In April 1975, Porsche unleashed a one-off, street-legal version of its iconic 917 race car, created for a very special customer: Count Teofilo Guiscardo Rossi di Montelera, a champion powerboat racer, heir to the Martini & Rossi distilling fortune and longtime sponsor for Porsche’s factory racing teams.

Using race chassis #917-030, a mothballed test mule that qualified third but failed to finish during its only race appearance in 1971, Porsche added the necessary mufflers, spare tire, and a Hermes leather interior to make the car suitable for road use.

Porsche’s Race Car for the Street: 2025 Edition
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Weighing less than 1800 pounds and with 600+ horsepower on tap from a 5-liter Porsche flat-12 race engine, the Porsche 917 Strasse was unquestionably the King of the Autobahn in its day, and Count Rossi enjoyed the car for many years until his death in 1991. The silver 917 reportedly still makes the occasional outing from its current owner’s garage in the south of France, no doubt shocking everyone it passes.

Well, Porsche may be up to its old tricks again: A press release we just received, along with an accompanying video, tells the story of this “audacious adventure” from 50 years ago, and asks the question: What if?

Hint: Watch the video below, but don’t blink at the very end…  and stay tuned right here for more details!

The mere possibility that we may very well see another street-legal Porsche race car has our minds, well, racing. Yes, one could argue the likes of the 911 GT3 RS and 718 GT4 RS are already that, and certainly more “race car” than your average person realistically needs, but we’re talking about something that was never envisioned to be legally driven on public roads. Perhaps a road-ready version of Porsche’s 963 endurance racer, seen competing in world famous events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

What if? We’ll know soon.