by John Glynn | Sep 26, 2014 | Porsche People, Race and Rally
A mate sent me a great video of Colin McRae the other day, on the seventh anniversary of the former WRC champion’s death. I had never seen it before so I forwarded it to a few people, Richard Tuthill included. The Tuthill and McRae families are good friends so I know Richard would enjoy it, but I got more of a response than I was expecting.
“I’ve watched that more times over the last five years than any other in-car. It’s unbelievable – proper proper driving, he was incredibly good and I was so lucky to sit in an Impreza with him in Australia. Colin drove our blue car at Sweetlamb: within 600 metres, he was driving it quicker than I have ever seen a 911 being driven. He was a legend.”
No doubt all World Rally Champions display legendary talent, but many more drivers who never took a championship fully deserve the title of legend. Amongst the most legendary drivers still rallying is François Delecour (above): four-time winner in the WRC, and a man who has claimed many more wins in the hearts and minds of spectators.
Delecour is a legend: a tempestuous French maverick whose aura fluoresces with talent and passion. While Francois has picked up a reputation for crashing, the truth is that in thirteen years of WRC rallying from 1990 to 2002 (and six years of ERC before that), only twelve retirements were due to accidents. His pace is always scorching and his devotion to the Porsche 911 is unassailable: a prospect sure to arouse anyone with a hint of Porsche petrol in their veins.
“Ever since driving a round of the 2011 British Historic Rally Championship in one of our classic 911 rally cars, François has been part of the Tuthill Porsche family,” says Richard “He has a deep affection for the Porsche 911, and his exhilarating driving style will excite every rally fan watching the stages. All of our team is delighted to welcome him back in a Porsche.”
Tuthill Porsche 997 RGT earns a Million Views and Shares
France will be the second WRC event for the Tuthill Porsche 997 RGT, which captivated rally fans on its German debut. WRC website data reveals that features on the Tuthill Porsche RGT car have since enjoyed more than a million views and shares across the web and on social media.
“We knew that rally fans would embrace our RGT Porsche and the return of GT cars to the world rally stage,” says Richard. “With the fans so enthralled by our car, its time to put a world-class driver and co-driver into the Tuthill Porsche 911 RGT and take that excitement to the next level. We’re confident that François is the best man to do this, and we know the fans are just going to love it!”
WRC Rallye de France runs from 3-5 October. Get more details at www.rallyedefrance.com or via the WRC website at www.wrc.com.
Back to the start: here’s the McRae video I was talking about. He was the ultimate. These photos are by Andre Lavadinho, who is also rather special.
by John Glynn | Jul 18, 2014 | Porsche People, Race and Rally
Normally, nothing clears my living room like the sound of Formula 1 engines from the Sky Sports F1 channel. Yet I watched Sky’s F1 show tonight with wife and oldest daughter in attendance. Why? Because Patrick Dempsey Porsche Supercup.
This weekend is the German Grand Prix, and Dempsey has a seat in Porsche Supercup. I know many groan at the celebrity circus of McDreamy in racing but, away from the hype, his racing is serious.
“I am so grateful to Porsche and delighted to be here in Supercup,” Dempsey started off with David Croft, Grand Dame of Sky’s F1 coverage. “Never mind all that, what is happening in Series 11?” demanded Crofty, apparently a fan of Gray’s Anatomy. Dempsey warmed to the kickoff and was most entertaining.
“I get the feeling that you’re not going to be in this next series a lot, because you’re now a proper racing driver, and that’s why you’re here in Hockenheim?” asked Croft.
“I’m having a lot of fun here this weekend,’ said McDreamy. “Porsche Supercup has some of the world’s finest GT drivers, so to be here racing on an F1 weekend is a lot of fun. Although it’s very, very warm this weekend, so lack of grip through the twisty last sector is giving us quite a lot of understeer.”
“Struggling overall? Do you think your lap times will be good enough to give you a decent race on Sunday?”
“I don’t know: we’ll see how we qualify. You know it’s gonna be great [whatever happens]. It’s my first standing start, so I’m looking forward to that. I hope I have a good run; I hope I have someone out there to run with.”
Patrick Dempsey Porsche Supercup
That this is Dempsey’s first grid start is quite a revelation and shows how few competition miles he has clocked up in racing, at least here in Europe. As he’s such a huge part of Porsche’s Le Mans coverage, I forget how new Patrick is to racing, but it’s easy see how Le Mans drives him on.
“Le Mans is it for me really, that’s my dream,” smiled Dempsey. “We’ve come close now the last few times and I really want to win that race in class. It is so competitive – especially this year – that I just need to be training more, which is one reason why I’m over here. I enjoy being around all the drivers who are in the Supercup and have been incredibly supportive, and all my sponsors have been helping out, so I just need to be in the car. I need seat time and I need to be driving with the best drivers in the world to really improve my speed.”
Eurosport did a great documentary series following three drivers through Le Mans this year. Dempsey was one of them, and I really switched on to his focus. Supercup is a brutal barometer – packed as it is with incredible professional talent, all driving very similar cars – so I hope it treats him kindly. I don’t doubt Dempsey can finish up the field a bit, as long as he can navigate the Hockenheim GP circuit. It’s a super tricky place.
![Porsche: Sharapova, Webber and One Billion Euros]()
by John Glynn | May 1, 2014 | Porsche News, Porsche People
Porsche CEO Matthias Müller has revealed the carmaker’s plans to spend “significantly more than one billion euro this fiscal year, in substantial investments and significant expenditures”.
Porsche: Sharapova, Webber and record Q1 Revenue
“We are focused on fulfilling the promise of our brand – to offer the sportiest and technologically cutting-edge vehicles in our segments – on a long-term basis,” said the Chairman (above with the sugarcubes, Sharapova and Webber). “The improvement of fuel efficiency as well as a responsible use of resources are integral parts of Porsche strategy.”
2014 has started well for Stuttgart. Q1 deliveries were up almost 5% on last year at 38,663 vehicles. Q1 revenue is up 20% year-on-year to just under 4 billion euro. Operating profit has increased by 22%, while employee numbers have also risen, topping 20,000 people in February.
Record Workforce at Porsche AG
Employee numbers are a good indication of how well things have been going. Three years ago, total employees was 13,000. Since then, the company has increased staff numbers by more than 50%. That is seriously going some.
At the end of March, the total number employed by Porsche was 20,416 people: up 15% year-on-year. Almost 1,000 people were added in Q1 alone and that number will keep rising in the run up to Macan, which will be built at Leipzig. Want to work at Porsche with these guys? See all Porsche jobs here.
“Porsche sales will rise once more in the 2014 fiscal year,” predicted Matthias Müller. “The market launch of the Macan will give us an additional boost.”
Porsche Macan: High Expenditures
To make money, one must spend money, and Porsche has more to spend on Macan. “There are high expenditures for meeting the CO2 requirements and substantial investments in the build-out and modernization of the Zuffenhausen, Leipzig and Weissach locations,” noted Lutz Meschke, the board’s man in finance. “Assuming that sales in Europe will continue to stabilize despite the unresolved structural problems*, our aim is to achieve at a minimum a profit comparable to the previous year.”
I’ve just spent a while looking at government budgets by country. Porsche AG could start issuing passports if it keeps up this level of spending.
*Not sure what this means but am checking it out.
by John Glynn | Apr 21, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche People
Two years after starting on Instagram, Ferdinand Magazine remains a big fan of the platform and our Cult of Porsche Instagram feed makes new friends every day. One early Instagram friend was John Benton, a detail-obsessed Porsche mechanic based in Anaheim, CA.
Disappointed by his experiences as a Porsche-owning workshop customer, John’s background in high-end facilities engineering led to wondering why attention to detail was not a given in classic Porsche maintenance. Guessing he was not alone in feeling, Benton took a chance and opened a modest Porsche shop in Southern California.
Driven by solid demand for his services, Benton moved to bigger premises last year. Watching Benton’s day-to-day Instagram feed shows his focus on detail, and the comments show that customers love it. His reputation has blossomed into Benton Performance, which has taken back-to-back Porsche wins on Carrera Panamericana.
Underpinning all of Benton’s output is a reverence for classic Porsche style. “We’re so blessed and lucky to have these cars. There are no new 1966 Porsche 911s being built. Out of respect to them, I remain true to the form, but I like to build it a little better.” I hear that.
Customer and film director, Heath Mattioli, is a big fan of Benton’s and recently shot a small feature film with some satisfied Benton customers. It’s interesting, different and sheds light on a few Porsche truths. See how many you identify with.
by John Glynn | Apr 20, 2014 | Porsche People, Race and Rally
Just spotted Frédéric Makowiecki’s name listed as a works driver in one of the Silverstone releases. I had no idea Fred Makowiecki was a 2014 Porsche works driver – a quick search through the Porsche database shows no press release for the signing. He is listed on the Porsche works racing drivers’ homepage, though.
Fred Makowiecki now Porsche works driver
Always fast in a Porsche and a former French Carrera Cup champion, Makowiecki (above, left) was most recently attached to last year’s works Aston Martin squad, where he took wins at Circuit of the Americas 6 Hours and the 6 Hours of Fuji. Seems Aston let a few people go this year – their loss here for sure – and Fred was snapped up by Stuttgart.
Porsche Motorsport boss, Hartmut Kristen, called this one perfectly, as Fred took a win on his first time out for Team Manthey Porsche Racing. Edit: just found mention of the signing in a later Porsche press release (below).
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Frenchman Frédéric Makowiecki (33) will join the ranks of Porsche Motorsport’s GT squad this coming season and pilot a 911 RSR. Makowiecki, who prefers to be called Fred Mako, is a regular competitor behind the wheel of Porsche race cars. He has collected more than nine years of experience in the cockpit of the 911. One of his greatest achievements was clinching the title of the Porsche Carrera Cup France in 2010.
“Frédéric Makowiecki is one of the fastest and most experienced GT pilots,” says Porsche Head of Motorsport Hartmut Kristen. “He has a great deal of experience on virtually all international race tracks and he knows precisely how to drive a Porsche 911 fast. I’m very much looking forward to working with him.”
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?
