This Home-Built Tribute To The Porsche 917 Was A Decade In The Making

The Porsche 917 is a striking sports prototype in the grandest tradition. In 1970, the 917K would give the Stuttgart automaker its first ever victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, beginning a journey that would see Porsche dominate the event. Like so many race cars to wear the Gulf livery, it has inspired many to try and recreate the magic for themselves. As unlikely as it sounds, there’s now a gorgeous road-going tribute to this racing legend, and it’s straight outta Norway.

The project, known as the 917CFK, is strictly not a Porsche; it’s a privately-built replica that was put together using Porsche’s own blueprints as a guide. We’re getting a full tour of the car thanks to well-known collector Magnus Walker, who happened across the car during his visit to a Norwegian Porsche show. Right away, it’s obvious this thing is special, by the way it sits with the stance of a true race car. And by that, I mean the fact that the roofline barely comes up to Walker’s waist when he’s standing right next to it.

“What you have in front of you is what I will call a road-legal recreation,” explains Knut, the man behind the build. That’s meant some compromises to authenticity, mostly in regards to the drivetrain. Norway has a relatively short history with amateur-built vehicles and kit cars, only allowing them to be road legal since new rules came about in 2014. Those regulations specify a restriction on power-to-weight ratios, so the original flat-12 that Porsche developed to deliver four-figure horsepower was out. In its place, the 917CFK gets a twin-turbo Porsche flat six. It was built by Ninemeister in the UK from parts cribbed from a wide variety of past Porsches, and is based on a short-stroked 3.6-liter engine for a final displacement of 3.3 liters. For road use, it’s capable of just over 300 horsepower. Turned up further with more boost pressure and a freer exhaust for track use, and it can deliver over 400 horsepower and around 440 pound-feet of torque. It’s an air-cooled engine with a beautiful fan on top, though it does use water-to-air intercoolers to chill the intake charge.

Okay, so it’s not packing mega horsepower, particularly by today’s standards.  The car has also gained a little weight over its racing forebearers by virtue of changes made for safety reasons, and the addition of a heater and air conditioning. Ultimately, though, it weighs just 2200 pounds. At that Miata-like weight, there’s plenty of fun to be had, even with “only” 300 hp on tap.

The car relies on the classic Porsche G50 5-speed transaxle, albeit mounted behind the engine to suit the 917’s layout. This caused some minor consternation with the extended shift linkages required to hook it up. Knut notes it necessitated modifications to ease shifting into reverse.

The motivation for the build was, in part, due to the sheer impossibility of enjoying a 917 any other way. Remaining examples sell for seven or eight figure sums, and aren’t road legal. The 917CFK fixed both those problems for its builder. “It looks the part, and you can take it on the street,” Knut explains. He chose the Gulf livery to match John Wyer’s successful privateer cars which raced during the peak of the 917’s career in the 1970s.

Amazingly, building a replica 917 wasn’t as impossible a task as you might think. Knut noted he was able to find blueprints and drawings online and via Porsche. Bodywork proved more difficult to source. Owners of the highly-valuable existing cars are at times reluctant to have moulds made to produce new panels. The 917CFK has carbon fiber panels built using moulds from three different cars, which contributed to the front end, doors, and tail end respectively. During the build, Knut learned that by virtue of being a race car, seldom few 917s were built exactly the same. His design mixes and matches, using a narrow front end variant paired with the wider rear end from John Wyer’s Gulf cars.

Despite the 917’s status as an endurance racing legend, this gorgeous replica has one thing holding it back from such duties. The original Porsche design featured fuel tanks in the wide cabin sills and could hold over 30 gallons. In contrast, this build uses a single tank placed entirely behind the rear cabin  for safety. It’s a 14.5 gallon tank, so expect to refill pretty regularly if you find yourself in an endurance racing situation.

While it is officially a road car, a few hangups would prevent you from wanting to use it on the daily. The low ride height combined with a nose that barely scrapes over the ground would make navigating even mild speed bumps a hassle. The wide stance may be aggressive and sporting, but it would also make getting through the average KFC drive-thru a near impossibility. Even if you could somehow squeeze it in, the tiny window flaps would make it hard to get all but the slimmest burger combos into the car. You could always try opening the canopy, but that’s a whole other struggle. Anyway, what I’m saying is, if you visit KFC as often as I do, this car might not suit your day-to-day routine.

It may be a road-legal build, but the racing design shines through. As Walker notes when he gets in to the cockpit, the wheel and the pedal box are offset in a way that you wouldn’t see in a road car. The switchgear is simple and purposeful, too. Knut notes it took just under 10 years to build, and 10,000 hours of his time. His first attempt started in 2013, but things kicked off afresh in 2015 after he tossed his first attempt.

Walker wasn’t able to take the 917CFK too far up the rev counter, as the filming was done on public roads. That’s not to say it can’t sing, though. Knut himself has had the car out on track in his own time, cresting 150 mph at times. Meanwhile, Porsche Norway went further, taking the car out in the snow with a dually set of studded Michelin tires for good measure. It’s amazing to hear that soaring engine note as it gracefully carves up the powder. Why we don’t see more prototypes drifting on ice, I’ll never understand.

The 917CFK is a testament to one man’s dedication and ability to execute. Sometimes, if you can’t afford the real car you want, you just have to build one yourself. It’s not an easy path to tread, and requires a real long-term commitment, but if you can pull it off, you’ll end up with both an awesome car and an awesome story to tell.

Image credits: Magnus Walker via YouTube screenshot