Two of the world’s fastest machines were launched 50 years ago. A joint-venture between France and England resulted in the fastest airliner of all time. Meanwhile, a secret team in Stuttgart had finished their first prototype race car. Five decades later, the pilots of these incredible machines met to compare their careers. This is the story of the Porsche 917 vs the Concorde.
Because the Ford GT dominated the world in 1967 and ’68, Porsche threw down and gave Hans Mezger a blank check to built a 1st place supercar. Development of the Concorde was subsidized by the French and U.K. governments with the same goal: make it the fastest in the world. Porsche brought the first 917 to a Concorde on display to compare these pioneering machines.
The British Airways pilot mentions the speed record of 2:52.59 from London to NYC. I don’t know what record they claim to have, since the SR-71 Blackbird did the same run under 2 hours. As groundbreaking as the Porsche 917 was, Ford beat them to first place in 1969, giving the Ford GT a record of 3-0 at LeMans. The 917 took home the trophy in 1971, making Hans Mezger and his team responsible for Porsche 911 performance for the next 3 decades. Finding a Porsche 917 will be difficult, so we have several Ford GTs for sale. Click the link below and get ready to break your own speed records.
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