The Porsche 917 was a formidable racecar, but in 1970 the German automaker knew that the couple based 917 was no longer eligible to compete in the world championship. This rule change motivated Porsche to redesign and reengineer the 917. The engineers developed an open cockpit version known as the Porsche 917/30. This car was eligible for the group 7 Class allowing it to compete in the European Interseries or the Canadian-American Cup Series (Can-Am). Porsche chose the Can-Am series for its factor effort.

A turbocharged flat-twelve five liter engine powered the 1972 car. This engine produced an estimated 950 horsepower. With that amount of horsepower in a Porsche engineered chassis required a driver of the highest caliber. Two drivers were selected for the task: George Follmer and Mark Donahue. Both were proven winners and turn out to be the perfect fit for the 917/30.

The greatest technical challenge was the turbocharged engine. Unlike today, up to this point in motorsports, turbo charging was mostly uncharted territory. Most turbocharged engines struggled with turbo lag producing little power at low RPM. When boost pressure built up at higher RPMs the driver was thrown into the seat with a huge burst of power.

In 1972 the 917/30 won the Can-Am series with George Follmer behind the wheel. David Donahue had been injured that year taking him out of contention for the championship. This title was huge for Porsche as the series to this point had been dominated by McLaren racecars.

The following year Mark Donahue was back behind the wheel.

The 1973 917/30 was virtually the same car as the 1972 version, except engine displacement was increased to 5.4 liters. This was the most powerful sport car ever built and raced. The twin turbocharged engine produced 1580 horsepower in qualifying set-up. For reliability in race trim the engine was tuned to 1100 horsepower.

The 917/30 went from 0-60 in 1.9 seconds. Mark Donahue achieved a measured top speed of 260 mph on the Talladega oval course. His average lap speed was 221 mph. These staggering statistics, along with the huge amounts of fuel consumed by the engine have made some Can-Am enthusiasts label the 917/30 as car that ended the Can-Am series. Many historians have noted the competition just could not keep up with this car. The 917/30 won all but one race in 1973 with the only opposition coming from other 917/30 privateer teams that purchased the car from the factory.

The 917/30 that you see here was on display at Road America for the 2010 Kohler International Challenge. This car was part of a tribute to the late Mark Donahue and the cars that he had driven over his magnificent racing career. Mark Donahue’s career was cut short by his untimely death in 1975 while competing in Formula One race at the Österreichring during the Austrian Grand Prix.