Zemonsta Egon
Zemonsta Hans
Zemonsta Klaus
The story behind Zemonsta
Every so often, a race car comes along that flips the motorsport world upside down.
For the late ’60s and early ’70s, that car was the Porsche 917 - a machine so wild, so fast, that people thought it was from outer space.
The Ford vs Ferrari wars are coming to an end, with Ford’s 7-litre GT40 ruling supreme. But new rules were coming to kill off the big beasts, capping prototypes at 3 litres and sports cars at 5 litres.
So begins the tale of the greatest race car that was a monster masquerading as a sports car.
The Loophole
As long as you aren't breaking the rules, its not cheating right? Porsche spotted a loophole: if they built 25 cars that ticked a few “sports car” boxes, they could sneak in a 5-litre monster, and win everything.
So, they played the game — gave the 917 a turn-key ignition, a token passenger seat, a tiny spare tire, luggage "storage" that could barely fit a carton of cigarettes, taillights, and turn signals - all the trappings of a “road car.” Voilà: a prototype in disguise, legally a sports car.
Why The Fan On Top?
But Porsche had never made such a big engine – so in a Frankenstein move they joined two of their flat 6’s end to end and made the 12 cylinder monster. But if they kept the conventional fly wheel it would have shaken itself to pieces. So in a genius move they took the drive off the middle of the engine. Down to the transmission and up to that Iconic Cooling Fan.
Its Trying To Kill Us
But the early 917s were terrifying. During tests on the Mulsanne Straight, at over 200 mph they would weave side to side like they were drunk. It was powerful, but dangerously unstable and left normally unflappable drivers swearing it was trying to kill them. Most refused to drive it and Porsche had to search for a new breed of test driver crazy enough to drive it.
Bugs Led To That Wedge Tail
Porsche was up against the clock, they had one day of testing left to fix it. The big breakthrough came thanks to… bugs. Engineers noticed insect splatter on the front half of the car, but none on the rear wing. That meant no air was hitting the tail - and no downforce was holding it to the ground.
Cue some quick and dirty racetrack engineering to create a makeshift wedge of a tail out of aluminum sheet and duct tape. When they took it out for a test drive the weaving had stopped, and the car was instantly several seconds a lap faster.
The Icon Is Born
Out of that moment, the legendary 917K short-tail was born — the version that went on to dominate Daytona, Sebring, and finally conquer Le Mans.
The Porsche 917 squeezed its entire legacy into just 3 years before the rulebook caught up with it, yet it remains one of the most worshipped race cars ever built.
We loved it from the first time we ever saw one in the flesh, and know that our Playforever fans will love Zemonsta. Get it now for yourself or someone you know who loves an Icon.
Collect all three