Nearly 55 years in the past, on March 12, 1969, the legendary Porsche 917 made its debut on the Geneva Motor Present. Hans Mezger, the daddy of Porsche’s flat-six boxer engine, was not solely accountable for the 917’s flat-12 engine, however as lead engineer oversaw the brand new race automotive’s total growth.
On account of an absence of downforce, the 917 initially proved to be unstable at excessive speeds, however with the assistance of John Wyer of J.W. Automotive – whose powder blue and tangerine orange GT40 Fords dominated Le Mans in 1968 and ’69 – the 917K (Kurzheck or ‘Quick Tail’) model refined the design.
On the latest F.A.T. Worldwide Ice Race in Austria, I received to shoot a really particular homage to the Le Mans-winning Gulf Oil Porsche 917K. The automotive’s creator, Knut Markegård from Norway, calls it the 917CFK, the place ‘CF’ stands for carbon fiber.
Kurt’s 917CFK venture started in 2013, the identical yr a number of Norwegian automotive and bike golf equipment efficiently lobbied the authorities on laws that made it attainable to register homebuilt autos and equipment vehicles for highway use. There have been caveats in fact. Tasks wanted to cross a highway and security inspection when completed, and needed to have been constructed to requirements that included a most power-to-weight ratio.
For Kurt, that meant operating a 917-spec flat-12 engine – which might ship greater than 1,000hp – wasn’t going to be an possibility. The answer? A twin-turbo Porsche flat-six.
It’s a singular air-cooled 3.6L unit with a brief stroke (making it a 3.3L) constructed up with components from the 911 SC to the newer 996 Turbo. Whereas the engine itself is luftgekühlt, it does use water-to-air intercoolers to maintain consumption cost temps in verify. The consumption itself is an entire duplicate of what was used on the 917/10, which got here after the 917K.
The engine was constructed by Ninemeister, the identical UK-based specialists that created a number of of the primary energy crops for Singer restomods. For highway use it’s restricted to 300hp, however with some changes it could possibly produce over 400hp and 600Nm of torque. Knut says that this engine shouldn’t be made for peak energy, however slightly low-end torque. After all, it additionally wanted to satisfy the Norwegian rules for highway use.
Engine output is shipped by way of a strong Getrag G50 transaxle, which sits behind the engine and is flipped the wrong way up to ensure that the automotive to go ahead. For it to work and truly shift gears, Knut needed to prolong the shift rod linkage by an extra three toes.
The 917CFK’s tube body chassis was constructed utilizing the 917K’s unique blueprints, however thicker metal was used to extend rigidity. The molds for its customized carbon fiber physique components had been sourced from three completely different autos, and because it sits now includes a slender ‘Salzburg’ entrance, a large 1970 Gulf 917K rear part, and doorways from one other variant.
Knut joked to me, that for a perfectionist it’s a bit onerous to duplicate a ‘917’ because the race automotive had a minimum of 11 revisions all through the years. For his personal imaginative and prescient, Kurt based mostly most of his selections on which components would assist him obtain highway authorized standing.
Given the brief tail rear, which was designed to accommodate 17-inch-wide tires, a cheap query to ask can be who even makes studded winter rally rubber in that dimension? That is really Kurt’s personal work – he constructed twin rims that take a double set of studded Pirelli Sottozero rally tires on all sides.
A twin-turbo 917 duplicate within the snow sounds just like the recipe for a complete lot of enjoyable, and Knut says it’s a implausible drift automotive: “As you’re sitting over the entrance axle, you may have all of the suggestions you want down your backbone. The one concern is the turning radius. For those who screw up and get to full lock, you’re doomed.”
Kurt paid particular consideration to the inside match out, making it as near unique as attainable. The seating place with the pedal field proper there within the nostril, the entire gauges and steering wheel – a Momo Prototipo on this case – are positioned precisely as proven within the 917K’s unique technical drawings.
A few of the gauges have completely different capabilities on this automotive, however they nonetheless look genuine. Switches for the newly added local weather management air con and electrical door mirrors are hidden within the door body.
It began off as an formidable concept, however a decade on Knut’s 917CFK may be very a lot a actuality – a highway authorized one at that. Even higher, he’s prepared to point out it to everybody, even within the Austrian Alps over winter!
Vladimir Ljadov
Instagram: wheelsbywovka
as a result [email protected]
www.wheelsbywovka.com
