Porsche 917-30 - ALBO Carrozzeria

the Can-Am Killer

The Porsche 917 is one of Porsche’s most notorious racing cars. Fast and powerful, this was the car that gave Porsche its overall victory at the 1970 24 hrs of Le Mans. The following year a 917 chassis dominated Le Mans, covering a distance of 5,335 km, a distance record that remained unbeaten until 2010. Overall, the 917s won 14 out of the 21 races of the World Sportscar Championship in which they ran. No other car could compete with them. This forced the FIA to change its regulations and to all effects, Porsche cars were no longer accepted in the World Sportscar Championship. Porsche racing cars had become victims of their own success. […]

In the summer of 1975, Mark Donahue drove a modified 917/30 at the Alabama International motor Speedway (now known as the Talladega Super Speedway), in an attempt to beat several records. Donahue drove the Porsche along the 4.28 km (2.66 mile) racetrack at an average speed of 355.85 kmh (221.1 mph). This became a new world record: the fastest average speed, per lap, ever recorded on any racetrack around the world. The top speed reached by Donahue at the end of the straight was an astounding 413.6 km/h (256 mph).

This record also marked the farewell salute of the Porsche 917 to the Can-Am series. It was so powerful and successful, that it was justifiably labelled by some the “Can-Am Killer”. However this title was somewhat of an exaggeration and did not take into account other factors like the oil crisis and a decline in public interest but it remains a testament of how one of the most powerful race cars ever built became a legend. (An adaptation from: Remarkable Cars: Porsche 917/30 Spyder).

Today this car is part of a private collection and can be admired by only a handful of fortunate guests. Preserved, as a work of art, it is on show in the patio of a villa in Sardinia.

The outer shell waiting to enter the patio

the driver’s signature, who once said “ watching someone else drive a car that only you know so well, is like seeing another man in bed with your wife”

We are not sure if this refers to the car, that was about to be retired or to the driver, having escaped some near lethal accident.

the side of the car, besides the front, is one of the parts of the car that other drivers rarely saw… unless they were being overtaken.

ALBO car body repair received the order from the owner to carry out all the conservative restoration work but ALBO also created and assembled the internal structure which holds the shell up and, finally, took care of mounting it in its chosen position, as can be seen in the picture below.

Links:

http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/422/Porsche-917-30.html
http://www.gtspirit.com/2013/10/06/remarkable-cars-porsche-91730-spyder/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Donohue