Front view of an ICON 917K, a road-legal authentic, Le Mans replica of a Porsche 917 built by Dave Eton with a hand-built air-cooled 964 engine
If you're looking for evidence of how skill, determination, relentless enthusiasm (and an understanding family) leads to great things, look no further than the spectacular dream-to-reality story of Dave Eaton and John Hartland. Seven years after design engineer Dave started creating his childhood fantasy of owning a Porsche 917, here on the Grand Avenue, running in public for the first time, is the the ICON 917K. It is a road-legal, truly authentic, and fanatically-built evocation of the Porsche that took the endurance racing world by storm. The fundamental difference to the original car is the fact that this classic masterpiece has been created by Dave using the power of Catia CAD, his everyday computer-aided design work tool, which wasn't even a twinkle in the eyes of the Porsche team that developed the first 917 - fittingly 50 years ago this Spring. John, a fellow 917 fan, and an acknowledged engine-building wizard, had no hesitation in accepting the challenge to join Dave in realising their dream, including creating a hand-built jewel of an air-cooled Porsche 964 engine that powers this car. Unsurprisingly, news got out of the car's existence - aided by it being perched atop the central feature at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed - and the dynamic duo have received enquiries to build further examples. They are now planning to do so, in very limited numbers and in both road and track day spec, with engine choice right up to the glorious Porsche flat-12 that nestles in the rear of the legendary race and as it's a two-seater, it should get the all-important family thumbs-up!
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: ExCel, London
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 917, 917k, 964, 2019, air-cooled, angle, authentic, car, classic, dave, engine, engineer, engineering, eton, excel, front, hand-built, hartland, icon, john, le, london, mans, porsche, replica, road-legal, show, view, wide
