Porsche 917 study: this concept car was never shown

V om From 14 May to 15 September 2019, the Porsche Museum is dedicated to the legendary sports car under the motto “50 Years of the Porsche 917 - Colors of Speed”. To do this, they dug deep into their own catacombs and conjured up a study that has never been shown publicly.

Homage to the 917 from 1970

It is a design study that was carried out in 2013 as a homage to the red and white Porsche 917 from 1970. A small team of 20 members from the design and development department created the concept car with the number 23, again reminiscent of the model that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time with Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood at the wheel.

Since Porsche entered the LMP1 World Championship almost at the same time, no further work was done on the study at that time. Porsche stored them as a 1: 1-Clay-Model (a design model in plasticine).

Greetings from 918

However, the 917 study not only cites the color scheme and start number of the 917. It also shows itself with a passenger cockpit, which is arranged in the middle, strongly pronounced fenders and a flat front section. In wave form, the body guides the view to the rear. There the study ends in a relatively short overhang compared to the original. Huge light alloy rims with central locking rotate in the wheel arches. And not only those look familiar. The styling of the study is based heavily on the Porsche 918, which debuted at the IAA in 2013.