This is the new Porsche x Smeg Fridge 917 Salzburg, and as the endurance racing fans amongst you will have already picked out, it’s an homage to the Porsche 917 KH that took the overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970.
This would be Porsche’s first win at Le Mans, the most important endurance race in the world, and it would be the first of many. The car was piloted by the two man team of Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood – a pair of racing icons.
The Porsche 917 KH that took the overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970, it would be Porsche’s first win at Le Mans, the most important endurance race in the world, and it would be the first of many. Image supplied by Porsche AG.
History Speedrun: Smeg
Smeg was founded in 1948 by Vittorio Bertazzoni in Guastalla, a small town in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region – an area known for its long tradition of engineering and design. Originally named the “Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla” (Emilian Metallurgical Enamelling Company in English), Smeg began as a metalworking and enamel-coating specialist supplying parts for other manufacturers.
By the early 1950s, it had shifted toward producing complete kitchen appliances, this set the stage for its rise as one of Italy’s most famous domestic design brands. In 1955, Smeg introduced one of Italy’s first gas cookers with automatic ignition, safety valves, and a timer – it proved immediately popular thanks to its simplicity and ease of use.
The company continued to evolve through the 1960s and 1970s, it launched dishwashers and built-in ovens but perhaps most importantly, the company embraced Italy’s modernist design ethos. Partnerships with influential architects like Guido Canali, Mario Bellini, and Renzo Piano would shape Smeg’s aesthetic identity, and these influences continue right through to the current day.
The modern era of Smeg’s broader recognition began in the 1990s with the release of the FAB refrigerator series, distinguished by its retro-inspired (and decidedly curvaceous design) and unusually bright color palette. The FAB series quickly became a design icon and led to the creation of a huge array of similarly-designed knockoffs – an issue that still persists for Smeg today.
The Porsche x Smeg Fridge 917 Salzburg
The Porsche x Smeg Fridge 917 Salzburg is a new limited-edition design unit that celebrates one of Porsche’s most important motorsport victories – the company’s first overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970.
Built around Smeg’s classic FAB28 platform, this refrigerator has been carefully upgraded to echo the livery of the Porsche 917 KH Salzburg that Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood drove to victory. Each one is finished in 917 Salzburg Red, they carry the white roundel and number 23, the Porsche lettering, and the signature racing stripe that swept across the original car’s bodywork.
Only 1,970 examples will be produced for the worldwide market, each individually numbered by a black metal plate engraved with its serial number.
Built around Smeg’s classic FAB28 platform, this refrigerator has been carefully upgraded to echo the livery of the Porsche 917 KH Salzburg that Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood drove to victory. Image supplied by Smeg.
The fridge offers 270 liters of total storage space and a 26 liter freezer, with twin fresh-food drawers, LED lighting on both sides, and a Multiflow cooling system for even air distribution. It has an internal inverter compressor for quiet operation and it uses environmentally-friendly R600a refrigerant.
If you’d like to read more or find out where you can buy one, you can visit the official Smeg website here.
Images courtesy of Porsche + Smeg
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
