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Porsche 917K Gulf Color 1970 LeMans Race Car (1/24) (fs)
Disappointed by the poor results of the 917 in 1969, and facing new
competition, Porsche concluded an agreement with John Wyer and his JWA
Gulf Team, which became the official Porsche team, and also the official
development partner. During tests at the Österreichring at Zeltweg,
works drivers Redman and Ahrens tested the car, and the car still
performed like it did before. The Österreichring was the circuit where
the car had won its only race at that time, Wyer's chief engineer John
Horsman noticed that the bodywork had a pattern of dead gnats dashed
against it, revealing the airflow. The tail was clean—the lack of dead
gnats indicated that the air was not flowing over the tail. A
modification to the tail was cobbled-up on the spot in the pits with
aluminium sheets taped together. This new short tail gave the 917 much
needed downforce. The plastic engine intake cover had already been
removed. Redman and Ahrens were doing only one lap at a time before,
they each did 10 laps and were satisfied with the improved
performance. The new version was called 917K (Kurzheck, or "short
tail").
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