Marc UrbanoCar and Driver
From the March 2020 issue of Car and Driver.
Some people unearth ancient artifacts to preserve history. Others catalog the world’s past in books or documentary films. Armin Burger does it by spinning wrenches on some of the most important race cars in history.
Burger, 49, is the Porsche Museum‘s motorsport coordinator, but his title ought to be keeper of the flame. His responsibilities include the restoration and maintenance of 120 of the museum’s 160 historic race cars, including 10 917s—the evil-looking, hip-high, 240-mph projectiles that Porsche designed to win at Le Mans. They did just that in 1970 and 1971.
Porsche won’t let the 917’s legacy collect dust in a building. The 917K pictured here, chassis 015/035, won the 1970 24 Hours of Daytona and the 1971 1000 Kilometers of Spa-Francorchamps. Today, the 1800-pound dart is treated “as if it were still racing,” Burger says. Dressed in the original Gulf Oil livery, it makes the most exhibition runs of Porsche’s 917s, going to events such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Rennsport Reunion. “Before it goes to an event, we check every nut and bolt, the engine, gearbox, everything,” says Burger. “We have two technicians working on it for a week.” Then it takes a shakedown run on Porsche’s test track in Weissach, Germany.
Marc UrbanoCar and Driver
A master technician, Burger turned wrenches for both Porsche and Mercedes-Benz
and did a stint with the Mercedes CLK GTR Le Mans factory team in 1997 before returning to Porsche. He eventually found his way into the museum, an automotive dreamscape with two workshops dedicated to preserving 650 historic cars.
With Porsche’s resources and records, Burger says his team can restore anything on a rare, vintage machine: “We can fix it or get the blueprints and make a new part.” For him, working on cars like 015/035 is as much a calling as a profession. “I’m a big motorsport enthusiast,” he says. “There’s no better job than mine.”
Funny thing, though: While he can talk in great detail about what makes the 917 special, he can’t speak to what it’s like behind the wheel. He’s never driven one at speed. But he’s okay with that. “I feel that a race car should have only race drivers in it,” Burger says.
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