Saturday, May 10, 2008

The New Laser 917: More than Just a Replica of Porsche 917


With the 904, 907 and 908 on the race track, Porsche had great success. In an impressive 10 months, the 917 was built and it had the type 912 flat 12 engine in a diversity of displacements sorting from a 4.5 right up to a 5.4 liter engine. It featured an independent front suspension controlled by an unequal control arms with coil springs over tubular shocks. In addition, independent rear suspension with unequal control arms and radius rods with coil springs over tubular shocks were included to its special features. Four wheel disc brakes and a 5 speed manual transmission with an aluminum tube space were also found in the 917. All models were manufactured to be right hand drive with a mixture of different body configurations.

The first Porsche to take first overall at the 24 hours of Le Mans In 1970 and 1971 was the Porsche 917. The long-tailed version powered by the Type 912 flat-12 engine of 4.5, 4.9, or 5 litres was capable of a 0-62mph time of less than 2.5 seconds and a top speed of over 248 mph (394 km/h). The F.I.A. modifies the regulations of the Sport category at the end of the sixties decade. It allowed 5- litre powered vehicles. Until that moment, Porsche had been competing with it´s 904, 907 and 908 models. So it decided to design and build a new prototype that would be called 917 and make the most of the new regulations. The creation of the new prototype has been succesful and it was well known as the Porsche 917. Recently, the features of Porsche 917 were copied and end up in producing an exotic sports car.

The Laser 917 is the first ever manufactured and most popular replication of Porsche 917. It was the Elite Enterprises who originally built and sold this amazing replica. Eventually, Elite was sold to Quint Industries. All of Quint’s molds and sold off the Laser 917 molds was then purchased by the Hardy Motors. Some years later, the “D” molds were purchased by Dale Haines of Haines Coachworks. Synchro 917 was the supposed brief name of the car. Unfortunately, it failed to go into production. On the other hand, the reconditioned molds was purchased by Mr. Shawn McKnight as well as the Haines Coachworks’ new tooling and finally sold them to the Classic Sport Automobiles, particularly to Mr. Tim Wacker, and the car is called the Laser 917 for the second time.

The Laser 917 is the car that some might call a “loose representation,” which means that it is not an exact reproduction while maintaining styling characteristics and body features. Its being a much more street-able car than being an original replica is one of its advantages. It features room for a passenger to share in the experience, which was not present in the original replica; and even the Laser 917 is still a small and sporty car, more rooms for the car allowing more creature comforts were made for a more comfortable driving experience. Comfort was not exactly a priority to an original replica because it is built like the race car.

The legacy of the Laser 917 is the pride of Classic Sport Automobiles. True! In the new version of the “D” model, there are some changes were made. The Classic Sports Automobiles are assured that people and enthusiasts will support the updates in chassis, engine placement, and horsepower. There are factual reasons why the new Laser 917 is the favored alternative in complete 917 replicas less than 100K, which means that over $100,000, is the cost of the exact replicas for a turnkey minus car and to complete, an additional $25,000-$50,000 is needed. Over $200,000 could be the well cost of finished cars.

1 comment:

  1. I built it in 1980 on a 1970 vw beetle chassis, royal blue metal flake color. I still have the assembly manual.

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