No, this car is not a scale model made by Germany's top modellers Pit Schwaar, Michael Graeber, Matthias Parke or Harald Uhl. it is the 001 presented on March 29 at the Salon Automobile de Genève.

After the CSI Bobshell of June 12, 1967, where the over 3-litre prototypes are banned from the circuits, Porsche at once smells it chance to win the race it never won: the Le Mans 24 hours. The 2.2 Porsche 907 - having finished 5th at Le Mans 1967 - is transformed in a 3-litre prototype, the 3.0 Porsche 908-01. In hands of Jo Siffert and Vic Elford the new prototype scores its first victory at the 1968 Nürburgring 1,000-kms. After two defeats by the John Wyer rejuvenated 4.9 Ford GT40 at the Spa 1,000-kms and the Watkins Glen 6 hours, the new 908-01 can realise a 1-2 at the 1968 Austrian GP. Due to the famous student revolts of May '68, the Le Mans 24 hours are contested that year as last round of the Manufacturer's World Championship on September 28-29. Here 4 908-01s are entered, realising a 1-2-3 on the grid. However, the race is lost from John Wyer's Ford GT40 - the best 908-01 finishing 3rd, 6 laps down to the winner.
In 1969 the 908-01 - now existing also in Spyder version - won all rounds of the Manufacturer's Worlds except Daytona, Sebring and ... Le Mans. At Zuffenhausen they understand after the defeats fom the 5.0 Lola T70 Mk3B at the Daytona 24 hours and from the 4.9 Ford GT40 at the Sebring 12 hours that a 5-litre machinery is necessary if one wishes one day winning Le Mans.
The construction of the new car - the famous 917 - starts already by the end of 1968. Plans are to manufacture the necessary 25 copies in order to obtain an homologation as sports car. On March 30, 1969, the new 917 (chassis 002) shows at the Le Mans tests. In hands of Rolf Stommelen the car realises the fastest time with 3'30"7, which was nearly 5 seconds faster than the 3'35"4 pole of the 908-01 the previous year. Another 917 (chassis 003) is tested by Hans Hermann. The same week-end the new 917 (chassis 001) is presented at the Salon Automobile de Genève. The new car is equipped by a 540HP air-cooled 12 cylinder 4.5 litre flat engine of 260kg. Dry weight of the car - only 92cm high - is 800 kg. A top speed of 380 kph is reached with an acceleration from 0-100kph in 3"9.
In April Dean Delamont of the FIA inspects the 25 copies so that the car is homologated. The new race director Rico Steinemann, successor of Huschke von Hanstein, decides to send 2 cars - chassis 003 and 005 - to the Spa 1,000-kms on May 11, 1969. Although Jo Siffert realises the fastest time (chassis 003), that car is not raced due to a dubious road holding. The much slower 005 of Gerhard Mitter and Udo Schütz is retired with a deficient engine. During the following 2 weeks the complete geometry of the front suspension and the direction are reviewed.

Three weeks later the 917 (chassis 004) is tested at the difficult Nürburgring, not very appropriated for heavy cars. It finishes 8th. Meanwhile the 005 is sold for DM 140,000 to a privateer, John Woolfe. No less than 4 cars are sent to the Le Mans 24 hours, all in LH version. The 006-007-008 are entered by Porsche System Engeneering, the 005 by John Wolfe.  The 006 serves as spare car ("mullet"), whilst the 2 other cars realise a 1-2 on the grid. The #12 917LH leads during 327 laps but is retired after 22 hours by a broken gearbox. The #14, having realised a fabulous pole in 3'22"9 - more than 12 seconds faster than the 1968 pole - leads during the 4 first hours, but is retired with an oil leak. Again Le Mans is lost from a John Wyer 4.9 Ford GT40, now by only ...120 metres, with a 908-01LH finishing as runner-up. The #005 is destroyed just after the start in a fatal accident by the late John Woolfe.
No factory cars are sent to the 2 last rounds of the FIA Manufacturer's Worlds. Watkins Glen 6 hours, but at Österreichring 1,000-kms the 009, sold to Freiherr von Wendt, and driven by the work's racers Jo Siffert and Kurt Ahrens wins the race. Another 917 - chassis 010 - sold to David Piper finishes 3rd. The last car will also win off-championship the 1969 Kyalami 9 hours.
Starting the 1970 season race director Rico Steinemann opts for a complete new racing strategy. Remembering what Ford did in 1965 - after its serious defeat from Ferrari - he decides for an intramural competition. The 917s are no longer raced by Porsche System Engeneering, but by so-called independent teams. Since Porsche couldn't defeat John Wyer Ferry Porsche & Co decide that 6 work's cars should be confined to ...JWA Gulf Racing with Wyer as race director. Porsche will pay the wages of the racers: Jo Siffert and Brian Redman. Pedro Rodriguez, until then a hyper fast work's racer for Ferrari, joins the JWA Gulf team. Moreover, Wyer attracts a new, unknown racer, at his own cost: Finland's Leo Kinnunen. Three other cars go to KG Salzburg, being a direct competitor for JWA Gulf. Wyer starts his job already in October 1969, after FoMoCo decided to race no longer the JWA Gulf Ford GT40. The first thing he does is to modify thr confined 917s. Indeed, in 1969, all 917 drivers complained that the handling of the car was a pure nightmare. A long while it was thought that the suspension geometry was the cause. But severe tests during 6 long months changed nothing on the problem. Then, in October, Wyer staged a test at Zeltweg. He discovered that the aerodynamic shape of the body was unsane. In less than 6 hours pop rivets, aluminium sheet and a hacksaw transformed the long tail 917LH in a short tail one, the 917K (K = kurz). It was the start of one of the greatest success stories in racing history.

The 25 first Porsches 917, ready for the homologation as a under 5-litre sports car.

LE MANS 'APRIL' TESTS 1969 - The 917 - chassis 002 - at its first outing on March 29. With Rolf Stommelen at the wheel the car realised a new record in 3'30"7. Two months, at the Le Mans qualifications,  later 3'22"9 will be realised! Despite the fact that the CSI had forbidden the use of mobile wings, Porsche asked the Le Mans organising ACO if it could use such aerodynamic approvements on its 917. At the race however immobile wings were used.

FRANCORCHAMPS 1,000-KMS 1969 - The 917K - chassis 003 - of Jo Siffert realised the fastest lap at practice, but was not raced due to road holding problems. Earlier the same car - with #46 - was seen at the Le Mans April tests, where it was driven by Hans Hermann.

NÜRBURGRING 1,000-KMS 1969 - The 917 - chassis 004 - was not well-adapted to the turtuous circuit in the Eiffel, but was nevertheless entered by Porsche Engineering System for Frank Gardner and David Piper. They brought the car home as 8th, the real first finish of a 917. In October 1969 the car went to JWA Gulf, and was entered at 4 rounds of the Manufacturer's World Championship, however, without finishing once.

FRANCORCHAMPS 1,000-KMS 1969 - Of the 2 entered Porsches 917LH only the #30 - chassis 005 - was seen in the race where its drivers Gerhard Mitter and Udo Schütz had to retire with a blown engine. The car was sold to John Woolfe for DM 140,000. At the Le Mans 24 hours, during the first lap, the new owner was killed after a fatal accident.

LE MANS 24 HOURS 1969 - The 917LH - chassis 006 - was present, but only raced in practice by Udo Schütz. In October the car went to JWA Gulf Racing for serious tests at Zeltweg. Eventually it will be the first of all Porsches 917 to be equipped with the short tail rear. Later, during other practical tests, the car was destroyed.

LE MANS 24 HOURS 1969 - The 917LH ) chassis 007 - won the pole with a fabulous 3'22"9. At Hunaudières it was clocked at more than 380 kph. [In 1971 Jackie Oliver realised a top speed of 396 kph during the nocturnal qualification tests. In 1975, at America's Talladega Superspeedway, a new track record of 353.6 kph was realised by the 917LH. The car accelerated from 0-100kph in 3"9, from 0-200kph in 13"4]. Rolf Stommelen and Kurt Ahrens were leading during the 4 first hours but had to retire after an oil leak. Later the car was sold to Gesipa Racing Team, which will race it at the Monza 1,000-kms, the Francorchamps 1,000-kms, and off-championship the Montlhéry 1,000-kms. In 1971 it will be transformed as a 917PA Spyder, entering the new Interserie European CANAM series.

LE MANS 24 HOURS 1969 - Again the 917LH with chassis 007 which realised the pole position.

LE MANS 24 HOURS 1969 - The 4.5 Porsche 917LH - chassis 008 - shared by Vic Elford and Richard Attwood was 2nd on the grid. From the 4th hour to the 22nd hour the car was leading the race, but was retired with 2 hours to go with a broken gearbox. PICTURE: L'Année Automobile #17, p. 168.

ÖSTERREICHRING 1,000-KMS 1969 - First victory for a private owned Porsche 917LH. The car - chassis 009 - was indeed sold to Freiherr von Wendt. On August 10 Jo Siffert and Kurt Ahrens, two work's drivers - brought the car back into victory lane. It was also the first win for a Porsche 917. At the end of the year the car was transferred to JWA Gulf. Wyer entered it in 1970 at the Sebring 12 hours.

KYALAMI 9 HOURS - David Piper - a former Ferrari driver - bought the 917 with chassis 010. He entered it in 1969 at 3 races, finishing with Jo Siffert as 6th at the Japan Grand Prix on October 10. One week later he finished as 3rd at the Hockenheim 300-kms. Eventually he and Richard Attwood won on November 8 the Kyalami 9 hours, ahead of the Lola T70Mk3B of Mike de Udy-Frank Gardner.  Apart from Coca-Cola, Piper had again Sandeman as co-sponsor.

CANAM SERIES 1969 - In 1969 John van Neuman, the American Porsche distributor of Porsche-Audi USA asked Zuffenhausen to build an open 917 to compete in the CANAM Series. Two weeks later a flat-12 engined 590HP 4.5 Porsche 917PA - 740 kg light - was ready on August 17, 1967. That John Wyer should be the inventor of the short tail, as always is told, is not fully correct. Two months earlier than the famous Zeltweg tests with the 006 the 917PA was already showed in short tail version - the one which certainly inspired Wyer at his Zeltweg decision. The 917PA was driven by Jo Siffert and scored the following results: Lexington Mid-Ohio 4th (just behind Chris Amon's Ferrari 612P which TQed, having already finished 3rd at Watkins Glen and 2nd at Edmonton); 3rd at Bridgehampton (ahead of N.A.R.T.'s Ferrari 312P Berlinetta with Pedro Rodriguez at the wheel); 4th at Michigan; 5th at Laguna Seca, 28th at Riverside, and 4th at Texas. In the overall ranking Siffert was 4th, behind Bruce McLaren (McLaren MB8 Chevrolet), Denny Hulme (McLaren MB8 Chevrolet) and Chuck Parsons (Lola T163 Chevrolet), but ahead of Chris Amon (6th). The 7-litre McLarens won all 11 the rounds of the 1969 CANAM. In 1970 the car, missing the necessary power of the American 7-litre "big bangers" was sold to Vasek Polak, who should let race the car in 1971 at the CANAM (without great success) by Milton Minter.