Which Porsche model won the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall in 1970 and 1971?

The Porsche 917 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall in both 1970 and 1971.

Porsche’s first overall Le Mans victory came in 1970, when Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood drove a red-and-white Porsche 917K for Porsche Salzburg. The car completed 343 laps in a rain-soaked race, giving Porsche its first outright win in the event rather than merely a class victory.

The 917 was a purpose-built sports-prototype created for regulations allowing large five-litre engines. Its rear-mid-engine layout, lightweight construction, and flat-12 power made it extremely fast, although early versions were difficult to handle. Continuous aerodynamic and chassis development produced the successful short-tail 917K and long-tail 917LH variants.

In 1971, Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep won in another 917K for Martini Racing. That car covered 397 laps and set a distance record that remained unbeaten at Le Mans until 2010. The Porsche 919 later achieved Le Mans success, but it won decades after the 917’s historic back-to-back triumphs.