Specs and Review

There are precious few cars whose anniversaries call for celebration on Goodwood Festival of Speed four decades down the road � but this year is the Porsche 917s 40th birthday. On Saturday and Sunday, the Goodwood Festival of Speed marks the occasion with the largest gathering of 917s ever seen in Britain, including short- and long-tailed cars and CanAm derivatives.

And yet, while most enthusiasts will know about the 917 and its fearsome reputation, its harder to explain to the layman why its cult status has endured. The car had a competitive life of just two years and there have been faster and more successful cars before and since � many of them from the same company � so why has the 917s fame survived for so long?

The German manufacturer has supported the annual motorsport extravaganza for the past 13 years and fittingly was the �featured marque� at this year�s �True Grit � Epic Feats of Endurance� themed event attended by 150,000 spectators over all three days.

Ultra-rare Auto Union Grand Prix cars, all-wheel-drive Audi quattro rally and touring cars, plus its latest diesel-engined Le Mans sportscars � documenting over 70 years of motorsport involvement by the Four Rings brand � were in action up the 1.8-mile hillclimb.