Half-century heroes will be celebrated at this weekend’s Goodwood Members’ Meeting as a parade of Porsche 917s take to the track, headed by the very first one built.
Chassis #001 was originally the test model and has benefited from an extensive restoration at the Porsche Museum over the winter.
It will be piloted by its original driver, Richard Attwood, who won the 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours alongside Hans Herrmann in a Porsche 917K (above), and also by former Formula One driver and Porsche’s 2015 FIA World Endurance Champion Mark Webber.
Attwood/Herrmann’s 1970 triumph was followed by another for a 917K in 1971, this time in the hands of Gijs van Lennep and future Red Bull F1 boss Helmut Marko, and these were the marque’s first two overall wins at Le Sarthe; Porsche would go on to score a record-breaking 19 victories over the next 47 years.
But it all started when the 917 made its competition debut at the 1000km Spa on 11 May 1969.
Jo Siffert (Porsche 917/10) en route to 3rd in the 1971 Can-Am Challenge Cup race at Watkins Glen
Chassis #001 will be followed by a trio of cars that are being allowed out of the Porsche Museum for the occasion.
