The 50 years anniversary of the legendary 'road legal' Porsche 917
Posted
by
Riccardo Paterni
on
27/07/2025
"On April 28, 1975 a one-off Porsche 917 race car left the Weissach development center. It headed not for a track – like every 917 before – but instead, and for the very first time, it took to public roads.
It was an audacious adventure driven by the passion of a private owner and the commitment of a small team within Porsche to fulfil the wishes of customers, no matter how outlandish the request. Fittingly, that first exploratory drive did not end after a prudent cruise around local roads, but when the car reached Paris – several hundred miles later. It was a feat that would go on to inspire many more adventures in the decades that would follow.
The car – 917 chassis 30 – which was originally raced, featured an array of changes that dominated endurance racing in the early 1970s. Some of the enhancements were mandated by the laws of the time, and others at the request of its owner – Italian businessman and Martine heir Gregorio Rossi di Montelera – known more simply as “Count Rossi”, a renowned powerboat racer, bobsledder and Porsche enthusiast."