When Porsche Got It Right

The Porsche 550 and 718 Spyders were one of those lines of cars that somehow came together just right. Small, light and nimble, the original 550 defined "sports car" for a whole new generation, even without aspiring actors killing themselves in one and propelling it to cult status. Originally conceived as a racing car but with tremendous showroom success too, the 550 won the Targa Floria in 1956 and its successors - one of which, a 718/2 RSK is shown above - went on to collect even more race wins before this basic outline was replaced in the early 60s with the 904 (which looks remakably like a Ferrari Dino) closed coupe design that was only available on the road in limited numbers to meet homologation rules.

Interestingly, it's said that a German F1 driver drove a 550 straight under a railway crossing barrier in the 1954 Mille Miglia. Given that the above version is no higher than a small picket fence, I can quite believe it!

Porsche 917: A Racing Legend

Here's a shot of one of the all-time racing greats: the Porsche 917. This is the short tail version, first produced in 1969, with in this case the full 5 litre engine, up from the 4.5 litre of the initial production.

Ultimately, the 917 was good for over 230 mph, and a 0-60 time of a quite remarkable 2.7 seconds. According to those who campaigned it, including names such as Brian Redman, Mark Donohue and Derek Bell, it was a real pig to drive, being both very fast and very unstable, all at the same time. In race trim it ended up producing north of 1,100 bhp while in qualifying trim, with boost would up to maximum (a quite astonishing 39 psi), it was reputed to put out around 1,500 bhp.

The Porsche 917 and its derivatives dominated GT racing for many years, scoring maiden Le Mans wins for Porsche in 1970, and again in 1971. Steve McQueen also drove one in the Le Mans film in 1971.

This is a quite astonishing car, and it was a rare and special treat to see multiple instances of this thing going round one of the world's prettiest race circuits. Quite a day!

What the 360 Means in Xbox 360

Porsche 911 GT3 Having a Bad Day, Laguna Seca, 2008

"Degrees of rotation" would be the answer, at least in this case. This GT3 nerfed the car in front between turns two and three, somewhere close to the back of the pack. Lots of tyre smoke (blue stuff front left) and bits of bodywork was the result, along with the exit of this competitor from the race. If only it had been hit by a car sponsored by Nintendo then the world would have been in perfect harmony, but alas not!