Celebrating Fifty Years of the Legendary Porsche 917
The Porsche 917, reimagined for the road, continues to inspire, marking fifty years of innovation, spirit and timeless automotive excellence.
On 28 April 1975, a legend left the Weissach gates. Not bound for the roar of the racetrack, but for the allure of the open road, a singular Porsche 917 embarked on a journey unlike any before.
Commissioned by Count Gregorio Rossi di Montelera, Martini heir and consummate Porsche devotee, the 917 ‘Kurzheck’ was meticulously reimagined for road use.
Clad in shimmering Martini Silver, it bore subtle yet essential refinements: exhaust silencers, elegant mirrors, discreet indicators, and a concealed spare.
Inside, Hermès-crafted tan leather and hand-finished suede enveloped the cockpit, offering a whisper of civility within the car’s visceral spirit.
Preserving its original wooden gear shifter and lightweight drilled key, chassis 30 remained deeply rooted in its racing pedigree.
That first audacious drive ended not in a cautious loop of the local roads, but hundreds of miles later, beneath the Parisian skyline.
Today, exquisitely preserved and UK-registered, it roams the sunlit roads of the south of France, an enduring testament to Porsche’s refusal to tether imagination.
Five decades on, the question lingers as vividly as ever: what if the impossible were simply a matter of will?
