PORSCHE 917/10 TC - 1972

Cette collection est une adaptation de Porsche Racing collection - Éditeur : Centauria Editore s.r.l.

In 1972, thanks to the power of its turbo engine, the 917 discovery succeeded in breaking the domination of McLaren in the Can-am championship.

Few cars can boast a career as long and rich in almost all-win variants as the Porsche 917. In the early 1970s, Porsche developed an open-top version to compete in the Canada-America Cup (Can-Am). Between 1969 and 1970, the 908/2 and the 917PA failed to do better than fourth place for Jo Siffert and sixth for Tony Dean.

Neither of them had the ‘skills’ that were needed to win on the long North American tracks, where one can never have too much horsepower. This led to the creation of the 917/10, which, after an initial run-in, embodied the perfect formula with the supercharged 5-litre 12-cylinder variant becoming the queen of the genre.

The first 907/10 made its debut in 1971 as the season had already begun: with a naturally-aspirated five-litre engine giving almost 630 bhp, it was entrusted to Swiss driver Jo Siffert, competing for a team sponsored by STP as of the fourth round at Watkins Glen. The Can-Am is a championship that allows drivers to race different cars and teams during the season. The Swiss driver, however, focused primarily on the new car from the Zuffenhausen firm, repeating his fourth place of the previous two seasons. Whereas with the 908/2 and the 917PA he had never managed to finish better than third in a race, this time he was pleased to take two second places on the Mid-Ohio and Wisconsin (Road America) circuits, both behind the unbeatable McLarens equipped with a Chevrolet engine, who, with the American Peter Revson, won their fifth consecutive Can-Am title that season.

Donnybrooke race in 1972: the 917/10s of Mark Donohue (left) and George Follmer were closely tailed by the McLaren of Peter Revson (#4) and François Cevert (#22), who finished first. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés.

RIGHT: THE HORSES ARRIVE

In 1972, the car gained in power, with the same twin-turbo engine finally giving it the punch it needed to compete at the highest level. In reality, the 850 bhp and the huge torque obtained from supercharging made the car more difficult to control, but for the drivers who were able to ‘understand’ it, the new version of the 917/10 became an absolute weapon. One of the most promising drivers is American Mark Donohue, a veteran of the Penske team who also took part in the car's development phase.

However, after an encouraging second place in the opening round at Mosport, Ontario, Donohue was involved in a serious accident during practice for the following race in Atlanta. He suffered leg injuries that put him out of action for several months. Teammate George Follmer replaced Donohue in the backup car, winning the same race and scoring two further victories (Mid-Ohio and Road America) plus fourth and fifth places in the next four rounds, propelling him to the top of the Can-Am championship.

Donohue returned in time to take his first win of the season in Edmonton (Canada), the penultimate race of the series. Follmer, third at the finish, was well on his way to winning the title, which he achieved by winning the last two races with a total of 130 points, twice as many as his closest competitors, Denny Hulme in a McLaren and Milt Monter in another Porsche 917/10. Donohue finished fourth, two points off the podium. Porsche developed a new version of the model in 1973, called the 917/30, with which Donohue triumphed in the Can-Am. The 917/10s continued to race in the Can-Am championship and in the European Interseries. Follmer, who had joined the Rizler Motor Racing team, divided his time between the two specialities and finished second in the Can-Am ahead of the two other 917/10s driven by Hurley Haywood and Charlie Kemp. During 1972 and 1973, the 907/10 also won the European Interseries championships, on both occasions with Finnish driver Leo Kinnunen, who completed a personal hat-trick of victories following his 1971 title in the 917 Spyder.

Mark Donohue making his comeback from his 1972 accident is seen here at Donnybrooke in the 917/10 #6, in front of George Follmer's car on his way to the Can-Am title. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés.

George Follmer

George Follmer was born in Arizona in 1934 and spent most of his career, from the 1960s to the 1980s, on American circuits, often racing in different disciplines at the same time. Highlights of his career include third place in the 1986 Le Mans 24 Hours in a Joest 956, a win at Phoenix in the 1969 USAC Championship Car season, victory in the 1965 SCCA championship and successive wins in the Can-Am series, where he raced continuously from 1966 to 1980. In 1973, as defending champion and runner-up in the Can-Am championship, Follmer made his Formula 1 debut with the Shadow team and raced in a dozen Grands Prix, finishing third in Spain. The following year, he finished second in the Can-Am season, which was ended after just five races.

DATASHEET - PORSCHE 917/10

ENGINE 12 cylinders, boxer, central rear
CYLINDER capacity 4999 cm3
POWER 1000 bhp at 7800 rpm
TORQUE 981 Nm at 6400 rpm
DISTRIBUTION 2 ACT, 2 valves per cylinder
FUEL SUPPLY Bosch mechanical injection
SUPERCHARGER 2 turbochargers
GEARBOX 4-speed
MAXIMUM SPEED 360 km/h
ACCELERATION 0-100 inc.
CHASSIS aluminium tubular trellis
FRONT SUSPENSIONS Double wishbones with torsion bars and gas shock absorbers
REAR SUSPENSIONS Twin-link with titanium springs and gas shock absorbers
BRAKES ventilated disc
FRONT / REAR WHEELS 15’’
BODYWORK fibreglass and polyester resin
LENGTH 4385 mm
WIDTH 2100 mm
HEIGHT 1180 mm
WHEELBASE 2316 mm
TRACKS 1620 / 1584 mm
WEIGHT (EMPTY) 767 kg

As the data concerning this car has never been officially published, the characteristics indicated here have been taken from the most reliable sources