![Porsche Volkswagen Shares Trial: Wiedeking Escapes]()
by John Glynn | Apr 25, 2014 | Porsche News
The Financial Times reports from Stuttgart, where the regional court in the Porsche Volkswagen shares trial has just decided that Wendelin Wiedeking and Holger Härter will not face trial on charges of market manipulation in Porsche’s attempted Volkswagen takeover.
The news will be welcome at Porsche, which has seen a number of potential lawsuits stemming from the VW shares debacle evaporate in the last few weeks. While Porsche SE still holds 51% of Volkswagen shares, the car maker is now owned by Volkswagen.
Confused? You’re not alone. No one will emerge a winner in this lawsuit, which stems from hedge fund accusations of unfair conduct in Porsche’s secrecy over its takeover plans. Stock market players did not line their pockets, but instead lost an estimated €30 billion.
In 2013, former Porsche CFO Härter (left) was found guilty of credit fraud and fined as a result. With Wiedeking earning £57.6 million in 2007 and arch-trader Härter likely not far behind, maybe a fine is just fine versus prison.
About the Porsche Volkswagen Shares Trial:
In 2008, Porsche AG began buying up VW shares, publicly denying that it planned to take over Volkswagen by accumulating a 75 percent stake in the company. When the full extent of Porsche’s position in VW was revealed to the markets later that year, hedge fund and investment bank traders, who had been gambling on a fall in Volkswagen share prices given the effect of the credit crunch on the rest of the automotive industry were forced to sell their ‘short’ VW stock at the new higher share prices, which cost them an estimated $30 billion.
Porsche’s delight was shortlived, however. Financing the cash purchase of more than 30% of Volkswagen shares landed the carmaker with a mountain of debt that ultimately could not be serviced. Porsche sailed close to bankruptcy through early 2009, when banks closed off its line of credit. Despite securing extended terms from German owned banks and selling part of the business to Gulf investors, the previously independent Porsche car company was absorbed by Volkswagen in 2012.
by John Glynn | Apr 24, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News
No visit to Techno Classica would be complete without a trip to the official Porsche Classic Essen stand. Slightly over-corporate since they left hall 3 and moved to the Volkswagen group plaza, this year was given a burst of energy by the presence of Magnus Walker signing autographs on the stand.
Porsche cliques are wasting their time being sniffy about Magnus. He doesn’t care what haters have to say, nor should he. There was no shortage of people lined up to grab a few words or an autograph with the Urban Outlaw, and Magnus was very polite to all of them. That’s how the man was raised, and how he treats everyone: not just the train of celebs lining up to see him in LA.
Porsche Classic parts prices have gone up again this year, so maybe Magnus was there to soften the price tags of body panels and other parts on sale. There’s some very nice merchandise coming on line – sweet kids bits and pieces included – which to me shows clear Volkswagen marketing influence. The presence of a hidden diesel spout on the Porsche Classic fuel tanks was another big VW signpost (ouch).
I asked one of the guys where the glitzy Porsche merchandise truck had gone to – not seen that at Essen for a while. “It was in a big crash: we’re building a brand new one for Le Mans,” he said. Not too surprising. A solid Slate Grey 991 Turbo Cabriolet with special wishes red leather from the Exclusive department was no great surprise either. Not sure what residuals will be like on that one.
![Porsche Volkswagen Shares Trial: Wiedeking Escapes]()
by John Glynn | Apr 23, 2014 | New Models, Porsche News
Autocar magazine has just shared news from Beijing, where the new Porsche Macan four cylinder engine option has just been unveiled for Stuttgart’s compact SUV.
Volkswagen Golf GTi Engine
Powered by a turbocharged 2-litre Volkwagen EA888 engine – as used across all other VAG brands – the 4-cylinder Macan will run an identical tune to the Golf GTi Performance Pack version, giving 234bhp and 258lb ft of torque, versus the 3.0 Turbo’s 335bhp/339lb ft.
Porsche Macan 200,000 sales target
The move is inevitable. The Porsche CEO recently estimated that the company could sell up to 200,000 Macans next year. They’re not going to do that at £50k a unit: an entry level model is needed using a seriously cheap power unit. The slightly lower emissions and likely engine size tax advantages will also have rub-off benefits in parts of the world, across the Macan range and the broader model portfolio.
While pricing has not been revealed, it’s been confirmed that the Macan 2.0 will run a PDK gearbox in Asia: let’s hope it’s not too slow. There are suggestions it will come to England in 2015, but an earlier debut wouldn’t surprise me. Watch for the 2-litre diesels up next.
by John Glynn | Apr 20, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Away from the Porsche LMP1 hybrid’s debut, the evergreen 911 soldiered on at Silverstone today. Porsche Team Manthey took a solid 1-2 ahead of Darren turner’s Aston Martin, with new boy Frédéric Makowiecki piloting the number 92 Porsche 991 RSR shared with Marco Holzer and Richard Lietz to a GTE Pro win.
“That is exactly how I imagined my first race as a Porsche works driver,” said Frédéric. “A great race, but really challenging. We started on a dry track, then it began to rain which made our tyre choice difficult. We changed the rubber quickly without losing too much time. Even switching back to slicks went smoothly thanks to our swift pit crew. A big compliment to our whole team: that was a great job.”
“It’s fantastic to kick off my first WEC season with a victory,” enthused Marco. “After two laps it began to drizzle, which made it very difficult to drive consistent lap times. My first priority was not to fly off the track. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to compete under such changeable conditions. You enter a corner that looks completely dry on slicks only to suddenly find your car going sideways and you’re looking ahead out of the side window. That was pretty hair-raising.”
The number 91 Tandy/Pilet/Bergmeister car started from the front row, but a stop/go penalty saw them in the pits eight times versus number 92’s six. Finishing P2 was a pretty good achievement, all things considered.
“We had a very good car, regardless of whether the track was dry or wet,” reflected a philosophical Mr Tandy. “In my first stint I enjoyed a great fight with a Ferrari. The rain gave us a few hairy moments, but I love it when unexpected things happen and you have to adjust your strategy. It proved really difficult not to make a mistake. I’m pleased that everything went so well, especially here at Silverstone. Driving on this circuit is always fun, particularly in such difficult conditions.”
The WEC now moves on to Spa on May 3rd. I’m at Donington with EB Motorsport at the FIA Masters Historics that weekend, but we’ll find a way to watch the boys do battle.
by John Glynn | Apr 20, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
In a choice between a weekend at the Silverstone 6 Hours or taking my first trip home to Ireland for two years, Ireland won. In a choice between watching the last hour of the Silverstone 6 Hours or watching a replay of the Chinese F1 Grand Prix, China won. In the first race between the all-new Toyota TS040 LMP1 Hybrid and the all-new Porsche 919 LMP1 Hybrid, Japan won, and won well.
Arriving back from Ireland at 4pm today in the heaviest rain I have seen so far this year did not bode well for the Silverstone 6 Hours, which was running from 12 to 6. We live just a few miles from the Northamptonshire circuit, and I could well imagine the conditions Porsche’s endurance racers would be facing on track. The organisers eventually ended the race half an hour early.
A quick look on Eurosport when we got in the door showed Toyotas numbered 8 and 7 running 1-2, so I stuck with watching the Chinese Grand Prix, and Ricciardo sticking it to Vettel. My quick glimpse was how they finished at Silverstone. Autosport reckoned that switching to intermediate tyres in a light shower after an hour of racing gave the showstopping team of Buemi, Davidson and Nick Lapierre an upper hand that was never relinquished.
Porsche’s LMP1 debut was decided when Jani lost a wheel and the car then retired after repairs. The remaining 919 of Bernhard/Webber/Hartley battled on, finishing two laps behind the winning Toyota and a lap down on the second-placed car.
Looking at the data, the number 8 Toyota ran 167 laps in 6 hours, with 6 pitstops. The car did an average speed of 202 km/h and had a best lap of 1:44.606. Toyota number 7 had a best lap of 1:44.326 with the sole 919 to finish clocking a best lap time of 1:45.245 at an average speed of 201.5 km/h. It appears Porsche is almost a second off the pace, but we’ll see how the 919 goes at the next event.
Third place is still second loser, but there’s a long way to go in this season, and a long way to go at Le Mans. The 1000-horsepower Toyota may turn out to be untouchable, but Porsche can be happy with a podium first time out.
by John Glynn | Apr 11, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Media accreditation for the 2014 FIA 6 Hours of Silverstone dropped through the virtual letterbox this morning. The 6 Hours will be our first opportunity to see Porsche’s 919 Hybrid LMP1 technology put to the test in its maiden race on Sunday, April 20.
“It’s completely different, totally new,” says Romain Dumas (below). “We have to be focused, motivated, as it’s very difficult for a driver to adjust and understand all these things. For sure it is the most intelligent driver and team who will win the race.”
“For us as drivers in the cockpit, it’s quite busy,” adds Mark Webber. “Still we have to brake as late as possible and keep the rhythm up to a very high level: that’s our job. The good guys will still find a way to be very, very quick.”
Engine Sound Porsche 919
Running a combination of 2-litre V4 turbo petrol engine and two separate energy recovery systems, the 919 has a sound all of its own. I like this video capturing the 919 Hybrid on track at Paul Ricard alongside the 991 RSR for comparison. What do you think on LMP1 noise versus 911?
