Home › PORSCHE 917/30 SPYDER - MARK DONOHUE - 1973 CAN-AM - Unisex Hoodie
PORSCHE 917/30 SPYDER - MARK DONOHUE - 1973 CAN-AM - Unisex Hoodie
There are several different iterations of the Porsche 917, but none were as brutally powerful as the 917/30 Spyder. Built to compete in the Can-Am championship, it used a twin-turbo version of Porsche's flat-12 engine that could produce a massive 1600 horsepower on nearly 40 psi of boost in qualifying trim.
Overall, the 917s won 14 out of the 21 races of the World Sportscar Championship in which they ran. No other car could compete with them. This forced the FIA to change its regulations and to all effects, Porsche cars were no longer accepted in the World Sportscar Championship. Porsche racing cars had become victims of their own success.
In the summer of 1975, Mark Donahue drove a modified 917/30 at the Alabama International motor Speedway (now known as the Talladega Super Speedway), in an attempt to beat several records. Donahue drove the Porsche along the 4.28 km (2.66 mile) racetrack at an average speed of 355.85 kmh (221.1 mph). This became a new world record: the fastest average speed, per lap, ever recorded on any racetrack around the world. The top speed reached by Donahue at the end of the straight was an astounding 413.6 km/h (256 mph).
This record also marked the farewell salute of the Porsche 917 to the Can-Am series. It was so powerful and successful, that it was justifiably labelled by some the "Can-Am Killer". However this title was somewhat of an exaggeration and did not take into account other factors like the oil crisis and a decline in public interest but it remains a testament of how one of the most powerful race cars ever built became a legend.