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Alfa Romeo Auto Art Ferrari Porsche

Arthur Schening delivers Porsche 917 masterpiece

Porsche 917 by Arthur Schening

You may remember a chap by the name of Arthur Schening who we featured earlier this year. He’s a graphic designer by day and automotive artist by night. Here’s one of his latest releases, the beautiful Porsche 917K in Gulf Racing livery.

Having purchased a couple of pieces already we can vouch for the quality of the prints supplied by Schening and we’re going to find it very hard to resist ordering a copy of this 917 artwork.

For those of you not so inflicted with the Porsche disease perhaps this Ferrari 512M or Alfa Romeo Giula TZ2 may tempt you.

[Source: Schening Creative]

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Porsche

Porsche’s Pink Pig lives on

Porsche 911 GT3 RS in Pink Pig livery

We thank Tom Ford for commissioning this rendering of a new 911 GT3 RS branded with Pink Pig colours. It looks great and reminds us of a true icon. Thanks Tom!

The Porsche 917/20 “Pink Pig” is one of motorsport’s most iconic liveries. The 917/20 was an aerodynamic experiment designed in partnership with French company SERA and its broader than usual proportions earnt it the pig nickname from Porsche itself.

The car was entered in the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans and after team sponsor Martini refused to have its branding on the car the pig-themed livery was born. The Pink Pig failed to finish due to an accident and although its time as a competition vehicle was brief the livery has left an lasting mark on the history of the 917.

[Source: Twitter]

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Motorsports Porsche Video

“We race because it’s our tradition”

Porsche 917

Porsche has won Le Mans a record 16 times. It’s return to the LMP1 category in 2014 brought with it a wave of nostalgia. Xcar ran with that and made this 25 minute video which they have declared is “the definitive history” of Porsche at Le Mans.

[Thanks to John for the tip]

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Motorsports Porsche

Porsche 917K 1:35 scale model poster

Porsche 917K 1:35 scale model poster

Just because.

[Source: @PorscheHeritage]

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Porsche

Lottery barn: The story of Porsche 917-024

Porsche 917-024

Remember that seriously cool Porsche 917 we told you about last month. That’s right, it’s up for auction in a bit over a week. Turns out it has a very cool back story.

Actually, it also turns out the car may no longer be for sale. It’s not currently listed on the website of selling agent Gooding & Company; we’ve fired off an email to see what we can find out.

Anyway, returning to the background of 917-024. It was entered by Porsche in the 1969 Spa 1000km race. It tested at Le Mans, although never raced in anger. After Porsche was finished with it former factory driver Jo Siffert bought the car and then loaned it out for use in the legendary Steve McQueen film Le Mans. Siffert was also used during the making of the film for many of the driving scenes.

In 1970, after filming of Le Mans had finished, the car had reached the end of its useful life. Regulation changes meant the 917 was no longer able to be raced and back then there were no Goodwood Revival or Festival of Speed type meets of any merit to extend the car’s life.

Siffert was killed in a minor race meeting at Brands Hatch in 1971. His 917 remained with his estate until 1978 when it was bought by a French car collector. Unbelievably, by today’s standards, chassis 917-024 then sat in a barn, and idle, for 23 years.

In 2002 the car was discovered by Uwe Meissner, from German-based restorers Modena Motorsport. The 917’s owner had recently passed away and Meissner brokered a deal with the estate to sell it on and found a backer willing to buy and fund the required restoration project.

After the break you can see a short video on the car’s restoration. It was a no expense spared operation! We’ll let you know if we hear back from Gooding & Company, too.

[Source: Car Build Index | Thanks to Tiaan for the tip]

UPDATE 6 August: Here’s the from Gooding & Company: “The car has been withdrawn from the sale. Gooding & Company does not comment on property withdrawn from our auctions.”

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Motorsports Porsche

Ãœber cool Porsche 917 up for grabs

1969 Porsche 917

The Porsche 917, in Gulf Racing colours, is one of the coolest racing cars ever made. It was incredibly fast and that racing livery is as stunning today as it was over 40 years ago. The 917 even gave Steve McQueen a run for top billing in the movie Le Mans.

In mid-August when Gooding & Company holds its Pebble Beach auction you’ll be able to have your chance to buy this 1969 917-024. Once owned by Jo Siffert it was the first 917 to compete and it was also featured in Le Mans.

Start buying your lottery tickets!

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Porsche

Porsche 917 celebrates 40th birthday

Porsche 917 - turns 40 in 2009

The famous Porsche 917 racing car turns 40 this year. Porsche will hold special birthday celebrations for the 917 at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed (3–5 July).

The theme for the FoS this year is ‘True Grit – Epic Feats of Endurance’. It is appropriate then that among the 917’s many achievements are back-to-back 24 Hours of Le Mans victories in 1970 and 1971. These results marked Porsche’s first successes at the world’s oldest sports car race.

The 1971 triumph set a new record for the fastest ever victory at Le Mans, the Martini Racing Team 917, driven by Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep, completed 397 laps, or 5335.313km (3313 miles), at an average speed of 222km/h (138mph). That record still stands. (HERE is a full list of Le Mans winners).

For more on this epic 12 cylinder powered legend described by British magazine Motor Sport as the ‘greatest racing car in history’, read the press releases below, or check out Wikipedia.