Our Porsche racing friends at EB Motorsport had a great weekend at the Nürburgring Oldtimer GP, comfortably winning their class and retaining the lead in World Sportscar Masters, but not everyone enjoyed the event as much.
The owner of a 1956 Porsche 356 woke to find his car had been stolen from the Hotel Hohe Acht. I’m told that two other 356s were also stolen at the track on the same night. German Police have so far come up empty-handed but that is hardly a surprise: this was carried out by professionals and there will be a plan in place to get these things out of the area as soon as possible.
This particular car is a peach. The owner bought the car in 1970 and, working as a 356 spare parts manufacturer in Denmark, it has been with him for 40 years of a life in Porsche. A €15,000 reward is offered for any information leading to the safe return.
This is not the first 356 theft we’ve seen this year. Certainly classic Porsches are getting ever-easier to steal: a quick colour change and a few bits swapped (including chassis number) and no one would be any the wiser on what it once was. If you’re not using security on your classic, then fix that quickly.
I use a high-end steering lock and good alarm on mine – plus one other unnamed measure – which would slow any potential thieves down a bit. The agreed valuation for insurance purposes is also up to date! I do agreed insurance valuations for UK classic Porsche people if you need any help there: total peace of mind and not much added to the premium.
More info on this car: black Porsche 356A with Speedster seats and a Sebring exhaust. Steels are very distinctive as is the ‘Les Lestuns’ steering wheel. but all these bits bolt off. Just be suspicious of any spotless 356s in black seen around the place.
Thorkil Simonsen owns the car. If you like the sound of that reward then call him at +45 40721284 or email simonsen-356@c.dk. Would be great to get this back.
“The proper place for all that material is in the cellar”, he insisted. “The loft of this building is much too exposed. It offers no protection at all.”
“I know you’re right, Father”
“Then do something about it and do so right away. I want everything moved to the cellar of the building during the next two or three days. No longer.”
I shrugged, not very happy about this order, but the boss had to be obeyed. So I put the whole staff to work, transferring vast quantities of records from the attic to the cellar of the building in the Spitalwaldestrasse. The job was completed in about five days of back-breaking toil. About 48 hours later, during a comparatively light attack on Stuttgart, a small-caliber bomb came through the side of the building, completely missing the roof. The missile zoomed down harmlessly to the cellar. There it exploded and destroyed all the material we had just stored away with so much care.
Luckily, we had duplicates of most of this technical paperwork hidden in other places out of harm’s way, so what we severed mainly was inconvenience. However, this made me more certain than ever that you cannot control Fate in the slightest degree. No matter how carefully you may anticipate things, they are liable to work out just a bit differently from your expectations, even if you are an expert with a slide rule.
Excerpt from “We at Porsche”: The Autobiography of Dr. Ing. h.c. Ferry Porsche with John Bentley
The 2012 Midnight Sun Rally starts today. Three days of flat-out action with the cream of Scandinavia is about to begin, and Tuthill Porsche is in the thick of it.
This running of the Midnight Sun is dedicated to the late Ove Andersson, so has attracted even more rally stars than usual. Toyota Team Historic has four-time World Champion, Juha Kankkunen (1986, 1987, 1991 and 1993), Hannu Mikkola (1983) and the brilliant Mikko Hirvonen, who is getting ever-closer to his first World Championship.
Team Tidö, led by David von Schinkel, has supplied the Tuthill-prepped cars for Björn Waldegård (1979), long-time Porsche hero Åke Andersson and Stig Blomqvist, the 1984 World Rally Champion.
“ It will be great fun to meet Kankkunen and Mikkola again,” said Björn. “These few days should be most enjoyable, and the rally will be very interesting to watch for the spectators.”
“With so many great names competing, the spectators will all be winners,” agreed Åke Andersson, celebrating fifty years in the Midnight Sun Rally. Åke came second in class on his 1962 debut, and his plan for this year is to chase the top honours. Given Ake’s Porsche CV, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be in the hunt!
I’ve got the batphone set for Sweden and am hoping to get regular news from this terrific event. If I wasn’t snowed under with other stuff to do, I’d be up there myself, enjoying the craic. Instead, I’m at a specialists tomorrow, sampling their full Hunter chassis set up and alignment rig (above) on my recently refurbed BMW M3 and then at Silverstone Classic all this weekend.
Mark and James from lightweight Porsche parts specialist, EB Motorsport, are racing in World Sportscar Masters at Silverstone, so we’ll be out there in force with the cameras, hoping for sun and tracking their Masters Historic title defence – going very well so far.
Remember our Ferdinand Facebook page is seeing plenty of energy at the minute, so follow that page for your regular Porsche news fix! I hope that time for regular Classic Porsche Blog action will return when we’ve got that operation up and running.
My RGruppe buddy Thorsten, bona-fide Porsche designer, is part of the 80-strong Porsche team working under Michael Mauer that has just won Germany’s prestigious ‘red dot’ design award.
The award comes in recognition for work on the new 911. The car has already won the product award for ‘best design 2012’: both gongs will be handed over at Essen’s Aalto Theatre tonight.
“Winning both of these awards this year makes us proud,” said Mauer. “It means we pursue the right design philosophy. The quality of our design is founded on our brand values: tradition and innovation, sportiness and suitability for everyday driving. This unique combination and the conviction that good design has to be honest, functional and timeless constitute the foundation of our characteristic Porsche design language.”
I think Mauer is right on the money but am most thrilled by knowing Thorsten. Well done mate! Also well done to all of your talented colleagues.
Edit: SoCal Chaptermeister Ray Crawford just gave me the heads up on two Honorary Gruppers in the design team: Tony Hatter, No. 993 and Grant Larson No. 986. Nice!
French breathalyser rules could affect Porsche drivers. The UK Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) claims half of all British motorists heading to France this year risk trouble with the Gendarmes by not carrying the correct breathalyser in their car.
A legal requirement for all cars driven in France from the 1st of July, only breath-test devices carrying the blue circular NF logo, the French equivalent of the UK’s BSI kitemark will satisfy the new law.
French Breathalyser Rules
In IAM research amongst 2300 motorists heading to France this year, 80 percent said the new breathalyser rule would make no difference to drink driving in a country renowned for excellence in alcohol. Looking at the bigger picture – testing the morning after and having the ability to check on any doubts – I think it will probaby will have an effect in the long run. The legal limit in France is 50 mg per 100 ml of blood, lower than the UK’s 80mg limit, so a big night on the beer after a track day could make you unwittingly unsafe to be behind the wheel.
I love driving in France – both pics here are of my own 911s en France. The roads are generally excellent, autoroutes are well priced and there’s plenty of space to play in. Making the individual largely responsible for their safety on the road is better than nanny-state England, with its speed camera vans and talk of satellite tracking all cars – my politics do not fit with dumbing down the individual.
Carry an Approved French Breathalyser in your Porsche
If you’re heading to France for Classic Le Mans, remember the approved breathalyser(s), the GB plate, headlamp deflectors on RHD cars, obligatory set of spare bulbs, high-vis waistcoats you can reach from the drivers seats, plenty of water and a decent map! Having a good map to hand can lead you to some epic roads.
I can’t wait to get back to France – hope to see a few of you at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Update: breathalyser fines postponed indefinitely. Cliek here for the latest French driving fines.
We’ve been keeping a low profile on Porsche at Le Mans, but all that’s about to change. The weekend should see Ferdinand Mag glued to TV coverage of the event, so I’ve been clearing the decks to allow that to happen.
Got a few more bits to get out of the way, so keep yourself busy by watching this glory day throwback: 956s running and winning the 50th Le Mans in 1982. Current-day Porsche makes almost no sales hay from historic Le Mans Porsche achievements, but it’s great to see golden-day videos shared on the Porsche Cars Youtube channel.
You need 13 minutes to watch all this film. Make sure you’ve got them before you click play!
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