Porsche 917 Living Legend Patent Images Emerge

Fool Me Once

We've been waiting a few years now for Porsche to give us its next hypercar, a successor to the 918 Spyder. So when the automaker posted a few images on the German Patent and Trademark Office site recently, many thought that this was going to be that car. Alas, it's actually just a few more renderings of the 917 Living Legend, a concept revealed last year to celebrate the model's 50th anniversary. But that doesn't make it any less cool, of course.

Photos: Porsche

Few Differences

These particular renderings do show a few changes from the original concept, however. The sleek mid-engine machine is certainly a looker, and we'd love to see it put into production. The two concepts are mostly the same, but feature different headlights and wheels, while the new renderings depict what appears to be more of a road-going version of the 917 Living Legend than its racier predecessor.

Photos: Porsche

>>Join the conversation about a possible return of the 917 right here in the Rennlist forum.

Flat Out Denial

All of which would lead you to believe that maybe, just maybe, Porsche was thinking about turning this concept into an actual production car, right? Well, maybe not. Car & Driver reached out to Porsche to ask them about it, and instead of giving them a non-answer, a Porsche rep told them "there is no connection with a potential future sports car." Talk about a flat-out denial.

Photos: Porsche

>>Join the conversation about a possible return of the 917 right here in the Rennlist forum.

Makes You Wonder

Still, you have to wonder why Porsche continues to refine its design. The 917 Living Legend started out way back in 2013 as a clay model that was designed over the course of six months, while the 918 Spyder was still in development. In the time since, Porsche had added more and more details to the car, which didn't even have headlights last year. 

Photos: Porsche

>>Join the conversation about a possible return of the 917 right here in the Rennlist forum.

Fully Detailed

These latest drawings show a car that has a full interior, suspension, and tons of other details you'd expect to see in an actual production vehicle. And Porsche actually has two design patents for the 917 Living Legend, one for this road-going version and another for a track-focused machine with aggressive aero, though both share the same basic design, of course.

Photos: Porsche

>>Join the conversation about a possible return of the 917 right here in the Rennlist forum.

Many Theories

There are a number of theories as to what Porsche was planning with both of these cars. Perhaps one was destined to compete in the upcoming hypercar class at Le Mans, while the road-going version would be built in small numbers. Presumably, it would feature some sort of hybrid or electric power and obviously serve as the brand's next low production hypercar.

Photos: Porsche

>>Join the conversation about a possible return of the 917 right here in the Rennlist forum.

Modern 917

Maybe these plans have been scrapped altogether, or perhaps Porsche is simply playing the denial game to keep us off track. Either way, we'd love to see this gorgeous machine built-in some shape or form. After all, who wouldn't want to see the iconic 917 reborn into a modern version?

Photos: Porsche

>>Join the conversation about a possible return of the 917 right here in the Rennlist forum.

For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to section in the forum.