Porsche 917 ex-David Piper
One day I got a surprise call to view an interesting Porsche in northern Germany.
The car in question I knew only from pictures and the occasional Nürburgring appearance in the ‘80s. It was David Piper‘s old 917 war-horse Fahrgestell Nummer 5-LT, the car he probably raced most.
He built it up in the ‘70s on an original 917 chassis which he managed to acquire from Zuffenhausen’s Sportteilelager. After completion he stamped the new car with a non-917 serial number to avoid future misunderstandings with 5-LT (LT for Long Tail) - a good thing to do.
Piper sold it in the 1990s to a Brazilian gentleman, who had an accident with the car and damaged the engine. Not easy to restore, it languished for a while and was eventually sold to top level Porsche collector Dirk Sadlowski, who restored the car meticulously with great attention to detail and kept the original engine, gearbox and chassis together.
It is race ready and extremely well set-up. I drove it, loved it and it’s pure perfection.
Read other articles by Michael Kliebenstein
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