To
Be
OFFERED
AT
AUCTION
at
RM
Sothebys'
Monterey
event,
12
-
14
August
2021.
Estimate:$16,000,000
-
$18,500,000
USD
Delivered
new
to
1970
Porsche
Works
team
JW
Automotive
EngineeringDriven
by
David
Hobbs
and
Mike
Hailwood
in
the
1970
Le
Mans
24
HoursImmortalised
as
the
winning
car
in
Steve
McQueen's
1971
Solar
Productions
film
Le
MansRebuilt
in
917
Spyder
specification
at
the
Porsche
factory
in
1971Campaigned
in
Interserie
in
1971-1973
by
Jürgen
Neuhaus,
Team
Shell
Heckersbruch,
and
Gelo
Racing
Owned
and
raced
in
historic
events
by
the
late
Michael
Amalfitano
for
over
20
yearsBeautifully
restored
to
original
917
K
specification
and
accompanied
by
original
Spyder
body
"As
these
220
mph
cars
screamed
through
the
curves
of
Spa
or
thrashed
through
the
rain
at
Le
Mans,
they
provided
a
motor
racing
spectacle
that
had
never
previously
been
witnessed,
and
which
at
the
time
completely
overshadowed
Grand
Prix
racing."Anthony
Pritchard
on
the
Porsche
917Having
secured
the
1968
World
Sportscar
Championship
and
back-to-back
Le
Mans
victories
in
1968
and
1969
for
Ford,
JW
Automotive
Engineering
had
emerged
as
both
a
formidable
force
in
long-distance
racing
and
a
considerable
thorn
in
Porsche's
side;
their
1969
win-in
which
the
Ickx/Oliver
GT40
had
defeated
the
Works
Porsche
908
of
Hermann/Larrousse
by
just
120
yards-proved
a
particularly
bitter
pill
to
swallow
in
Stuttgart.
Never,
in
their
19
previous
attempts,
had
Porsche
come
closer
to
winning
Le
Mans,
and
dissenting
voices
were
now
speculating
whether
they
ever
would.With
JW
Automotive
in
need
of
a
replacement
for
the
venerable
GT40,
a
deal
was
struck
whereby
the
Slough-based
outfit
would
campaign
Porsche's
new
917
model
in
the
1970
World
Sportscar
Championship,
critically
with
full
factory
support
and
operating
under
the
Gulf-Porsche
banner.
The
formidable
John
Wyer
remained
as
team
principal,
ably
assisted
by
the
only
marginally
less
intimidating
former
Vanwall
team
manager
David
Yorke;
the
team's
plan
being
to
enter
three
cars
at
Le
Mans
and
two
at
all
other
Championship
rounds.
The
relationship
started
spectacularly,
with
JW
Automotive
cars
winning
five
of
the
first
six
races,
including
the
opening
round
at
the
Daytona
24
Hours.
At
Le
Mans,
they
would
field
two
4.9-liter-powered
chassis,
917-016
and
917-017/004,
for
Pedro
Rodriguez/
Leo
Kinnunen
and
Jo
Siffert/
Brian
Redman
respectively,
while
a
new
car
4.5-liter
car,
917-026,
would
be
piloted
by
David
Hobbs
and
multiple
Motorcycle
World
Champion
Mike
Hailwood.
It
is
the
last-named
chassis
which
RM
Sotheby's
is
proud
to
offer
for
sale
here.A
CHALLENGING
LE
MANS
DEBUTThe
entry
for
Le
Mans
was
one
of
the
finest
ever,
with
eight
917s
lined
up
against
11
Ferrari
512s.
The
Porsche
Salzburg-entered
917
Longtail
of
Elford/Ahrens
took
pole
position
on
3
minutes
19.8
seconds;
this
was
first
ever
sub-200
second
lap
of
the
circuit,
equating
to
a
remarkable
150.64-mph
lap
average.
Right
behind
was
the
Works
512
of
Vaccarella/Giunti,
with
Siffert/Redman
in
3rd
and
Rodriguez/Kinnunen
in
5th.
The
Hobbs/Hailwood
car
lined
up
a
serviceable
10th
on
the
grid,
conscious
of
the
changeable
weather
forecast
and
the
potential
for
capitalizing
on
the
misfortunes
of
others.Elford
took
an
early
lead,
ahead
of
Siffert
and
Rodriguez,
as
well
as
the
Works
Ferraris
of
Merzario
and
Vaccarella.
Hobbs
enjoyed
a
superb
start,
initially
holding
5th
place
before
the
combination
of
a
quick
fuel
stop
and
an
early
retirement
for
Rodriguez
promoted
him
to
4th
after
two
hours.
Shortly
after
handing
over
to
Hailwood,
the
pair
were
up
to
3rd,
although
matters
began
to
unravel
when
Hailwood
inexplicably
refused
to
pit
for
full
wet
tires
as
heavy
rain
arrived,
opting
to
persist
with
intermediates
instead.
It
was
a
decision
which
would
come
back
to
haunt
"Mike
the
Bike,"
as
he
lost
control
in
the
Dunlop
Curve
on
lap
49
and
slid
into
the
stricken
Alfa
T33/3
of
Facetti.
917-026
suffered
only
light
damage,
but
it
was
enough
to
put
Hailwood
out
of
the
race.Poor
Hailwood
trudged
back
to
the
pits
to
face
the
famously
acidic
tongue
of
John
Wyer-a
man
in
far
from
the
best
of
humour,
having
just
witnessed
two-thirds
of
his
team
retire
from
the
race
before
quarter
distance.
Unsurprisingly,
Hailwood
never
raced
for
the
team
again.As
if
to
compound
Wyer's
misery,
the
Siffert/Redman
car
retired
from
a
seven-lap
lead
with
a
blown
engine
just
after
2:00
AM,
while
the
Elford/Ahrens
car
was
similarly
afflicted
six
hours
later.
The
Ferrari
challenge
all
but
self-destructed,
paving
the
way
for
the
relatively
unfancied
second
Salzburg
entry
of
Attwood/Hermann
to
take
a
hugely
popular
win.
It
had
truly
been
a
race
of
attrition,
with
just
two
917s
and
two
512s
classified
at
the
finish.
It
is
unlikely
to
have
escaped
the
attention
of
Wyer
that
the
winning
car
had
qualified
five
places
behind
917-026,
and
was
running
two
places
behind
it
at
the
time
of
Hailwood's
unscheduled
exit
from
the
race.FROM
LA
SARTHE
TO
STEVE
MCQUEEN'S
LE
MANSInterestingly,
a
specially
adapted
Porsche
908
camera
car
had
circulated
throughout
the
1970
race
capturing
live
footage
for
use
in
a
film
being
made
by
Steve
McQueen's
Solar
Productions
company.
Appropriately
and
simply
entitled
Le
Mans,
this
Lee
H.
Katzin-directed
film
mirrored
the
events
of
the
actual
race,
depicting
Porsche's
successful
but
fraught
quest
for
victory
at
La
Sarthe.
A
passion
project
for
McQueen,
a
noted
and
capable
enthusiast
of
racing
on
both
two
and
four
wheels,
Le
Mans
notoriously
spared
no
expense
in
the
pursuit
of
an
absolutely
accurate
depiction
of
the
trials,
tribulations,
and
unparalleled
excitement
of
top-level
endurance
racing.
The
film's
final
cut
interspersed
action
sequences
from
the
actual
race
with
studio
scenes
and,
while
of
limited
merit
in
terms
of
either
script
or
acting,
was
rightly
lauded
for
its
cinematography
and
realism.
The
plot
places
McQueen's
character,
driver
Michael
Delaney,
behind
the
wheel
of
multiple
Porsches
over
the
course
of
the
film,
but
it
is
chassis
917-026
that
is,
ironically,
immortalized
on
celluloid
as
the
winner
of
the
race
in
Le
Mans'
alternative
version
of
events.917-031/026'S
ROUSING
SECOND
CAREERAfter
Le
Mans,
917-026
was
returned
to
JW
Automotive's
base,
where
it
was
dismantled
and
a
new
car
constructed
around
a
factory-sourced
replacement
chassis,
designated
917-031.
To
comply
with
the
onerous
international
customs
regulations
of
the
day,
this
new
chassis
was
re-numbered
as
"026"
so
as
to
tally
with
all
the
relevant
customs
paperwork
held
by
the
team.
This
was
documented
in
a
letter
dated
10
July
1970
from
JWAE
to
Porsche's
917
program
director
Helmut
Flegl.
The
newly
reconstructed
car
returned
to
action
and
continued
as
a
JW
Automotive
team
car
through
1970
and
1971.Meanwhile,
the
original
ex-Hobbs/Hailwood
chassis
was
renumbered
as
"031"
and
returned
to
Porsche,
where
it
was
repaired
and
placed
into
the
spare
parts
stock.
The
chassis
was
then
used
by
Porsche
to
build
up
a
917
Spyder
in
early
1971,
using
a
5.0-liter
engine
also
numbered