Is This Replica 917 Good Enough to Change Your Mind on the Subject?

Colin
By Colin Wood
Jun 15, 2020 | Porsche, Replica, 917

Let's face it, most of us will never get the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a real Porsche 917.

That's where Bailey Cars comes in.

For about €200,000 (approximately $226,000), you can have a well-sorted replica of the iconic 917.

By the way, did we mention it's street-legal?

Read more about the Bailey Cars 917—and what a Le Mans champion thinks about the car—over on Classic Motorsports.

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Comments
Kreb (Forum Supporter)
Kreb (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UberDork
6/15/20 4:17 p.m.

Where does the air-cooled veedub motor go?

 

But seriously, it's pretty awesome. It fits with one of my basic rules of replicas -  that the replica should have comparable awesomeness to the original.  Not just looks.

I also like the stealth element for street driving cheeky

NOHOME
NOHOME MegaDork
6/15/20 4:17 p.m.

 

 

Interesting documentary by Captain Slow on the 917 . Seems a chap by the name of Dikie Attwood was piloting the last uncrashed entry in  1968 with a six lap lead,  21 hours in, and all he was praying for was that the car would break so he could end the horror show. Bout 10 min into the video. Truth or myth, makes for a good story.

 

 

californiamilleghia
californiamilleghia Dork
6/15/20 4:41 p.m.

umm , 6 cylinder probably pushes it pretty fast , my friends 962 scared the "S" out of him with only 30% boost at Monterey and he sold it soon afterwards, 

You just have to wonder how much the original 12 cylinder motor pushed you back in the seat !

wearymicrobe
wearymicrobe UberDork
6/15/20 5:30 p.m.

I wonder how these compare to the RCR 917 replica. no where near as authentic but likely more usable on the track and cheaper to build and run. 

Appleseed
Appleseed MegaDork
6/15/20 7:53 p.m.

Could you just butt 2 911 sixes nose to tail and "make" a flat 12? I've seen it done with American V8s many times.  

californiamilleghia
californiamilleghia Dork
6/15/20 8:08 p.m.

Here is a teardown of a 917 motor.....

https://canepa.com/porsche-917-10-engine-tear-down-canepa-distractions/

complex  ?  YES !

Matt B (Forum Supporter)
Matt B (Forum Supporter) UltraDork
6/16/20 12:29 p.m.

Whelp. I now have a new just-won-the-lottery car.

wspohn
wspohn Dork
6/16/20 12:45 p.m.

Think I'd rather have a Superformance or Factory Five Daytona coupe frankly. If you are old enough to have enough money to make that 917 replica a purchase on a whim, your joints aren't going to let you enjoy getting in and out of it.

The 917 was a magnificent RACE car. Copies of race cars for street use always seem a tad wannabe lame to me. The only one that has ever 'worked' for me is the modern Ford GT40 which made the transition to street machine quite gracefully.

nocones
nocones GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
6/16/20 1:43 p.m.

Looks real nice.  Makes me think something like this based on Boxster could be the next-next-next project.  

Why does the front roll hoop have 2 seams in it?  Seems like with modern manufacturing you could make any shape with 1 piece on a CNC bender.    Looks like the top is a rolled hoop seamed into 2 lower legs with normal bends in them.  Maybe I'm seeing something that isn't there but I looked online at other pictures and 2 other of the Bailey 917's that have been driven by Media have the same seems.  

MotorsportsGordon
MotorsportsGordon HalfDork
6/16/20 6:10 p.m.
Appleseed said:

Could you just butt 2 911 sixes nose to tail and "make" a flat 12? I've seen it done with American V8s many times.  

However unlike the flat 6 engine the 917 flat 12 is not a boxer design but actually a 180 degree v12 like the Ferrari flat 12s were.

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