Porsche celebrates fifty years since the original audacious adventure

It was an audacious adventure driven by the passion of a private owner and the commitment of a small team within Porsche to fulfil the wishes of customers, no matter how outlandish the request. Fittingly, that first exploratory drive did not end after a prudent cruise around local roads, but when the car reached Paris, several hundred miles later. It was a feat that would go on to inspire many more adventures in the decades that would follow.

The car's chassis 30, which was initially raced, featured a range of changes that dominated endurance racing in the early 1970s. Some of the enhancements were mandated by the laws of the time, and others were at the request of its owner, Italian businessman and Martini heir Gregorio Rossi di Montelera, known more simply as "Count Rossi," a renowned Porsche enthusiast.

Finished in Martini Silver, the car featured a set of rudimentary exhaust mufflers, additional mirrors, side indicators, and even a horn. It carried the mandatory spare tire beneath its rear clamshell.

Inside, there were small concessions to comfort - the two seats, a requirement for endurance racers of this period, were refinished in tan leather (commissioned from Hermès) with accompanying suede surfacers for the roof lining, doors, and dashboard.

The gear shifter retained the same wooden finish as the racers and even kept the same drilled, lightweight key. The car originally wore an Alabama license plate obtained by Count Rossi.

Today, the car is still enjoyed by its enthusiastic current owner on the open roads in the south of France, where it resides - now registered in the U.K. and having undergone recent restoration work (albeit preserving its original paint and interior) to prepare it for its next half century of surprising other road users.

Importantly, as its descendant enjoys success on the track today, the spirit and desire within Porsche that led to the creation of a 917 for the road all those years ago remain very much alive five decades on, prompting the question: what if?