Happy Friday, we made it to (almost) the end of classes for this spring semester. For those of you who are completely finished with exams and classes, good for you, must be nice. For those of you that still have final projects and exams, I wish you good luck. And to all of you reading, I hope you enjoy what we have for you today.

Today, to the delight of any car people and Steve McQueen fans, we highlight a retired engineer’s mission to build a 1969 Porsche 917 One of our photojournalists put out a photo story about the UMN track and field Gary Wilson Invitational. Our opinions desk brings you a column on the lasting effects Operation Metro Surge on the UMN campus.

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Pius and the Porsche 917

by Maja Holmen | Junior City Reporter | Published May 1, 2026

Growing up in Switzerland, Pius Eigenmann had a hero.

“Steve McQueen, for my generation, is Mr. Cool,” Eigenmann said.

Decades later, in a complex in Medina, Minnesota, Eigenmann is working on a special project: Building a 1969 Porsche 917, the race car made famous through McQueen’s film “Le Mans.” For Eigenmann, a retired engineer and lifelong racing enthusiast, the project is both a dream and the engineering challenge of a lifetime.

“I decided a few years ago that the only chance for me to drive one of these cars is to build it myself,” he said.

Eigenmann is an experienced race car driver himself, but has never built a car. After a friend from the racing community mentioned that replica kits were available, Eigenmann ordered one from Detroit in December of 2023 and later bought an engine and transmission. What arrived, however, was far from a finished car.

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