Scale Porsche

Porsche 917 / 30

The 917/30 was the most powerful sports car racer ever built and raced. The 5.4 litre 12 cylinder twin-turbocharged engine could produce 1500 bhp with twin turbochargers run up to full boost, a simply astonishing 39 p.s.i, though it usually raced with around 1100bhp to preserve the engine. The 917/30 dominated in the CanAm series during the 1973 season. The 917/30 could go from 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds, 0-100 in 3.9 seconds and 0-200 in 10.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 245 mph+. These staggering levels of performance, the attendant fuel thirst of the engines, and ever increasing risk, has led to the 917/30 sometimes being cited as the car that killed CanAm racing.

In 9th August 1975, Porsche and Penske would give the Can-Am car its final send off in style when they took their 917/30 to Talladega  to break the FIA speed record on a closed circuit with Mark Donohue  driving, the speed reached was 245 mph. As well as being the last official outing for the 917, it was the last major accomplishment for Donohue before his fatal accident in practice for the Austrian Grand Prix a week later. The record would stand for the next 22 years.