917K 1970 Red

917K 1970 Red, the red of a first outright victory

The shade belongs to the two-color solution of the Porsche 917 in the shortened K version. The red on it covered the nose and the side sections, while the rest of the body stayed white. The year in the name sets the shade apart from the finishes the type ran in during later seasons.

Why this car in particular is famous

The original long version of the 917 type proved unmanageable in fast passages, and its designers therefore shortened and raised its tail. The letter K in the designation comes from the German word for short, and it was exactly this modification that turned a troublesome machine into a winner. In the twenty-four hours in 1970 the car finished first and thereby brought the brand from Zuffenhausen the outright win it had waited for in vain until then. Power was handled by a massive twelve-cylinder with opposed cylinders, which at the time was among the most powerful units ever to appear in endurance racing. It was moreover an edition with exceptionally hard weather, in which only a fraction of the field fought its way to the finish.

Where you will use the color

• the nose and flanks of models of endurance prototypes of the turn of the decades
• red fields in combination with a white body
• ground fields under race numbers
• prototypes in 1:12, where the body surfaces are large

Who it suits

Meant for builders of classic prototypes who want a red from exactly one particular year. The 917 type went through several unmistakable finishes during its career, and confusing them is the most conspicuous mistake that can be made on a model in the eyes of those who know that era. The red on this car moreover did not meet the white in soft transitions but in sharply drawn edges. On the real subject the red reached onto the front wheel covers and the edge of the windscreen, where the colored field wraps around a rounded shape.