917 feature on the Grand Tour

The famous car-introduction program on the BBC in England, "Top Gear" The Amazon Prime Video automotive show by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, who were its first MCs, "Grand Tour(The Grand Tour)is also quite interesting, and I think many of you have already seen it.

*Image source.Amazon prime "The Grand Tour (subtitled)"

By the way, the main MC (?) in the center of the photoJeremy Clarksonwas born in 1960 and is 59 years old. Younger than I expected. The way her hair and skin looks, and also the way her stomach bulges(Laughter)I guessed from the "Mere Old Man" that he was already about 70 years old.

By the way, he is as tall as 195 cm.

Also, the little guy on the left.Richard Hammondwas born in 1969 and is 49 years old. This is also younger than I expected.Same age as Masaharu FukuyamaI can't believe it...or maybe Masaharu Fukuyama is just too awesome (-_-)

He looks quite small because he is side by side with Jeremy, who is 195 cm tall, but he is 170 cm tall.

And the image on the rightJames May.was born in 1963 and is 56 years old. In my image, he isOf the three, he was the most English gentlemanly.I feel like it's the most appropriate for my age.

These three are the MCs for Amazon Prime Video's "Grand Tour' is a hoot compared to a typical car show. Nevertheless, the three of them seem to have calmed down from the days of "Top Gear". Well, all three of them are getting older in their own way, and they seem to have been seriously injured in the recording...(But his tongue is still in cheek.)

In Season 3 of this Grand Tour, we recently presented "Special feature on Porsche 917 (The Legend Never Dies: The Enduring Love of Lancia and the Immortal 917)was on the air. My husband watched it first.

This was pretty interesting, you should check it out."

So I decided to take a quick look.

Legendary car, Porsche 917

I am still a new Porsche fan, so I am ashamed to say that I did not know much about the 917. I had seen it somewhat, but did not remember much about it. I was in charge of this feature.James May.So, at the beginning of thePorsche has also produced excellent cars.I said, "Jeremy," and he said, "911?" And.

That's what I'm talking about (laughs).

The Porsche 917 is the first Porsche to be sold in the United States, which James describes as "A Porsche masterpiece.It is a model that we are convinced that theThis year marks the 50th anniversary.Incidentally, "917-001", a restored version of the first car, will be on display at the Porsche Museum in Germany from May 14 to September 15 next month. I'd like to go see it.

According to James, "No car surpasses the racing car look of this 917.And.

Porsche is a very successful Le Mans manufacturer, having won the race 19 times to date.(2nd : Audi (13 times), 3rd : Ferrari (9 times))exactlyThis 917 brought Porsche its first victory.The first is the "I" in "I".

Only 25 of these cars were made worldwide, and they were Le Mans winners.Current price 14 million pounds.It's hard to say in pounds, but it's a good thing. It doesn't ring a bell when you say it in pounds.Approximately 2 billion Japanese yen....

Amazing....

I was looking at it thinking, "How could Porsche loan such a car to the Grand Tour?"The insurance company told me not to let the accident guy touch it, so this is where Captain Slow comes in.and James. James, who is a rather cautious driver, says that he is often the slowest of the three program MCs in the race.

Sure, if the other two drove, I'd be afraid they'd drive like a mule and wreck the car.

This 917, on the face of it, seems like a big, wide car.When you get in, it's completely different.It seems.

It's too small... (laughs)

When you actually drive it, the sound of the explosion is tremendous. James says, "It's a 50 year old car, but by any era's standards it's a very fast car.And. It took only a whopping 100 kilometers per hour to reach2.7 sec.The maximum speed is360 km/h. 5-liter 12-cylinder engine.And the power is621 hpThe following is a list of the most common problems with the "C" in the "C" column.

Even though these figures are not as good as those of modern hypercars, the car weighs only 800 kilograms, which is an impressive amount of power when calculated on a per-weight basis.

The body was not compromised in any way, and only the bare minimum of materials were used. In fact, the part of the body where James' head is scraped is made of fiberglass.Thickness is 1.2 mmHe said there is only one.

The meter in front of the driver isTachometer, oil temperature gauge, oil pressure gauge.If the three indications are appropriate, the engine will not burst.

Then let's go for it! James said, "Then let's go for it! James said, "Let's go for it!The world's fastest canoe, truly a car of another dimension!He is a great admirer of the company.

From the birth of Porsche 917 to the Le Mans victory

However, the road to the completion of this 917 was a series of hardships.

Birth of 917

In 1968, the International Sports Commission (CSI) announced that cars competing in the World Championship for Sports Cars would have to be equipped with aEngines larger than 3 liters are not permitted.The regulation was established that "the The prototypes of the leading teams wereExpensive, fast, dangerousThe reason is that it has become too much.

However, the Commission Internationale de la Sport (CSI) has made an exception, stating that "Allow up to 5 liters for manufacturers that produce 25 models that can be driven on public roads.The "A" was set to be "A".

..."What's that, what do you mean, if you can make 25 cars, you'll be allowed 5 liters?I thought, "What's that?" and then I looked it up.homologationI found out that it was something that would be

The manufacturer must apply to have the same type of car produced in a certain quantity or more within a certain period of time, and the FIA must confirm this and approve the application. If, after approval, the specifications are changed and no longer conform to those stated in the approval, the modified car may not be used in competition without additional approval of a variant. If the manufacturer prepares modified parts and these are additionally approved, the vehicle can be used freely as an evolutionary type. The approval will expire 7 years after the date on which mass production is considered to have been completed, and the vehicle may no longer be used in competition.
*Wikipedia "homologation"

Wow...that's a thing, isn't it?

Back to the 917... although it's clear that a small company can't afford to build 25 such cars.This homologation acquisition is theoretical.It was thought to be a good idea.

In fact, this procedure allowed us to compete with prototypes from over 3.0 liters to 5.0 litersFerrari temporarily withdrawsand over 5.0 liters.Chevrolet completely withdraws from the market.Ford, also over 5.0 liters, only continued with sports cars for its affiliated teams.

Porsche, however, was different.

Until then, Porsche had only acquired titles in the small displacement class only, so Ferdinand Piech, Porsche's head of motorsport at the time(Grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, founder of Porsche)isHe took advantage of this opportunity to win the overall championship title.The first is the "I" in "I".

Ferdinand Piech was also involved in the design and development of the Bugatti Veyron and the first Audi Quattro. As a side note, he has 13 children with four women in his personal life. All sorts of amazing w

Back to the story...however, Porsche at that time was a small business with no funds.

However, thePiech, who was determined to win Le Mans, decided to prepare 25 of themThe first race of the season was just a few months away. Moreover, the start of the Le Mans season was already several months away.

So, at that time Porsche wasThe treasurer, scullery maid, and secretary all left their posts to work on the production of the 25 units.The finished car was therefore called the "secretary's car.

The team was a mishmash, but we managed to make it.

The motorsports inspectors then inspected and successfully certified 25 models that could be driven on public roads, but they missed the fact that these 25 models had racing axles, perhaps because they checked them at random.(In fact, 25 cars were not completed by the time of the homologation review and were inspected and approved again a month later.)

When the decision was made for Porsche to enter Le Mans, Piech began preparing a car for the race. This car was built to be fast anyway.Recorded speed of 383 km/h on Le Mans' famous long straight, the Mulsanne StraightThe first time, the company was in a position to do so.

However, this car had a weakness. "Very unstableIt was a "fast car. It was a fast car, butLack of force to press the body against the road surface, more unstable at higher speedsto be. Driving was extremely difficult and unpredictable as to what would happen the next moment.

The chassis distortion was so great that the shift lever would move and the "I tried to change gears, but there's no lever there.He said that he was in a state of "I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

This is too scary...((;)))

Then, in 1969, he entered Le Mans. The result was disastrous. One of the cars entered by an individual crashed on the first lap, killing the driver. Other cars broke down one after another, and only one remained. Who was the driver?British driver Dickie AttwoodIt is.

He describes the machine as follows

I mean, it was a monster. I was scared, and I prayed for it to break down."

And.

At the end of the race, the 917 driven by Dickey was leading by 6 laps and was very close to winning the race.After 21 hours, it finally broke down.Piech tried to win the overall Le Mans championship, but the results were disastrous.

First victory at Le Mans

Porsche then hired John Wire, who was involved in the development of the Ford GT40, to improve it, and he suddenly solved the problem of the 917. It was

The front section was covered in dead insects, whereas the rear wing had none."

The discovery that. This would mean thatPoor airflow, lack of downforce, and poor maneuverabilitySo, with this problem solved, Porsche went to Le Mans the following year in 1970 with high hopes.

Driver was Atwood again this time. Atwood must have been scary!

The 917 raced through at breakneck speed this time, but was much more consistent than the previous year. While the race was marred by a series of accidents caused by the rain, theAtwood finished in an impressive lead, giving Porsche its first overall win.

In the program, James says, "That said, Porsche could have gone broke for this car!I'm not sure what you're talking about," Atwood replied.

Piech was a man who worked too hard and nearly bankrupted the company. He almost brought down Porsche.

And. Porsche had won an unbeatable battle for the fate of the company, literally on the edge of a cliff.

917's rapid progress

After achieving his first overall win in theThe following year, the 917 won again at Le Mans with overwhelming strength.The top speed at that time was over 388 km/h. At that time, the maximum speed exceeded 388 km/h. This record was not broken for more than 20 years. This record was not broken for more than 20 years.

And in the same race.Total record of approximately 5,335 kilometers traveled.The record was not broken until 2010.

917 is also the name of the film by Hollywood star Steve McQueen, "TheGlorious Le MansIt became even more famous when I rode in it for the filming of "The Glorious Le Mans". Come to think of it, my husband used to watch "Le Mans in Glory" at home!

GT2RS vs 917

'It's been 50 years since the legend was born, let's do something fun to celebrate!' So James explained.

Ask Atwood to take you on the 917 again.Comparison between this legend and today's PorscheThe The person to whom they are being compared is.911GT2RSIt is one of the largest guns in the Porsche range.

And.

That's the Grand Tour, and an interesting one at that. The driver driving the GT2RS this time is a young driver who won the 2016 Le Mans in a PorscheNeil JanisIt is.

The machine's data shows that.The GT2RS has 700 hp and the 917 has 621 hpThe "M" is a word that refers to the "M" in the word "M. However, theThe GT2RS weighs 1830 kg compared to the 917's 800 kg.. However, the GT2RS is equipped with the latest tires, brakes, and a gearbox with paddles.

Therefore, when it comes to a game where you really don't know who is going to win....

."Even if you say that, the GT2RS will win hands down from the start, right?I thought, "I'll just...

The unexpected is Dickie Atwood.

Grandpa, you're too awesome!

No way, it was a close race.

But at the end of the day.Youth and modern tires triumphGT2RS driver Neil Jani said, "I'm very happy to be here.Good, now I won't lose my job.I would have been relieved, to be honest (laughs).

After watching this VTR, even that Jeremy "I was numb. It was brilliant.He said.

Well, this was quite a worthwhile session. We also touched a little on the history of Porsche, and I was reminded once again that what Porsche is today is the accumulation of history and tradition. I encourage everyone to watch "The Grand Tour Season 3.

*Image and article source.Amazon prime "The Grand Tour (subtitled)"