That there were Porsche 917 racing in the USA in 1969 was thanks to a great guy, Josef Hoppen. He wanted extra publicity for the Porsche franchising in Canada and the US. Josef grew up in Germany and had worked in the racing department of Porsche. In 1957 he moved to America to work as an engineer for Volkswagen. Since 1967 he was responsible for the Motorsport Group and the start of the Porsche-Audi dealer network. Hopper wanted to promote this and starts in 1969 with bringing Jo Siffert and a Porsche 917 in the CanAm Cup.
The 917 was designed by Ferdinand Piëch. Porsche wanted the power in Sportscar racing and build 25 917 chassis with a powerful 4,5L V12. Ferrari with not enough sources to build the demanded 25 pieces, had to settle with only a 3L engine. But with this power in the back of a rather frail chassis also brought a lot of problems for the chassis and the suspension. All drivers kept complaining about the road-behaviour of the car.
Porsche also developed in 1969 a Spyder version of the 917 with a short and flat rear bodywork. This open version was specially built for the CanAm, because Hoppen pushed his friend Jo Siffert to the USA. Siffert loved it; the prize money in CanAm was huge. Chassis 028 was named 917 PA, referring to Porsche-Audi. The debut race is on 17th of August 1969 in Mid-Ohio. Porsche also send engineer Helmut Flegl and race-Chief Ricco Steinemann as extra back-up for Hoppen.
The 917 started in 7 races with some decent results, but the car cannot compete with the McLaren’s and their 7L Chevy V8.
When in 1970, Piech prioritized the Le Mans race and the world Championship; no CanAm.
Flegl then designed the second Spyder, chassis 002. The 917/10 got a more simple framework strengthened by aluminium plates and got the 5l V12 from 1970 in the back. The new body has some resemblance with the 908/3, with tail fins from the ‘kurzheck’. In the nose section there is the vertical air-intake. The car was ready in four weeks. It should be JW Automotive to take the car to the CanAm, but Piëch decided, thanks to Hoppen again, to lent the car (chassis 002) to Jo Siffert. The Swiss driver did have to finance his racing himself.
The Spyder was not the only Porsche in the 1971 CanAm. Apart from some private 908/2’s, the 917 PA was there again thanks to Vasek Polek, one of the Porsche dealers. The all white Porsche was ready for the race at Watkins Glen in July.
On the evening before the race, Jo got a sponsor deal with Andy Granatelli, boss of the oil company STP. The car was urgently painted fluo-red overnight. In the race, Siffert finished third, just in front of the new Ferrari 712 of Michael Andretti. As Seppi was also a BRM F1 driver, he spended the rest of the summer flying back and forth to Europe.
The last CanAm race was planned on 31th of October. But Jo Siffert was not there. He got a fatal accident at Brands Hatch.
Few months later, the 917 was not allowed to race anymore in Europe. But Porsche had further developed the 917 with twin turbo charged engines under supervision off Roger Penske. This car was unbeatable in the 1972 CanAm serie.
917/10 chassis 002 returned to Europe in 1972. The car was back in the racing department at Weissach and was sold to Willi Kaushen. He was the test driver for the 917/10 project. The selling price included a modification of the car by Porsche and a participation in the interserie championship. His first race was the Nürburgring race in April 1972; a month later at Imola, he was the winner. From the race in Zeltweg, the engine was fitted with turbochargers and was the test-car for the CanAm Porsches in 1972. In total, Kaushen did 8 races. Unfortunately, in September 1972, at Nürburgring, the car was damaged as the result of a blown tire. Mercifully, Kauhsen escaped the crash but suffered heavy burns. Nevertheless, he opted to keep the damaged race car, and it was stored for the next 25 years with Kauhsen’s brother.
Because the car was not ready for the last race, Kaushen bought a new chassis from Porsche, the 917/10 chassis 001. The 002-car stayed at his brother’s for a long time. Willi Kaushen only decided at the end of 1998 that he would like to start the restauration of the car in his original Siffert-STP configuration. The completed project was observed and blessed by Porsche. The firm gave even chassis 005 for spare parts. However, a new frame was necessary. With the original drawings and the help of Dieter Kunberger, a retired Porsche mechanic, he was able to make a car conform the original. .The engine and gearbox, which are correct, original-type, period 917 units, were fully rebuilt by the famous 917 engine expert Gustav Nietsche.
This car in the unmistakable STP red livery was seen in the 2018 Espiritu de Montjuic and the 2024 Spa Classic in his original colours.
Porsche 917/10 chassis 002 - Spa historics 2024
Porsche 917/10 chassis 001 - Goodwood 2009
For the record:
Kauhsen bought 917/10-015 in 1973 and began to race it alongside 10-001, hiring 10-001 out when he drove the new car. This saw it running in RC Crown Cola livery with Charlie Kemp on board at Imola and back in Bosch colours at Silverstone, where Gunther Stekkonig drove it to sixth.
Wilson Fittipaldi Junior drove the car in practice for the Interserie Hockenheim, taking the opportunity to get a handle on a turbocharged Porsche race car. Kauhsen took over for the main event and would take sixth in the first heat and win the second for a fourth overall finish.
The car would take a breather after that race, not returning to the track until mid-way through 1974 when it ran in the Nürburgring 300 Kilometers. This time it would be driven by Emerson Fittipaldi in Reflefsen’s white, red and blue colours. Fittipaldi put the car on pole, but would finish the race in sixth.
With that, the car went into retirement. Kauhsen put it in dry storage and there it stayed until 1997, when it received a two-year restoration back to yellow and red Bosch livery.
Kauhsen then began demonstrating the car at historic racing events, showing it at Goodwood, the Nürburgring, Daytona and Brands Hatch. During this time it was also placed on exhibition in the beautiful Musée du Circuit de Spa Francorchamps in Stavelot and featured on the front cover of Motor Sport Magazine with a track test.
Kauhsen sold the car to Dr. Ulrich Schumacher in 2008, who continued to demonstrate it at Hockenheim and Goodwood, as well as the Ennstal Classic in Salzburg where it was driven by Formula 1 legend Gerhard Berger.
Schumacher sold it a few years later in 2012. Its new owner showed it in the Concours d’élégance automobile à Saint-Raphaël, where it won Best Race Car, and then commissioned another full restoration.
During this restoration its beastly 1100 horsepower 4.5-litre turbocharged motor was swapped for a 600 horsepower naturally aspirated flat twelve. While not quite as fearsome as the turbo variant, this flat twelve matches the 917/10’s original factory powerplant and is more manageable in use and maintenance.
The car was completed in its current Porsche Weissach/Gulf livery to suit its testing specification back in 1972.
