Sunoco Porsche 917-30

Can-Am racing was basically McLaren’s game in the late sixties/early nineteen-seventies.

In Europe, Porsche’s successful 917 was regulated out of competition for 1972, so their attention turned to the highly popular and lucrative Can-Am series as a way of repurposing the 917 in the North American market.

For 1972, the 917-10 was developed, featuring a completely new Spyder body. Roger Penske’s Team Penske ran the team with primary driver Mark Donohue.

Early in the season, Donohue was side-lined for most the season in a testing accident, so George Follmer was recruited to take his place. Follmer dominated the season by taking five wins out of nine races.

For 1973, Team Penske was given carte-blanche by Porsche to modify and improve the 917-10. Penske and Donohue revised the aerodynamics, lengthened the wheelbase and tweaked the engine, bringing the power up to a monstrous 1580 horsepower!


Mark Donohue racing the 917-30 at Watkins Glen
Acrylic on 100cm X 50cm (39.4"x 19.7") canvas 
© Paul Chenard 2016
Original art available, as are limited editions.

The new car was designated the 917-30, and was presented in lovely Sunoco yellow and blue sponsorship colours.

Marc Donohue won six out of the season’s eight races in the new racer and took the 1973 Can-Am Championship for Team Penske.

New rules for the 1974 season basically outlawed the 917-30, but it still stirs the blood of those lucky enough to see it in action at the vintage racing meets.

Porsche 911 Carrera RSR

There were enough hints of the competition potential of the Porsche 911. Vic Elford had proven it by winning the 1968 Rallye de Monte Carlo in a Porsche 911T.

Vic Elford, supported by David Stone, 1968 Rallye Monte-Carlo.

More and more privateer racers were choosing the 911 as their weapon of choice for racing and Porsche was taking notice. They started developing more sporting versions such as the 911 RS, and were met with more successes.

 For 1973, they decided to use the knowledge acquired building their race cars and apply it to the 911.


Swiss race driver Herbert Müller, teamed up with Gijs van Lennep, won the 1973 Targa Florio driving a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR.

The result was the 911 Carrera RSR, which was met with great success in its first year.


1973 24 Hours of Daytona-winning Brumos Porsche 911 Carrera RSR of Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood.

The RSR came in 4th overall at the 24 heures du Mans, and was 1st overall in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Targa Florio and the 24 Hours of Daytona!

The huge success of the Carrera RSR pointed the way for Porsche, and lead to the development of the RSR Turbo, the 934, and the 935, all in turn successful racers.

911@50 – Porsche Carrera RSR

After the relative success of the Porsche 911 in competition, Porsche saw opportunity to bring it into higher levels of racing.

Starting with the 911S, the technicians developed a lightened car, and focused on increasing the capacity of the flat-six engine.

Out of these developments came the non-turbocharged Carrera RSR 2.8 created to compete in the 1973 GT Championship.

Right out of the box, the car showed huge potential, winning the 1973 Daytona 24 Hours at the hands of Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood.

This was followed up by a win of the 12 Hours of Sebring, driven again by Gregg and Haywood, joined also by Dave Helmick.



Pen&ink and markers on gray archival stock
© Paul Chenard

It famously won the last official Targa Florio, driven by Herbert Müller and Gijs van Lennep.

With the record of important wins and high placings of the Carrera RSR, Porsche took the GT Championship.

François Cevert 1944-1973

Born in 1944, François Cevert (née Goldenberg) was a well-liked and talented French Formula 1 and Sports/GT driver.

He began his motorsports career on two wheels, but switched to Formula 3 in 1966. In 1968, Cevert took the French Formula 3 Championship.

For 1969, Cevert moved up to Formula 2, and finished third in the Championship. While in F2, his capabilities captured the notice of (Sir) Jackie Stewart, who encouraged Ken Tyrrell to consider Cevert for the team. Tyrrell took his advice and signed Cevert up for 1970.

Matra-Simca MS670 #14 of François Cevert and Howden Ganley, 2nd place Le Mans 1972.
Latex paint on plywood© Paul Chenard 2010
Limited editions available.
Over the next four seasons, Stewart and Cevert became fast friends, through the wins and the losses. Stewart became Formula 1 Drivers World Champion in 1971, with Cevert winning the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen and taking third place overall.

Original in Prismacolor pencils on mid-gray stock
© Paul Chenard 2009
Limited editions available.
The team did poorly in 1972 against a powerful Team JPS (Lotus) but came back strongly in 1973. Stewart won the Championship, and was expecting to be replaced by his friend Cevert for the next season, as he had decided to retire at the season’s closing.

Cevert’s year had been very good too, with six 2nd place finishes, but in the very last race of the year at Watkins Glen on October 6th, his Tyrrell 006 crashed horribly during Saturday morning qualifying, and this shining star with the striking blue eyes was extinquished.

This talented and popular pianist and race car driver will never be forgotten by his fans and his peers.

Porsche 917 – 40th Anniversary of the Legend - Part 2

Changing Lanes in 1972
For 1972, the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI) changed the Makes rules, basically rendering the 917 obsolete for Group 5 Sports Cars.

At the time, Porsche was also involved with the Can-Am Challenge, having decided to re-purpose their racer to this end, and raise their growing profile in the North American market.

Can-Am racing patch, circa 1972

They created a new light-weight spyder body for the car and re-christened it the 917-10. At the time, they were also experimenting with engine turbo-charging, giving the car 850 bhp.

The new car, fielded by Penske Racing, was initially driven by Mark Donohue, but a testing accident sidelined him for the season. Driving duties were then taken up by George Follmer, who successfully broke McLaren Racing’s five-year dominance of the series, and won the Championship.




Penske Sunoco Porsche 917-30 - Can Am 1973
Pen & ink on vellum, digitally painted
© Paul Chenard 2007
Limited editions available.

917-30 – A Monster Machine
For 1973, Roger Penske and Mark Donohue redesigned the 917-10, giving a longer wheelbase, a more aerodynamic body, and a much more powerful twin-turbo-charged engine … 5.4-liters, 12 cylinders, 1250 bhp’s worth! The resulting top speed was 414 km/h (257 mph)!

The Penske Sunoco Porsche 917-30 was unstoppable, with the Donohue-driven car winning six out of the 8 races, and taking the Championship.

For 1974, the fuel-consumption rule-change, and the dwindling interest in Can-Am basically killed the series as it was, and the Porsche 917-30.



Martini Racing/Herbert Muller Interserie winner poster
80 cm x 37 cm, autographed by Muller, 1974.

The 917-30 found a renewed purpose in the European-based Interserie. In the hands of Swiss driver Herbert Müller, it was the winner of the 1974 Championship.

Penske Sunoco Porsche 917-30 Can Am 1973

Pen & ink on vellum, digitally painted
© Paul Chenard 2007

Limited edition of 100 (14.5" x 11") numbered and signed premium archival Giclee prints $125 CDN plus shipping.

Roger Penske, Mark Donohue and Porsche made a formidable team in Can Am racing during the 1973 season. With Porsche's support, they modified the 917-10 into the all-dominating 917-30. The Donohue developped, Penske modified, Sunoco sponsored Porsche was said to put out over 1000 hp!