The 1971 Porsche 917 KH has traded Spa-Francorchamps for Singapore’s streets, ahead of its appearance at Raceborn Fest from 9 to 11 October.
The 1971 Porsche 917 KH has traded Spa-Francorchamps for Singapore’s streets, ahead of its appearance at Raceborn Fest from 9 to 11 October.
Singapore’s roads have seen their fair share of exotic machinery, but even by local standards, this is something special.
A 1971 Porsche 917 KH, flown in from the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen, has arrived in Singapore ahead of Raceborn Fest, Porsche’s celebration of 75 years of motorsport. Before going on display, the historic racer was taken on a photography tour around the island, passing landmarks including Chinatown, the Central Fire Station and Capella Singapore.
It makes for a rather surreal sight. The 917 was designed to devour European racetracks at enormous speeds, not sit on a flatbed truck against Singapore shophouses.
The car that changed Porsche
Developed for the World Sportscar Championship in the late 1960s, the original 917 was extraordinarily fast, but also notoriously unstable at high speed.
The breakthrough came with the shorter-tailed 917 KH (or Kurzheck) configuration, which helped Porsche secure its first overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970.
The particular Gulf-liveried #21 car visiting Singapore did not win Le Mans, but its own racing record is arguably just as remarkable.
Driven by Pedro Rodríguez and Jackie Oliver, it dominated the 1971 Spa 1,000km. Its five-litre, air-cooled flat-12 propelled it to around 350km/h on the Masta straight, while the car completed the 1,001km race at an average speed of 249.069km/h, including pit stops.
Nearly 250km/h. On average. For more than 1,000km. In 1971.
From the ‘Terrifying Triangle’ to Jewel
The 917 KH is currently on public display at Porsche at Jewel, before heading to Raceborn Fest from 9 to 11 October at Guoco Midtown and its surrounding community spaces.
The 917 will be joined by the new Porsche 911 Challenge, making its Southeast Asian premiere and serving as a new entry point into Porsche Motorsport. Porsche will also make an announcement concerning the upcoming Porsche Experience Centre Singapore, which is scheduled to open in 2027.
Read more content at Burnpavement, or check out our latest videos on YouTube and on TikTok!
