One of the most universally loved racing cars of all-time, the Porsche 917, turns 50 this year and to celebrate the Stuttgart firm has created a special exhibition dedicated to the model’s history.

The Porsche Museum in Stuttgart will host the new ‘50 years of Porsche 917 – Colours of Speed’ exhibition, which will house 10 examples of the 917 across its five-year production cycle as well as telling the story of the car’s design and race history.

First unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show on March 12, 1969, the 917 would go on to become one of the most iconic racing cars in history. After some initial teething issues, the model gave Porsche its first overall Le Mans victories in 1970 and ’71 and dominated the World Sportscar Championship, too.

As part of the celebrations, Porsche’s heritage division has restored the original 917-001 chassis to period specification, a task made more complex by the sheer number of testing modifications the mule chassis underwent across its development.

The restoration includes the use of original materials, with the first bodywork iterations recreated by the use of 3D technology and original design references. It took over a year to complete the project.

The exhibition will also include a modern design variant (left). The reimagining was created by a small team of designers and engineers as a concept study around Porsche’s return to the FIA World Endurance Championship. The full-scale show car is bedecked in the red and white ‘Salzburg’ livery 917 chassis 023 wore when it was driven to glory at Le Mans in 1970 with Richard Attwood and Hans Hermann at the wheel.

The exhibition opens on May 14 and runs until September 15.