The 1969 Porsche 917 PA Spyder was the North America-specific version of the highly successful Porsche 917. It made a debut on the North American race-tracks through the no defunct Canadian-American Challenge Cup, also known as the Can-Am. Making the Porsche 917 PA Spyder, however, was not really among the intentions of Porsche.-Instead, it was their California distributor Vasek Polak who pushed the company to create a 917 for-the 1969 Can-Am. During this time, this cup was only three years old, yet it was already becoming very popular-and, most importantly, very lucrative. It was also dominated by a likely car manufacturer—the-Chevrolet. With its McLarens built engine, it won the cup ever since it started. Polak wanted to-break this winning streak with the 917, which was easily one of the most promising cars made by-Porsche for the race track during that time.

The PA stands for Porsche-Audi, as Polak was also a distributor for Audi. The Porsche 917 PA Spyder was only minimally altered-due to the lack of time. The changes, in fact, were only made so the car would be able to race at-the Can-Am. The 1969 Porsche 917 PA Spyder was lighter than the original 917 by at least 50 kg due to the-roof and windscreen removal (the 917 PA is a spyder, after all). Its body was similar to the 908-Spyder, although it has an aluminum spaceframe chassis, quad-cam flat 12 4/5 liter engine. At 775 kg that can reach up to 580 bhp, the Porsche 917 PA Spyder was-certainly a beauty and a commendable car. 

But unfortunately, this was not enough. For three years, even with the Porsche 917-PA Spyder as competition, the Chevrolet team managed to win the Can-Am. Their victory was apparent, as their cars (starting with the McLaren M8D-Chevrolet) were clearly more powerful than the 1969 Porsche 917 PA Spyder. Until 1971, Chevrolet-predictably dominated the Can-Am, although the Porsche 917 PA Spyder continued to race for a number of years (making it the most-raced car in the competition).

All that changed in 1972. With the 917 now banned from competing at the Le Mans,-Porsche was able to update the Porsche 917 PA Spyder with something far more superior than even the-Chevrolets. This was the Porsche 917/10, which won the Can-Am in 1972. In 1973, Porsche’s victory continued with the Porsche 917/30KL. After Porsche-retired from the Can-Am, Chevrolet yet again dominated the Can-Am until it folded in 1986.

Still, the 1969 Porsche 917 PA Spyder helped Porsche pave the way towards-victory.

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