One of the major anniversaries celebrated this year was the 50th of the legendary Porsche 917, which was introduced in 1969 and finally brought an outright victory for the German manufacturer in the 24 Hours of Le Mans the following year. At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the 12-cylinder engined racer also took centre stage with a dedicated class. The star car in the group was the actual car driven to the outright victory at Le Mans in 1970. It was entered by Porsche Salzburg and driven by Richard Attwood and Hans Herrmann. At the Festival of Speed, chassis 917-023 was reunited with Attwood, who drove the car up the hill on behalf of the owner.
Also making a rare appearance was this 917 Lang Heck or Long Tail. Raced at Le Mans in 1971 in Gulf colours, it has been more recently been on permanent display in the Le Mans Museum in Martini livery. For this occasion, 917-045 was entrusted to Derek Bell, who raced the car in period.
Another former 917 racer back behind the wheel of his old car was Brian Redman, who demonstrated the unique 917 PA Spyder. The name is a reference to the Porsche and Audi distributor in California, Vasek Polak, who had encouraged Porsche to enter the lucrative Can-Am series. This was the first Can-Am version of the 917, which would ultimately be developed in the all-conquering 917/30.

Enjoy the links:

1970 Porsche 917 LH (917-045)

1969 Porsche 917 K (917-023)

1969 Porsche 917 PA Spyder (917.028)