another gulf 944
01-18-2005, 09:30 PM
#17
Nice work! On the cover of this month's "911 and Porsche World" magazine, there's a Boxster S with a similar Gulf-inspired color scheme.
You've done a fantastic job with your car. I'd like to see it on a mag cover once she's complete.
You've done a fantastic job with your car. I'd like to see it on a mag cover once she's complete.
01-20-2005, 09:34 AM
#18
Rennlist Member
What a great "Le Mans" treatment for this 944. Looks fantastic!
Indeed! For those who haven't read the article there's a sidebar by Peter Morgan on the 917:
Originally Posted by Sean
Nice work! On the cover of this month's "911 and Porsche World" magazine, there's a Boxster S with a similar Gulf-inspired color scheme.
Gulf Oil and the Porsche 917
Whenever thoughts turn to Gulf and Porsche, then one racing car -the 917- inevitably dominates the discussion. Never mind their racing success: the blue-and-orange 917Ks were immortalized in Steve McQueen's 1970 cult film Le Mans.
It may be 35 years since the 917 first turned a wheel in anger, but even today it's still hailed by many as the greatest racing car of all time. Nevertheless, although the Gulf Porsches dominated the 1970 and 1971 endurance-racing sessions, just a year earlier the car was very nearly written off as a no-hoper.
When the first 917s were run they were little short of complete disasters. The drivers complained of extreme instability at high speed, and poor braking. But intensive development and a far-sighted link with the British JW Automotive team (winner of Le Mans in 1968 and 1969) saw the technical problems solved. The revised 917K -resplendent in Gulf's distinctive blue-and-orange colors- convincingly crushed the opposition in the coming two years.
With special long-tail bodywork the 5.0 liter, flat-12-engined cars could reach nearly 250mph on the long Le Mans straights, and British works driver Derek Bell blasted his way into the Guiness Book of Records with a record 160mph lap (and that was his average speed) of the old Spa-Francorchamps course in Belgium.
In order to give the opposition a chance the 917Ks were banned from sports-car racing in Europe at the end of 1971. And Porsche turned to turbocharging to give the car a new lease of life in the North American Can-Am Challenge. With its 1100bhp, 5.4-liter, flat-12 engine, and magnesium-alloy tube-frame chassis, the 1973 917/30 remains the most extreme road-racing car ever constructed.
Whenever thoughts turn to Gulf and Porsche, then one racing car -the 917- inevitably dominates the discussion. Never mind their racing success: the blue-and-orange 917Ks were immortalized in Steve McQueen's 1970 cult film Le Mans.
It may be 35 years since the 917 first turned a wheel in anger, but even today it's still hailed by many as the greatest racing car of all time. Nevertheless, although the Gulf Porsches dominated the 1970 and 1971 endurance-racing sessions, just a year earlier the car was very nearly written off as a no-hoper.
When the first 917s were run they were little short of complete disasters. The drivers complained of extreme instability at high speed, and poor braking. But intensive development and a far-sighted link with the British JW Automotive team (winner of Le Mans in 1968 and 1969) saw the technical problems solved. The revised 917K -resplendent in Gulf's distinctive blue-and-orange colors- convincingly crushed the opposition in the coming two years.
With special long-tail bodywork the 5.0 liter, flat-12-engined cars could reach nearly 250mph on the long Le Mans straights, and British works driver Derek Bell blasted his way into the Guiness Book of Records with a record 160mph lap (and that was his average speed) of the old Spa-Francorchamps course in Belgium.
In order to give the opposition a chance the 917Ks were banned from sports-car racing in Europe at the end of 1971. And Porsche turned to turbocharging to give the car a new lease of life in the North American Can-Am Challenge. With its 1100bhp, 5.4-liter, flat-12 engine, and magnesium-alloy tube-frame chassis, the 1973 917/30 remains the most extreme road-racing car ever constructed.
