Porsche 917/30

RACING CAR DRIVERS always, and we mean always, want more power. Not Mark Donohue. He was definitely satisfied with the power levels of his 1973 racer. “When you can leave black marks from the exit of one corner, all the way to the entry of the next one, you know you have enough horsepower,” Donohue is famously quoted as saying of the Porsche 917/30. Think you’d be man enough? Try digesting these numbers: 820kW from a 5.4-litre flat-12 with twin turbos in a chassis weighing 800kg. Oh, and there’s no windscreen. Part of the 917/30’s secret was a dial on the dash that allowed drivers like Donohue to adjust boost pressures. These usually sat around 16psi during a race, but could be wound up to 20psi if needed. Uncharacteristic longevity was another Porsche strength. Unlike most high-power turbocharged engines of the time, which chewed through components at an alarming rate, this 12-cylinder Porsche was capable of enduring 25-30 hours of running between services. Legend also has it that once its racing duties were over, Porsche engineers strapped the 917/30 to a dyno, held the wastegates closed, and were able to produce 1103kW. In a category famous for its unhinged nature, the 917/30 was the undisputed power king.