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Nearly 55 years in the past, on March 12, 1969, the legendary Porsche 917 made its debut on the Geneva Motor Present. Hans Mezger, the daddy of Porsche’s flat-six boxer engine, was not solely chargeable for the 917’s flat-12 engine, however as lead engineer oversaw the brand new race automotive’s complete improvement.
As a result of a scarcity of downforce, the 917 initially proved to be unstable at excessive speeds, however with the assistance of John Wyer of J.W. Automotive – whose powder blue and tangerine orange GT40 Fords dominated Le Mans in 1968 and ’69 – the 917K (Kurzheck or ‘Brief Tail’) model refined the design.
On the current F.A.T. Worldwide Ice Race in Austria, I acquired to shoot a really particular homage to the Le Mans-winning Gulf Oil Porsche 917K. The automotive’s creator, Knut Markegård from Norway, calls it the 917CFK, the place ‘CF’ stands for carbon fiber.
Knut’s 917CFK challenge started in 2013, the identical 12 months a number of Norwegian automotive and bike golf equipment efficiently lobbied the authorities on laws that made it doable to register homebuilt autos and equipment vehicles for highway use. There have been caveats after all. Initiatives wanted to move a highway and security inspection when completed, and needed to have been constructed to requirements that included a most power-to-weight ratio.
For Knut, that meant working a 917-spec flat-12 engine – which might ship greater than 1,000hp – wasn’t going to be an choice. The answer? A twin-turbo Porsche flat-six.
It’s a novel air-cooled 3.6L unit with a brief stroke (making it a 3.3L) constructed up with elements from the 911 SC to the newer 996 Turbo. Whereas the engine itself is luftgekühlt, it does use water-to-air intercoolers to maintain consumption cost temps in test. The consumption itself is a whole duplicate of what was used on the 917/10, which got here after the 917K.
The engine was designed by Ninemeister, the identical UK-based specialists that created a couple of of the primary energy crops for Singer restomods. For highway use it’s restricted to 300hp, however with some changes it will possibly produce over 400hp and 600Nm of torque. Knut says that this engine shouldn’t be made for peak energy, however relatively low-end torque. After all, it additionally wanted to fulfill the Norwegian laws for highway use.
Engine output is distributed by way of a sturdy Getrag G50 transaxle, which sits behind the engine and is flipped the wrong way up to ensure that the automotive to go ahead. For it to work and really shift gears, Knut needed to prolong the shift rod linkage by an extra three toes.
The 917CFK’s tube body chassis was constructed utilizing the 917K’s unique blueprints, however thicker metal was used to extend rigidity. The molds for its customized carbon fiber physique elements had been sourced from three totally different autos, and because it sits now contains a slim ‘Salzburg’ entrance, a large 1970 Gulf 917K rear part, and doorways from one other variant.
Knut joked to me, that for a perfectionist it’s a bit laborious to copy a ‘917’ because the race automotive had a minimum of 11 revisions all through the years. For his personal imaginative and prescient, Knut based mostly most of his choices on which elements would assist him obtain highway authorized standing.
Given the brief tail rear, which was designed to accommodate 17-inch-wide tires, a cheap query to ask can be who even makes studded winter rally rubber in that measurement? That is really Knut’s personal work – he constructed twin rims that take a double set of studded Pirelli Sottozero rally tires on both sides.
A twin-turbo 917 duplicate within the snow sounds just like the recipe for an entire lot of enjoyable, and Knut says it’s a incredible drift automotive: “As you’re sitting over the entrance axle, you will have all of the suggestions you want down your backbone. The one difficulty is the turning radius. In case you screw up and get to full lock, you’re doomed.”
Knut paid particular consideration to the inside match out, making it as near unique as doable. The seating place with the pedal field proper there within the nostril, all the gauges and steering wheel – a Momo Prototipo on this case – are positioned precisely as proven within the 917K’s unique technical drawings.
A few of the gauges have totally different features on this automotive, however they nonetheless look genuine. Switches for the newly added local weather management air-con and electrical door mirrors are hidden within the door body.
It began off as an bold concept, however a decade on Knut’s 917CFK could be very a lot a actuality – a highway authorized one at that. Even higher, he’s prepared to point out it to everybody, even within the Austrian Alps over winter!
Vladimir Ljadov
Instagram: wheelsbywovka
as a result of@wheelsbywovka.com
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