1968 - 1976
Brian Redman
1969 Porsche 917PA
"At the time Porsche was doing the 917's, they were doing a huge amount of work racing 5 cars with 10 drivers in the Worlds Manufacturers Championship"
Brian Redman
The Video
In 1969 Porsche tossed their hat in Can-Am arena with the relatively underpowered but reliable 917PA.
Without this car Porsche's total domination of the Can-Am series might never have happened.
The Car:
1969 Porsche 917PA Chassis# 028 
The 1969 Porsche 917PA (porsche/audi) has a Flat-twelve air-cooled engine, mounted midship, twin overhead camshafts, fuel injected, 4494 cc, 580 bhp at 8400 rpm. Wheelbase 90.6 inches and weights 1710 pounds.
In 1969 the series was the playground for the two mega-horsepower ultra-light Chevy powered Team McLaren's and Porsche's first entry in this new venture would race as an underdog, a role the firm knew well. A makeshift solution, the PA was a 917 shorn of its coupe top and fitted with a body inspired by the 908/2 Flounder prototype. The engine was strictly stock, all 4.5 liters.
At the starting line of its first race at Mid-Ohio, the 917PA gave away three liters, 200 pounds and 250 horsepower to the McLarens. But thanks to its endurance racing reliability finished in all but one race, took second once and placed fourth overall in the Championship. Naturally Porsche was encouraged by these results and the rest is well-recorded history.
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