Words fail me today as I have just learned of the death of Chris Drummond: a friend and Porsche enthusiast, who I first encountered back in 2008. After a long-term love affair with the Porsche marque, Chris had finally found his way to the impact-bumper 911s, ended up at my forum at impactbumpers.com and started to understand how modifying Porsche 911s brought the best out of them.
Chris Drummond – Apprentice Porsche Outlaw
Up to that point, Chris had owned two 944s, a 968, a 964, a 993, three 996s including a Turbo S, which he had at the time that we first got together. He went on to add a Cayenne S to his history, but of course it was his G50 Carrera which outlasted the rest. Once he found IB, he enjoyed a few runs in various modified impact bumper member cars and loved the loud and lightweight ethos. He soon set about dumping weight from the 3.2 coupe and making the car sharper.
Various Chris D threads began to appear on the board, including “how do I upgrade my brakes?”, “what big end shells do I need?” and “who do I talk to to refurbish my Fuchs?”. Chris embraced the modifying big-time and loved to tinker at home. We got together to talk about lots of stuff, including maybe doing some work together, and spent an afternoon discussing how to use social media to promote his HR business. All the time we were talking shop, I knew Chris just wanted to talk about Porsche and of course that never changed.
Once I went solo freelance in 2010, I went off to work flat out on other stuff and only bumped into Chris here and there. He was always smiling, always friendly and always had plenty of questions! The IB crew around Chris’s house stayed busy with him and no doubt he made some great friends with his car.
The years ticked on, we caught up every once in a while when he needed an updated insurance valuation. The last time was in May 2015, and all went quiet until the following year, when he emailed me out of the blue to tell me his news. It was absolutely shocking.
In June 2016, Chris Drummond sailed out of New York as part of a crew on the final leg of the Clipper Round the World yacht race. Five days into the voyage and 200 miles out to sea, he suddenly developed serious chest pains – they thought a heart attack. Medics on board stabilised his condition and called on the Canadian air force to airlift him to urgent medical care in Halifax. Here’s what happened next in Chris’s own words:
After two weeks hospitalisation in Halifax, Nova Scotia I was told my heart was OK, however following tests and scans they identified that I had advanced secondary cancer of the liver. The medical team in Halifax, who were absolutely brilliant, arranged for me to have further tests and biopsies when I returned to the UK to find out where the primary cancer was located.
Following scans and biopsies in mid-August (2016), my oncology consultant told me the primary cancer was in the oesophagus, that there was no cure for my condition and that any treatment would be about prolonging life. The prognosis was that I had between 12 and 18 months at best, depending on how I responded to chemotherapy treatment which I started in early September.
January 2017: I’ve now completed the six-cycle regime of chemo and will have a scan at the end of this month to find out whether the chemo has arrested the cancer or not. The mid-term review after 3 cycles of chemo was pretty positive so fingers crossed.
Chris Drummond’s Race Against Time for Stand Up to Cancer
Chris was a man who always saw opportunity, and he quickly realised his time was limited in making the most of this one. Once he had told his family what was going on, he set about launching a public campaign to bring awareness to the early diagnosis of this disease, noting that he had experienced symptoms of esophageal cancer for nine months before doing anything about it. By the time he saw a doctor, it was too late.
The story resonated heavily with me, as a similar thing happened to my brother-in-law, David, who had lived with pain for months before talking to someone. The end came swiftly for David and also for Chris. After posting his final blog in April, Chris finally passed away last week.
When Chris emailed me to share his news about cancer, he asked for ideas to help with fundraising. He had a few things going with PCGB and Cancer Research, involving using the Porsche to draw attention to the message, but all input would be greatly received. The journalist in me focused on the deadline of 18 months away, so I considered that there was some time to get this organised. Chris was not urgent, so neither was I! I had a few thoughts, but was busy on so much other stuff that I didn’t really get my first ideas going until a month or so ago.
Today I went looking for JustGiving links to finish the thing before emailing Chris, and found out he had recently passed. I am shocked at the speed of his exit and angry with myself that I didn’t move faster – he deserved a good morning’s fun with an IB crew that held him in high regard. I will miss him but that is no good to his cause, so the energy now is in how to support what he hoped to achieve.
Organisations including Porsche, PCGB, Autofarm, Driver’s Collective and more picked up on his campaign and publicised the fundraising, but the total is currently less than £8k with a target of £30k. Here’s how his supporters say that you can help to increase this total.
We can’t stress enough how much it would mean to the family and everyone who’s supported Chris’s campaign, if we could reach his charity target of £30k. If you haven’t donated already, then please text RATP88 £10 to 70070 and together we could achieve Chris’s wish. Please continue to share and show your support.
Chris’s car will be auctioned for Stand Up to Cancer later this year, we will crack on with some fundraising events and find more ways to contribute towards his target. The Race Against Time JustGiving page is here: please give whatever you feel is appropriate to express solidarity. He was a good guy and any one of us could be there but for the roll of a dice in an incredibly random universe.
More thoughts on this in due course – RIP Chris and all my love to his wonderful family. My heart goes out to anyone also experiencing this pain: I know there are a few people suffering. Do not waste time in going to help ❤️
Porsche has been showing its 991 GT2 RS to a select group of journalists in Germany. Auto Motor & Sport put out a video showing the launch control in action, but it seems that no one actually got to drive it; everyone rode in the passenger seat. Gone are the days when Porsche gave Kacher the keys to a prototype for the weekend.
The fastest production 911 ever has not yet been fully homologated, so the numbers are vague. For the sake of discussion:
0-60: under 3 seconds
0-124: under 9 seconds
Power: more than 650bhp
Weight: under 1500kg
Weight savings include using smartphone Gorilla Glass
Lightweight Weissach pack lifts 30 kilos and will cost a small fortune
GT2 RS will cost more than the house I am writing this in
Looking at 911R/GT3 RS trends and allowing a bit for the GT2’s rarity, we can roughly predict what will happen with prices.
Say the GT2 RS sells at £250k including Weissach pack, it will top £450k within 6 months of release, probably over twice list price for a while. There is no doubt of this. City traders are earning well over a million quid a year now in the City of London and a GT2 RS will be the big thing. The hunger for GT2 will be strong, so £500k is totally happening.
Once they’ve gone through a 12-to-18-month honeymoon, prices will settle somewhere around £100k or so over list, as the next big thing will be out. If you don’t buy one of these cars brand new, you will probably never be able to buy it for list price. So why should you care about this particular example?
Well, look at the photos. This is a mule: a GT3 RS finished in Lava Orange with a tweaked engine from a 991 Turbo S installed. Engineers hacked the tail about a bit, vinyl wrapped the whole thing in black then screwed some bits to the sides to cover the turbos, drilled a load of heat holes in the rear bumper, made a swanky exhaust and the boss ragged it back and forth from home to work for a few months. It is sweaty, scratched and slathered in duck tape: everything a production GT2 RS will never be.
The new GT2 RS in a showroom will just be another unobtanium Porsche that gets professionally detailed twice a year to take the dust off and occasionally turns up at cars and coffee meets to entertain those who don’t get proper old cars. But the GT2 RS development mule – that is a hot rod from Stuttgart and these are the sex kings.
Caught up with my mate (and Cult of Porsche book publisher) Andy for lunch yesterday and finally had a chance to see his new Porsche Macan S. The Macan is a lovely example. Andy had a little bit of a battle with Porsche Centre Leeds after purchase, but the official Porsche dealer eventually stepped up and dealt with his issues, so all is now rosy in the garden.
In fairness to Andy’s OPC, they looked after him on part ex, with a decent price for his Jaguar. The Jet Black Metallic Macan S with 22,500 miles had just scraped past the minimum tyre tread depth on rear tyres to meet the Approved Used Porsche spec, so he made a bit of noise and managed to get them changed: about £700 worth of Michelins on the 21″ Turbo wheels. Porsche Leeds/JCT600 also fitted a set of front brake pads before delivery.
Porsche Macan S: must-have options
Spec on the 2014 Porsche Macan S is quite nice. The panoramic glass sunroof roof is a good start, and the leather dash and 18-way sports seats would be a must-have for me. Andy’s car also has the PASM dampers, which I have previously thought to be too harsh in sports mode. Andy says the same on the stiffest setting.
Those big wheels set the Macan’s curves off a treat and date my antique Cayenne S on its 18″ off-road tyres. I worry that big wheels ruin the ride but Andy is happy with the quality on Comfort suspension setting and easy it is better than his Jaguar. He also says the Bose hi-fi beats the upgraded Bowers & Wilkins sounds in his previous car, but is missing the Jaguar’s ventilated seats and notes a serious road noise issue with the Macan, citing horrendous road noise on places like the southern M25, especially the infamous concrete sections.
I mentioned excessive noise to a Porsche press officer once, who replied that cabin noise came as standard with a Porsche. This makes one wonder about original Macan S reviews. Auto Express described the Macan S as “superbly refined…with just a whisper from under the bonnet and a faint wind rustle from around the wing mirrors”, which Andy’s experience calls into question. The Cayenne is also quite noisy at speed and 911s are honestly too loud for phone conversations on motorways. Anyone clocking up mega miles needs to road test potential Porsche purchases carefully.
Porsche Macan S petrol vs diesel
The biggest question for mega-mile users will be petrol versus diesel. The same Auto Express journos insisted that the Macan S diesel was the model to have, but this carried little weight with Andy, who insists that no one should buy a Porsche to drive a diesel. And post-VW diesel scandal, who trusts the assertion that a diesel will do 10mpg more than the petrol and deliver the same performance as the twin turbo V6 engine?
Even without the optional sports exhaust, the petrol engine sounds pretty good and goes very well. Andy has been caught out by the performance of his Porsche Macan S once already, when the turbos kicked in coming hard off a roundabout and he almost ended up in the central reservation. He is learning a bit of respect for the throttle. He’s also been considering spending £2600 on retrofitting the sports exhaust system, but I’ve advised him to look at the switchable Akrapovic exhaust setup instead: it is cheaper to buy and will hold a higher percentage at resale. Also easy to take it off and sell separately.
Macan S Ownership Verdict
After a few thousand miles, the Macan S ownership verdict is a big thumbs up and the couple are considering buying another one. It is quite a change from Andy’s original target, which was a 911 Carrera up to £45k. When we’d been out to see a few 911s and then started comparing what spec Macan could be bought for the same money, the 911 dream was over. I think he made the right decision.
The 2017 Porsche Supercup season kicked off in style during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend at the Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona. Although experienced Supercup racer, Michael Ammermüller, took the win in both races, it was perhaps Norwegian Porsche Junior, Dennis Olsen, who set out the most exciting challenge for Supercup honours in the opening round of the championship.
Barcelona has a long downhill run from the grid to turn 1, so race starts here are always exciting. Olsen’s fellow Porsche junior, Matt Campbell, had seized pole position, but wrong-footed the start and almost stalled the engine when the lights went out. Ammermüller had no such issues and made a blistering getaway, with the track to himself on arrival in the braking zone.
Had the German time to study his mirrors, he would have enjoyed a chaotic scene, as cars took to the grass and well into the pitlane exit to avoid tripping over each other. None of the lawnmowers seemed to lose too much time, and many had literally made progress ‘through the field’ by the end of lap one. Lap two brought the safety car out when Berton got beached in the gravel. While the stricken car was removed, Ammermüller worked his 911 hard to keep heat in the tyres.
The aggressive manoeuvring paid off: Ammermüller got the jump on his rival at the restart. As the leader focused on stretching the advantage, a queue of cars formed behind Cammish, with Olsen at the front. The 21 year-old calmly held position for five or six laps but, once the race passed half-distance, he began to distract with his car in that irritating way that only a precocious youngster with a factory drive seems capable of.
Watching Dennis race was a joyous experience. A phenomenal kart driver, he started karting at six years old and has claimed titles including several Norwegian kart crowns, the prestigious German KF3 and KF1 titles and the World SuperKart Cup Final KF2 title. From 191 kart race starts, Dennis has claimed 90 wins. He has uncanny control, particularly over the front of his car, being able to place it with absolute precision. It was this skill that ultimately got him in front.
After harrying Cammish for lap after lap, darting around at the end of the straight and with a few cheeky nudges to boot, he stuck to the left and forced Cammish into braking super-late to defend. As Cammish locked up and ran slightly wide, Olsen bolted right, picked up the inside and shot into P2 on three wheels. It was pure karting brilliance. They held this order to the finish.
Round 2 was held on Sunday. I haven’t yet seen the race, but Ammermüller again finished first with Olsen in hot pursuit and much closer at the chequered flag. Campbell and Cammish came home third and fourth with Dylan Pereira in fifth (above: another young talent with kart pedigree). This puts Ammermüller ahead in the championship, but Olsen is going to have a very interesting season. I look forward to watching him racing at Monaco and trying some kart lines there too.
I’ve been eagerly anticipating Olsen’s first Supercup season since the thrilling reports of his debut Carrera Cup Germany season last year. The young Scandi has also started this year’s Deutschland season in style, winning both races at the recent Hockenheim double header. Watching Olsen race a Cup Car is reminiscent of Kevin Estre’s finest moments: no doubt that a successful sports car career lies ahead if Olsen sticks with good management.
Here’s a video of the full race without commentary. These things normally disappear within a few days, so it lasts as long as it lasts!
It seems hard to believe, but Porsche has just built its millionth 911. You read that right: one million Porsche 911 models have been built since the model’s introduction in 1963. Funny to think that Porsche very nearly killed the model off.
In a pleasant coincidence for all other paddies who follow Porsche history, the millionth 911 was a 991 Carrera S Coupe, finished in Irish Green. Stuttgart says that production model 1,000,000 had a number of Exclusive additions but doesn’t give any more details. I can pick out a few bits from the pics but we’ll all have a poke when we catch it on its world tour. Great to see that it’s nothing too flashy – some things at Porsche never change.
“Fifty-four years ago, I was able to take my first trips over the Grossglockner High Alpine Road with my father,” said Dr. Wolfgang Porsche. “The feeling of being in a 911 is just as enjoyable now as it was then. That’s because the 911 has ensured that the core values of our brand are as visionary today as they were in the first Porsche 356 from 1948.”
“Porsche has never strayed from the founding concept of the original 911,” says its CEO, Oliver Blume. “But we have continued to enhance the technology of the 911, refining and perfecting the sports car. That’s why it remains a state-of-the-art and technically innovative vehicle. We have also been able to expand the model line very successfully through derivates.”
It may not be Stuttgart’s biggest seller but no doubt it is the most strategically important. The much-adored sports car showers a glittering halo of heritage and established performance attributes across all Porsche models, including the trucks.
All two-door Porsche sports cars nowadays come off the same Zuffenhaus production line which once rolled out 911s only, but ask anyone to name a Porsche sports car and most will say 911. It is still the model closest to the hearts of enthusiasts, and now there have been a million of them.
Ironic to think that Stuttgart almost killed it off. We all like off-the-wall thinking but sometimes you just have to go with the voice of the majority. If saving the 911 is all Peter Schutz is ever remembered for – and no doubt it was Peter who saved it – that is a prodigious, magnificent legacy.
The Gen 2 991 GT3 PDK has just had its first public hot laps around the Nürburgring and set a time 12 seconds quicker than the outgoing model. 7 mins 12.7 seconds is between 2 and 3 percent quicker than the old car, so will such a modest increase hurt sales of Gen 2s?
Autocar magazine released its first drive of the Gen 2 991 GT3 Manual earlier this week and Greg Kable was quick to point out that the Gen 2 PDK is substantially quicker on track. “But as spectacularly good as the manual version of the new Porsche 911 GT3 is – and it really is stunningly effective – I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who intends to do an intensive amount of track day running…In ultimate performance terms, the PDK model is king.” This being the case, how much slower than a Gen 1 GT3 PDK would one be around the Nürburgring in a Gen 2 Manual? And would a slower Gen 2 Manual matter?
Manual transmission matters for the emotional response to total control, or so the experts say. But how many cars would one sell with the headline: “the Gen 2 GT3 Manual is ten seconds slower than the old car around the Nürburgring, but you told us you wanted three pedals for those 1500 miles a year, so here you go”?
Manufacturers need to upgrade, renew and keep pace with the competition and find the USPs that set their latest creations apart from the old ones but, at some stage, the actual users of a thing (rather than speculators/investors/collectors or whatever the latest word is) run out of real reasons to ‘upgrade’. A two year-old iPhone 6S Plus does basically the same job as the latest one, a four year-old Macbook Pro does pretty much the same job as a new one and a 17 year-old Volkswagen Polo ticks the same ‘get from A-B’ box as a new one, so why bother with new things at all?
Of course, stuff wears out when it gets used a lot and replacements are then a necessity, but few people are wearing out Gen 1 GT3s. If the upgrade path is all about egos aching for shiny, then Porsche is mining a rich psychological seam. Stuttgart delivered just shy of 60,000 cars in Q1 2017 (another record, one imagines). To make and deliver all of these cars, the company now employs 28,249 people. Profit margins have also risen and are now running at 17.6 percent on a total revenue of €5.5 billion.
No prizes for guessing that 911 GT3s are not top of the sales charts, but they must be pretty close to the top in the league table of press coverage year-on-year. The column inches guarantee all Gen 2 GT3s will be sold, so maybe it makes little difference how quick the car is. Then again, it has to be quicker or the press won’t play ball.
If I didn’t already have a Gen 1 991 GT3 and someone offered me a Gen II build slot, I would buy the manual regardless of whether it was ten or even twenty seconds slower. But, if I already owned a Gen 1 GT3 and had to find a chunk of change to get in a manual that was slower on track? That is a different scenario.
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