Photos by: Steffen Jahn
by Zack Klapman
The Porsche 917/30 was one of the craziest cars ever built. It could hit 60MPH in under 3 seconds, and go beyond 240MPH. In Can-Am qualifying trim it made 1,580HP, but weighed less than 2,000lbs. It was before coal-into-diamonds down-force, so the first cars were scary, getting rear lift at high speed. I’ve only experienced truly bad aero once; going past 135MPH in an E.R.A. Shelby Cobra Replica. It suddenly feels like a wizard installed the power steering from a 1978 Cadillac in between 135 and 136MPH. I only had to learn that lesson once.
But in a car that holds the record for the highest speed at Le Mans (246MPH), in 1968, when “fire protection” basically meant “avoid fires”, driving these rocket-powered guinea pigs must have been such an event, such a feeling. You were a monkey in a new rocket. This rocket went on to become an icon, something photographer Steffen Jahn has captured beautifully. Jump for more. (more…)















