by John Glynn | Mar 31, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Sky F1 followed its coverage of yesterday’s Malaysian Grand Prix with archive footage from the 1971 F1 season. This was the first year that F1 ran at the just-built Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France.
The first French GP at Ricard came near the end of a season where Jackie Stewart’s dominance in a lesser Tyrrell-Cosworth brought endless complaints from his rivals. Car and engine were stripped by the authorities, but no cheats were found. Stewart was faster: simple as that.
Porsche has just completed almost 4,000 kms of testing at Ricard (a.k.a. Le Castellet) with the 919 Hybrid LMP1 and its 2014 RSRs. Slowest GT car was some twenty seconds off the quickest LMP1 lap: a 1:41.289 set by Brendon Hartley (below). Just like Jackie almost 43 years ago, Hartley is genetically rapid. It’s great to have young speed in the car.
Stuttgart also took the opportunity to homologate the car for the six megajoule class, allowing it to harvest maximum energy per lap into the biggest energy store permitted. Assuming the combined fuel and electricity capacity can power the car around more laps per stint than its rivals, the car will spend less time refuelling at Le Mans, giving a solid pace/range advantage over 24 hours.
Ricard is the perfect place for high speed testing. Built by the eponymous French drinks magnate in the late 1960s, the circuit was sold to Slavica Ecclestone’s Bambino trust in 1999. Bambino then developed the circuit into a high speed test track, using Slavica’s F1-running husband, Bernie, as a consultant.
Bernie’s involvement in the Ricard redevelopment is at the heart of his upcoming bribery case. His (ex-)wife is classed as UK non-domiciled by HMRC, but the taxman sees Bernie as living in London. Bernie argues that a bribe he paid a few years ago was not to lubricate an F1 shares sale, but was instead to prevent false information on Bambino being made available to UK tax authorities, which could have cost him millions – even billions – in back tax.
The case will be heard in Germany from next month. I know Bernie’s methods are not universally admired, but I like his wit and admire his work ethic, not to mention that razor sharp instinct for media. I hope I’m still going strong at 83.
by John Glynn | Mar 24, 2014 | Porsche News, Porsche People
I don’t know Porsche CEO Matthias Müller, but I like his story and how he comes across. Stuttgart does too, as it has just renewed his contract for five more years from January 2015.
Though Matthias Müller’s VAG passport is well established, the boss has always made the right noises about Porsche’s positioning within VW, inspiring faith in his plans for the brand. Talking to the Telegraph’s Andrew English soon after taking the Porsche job in late 2010, the two enjoyed a set-to over the risks of shared engineering across VW badges.
AE: Isn’t there a danger that all this sharing will dilute what a Porsche actually stands for?
MM: No other company can manage nine brands like the VW Group. You know that a VW is a VW and an Audi is an Audi.
AE: No it isn’t, the Audi A1 is a barely disguised VW Polo…
MM: Well, as long as I am chief executive, a Porsche will be a Porsche. I do not want to compromise or disappoint our customers.
Müller has stuck to his word. The current range feels Porsche-like from here, and (impressively) has really taken shape since Q1 2011, when the new CEO’s first proper product strategy meet established the targets that should see Porsche sell 200,000 cars by 2018. How that explosion tallies with our old-school Porsche relationships is an ecumenical matter, but the powers that be certainly enjoy what Müller is doing post-Weideking.
“The company has continued to develop positively and the integration of the sports car manufacturer into the Volkswagen Group worked perfectly,” said Dr Wolfgang Porsche. “We look forward to working with [Matthias] in the years to come.”
“The integration into the Volkswagen Group and the independence of Porsche are no contradiction, they stand for success,” said Chairman of the general and group works council of Porsche AG, Uwe Hück. “In spite of this growth, we want to preserve the proven Porsche culture and we will continue to go down this road with Matthias Müller. He is an employer with a heart and quite simply, that’s good for Porsche”.
An employer with heart, and his hand on the tiller to at least 2020. What’s the verdict out there?
by John Glynn | Mar 19, 2014 | New Models, Porsche News
I spent all morning writing job descriptions for a couple of part-time vacancies in Graphic Design and PR/Marketing with Mighty Motor Media in Banbury/Daventry. While I was banging my head against that creative brick wall, Porsche announced GTS models of Boxster and Cayman.
There’s some flak flying on social media for the pics Porsche has sent out and the video done to promote the models (scroll down) but I think the cars look good: Cayman in particular.
However, with a basic cost of more than £50k, one wonders how many will pick a GTS to get an extra 15 hp (330 bhp total) and 10 newton metres of torque, Sport Chrono, PASM and black bi-xenon headlights. Remember that a basic manual Cayman S on 19″ wheels weighs 1350 kilos, with every option adding bulk – I don’t know what the GTS will weigh when it’s fuelled and oiled, ready to go. Basic Cayman GTS will cost circa €4k more than the Boxster, but I bet it’s the bigger seller.
Interestingly, Stuttgart’s press release shares top speeds from the manual version, but 0-60 times from the PDK car, equipped with launch control. Does that mean PDK won’t go as fast? Or is Porsche just pointing out the base price is manual? Answers on a postcard.
Now, give me your thoughts on this video. I would rather see previous GTS models: Vic Elford drives to camera in a red 904 GTS peeling off to show Derek Bell in his red 924 GTS then peeling off to reveal Nick Tandy in a red Cayman GTS. Heritage works with red Porsches.
by John Glynn | Mar 17, 2014 | Porsche News
The Porsche hedge funds court case has experienced its first win. Case number 28 O 183/13, brought in the Regional Court of Stuttgart against Porsche Automobil Holding SE, has been dismissed by the court. The news is not a huge surprise, after presiding judge Carola Wittig commented last month on the high risk of the plaintiffs losing their case.
The case is one of a bundle of actions against PSE totalling €5 billion, brought by a group of twenty three hedge funds following Stuttgart’s failed attempt to take over Volkswagen. The plaintiffs’ argument seems to revolve around the idea that companies should disclose their takeover plans in advance, but I may have this backwards. I thought the stock market was all about risk, which is the opposite of knowing things early.
The statement says “Porsche SE welcomes the Regional Court of Stuttgart’s decision and considers its legal opinion to have been confirmed.” The company is still not out of the woods however, as the related cases have hearings through April and May of this year.
The cynical among you may remark that, whatever happens in court, pension and investment customers will take the pain, while bonuses fly on Wall Street and beyond. I couldn’t possibly comment.
by John Glynn | Mar 3, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Race fans deserve epic paint schemes. Standing outside in all weathers, watching cars go around with no clue what’s happening half the time, the least teams can do is make the cars sexy with a great livery to inspire followers.
Porsche has finally dressed the 919 Hybrid for in its Le Mans livery. The car is pure sex, but the paint scheme’s got all the allure of a fax machine. Let’s hope there’s a stealth raid on Leipzig with some pig-coloured spray paint.
Bring on the Martini Williams! And where’s the Veltins on LMP1? Can’t be the final version.
by John Glynn | Feb 11, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News
There’s a month left to see the Porsche 911 50th Anniversary exhibition at the Hamburg Prototyp Museum.
Until March 16th, the museum will be sharing cars from the Stuttgart Porsche Museum and private collectors, to showcase the 911’s varied history. In keeping with Hamburg’s raison d’etre, most 911s on show are prototype machines. The pics here are courtesy of the museum.
Exhibits include the 1959 Porsche 754 T7 prototype, 1965 Porsche 911 Targa prototype, a 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR, 1986 Porsche Paris-Dakar 959 and a 1998 Porsche 911 GT1.
I’ve been meaning to visit the Prototyp Museum for years. The museum is famously home to much of ‘one-armed’ racer Otto Mathe’s collection of Porsche racing cars and assorted paraphernalia, including the adorable Porsche/Volkswagen mongrel “Fletzenflieger” racer (scrap racer).
Legend has it that, when Otto arrived at the gates of Stuttgart to donate his unique Type 64 Berlin-Rome Porsche racer – sole surviving first true Porsche from a handbuilt run of three cars – back to the factory museum, a security guard told him to “move his old wreck” from in front of the gates. So it ended up at Hamburg.
Would be a very bad day at work for someone if that was true. In fact, Otto (mostly) owned the car from 1949 until he died in 1995. The plot has a few twists, but Otto’s wonderful T64 (below, centre) is now owned by another private collector and often shown at Hamburg, alongside the museum’s own recreation.
Hamburg’s replica consists largely of mechanical parts from one of the two other T64s manufactured under the direction of Ferry and Ferdinand Porsche. The parts were found buried amongst Otto’s spares collection, which was bought by the Prototyp Museum after his death. The Prototyp Museum painstakingly replicated the aluminium bodywork over a wooden buck formed by laser scanning the original.
The aluminium body now sitting in the Porsche museum is another beautiful T64 replica. I seem to remember the shell being presented as original when we visited, but no doubt I was caught up in the moment. The drama of that shape is unbeatable.
