Fifty years ago on April 28th, 1975, a one-off Porsche 917 racing car left the company's Weissach development centre. But unlike every other 917 before it, this one wasn't headed for a race track, instead it took to public roads for the very first time.
The one-off road legal 917 was the brainchild of Italian businessman Gregorio Rossi di Montelera – known more simply as “Count Rossi”, a renowned powerboat racer, bobsledder and Porsche enthusiast, and was brought to life by a small team within the company.
The car – 917 chassis 30 – was originally raced, but had been converted for road use by Porsche for Rossi, featuring enhancements that were required by the laws of the time, and others at the request of its owner.
Finished in Martini Silver, the car was fitted with a set of "rudimentary" mufflers, additional mirrors, side indicators and a horn. A spare tyre was beneath its rear clamshell, while inside there were "small concessions" to comfort – the two seats (a requirement for endurance racers of the time) were re-finished in tan leather with accompanying suede trim for the roof lining, doors and dashboard.
The gear shifter retained the same wooden finish as the racing cars and even kept the same drilled, lightweight key, while it also originally wore an Alabama number plate obtained by Count Rossi.
The car left the development centre not on first gentle exploratory cruise around local roads, like you might expect, but rather an epic road trip that ended in Paris – a seven hour, 600+km drive.
Today the car is still enjoyed on the open roads by its current owner in the south of France – now registered in the U.K. and having undergone recent restoration work, but why mention it now?
Because at the very bottom of the press release sent out by Porsche noting the anniversary it dropped a very tantilising little clue about something it may well be cooking up in secret - a road legal version of its 963 LMDh Le Mans hypercar.
The company finished the statement with a paragraph that said: "Importantly, as it’s descendent enjoys success on the track today, the spirit and desire within Porsche that allowed the creation of a 917 for the road all that time ago remains very much alive five decades on – prompting the question: what if?"
The "what if" linked to a video on YouTube (that you can watch at the top of this article) that celebrates the 917, but ends by flashing "June 2025" up on the screen followed by the silhouette of a 963.
Taming the super high-tech twin-turbo 4.6-litre V8 hybrid monster for the road would be an interesting exercise and would likely see the 500kW racing car making a fairly bare-bones road going affair like its 917 ancestor.
The 963's twin turbo V8 is complimented by a 50kW rear-mounted electric motor generator unit (MGU) and is hooked up to a seven-speed sequential manual transmission. Crucially it weighs just 1030kg thanks to its LMP2-based carbon-fibre monocoque underpinnings, which also contributes to its colossal US$2.9 million (NZ%4.85 million) price tag, although admittedly that does include full factory race support as well.
Does this all mean we are about to see the most extreme Porsche road car built so far? It could well do, but we'll find out for sure in June...
