1970 Porsche Gulf-JWA Le Mans
A world record for any Porsche sold at an auction was set at the recent Bonhams sale in Monterey, with a rare 1970s Porsche racecar fetching nearly $4 million.
The car in question is an ex- Jurgen Neuhaus/Jurgen Barth 1972-73 European Interserie and David Hobbs/Mike Hailwood Gulf-JW Automotive team 1972-73 Porsche 917 Interserie Spyder neé 1970 Gulf-JWA Le Mans 917K Coupe, which was sold for $3,965,000. The car is similar to the famed model driven by Steve McQueen in Le Mans.
Suffice to say that it is the iconic Porsche model which gave this legendary marque its first overall race victories in the Le Mans 24-Hours and that despite the design’s present age of over 40 years 917 performance will still, as one past World Champion driver put it …still take the crease out of your trousers. Consider, for example, a 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time of 2.3 seconds, 0–124 mph (200 km/h) coming up in 5.3 seconds, and a top speed, when properly configured, of over 240 mph (390 km/h). And yet combine all of this with notable driveability, tractability and controllability and the immense esteem in which the 917 is held becomes completely understandable.
1970 Porsche Gulf-JWA Le Mans
1970 Porsche Gulf-JWA Le Mans
