Photo: RM Sotheby's
What is the car that gave Porsche its first-ever overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans? That’d be the 917, a series of racers that were unbeatable back in the golden days of endurance racing.
Chassis 917/10-001 saw the light of day on December 3, 1970, and it was used by Porsche’s motorsport guys for development purposes. Its resume consists of a bit of wind-tunnel testing, as well as 23 consecutive days on the Porsche Weissach development center’s skidpad.
After the automaker was done with it, 917/10-001 was rebuilt from the ground up, then it was sold to its first private owner: Willi Kauhsen. He first fitted his pride and joy with a different nose section, then raced it at Hockenheim, Laguna Seca, Riverside, Interlagos, and even Imola.
Today, the first-ever prototype of the 917/10 boasts four owners from new. At one point in its illustrious life, 917/10-001 served as the test bed for the 4.5-liter turbo, a 5.0-liter naturally aspirated, and 5.0-liter turbo flat-12 engines. From a historical standpoint, words can’t describe just how important the 917/10-001 is for Porsche and motorsport aficionados alike. Hence, RM Sotheby’s believes that an estimate slotted between €4,600,000 and €5,500,000 is correct for this blast from the past.
Slated to cross the auction block on February 8, the 1970 Porsche 917/10 prototype currently presents itself with the original tube frame and Gulf Oil-liveried nose section. A Bosch-branded, yellow Shovel nose with a matching rear hood are included in the sale.
The factory test and development prototype packs a 5.0-liter air-cooled 12-cylinder boxer engine, a five-speed manual transmission with a limited-slip diff, ventilated disc brakes on all four corners, as well as independent suspension front and rear. Thanks to Bosch’s mechanical fuel injection system, the mill is good for more than 600 horsepower in regular tune.
On that note, check out how wide those rear tires are!
After the automaker was done with it, 917/10-001 was rebuilt from the ground up, then it was sold to its first private owner: Willi Kauhsen. He first fitted his pride and joy with a different nose section, then raced it at Hockenheim, Laguna Seca, Riverside, Interlagos, and even Imola.
Today, the first-ever prototype of the 917/10 boasts four owners from new. At one point in its illustrious life, 917/10-001 served as the test bed for the 4.5-liter turbo, a 5.0-liter naturally aspirated, and 5.0-liter turbo flat-12 engines. From a historical standpoint, words can’t describe just how important the 917/10-001 is for Porsche and motorsport aficionados alike. Hence, RM Sotheby’s believes that an estimate slotted between €4,600,000 and €5,500,000 is correct for this blast from the past.
Slated to cross the auction block on February 8, the 1970 Porsche 917/10 prototype currently presents itself with the original tube frame and Gulf Oil-liveried nose section. A Bosch-branded, yellow Shovel nose with a matching rear hood are included in the sale.
The factory test and development prototype packs a 5.0-liter air-cooled 12-cylinder boxer engine, a five-speed manual transmission with a limited-slip diff, ventilated disc brakes on all four corners, as well as independent suspension front and rear. Thanks to Bosch’s mechanical fuel injection system, the mill is good for more than 600 horsepower in regular tune.
On that note, check out how wide those rear tires are!
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