I'm am glad to hear him share it.

[@jondahl9826]

Love a good car story to start off my day fixing wrecks, and Ficcara is one of the best to tell a good car story.

[@jeffs2119]

Great video. For comparison, the 917 frame wad 105 lbs. One brake drum of a semi weighs 105 lbs.

[@NONO-hz4vo]

My mom doesn't even weigh 105 lbs.

[@KayhoticGames]

@@NONO-hz4vo neither does mine. although erns are pretty light.

[@RobsNeighbor]

Great story as always! Love the way John can tell a story and history the history is amazing.

[@stephenskinner4857]

I was at the 24 hours of Daytona to watch this beast thru the day and hear it thru the night as I tried to sleep thru the night. The following day it was victorious. Later that year of 1970 I went to work for a racing team that went to battle against that beast. I'll never forget that car.

[@tsaurus5051]

Losing traction on the expressway is quite frightening can't imagine that on a track going 200 mph

[@ethannicosia979]

Losing traction on the freeway is hilarious fun lol

[@nzsaltflatsracer8054]

At Bonneville people shove gobbs of HP in all sorts of vehicles & find that lack of traction point beyond 200 & 300 mph, we call it the spin club. Some end well, some don't.

[@ThePackBoyz]

Trying loosing traction on 2 wheels going over 180mph lmao. I needed a new seat on my bike to say the least!

[@danl6634]

@@ThePackBoyz I'm guessing because you had to use a crowbar to remove it from your ass clamping to it? Yeesh. I'll take my speed in cars. The bike is for relaxing in my book.

[@ThePackBoyz]

@@danl6634 Yeah I've found a new love for cruisers, I sold the sportbike lol. It was definitely just a matter of time until I hurt myself. Just way to easy to haul ass

[@dsmadad5748]

Porsche didn’t exploit a “hole in the rules”… The FIA relaxed the requirement for 5-liter cars from 50 to 25 cars, which made the prospect of producing the 917 economically viable…

[@MIHIFISI1]

love, Love, LOVE hearing John telling stories!!

[@ndg49]

I used to know a local driver here in Dayton who once raced a 917. Scariest car ever, but one of, if not THE, fastest and successful race cars ever imagined, much less built and driven. When the Porsche trailers arrived here to celebrate the 50th anniv of Porsche, a 917 was the one which everyone wanted to see. Love the style and what they accomplished.

[@workingguy-OU812]

I feel like John has studied Porsches.

[@bobfranco4993]

I'm glad I found this video! Great job. For me it was going back to my younger years. I worked for Vasek Polak under master mechanic Alwin Springer on 917's in Hermosa Beach, California. I worked on the CanAm cars, normally aspirated and turbocharged engines. We took the engines apart and rebuilt them as well as 908 engines. Milt Minter was the driver. I also worked on the number 22 and one of the Gulf cars in your video. These are amazing machines. Sorry I missed your show Saturday.

[@kellyscars]

John is among the top story tellers you have! I love his stories. Ed, I hope between Rabbit, Travis, yourself and Chris, that roster never disappears from this channel!

[@ds7097]

Love the storytelling an art in its own right. Fantastic stories every time. Keep up the superlative work.

[@keithstudly6071]

The story was' Build 917 in a hurry. Car is junk. Keep racing it anyway. Bring in outsiders who are not married to the original design and they fix it! This is a story about how different today's race car design process is from back then because even the car at the rear have had more testing and design work done than the first 917's had the first year. What the 917's went through was very similar to the first 2 years of the GT40 where Shelby's team fixed most of the early GT40's problems with aero fixes. What I don't care for in this program was the way photos were popped up, many of them from the wrong time period. The 'long tail' cars were for high speed courses, really Le Mans and never did anything but scare the drivers, though few would admit it. Porsche got enough right about the car that they were able to run long enough to find the key revision they needed, aerodynamics.

[@vandalorianvandalorian4769]

John Ficarra is a very talented story teller in this genre. He should write classic/modern racing screenplays and even direct the movie. His attention to details are not boring, but rather made interesting and celebrated.

[@MrOkw1]

Thank you so much for the amazing story and facts, the 917 also featured Birch Wood shift knob, which later being tribute by Carrera GT, Huayra BC; and the tech of the engine also went into the first RS of 911 the Carrera RS 2.7

[@OsellaSquadraCorse]

Balsa wood, not Birch. Balsa is much lighter.

[@josebrown5961]

I was a kid in the 70s and loved the 917. I was a 1/24 scale model builder and was upset that nobody had a 917. I never got one, ever! I got all the 911s, 962s, and even got a Porsche Speedster, but could never find my holy grail car the 917. I am glad it is getting some love.

[@SpookyEng1]

I have always loved the 917s. What a great storyteller!

[@jonahshill7084]

one of my ABSOLUTE favourite videos of all time. the story and the way its told is so engaging. ive watched it 100 times and ill probably watch 100 more times!

[@jimz68]

That "Ferrari" at 11:10 is actually a Lola. 😀 For a good look at the Mulsanne Straight, check out "In Car 956". Crazy fast!

[@scottlumpkin7023]

I thought that was a Lola as well...but I do also remember Mark Donahue running a Penske Sunoco 512M...in 1971 at Daytona, it actually qualified faster than Vic Elford, in a 917, by over a second...crashed out but was by far quicker than the Porsche and all of the team Ferrari’s.

[@VirginiaRican]

I was searching the comments to see who else spotted the T70 lol

[@christophernewman5027]

Saved me writing a comment! 😁

[@zenpvnk]

I'm not that into cars or racing... not really sure how it ended up in my feed... but I found this whole video really fascinating, and couldn't stop listening. Probably has something to do with the joy of someone with an obvious passion, coupled with a deep knowledge, of a topic. Really well done.

[@windronner1]

Car guy, John Ficarra has the most high performance encyclopedic knowledge that is beyond humanly healthy!! And we LOVE him for it!!! Thank you JF.. Great car. Fantastic story. Incredible presentation!! Congratulations to Prof J. Ficcara Phd/MPH....LoL!!

[@starga-fr7qx]

you do realize he just reads up in books that anybody can read , he wasn't there, he is only retelling second hand information (and adding his mistakes to it)

[@trevordelarosa3599]

I just watched a man describe in impeccable detail one of the greatest cars ever made for 24 minutes. This is why we come to vinwiki. Not to hear Mr spaghetti run from the cops again or tavarish talk about a car he almost bought. Storytelling and the cool visuals ro go along with it is why we're here

[@JETZcorp]

It's amazing to hear about the aerodynamic problems they had with these early race cars. If they'd sniped 1 airplane engineer from any company, they probably would have had no problems with airflow separation. Back in the day, I guess you really had car people doing cars and figuring out Wright Brothers level discoveries all on their own. Similar things happened in drag racing - everyone's hood scoops for like 10 years were non-functional because they didn't figure out boundary layer splitters until someone who flew P-51s in The War clued them in.

[@JETZcorp]

@Carson Duncan Sure, they could pick the hardware out of the catalog, but they didn't have the institutional knowledge of aerodynamics that aviation had even 40 years before.

[@tiagoangelo3828]

​@@carsonduncan9871car guys love dzus fasteners, as do motorcycles guys.

[@paolomargini7904]

I saw them winning the 1970 Monza 1000km, and I think their shape was the ultimate prototype, at the point that still now I consider the modern LM hypercars as direct offsprings from the 917.

[@evoblade2000]

I want to see another video about the CAN-AM years. if I recall correctly, they won every race they finished and killed the series.

[@chris_not_larson]

This is such a fantastic story! The boldness, and just pure "we will do it to win" attitude is amazing! Well told John!

[@dwtrksvc]

🤯 what an awesome history lesson for gear heads

[@ohctascooby2]

They made it like a teardrop initially, but a teardrop doesn’t have downforce, a wedge does and that is the iconic final iterations.

[@DanaOrtiz]

They bring in John ficara himself for the weeks redemption

[@NoferTrunions]

Born in 1952, I grew up with the tale that Gulf Research near Pittsburgh tested cars on the PA Turnpike.

[@ConfusedGeriatric]

That is so damn cool. Always loved Porsche for their passion for racing. It really shows in their road cars too as everyone talks about how nothing “corners like a porsche”. Hope someday I get to experience it 😂

[@kindlad6087]

What a story, and this guy does a great job telling it. Love the history angle, please more car history videos.

[@ashp5406]

yey, another masterpiece for sure , Historic Racing story by John

[@starga-fr7qx]

as read in 917 books + John's factual mistakes added

[@ferrariowner123]

THANK YOU FOR THE LONG FORMAT WITH JOHN! This was such a joy to listen to, John is such an AMAZING story teller. Please do more of these with him!!!!!!

[@kainhall]

first 0:10 seconds........ just drive a 90s jeep...... you will have that same effect

[@jimlthor]

My old 2 door Tahoe was bad. Sucked on thr turnpike

[@Bob_Adkins]

When I saw 3 GT40s in Gulf colors in the same picture, I had to catch my breath. I would like to have a 3'X3' blow-up of that on my shop wall. What the hell, on my bedroom ceiling!

[@roibrycker8897]

Dude’s a great story teller!

[@owixomen]

This is one of the best storys on this channel. Thank you, thank you so much. MOAR!!!!

[@DeFens1993]

Not only did the 917 go on to dominate Can-Am racing after Le Mans, it dominated Can-Am so much that it literally killed the series in its final form of the 917/30.

[@timbenesh3053]

When I was a teen I was exposed to a 917-30 at the hands of Mark Donahue up at Watkins Glen Canam. Freaking amazing!! He trashed one during qualifying and won race hands down with other. Heard that if it didn't smoke tires at any speed, something was wrong...

[@bicyclist2]

I used to have a 1/18th die cast 918 in Martini livery. I bought it through a mail order company. I remember reading about the 917's in car magazines in the 80's and 90's. I'm a huge Porsche fanatic. I love the great period photo's. I read somewhere that the Sunoco 917 was responsible for ending Can-Am racing. Thanks.

[@lqr824]

0:05 FAKE NEWS. It wasn't at 200mph. It was at 240mph.

[@stanmarks3950]

VINwiki and John Ficarra have made my day, again. Loved it.

[@Jake4211-]

"The 917 was and is THE unstoppable race car" That is the greatest description of the 917 ever. Bravo, sir....Bravo

[@brocephas8553]

As a kid, I was in LOVE with the 917 and then, when I was in High school, the owner of the body shop a few blocks from me had one as his springtime daily driver. Gulf racing trim.

[@BenHohenstein]

What was the actual loophole? Did I miss it? And what was the rule change that spelled the 917's demise?

[@stijnvandamme76]

that 25 cars needed to be actually built and presented to FIA Nobody thought anybody would do this for a single use race car Porsche did.

[@BenHohenstein]

@@stijnvandamme76 Thanks!!

[@starga-fr7qx]

@@BenHohenstein It's not really a loophole tho

[@andydeciccio]

John Ficarra is the best story teller, period. Get this guy to tell more stories like this one and the Ford vs. Ferrari stories.

[@Sickzero]

Awesome story! Thanks for properly pronouncing "Porsche"!

[@Tanks.With.Teeth.Malloy]

I love John's stories so much. I love the history, insight, a bit of humor, and everything he has told. Need more of him please.

[@johntaylor-lo8qx]

This narrator has never told a story that didn't keep my attention. Amazing people on the gem of a channel. God Bless 🙏