Porsche 917 ‘Le Mans Tribute’ Concept

When you think Porsche, the 911 stands out as the street and racing legend, but it’s the 917 race car that dominated at the most grueling endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The low-slung and sleek 917 took Le Mans in 1970 and ‘71, giving Porsche its first Le Mans victories. Porsche just unveiled its 917 concept study, an homage car and a tribute to their 1970 win from 50 years ago. To celebrate the 917’s half-century birthday, Porsche will open a new exhibit at the Porsche Museum from May 14 to September 15, including the original and fully-restored 1971 Le Mans winner and this never-before-seen concept study that’s more of a model than a functioning homage car, given away by its blacked out windows and the fact that it sits on wheels from the Porsche 918 hypercar. The slick red and white Salzburg livery and the number 23 come directly from the 1970 race car. Not only does the tribute show us what a modern 917 could look like, it nods to one of the greatest cars in all of racing history.