Even though Steve McQueen was the leading actor in the film Le Mans, all of us are fully aware who the real star was. Or rather, not “who” but “what” and this is precisely the Porsche 917. And now the racer is going to appear at Classic Motor Show which takes place at the NEC from 14th to 16th of November.
The genuine Porsche 917 is generously supplied by Classic Autos of Kings Langley and is going to be transported from the fantastic Spa museum in Stavelot, Belgium to Birmingham. The car is chassis 917 013/034 and it took part in the 1970 movie where it was driven by the King of Cool or also known as Steve McQueen.
The movie-star, no, I’m not talking about the actor but about the Porsche, also scooped a range of highly significant race wins including the Daytona 24 Hours and Monza 1000km, and was driven by legends such as Derek Bell, Pedro Rodrîguez, Jo Siffert, Richard Attwood, Gijs van Lennep and Jackie Oliver.
Undoubtedly, due to its previous fame the 917 will be in the center of attention at the Classic Motor Show which means there will be a huge flow of onlookers, visitors and fans. The Classic & Sports Car editorial team will be available all weekend and will meet enthusiasts and show-goers who can take advantage of special subscription offers and a great variety of free gifts.
Finally, LAT Photographic will be joining Classic & Sports Car magazine on its stand this year.
Source: Classic Motor Show 2014
With an unbeaten record of 16 victories in the Le Mans 24 Hours race, the reputation of Porsche has been founded on success in the high speed, high pressure motor sport environment. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Porsche 917, the first Porsche to win Le Mans outright, and it is therefore appropriate that the theme of the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed (July 3-5) is ‘True Grit – Epic Feats of Endurance’. 
Readers of one of Britain’s top motoring magazines and a group of legendary motor racing drivers are being asked to vote for the world’s greatest racing car.
Rule changes for the World Championship of Makes eliminated the stunning Porsche 917 during the early 1970s allowing the factory to develop the car for the open-top Canadian-American (CanAm) Championship in North America. Teams from McLaren, Lola and Chaparral were attracted to the 200 mile Sprint races of the formula and the rule book permitted almost anything, including free engine displacement and the use of turbochargers. Porsche used its new-found skills with forced induction to attach two exhaust-driven turbochargers to the flat-twelve engine of the 917. The result had a displacement of 5.4 litres and produced at least 1,100 bhp, making it one of the most powerful racing cars ever built. 
The Mulsanne straight at Le Mans, which is about six kilometres in length, has always played an important role for drivers and engineers in the history of the 24 Hours race. This is where high speed has top priority and decisive seconds can be gained. This is also why, as on no other race track in the world, aerodynamics determine how cars for Le Mans are designed.