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Model vs Prototype #7
Brekina 16000 / 16001 - Porsche 917K (1970)
The prototype: the Porsche 917 made its debut in 1969 as a 4.5-liter, 580 horsepower, twelve-cylinder version of the 908 which was created after Porsche had discovered a loophole in the CSI (now FIA) rules which permitted so-called 'production' 5.0-liter sports cars, of which at least 25 identical examples were made, to compete in the manufacturers title chase. The original idea of the 25 car threshold was that this figure would permit aging vehicles like the Lola T70 and the Ford GT40 to race in the same competition as the 3.0-liter prototypes so the starting grid would be filled but nobody had expected that anyone would go to the trouble of building 25 expensive prototype-like vehicles simply to qualify them as 'production-cars'.
Yet, in the early months of 1968 building 25 'production-cars' is exactly what Porsche decided to do. The 917 wasn't entirely built from scratch but was more of an evolution of the 908 of which several of the major components were used. The transformation of the 908's chassis was not very succesfull however, although the chassis kept its overall shape and wheelbase and the only real change was the added possibility to switch between short ('kurz') and long ('langheck') body versions it turned out that the car had an an aerodynamic problem that caused the rear of the car to lift at high speeds which created severe oversteer. Further testing by Porsche and the Gulf-Wyer team finally resulted in the characteristic 917K wedge tail which solved the problem.
With the correct aerodynamics, the 917K went on to dominate the World Championship and also brought Porsche two consecutive Le Mans victories. The first Le Mans win in 1970 by the Porsche Salzburg team (Chassis# 917023, Richard Attwood / Hans Hermann), the second in 1971 by the Martini team (Chassis# 917053, Helmut Marko / Gijs van Lennep).
Dimensions:
Length 917K: 4290mm 917L: 4780mm / Width 2033mm / Height 920mm / Wheelbase 2300mm
The model
Converted dimensions:
Length 4200mm / Width 1920mm / Height 920mm / Wheelbase 2300mm
It wasn't announced at the 2003 Nuremberg Toyfair and came as a bit of a surprise.... a model of this famous sportscar made by none less then Brekina, a manufacturer that already gave us excellent models like the Volvo Amazon, Peugeot 404 and Alfa-Romeo Giulia.
The model has been released in the following versions sofar:
| Ref# | Colour | Tires | Version |
| none | White | Dunlop |  |
| 16000 | White | Dunlop | homologation |
| 16001 | Red | GoodYear | 1970 Le Mans winner |
The 87thScale.info verdict:
Positive: the overall quality of the model is very good, it has been correctly converted to 87th scale, the engraving is excellent, the model features rubber tires with 'Dunlop' or GoodYear' prints, a partially detailed engine compartment and sharp pad-printing. Brekina has taken a courageous step to expand their program and created a model that deserves every collectors attention. Let's reward Brekina by buying the model and hope that helps convincing them that we really appreciate surprises like this !
- The 1971 Le Mans winner was also available in kit-form from Carbone
