#77MM to celebrate 50 years of the Porsche 917 with awesome parade

Born out of Ferdinand Piëch’s obsession with winning the Le Mans 24 Hours outright, the 917 would give Porsche overall victories at the Circuit de la Sarthe in 1970 and 1971. This brace of triumphs marked the first in what would become a record-breaking 19 wins over the next 47 years.

The very first 917, chassis #001, will lead out the parade around the Goodwood Motor Circuit. Chassis #001 was originally used as the test model, but has undergone extensive an restoration at the Porsche Museum over the winter. Sharing driving duties at the Members’ Meeting will be its original driver, and winner of the 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours, Richard Attwood and 2015 World Endurance Champion with Porsche, Mark Webber.

Behind 917-001 will be three more cars from the Porsche Museum, the 1970 Daytona 24hr-winning 917K and two 917/30s, including the car that dominated the 1973 Can-Am championship, lapping at over 220mph at Talladega in the process.

Mark Webber will also be on hand to drive one of the 917/30s, alongside fellow Porsche alumni and 2016 Le Mans winner Neel Jani. Meanwhile, motoring journalists Richard Meaden and Andrew Frankel will put the 917/30s through their paces, and BBC Top Gear’s Chris Harris will get behind the wheel of the 917K.

Finally, a privately owned 917/10 will bring the parade to a close in its bright STP livery which it wore in period when raced in the 1972 Can-Am Challenge.

With five decades since the 917 story began, these five cars will be in action on both Saturday and Sunday, providing both a visual and audible treat for all in attendance.

If you want to see the action in full, the only way is to join the GRRC Fellowship, more details of which can be found here.