by John Glynn | Feb 3, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News
Excellent email from a Ferdinand reader in Brazil, who shares this picture of his family’s Porsche 356 Speedster. This 356 Speedster was originally owned by Ferry Porsche.
Bought by his dad in 1981, the car came via a young Brazilian Porsche racer who was sadly killed at Le Mans, then a local businessman and through a series of family friends. Eventually found unloved and in need of restoration, the Speedster was brought back to life and has been enjoyed as a living, driving entity ever since.
“It’s not a concours car by any means,” says the owner, “but it is in good shape. We like to drive it on weekends, and go to our local events, so we prefer to have a road-going car, than just a piece of art standing still.”
I’m getting a few more details. It’s an early chassis number for the Type 2 models, shown on the Porsche Kardex as a “Versuchwagen” fur T-2 (T2 prototype), and listed as first owned by Ferdinand Porsche Junior (Ferry Porsche).
Absolutely super cool. Colour changed from Aquamarine to Red somewhere down the line, but easy change it back if you consider that important. Ferry would be happy that it’s still in use and bringing joy.
by John Glynn | Jan 28, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News
We’re familiar with pictures of Ferdinand Porsche in dark hat and overcoat, or in three-piece tweeds, looking through a wheel. These senior pics have kindled a soft, shed-tinkering grandfather image. But here’s a pic you might not have seen before, which proves he was once a young thruster, keen to get ahead.
Now, the Porsche Museum has rescued the vehicle he designed for his success: the Egger-Lohner C2 Phaeton. This first-ever Porsche design has been brought back to Stuttgart and will be officially unveiled on January 31st: the museum’s fifth birthday.
Ferdinand Porsche P1
Porsche called it the P1 (Porsche 1), engraving the designation into its main components (below). As with so much of Ferdinand’s early work, it was powered by electricity, with a compact drivetrain weighing just 130 kilograms. This 1898 vehicle had a range of up to 50 miles, with a switchable body for summer and winter. Excellent!
In 1899, Porsche raced his creation at the international vehicle exhibition in Berlin: centre of the motoring universe. Over a 25-mile course and with three passengers on board, Porsche drove his own P1 to victory, 18 minutes ahead of his nearest competitor. The man was a proper legend.
Porsche is presenting the P1 as a historical artefact, prefacing Porsche’s early commissions and his later work. No over-restoration and no recreations: kudos to them for making it so. I urge you to visit Stuttgart and learn more about Ferdinand and the P1 at the Porsche Museum. Entry is free all weekend over Feb 1st and 2nd.
by John Glynn | Jan 26, 2014 | Race and Rally, Porsche News
Porsche has claimed a richly deserved victory on the maiden event of the 2014 Tudor United Sportscar Championship. Running the 24 Hours of Daytona with a two car works RSR team, Stuttgart combined trademark reliability with masterful pace when it mattered, to bring the lead 911 home just seconds ahead of its closest competitor and take its 76th class win at the high-speed Florida circuit.
I don’t know who called the driver mix of Richard Lietz, Patrick Pilet and Nick Tandy, but the chemistry could not have been better. Running anywhere from P1 to P4 over the course of a hard day’s racing, the trio were supreme against the SRT Viper race cars, which had looked unassailable in qualifying. Not to mention the mighty space-framed GTLM Corvette race car, which seemed to have ultimate speed for much of the race.
Many incredible stories reared their heads across twenty-four hours of racing, but the most exciting came in the final three minutes, when Joey Hand’s BMW Z4 got within touching distance of the number 911. My heart was in my mouth for the last two laps, as TV cameras focused instead on a titanic scrap in the GT Daytona class. When the cameras swung back to the Porsche, it was Pilet crossing the line for the win.
I am in meltdown: that was incredible. If this is a sign of things to come in 2014, we are in for a memorable season. Now we need more factory racing posters!
by John Glynn | Jan 26, 2014 | Race and Rally, Porsche News
Porsche number 912 has retired from the Daytona 24 Hours. Crankcase oil pressure woes sent the Long/Christensen/Bergmeister car Porsche back to the garage, not to re-emerge.
Meanwhile, the number 911 911 continues to lead the GTLM class, 20 seconds up on Liddell’s Corvette. Patrik Pilet is still behind teh wheel and has been keeping well clear of other peoples’ accidents. While other 911s are waist-deep in duck tape, number 911 is caked in race dirt but not a lot else.
Pilet’s team mate Richard Lietz was just interviewed by the TV crews on how Porsche race engineers might modify their strategy, given the 912 RSR’s issues. His comment was just what we want. “The engine is running strong so, though we might have some nerves, we need to stay racing. As others are driving flat out, and so are we.”
Patrick Pilet with Richard Lietz
Quizzed on the difference from here to Le Mans, Leitz was transparent. “Here you have banking, Le Mans does not. We’ve worked on setting the car up for this and now we go quicker here. Also, when you win at Le Mans, you don’t get a watch. We just need to stay flat out and get the right amount of luck to win.” And a Rolex!
by John Glynn | Jan 25, 2014 | Race and Rally, Porsche News
Three hours into the first race of the 2014 IMSA Tudor United Sportscar series, the works Porsche 911 RSRs are on full pest control duty at Daytona 24. Briefly running P1 in GTLM, Patrick Pilet’s now closing on that pesky Viper from P2 in number 911, with Michael Christensen P3 in RSR 912.
Fastest lap in class so far goes to Patrick Long, with a 1:45.624. Tandy follows with a 1:45.9. As I type, the Viper has just clocked up its fastest lap of the race so far on a 1:45.873, so bang goes what I was going to say next. Pilet trails the snake by less than a second, and there’s a long way left to run.
The GTD 911s have come good on race pace, with three 991s in the top four. Connor de Phillippi holds a strong P2 in the number 73 Park Place car. Though Flying Lizard’s Spencer Pumpelly is the fastest man in class so far on a 1:48 (Audi R8), the 911s seem happier to run in the sub-1:50s than the rest of the field, lead 458 Italia excepted.
On top of all this, WEVO Hayden is also working at Daytona this year, engineering the number 57 Krohn Ferrari , shared by our mate Peter Dumbreck. Peter had never seen Daytona before this weekend, but still managed to post a time acceptable to get through to qualifying and the car looks balanced on track.
With almost a day left to race, we’re in with a good shout at this one. Forza RSRs: keep pushing, boys!
Edit: just as I published this, the race went full course red following a heavy shunt for Memo Gidley. Looks nasty – hope he gets out of it.
by John Glynn | Jan 19, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News
Sorting through my archives yesterday, I uncovered some Porsche Museum pictures from a trip to Stuttgart in December 2010. This one shows a 917, RS Spyder, Cisitalia engine, 904 chassis, 3.2 Club Sport prototype, 993 RS and 936 scale recreation, as well as a special 996 we weren’t allowed to photograph.
The Porsche Museum is closed every Monday. This is a day for building maintenance, but also the day where invited Porsche guests (and common-or-garden journos like me) get to view the collection in relative quiet.
I say relative, as our visit included a Cup Car start-up in the museum’s sound theatre, and a 917 start downstairs in the museum workshop. It was definitely a day to remember.
Porsche Museum Pictures
What Porsche says about its museum: Enjoy a close-up experience of the history of Porsche. Encounter legendary racing and sports cars, fascinating production models as well as unusual prototypes. More than 80 vehicles will take you from the early years all the way to the present days of Porsche’s history.
