30.08.2023Porsche's first winner at Le Mans: The 917 from 1970

With time, great racing cars from a number of eras of the endurance classic have come about, all with different concepts, colors, shapes and today's legendary status.

It all started in 1970 with the Porsche 917, with which Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood clinched the first overall victory for Porsche at Le Mans. As a result, the 917 became one of the most successful racing cars of the 1970s, which is still extremely popular today with its different body variants and iconic colors. The ck-modelcars label WERK83 has released Porsche's debut winner as a model.

In 1969 Ford was able to prevail in Le Mans for the last time with the legendary GT40 and narrowly defeated Porsche with the 908. At the same time, Porsche had already entered the new 917 into the race. Right from the start, the car was faster than the competition, but also less stable and therefore still without a chance.

That changed in 1970. Porsche's competitor Ferrari had to accept early retirements and the other manufacturers were not fast enough, which gave Porsche the race in their hands early on. Shortly before the halfway point in the race, the red and white 917 of Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood took the lead and from there drove unchallenged to the maiden victory. As a result, Hans Herrmann ended his impressive career, as he had promised his wife before leaving for Le Mans if he won.

The winning car was not part of Porsche's works squad. The three factory 917s fielded by the British John Wyer team all failed. The winning car, on the other hand, came from Louise Piëch, the daughter of Ferdinand Porsche, and her Salzburg Porsche Holding. The car was delivered by Porsche ready to race, but the team led by Louise Piëch managed it themselves.

This triumph not only began the impressive series of Porsche's overall victories in Le Mans, but also the years of success of the 917. In addition, the car drove to success in various configurations in the sports car world championship, the Interseries and the American CanAm championship.

The victorious 917 from 1970 not only embodies the successes of the Porsche company and the series, but also stands for a very special year at the Sarthe. For safety reasons, there was no longer a classic Le Mans start for the first time. Although the cars were still standing at a 45-degree angle against the pit wall when the race was allowed to start, the drivers no longer walked across the track, but were already seated in their cars with their seat belts on. The race also provided footage for the Steve McQueen film "Le Mans" in which the actor drives a Gulf-themed 917, propelling the popularity of the car and Gulf livery.

WERK83 released the 1970 Le Mans victorious Porsche 917 as a model in scale 1:18. The model reflects the original as best as possible and the front wheels are steerable.

Porsche 917K #23 Winner 24h LeMans 1970 Attwood, Herrmann 1:18 WERK83, RRP €69,95, item-no.: W1802601

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Porsche 917K #23 ganhador 24h LeMans 1970 Attwood, Herrmann 1:18 WERK83

50,36 €