Porsche’s air cooled flat 12 powered 917 was the company’s first serious attack on top level sportscar racing. It debuted in 1969 in a long tail configuration, but was found to be lethally unstable. After the semi-works outfit of John Wyer Automotive had the bright idea to cut the tail off in 1970, the 917K (Kurzheck/Short tail) was born.
The 917K then proceeded to totally dominate top level sportscar racing across the board, with the high points Porsche’s first two wins at Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. After a string of massive successes, the car was outlawed for the 1972 season. The 917 was then decapitated and turbocharged to infinity to take on the American Can-Am series. It proceeded to dominate in the same fashion it did in Europe, until the original Can-Am formula folded in the wake of 1973 oil crisis.
Presenting the Kremer 917K-81. On the right is driver Bob Wollek (FRA).
After 1973 the 917 lead a quiet life, retiring to Porsche’s museum or being converted to road going spec by insanely rich customers. It sat out the turmoil of the economic downturns and oil crises that plagued motorsport in general in the second half of the 1970’s. By the turn of the decade however things were looking up. The memory of the Arab Oil Embargo was fading away rapidly and interest in racing was starting to rise at a similar pace.
Porsche had meanwhile soldiered on with the turbocharged open-top 936 Group 6 model, which had been equally successful. Like the 917 it scored two consecutive wins at Le Mans in 1976 and 1977. Meanwhile, German tuner Kremer had started to strengthen its ties with Porsche. Kremer started out tuning various lower tier Porsche models for use in racing, and in 1976 made its first privately built 935, the K1.
Pitstop for the #10 at Le Mans.
By 1981 Kremer had developed a close relationship with the prestigious manufacturer. In 1979 a Kremer modified 935 K3 even managed to win Le Mans overall. With their 935 models selling by the dozens Kremer looked to spend their funds on a new project. The company discovered a loophole in the regulations that would allow a machine such as the old 917 to run once again. Enthused by the idea they set out to buy and modify a chassis to compete in the 1981 Le Mans 24 Hours.
The car’s tube frame chassis was re-engineered and strengthened and a brand new body was fitted. Other than the structural and aerodynamic changes, the car was basically the same as it had been in the early 1970’s. It still carried the 5L 912 air-cooled flat-12 engine, now producing around 570 horsepower. The unit was joined to a 5-speed manual transmission developed in-house by Porsche. The total package was said to have been slightly heavier than the old 917K, which clocked in at 800 kg (1763 lbs).
The K-81 didn't have the legs it used to up the long straights.
Kremer used its top driver Bob Wollek (FRA) to pilot the revised machine, supported by Xavier Lapeyre (FRA) and Guy Chausseil (FRA). In spite of the modifications, the Kremer-81 was having trouble getting back in the game after a decade of retirement. Much had changed in the intervening years.
New tire compounds and different fuels gave the car a bit of a culture shock. The aerodynamic modifications also worked to its disadvantage, as it could not manage much more than about 300 kph (186 mph) down the long Mulsanne Straight. When it was still a young buck it would achieve speeds at over 350 kph (220 mph), but those bright days seemed to be over. A disappointing 18th in qualifying was the best it could do.
During the race proper the old boy seemed to be able to pick up the pace again. Helped by its experienced driver team the car made up place after place. After 7 hours of running it was comfortably in the top 10 when disaster struck. An error of judgment caused a collision with a slower car, and a vital oil line was severed in the process. The resulting oil loss proved fatal, and the car was forced to retire. Eventually the race was won by the Porsche 936 of Jacky Ickx (BEL) and Derek Bell (GB).
In the meantime Bob Wollek had gotten into some unpleasant conversations with the only sponsor, hotel chain Malardeau. Malardeau was not amused by Wollek’s attitude and decide to pull out of the project. This left the car without any visible sponsorship. To avoid running an unmarked car Kremer added red stripes and large KREMER decals. Not wanting to abandon the project so soon, the car was entered into the Brands Hatch 6 Hours.
The Kremer 917 was a genuine throwback to a simpler time.
The shorter race distance and lack of sponsorship lead to a change in the driver team, with Wollek staying on and former F1-driver Henri Pescarolo (FRA) joining in. At the much shorter swooping track in the hills of Kent, top speed was much less of a factor. The K-81 proved this notion by setting consistently impressive lap times.
Apparently the old warrior still had the good fight in him, because an amazing 3rd place on the grid was recorded at the end of the session. The ancient design was only 1.5 seconds off from the state of the art Ford C100 of Manfred Winkelhock (GER) and Klaus Ludwig (GER) on pole.
The now unsponsored K-81 waiting for its second chance, Brands Hatch 1981,
To everyone’s surprise the K-81 was able to challenge for the lead during the race. The more modern machinery was given a real run for its money by the tired old Porker. It took the lead several times and looked and sounded absolutely spectacular doing it. Eventually it consolidated a lead for a considerable amount of time, but disaster was waiting right around the corner.
A fatal suspension failure put a sad end to an exciting and promising race. After another failure to finish the project was subsequently shelved by Kremer, who focused on developing a new prototype for the proposed 1982 Group C regulations, the unusual looking CK5.
The 917K-81 came tantalizingly close to its first win at Brands Hatch.
The Kremer-Porsche 917 K-81 made one of the greatest comebacks in the history of modern sportscar racing. After a ban a decade earlier, and a quick shot of steroids, it was rubbing shoulders with the best that 1981 had to offer.
Unfortunately bad luck and mechanical trouble deprived the unique machine of a decent result. After the K-81’s exploits the 917 chassis was retired for good, now becoming a true museum piece.
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Comments (2)
Wow I never knew Kremer took a 917 so late. That Brands Hatch race must have been something to behold. Thanks for the great post, promoted to Best of Classics!
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