Britain's "remarkable automotive cottage industry"

[Trevor Legate]

WhatsaCobra

Just to add my agreement to all your above comments. Such a shame the Cobras did not perform on the Targa, but they were just shaken to bits - that course had pot-holes that would be considered big even in Texas. It was usually a survival of the fittest and should have qualified as a rally. Which was why Porsche always built cars just for that event (and kept the 917s away)
It is true that you can suffer from a surfeit of power. When i began rallying, I could only afford a "bugeye" Sprite (£200 if you must know) but that car with...oooh, at least 50bhp or so, could put up times remarkably close to Mini Coopers and even some quick Escorts, provided the stages were tight, twisty or rough. It had a lot to do with not using the brakes.....

The original 917 was simply evil and a triumph of power over handling. John Woolfe's accident at Le Mans is best forgotten....
However, when the aerodynamics were sorted, they were amazing - I Was There when Pedro Rodriguez got all riled up at Brands Hatch and put in a contender for the greatest drive of all time. He threw that JWA 917 around that difficult track in torrential rain faster than the cars had managed in the dry! Someone suggested calling him in and telling him it was raining. God was that wet - both my cameras jammed and parts of me still haven't dried out (sorry - too much information)