I caught up with my Arizona Porsche driver friend and fellow 911 Carrera 3.0 fan, Gib Bosworth, over the weekend. Gib sent me these wonderful photos of his Kremer Porsche 911 ST replica on the famous Apache Trail – what a route to drive!
“The Kremer ST rep is a special sports purpose car, not intended for Sunday cruises,” says Gib. “It’s a blast to drive with strong acceleration and great sounds inside and out. It has a very vintage feel, which is what I was after. I’ve got a 1990 964 for comfortable cruising, with good air conditioning!
“The ST is based on a Euro ’72 T, just like the original car. It has a 2.5-litre twin plug MFI engine, and runs 9 x 15″ Fuchs front with 11 x 15″ Fuchs rear. The project took about two and a half years: I enjoyed the learning experience when researching the details of what the Kremer Racing team did with this private entry in Europe’s GT class events. The original car won the European GT competition in 1972, and also took the Porsche Cup.”
The product of Gib’s fascination with the classic 911, it must be an incredible car to see on the road in the proper wild west of America. That said, it’s highly fitting that this unique machine should race through such a unique landscape, where the early pioneers pushed into unknown territory, just like the Kremer brothers back in the day.
The peak seen here is Superstition Mountain, king of the Superstitions and topped by Flatiron Peak: a well-known Pheonix hiking favourite. Climbing to the top is doable as long as you have stamina, plenty of water and a strong head for heights. The last part of the ascent is a 12-foot vertical climb, guaranteed to test your staying power.
Back in the Gold Rush times of the 1890s, nearby Goldfield was a booming mining town with a population of five thousand. More than fifty working gold mines once graced the area, but the original town eventually disappeared and a tourist attraction cowboy site now stands in its place.
Arizona is a beautiful state and towns including Tombstone, Bisbee, Jerome (once named wickedest town in the west) & Vulture Mine are all on my list of places to go in a Porsche. I don’t believe in a previous life, but if I had one it was something do with gold mining. You know when you just get a feeling?
You need to add US 191 from Guthrie, AZ north to Springerville, AZ through Morenci (monstrous open pit copper mine) and the Apache National Forest to your bucket list of Porsche trips as long as you are there! I’ll never forget driving route that this April.
Now on the list! Thanks Chuck 😉
That run is on my list too…been trying to get there for several years now. John, thanks for the comments. Arizona truly has some of the world’s most beautiful mountain and desert country…with much history of mining and cowboys. And now we’re famous for collector car auctions too.
Thanks for sharing the pics mate – looks better than ever!