On Line Redline Guide

Casting : Porsche 917

Years of Production:

1970

Country of Origin:

US and Hong Kong

Casting Variations:

HK vs. US Casting Differences

Interior and Glass Colors:

US
* Clear glass
* White Interiors

Hong Kong
* Blue glass
* Black Interior

Paint Colors and Variations:

Note: The rear black accent paint is flat black on US versions and gloss black on HK versions.

Color	US	HK
Grey Enamel	Most Common	Most Common
Blue	Uncommon	Common
Light Green	Common	Common
Lime Yellow	Common	Common
Yellow	Common	Uncommon
Green	Less Common	Less Common
Red	Uncommon	Hard to Find
Magenta	Common	-
Salmon Pink	Uncommon	-
Hot Pink	Uncommon	Uncommon
Aqua	Hard to Find	Hard to Find
Purple	-	Rare

Other versions of same Casting:

CIPSA 1971 Porsche 917
1973 Porsche 917
1974 Porsche 917
1977 Super Chromes Porsche 917

Discussion:

Released for the 1970 product year, the Porsche 917 was one of two final models in the Grand Prix series.

Porsche 917 on a Grand Prix Card

The Hot Wheels rendition of the Porsche 917 was based on the early version of the car built for the 1969 Can Am series.

At left, an early Porsche 917; at right, a Porsche 917 about to win the1970 Daytona 24 Hours.

The real Porsche 917 was the brainchild of Ferdinand Piech, Ferry Porsche's nephew. His goal was simple: win Le Mans! From the start, the plan was to build
a very light car in order to be able to be competitive with the powerful Fords and Ferraris. However, Porsche's new flat-12 engines performed far above
expectations and the 917s, when initially tested in early 1969 were amazingly fast! In April 1969, the first Le Mans test run was taken. On one stretch, the
917 was clocked at 216 mph! However, although the 917 was a very fast car, it wasn't particularly quick around a full lap. Handling and control was poor through
the fast corners. To solve this problem, small adjustable spoilers were fitted to the rear of the car. Although three 917s were entered in the 1969 Le Mans race,
none finished. It was a different story in 1970-71, of the 21 races the 917 ran in during those two seasons, it recorded 14 wins and two 2nd place finishes. This
included 1-2 finishes at both the 1970 and 1971 Le Mans. In the 1971 Le Mans race, the winning 917 set a record for laps completed that stands to this day. Later
versions of the Porsche 917 were highly successful, culminating in a world speed record of over 250 mph set by Mark Donahue in 1975 at the Talladega Motor Speedway.

Porsche 917

The Hot Wheels version of the Porsche 917 is an accurate reproduction of the early Porsche 917. The Hot Wheels car featured a wrap-around windscreen and a
opening rear hatch that included a triangular window over the flat-12 engine. Unlike the 1969 Grand Prix cars, the Porsche 917 had a black-painted tail
light panel and red-painted tail lights. Blister packs included a sticker sheet with "18" racing numbers and rocker panel stripes with the word "Porsche".

Porsche 917's in Silver/Grey Enamel HK(L) vs. US (R)

The Porsche 917 was produced at the US factory were made in various Spectraflame colors, as well as in grey enamel.
Cars produced at the US plant featured a clear windscreen, white interior, and a flat black- painted tail light panel.
The body casting of the two versions are very similar but the headlights are larger on the Hong Kong made car.

Porsche 917 Bases, US vs. HK

The bases of the two versions are clearly different. The Hong Kong version no longer has the rectangular cut outs.

A pair of HK Porsche 917 in Spectraflame red and aqua

Porsche 917's made in Hong Kong have a blue-tinted windscreen, brown or black interior, and a gloss black-painted tail light panel.
As with all 1970 cars, Porsche 917's have cap style wheels, with medium-sized wheels all around.

US/HK Porsche 917 "color pairs": light green, lime and yellow.

The Porsche 917 can be found in some of the first generation colors and is common in most of the second generation colors. Whereas the 1969 Le Mans and CanAm cars
can be found in many US colors and a few HK colors, the 1970 cars like the Porsche 917 were made in many colors at both plants. In fact, for the 917, most colors were
done by both plants! For whatever reason, some colors are much more rare than others. Interestingly, colors that are rare on non-existent for the 917 (e.g. orange, HK purple)
are not rare for the other 1970 Grand Prix car, the Ferrari 312P.

A rare purple HK Porsche 917.

The rarest and most valuable Porsche 917 is without a doubt the HK car in purple. While there are other Grand Prix cars (e.g. yellow Ford Mk IV, magenta Lola)
that are more scarce than a purple 917, this car is a bit of a legend among redline Hot Wheel collectors. Part of the reason for it's popularity are the purple
color (a favorite among many collectors) and the beautiful lines of the casting.

Porsche 917 on a regular 1970 Blister Pack with Plastic Button

Porsche 917 Rainbows! US in Front, HK in Rear

Prototypes:

Coming Soon!

Credits:

Photos and text by Rick Wilson and Ted Gray

Visit Rick Wilson's Redline Grand Prix site for more information.

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