by John Glynn | Jun 29, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
America’s Connor de Phillippi was denied a decent result at the Norisring this weekend, when chaos on a wet street course stopped the Californian’s Carrera Cup championship challenge in its tracks. De Phillippi was forced out of both races due to contact.
Both Carrera Cup races held on the exciting street circuit through Hitler’s former Nuremberg parade grounds brought the same face to the top step. Lechner Racing‘s Michael Ammermüller took debut back-to-back Carrera Cup wins in grand style, with a huge lead at the chequered flag in race 2.
I say huge: it was five seconds, but five more seconds separated second through to sixth. Carrera Cup Deutschland is the closest Porsche racing anywhere, so to finish five seconds ahead in these conditions with such strong opposition is super impressive.
First loser in race 2 was Earl Bamber, but the 23 year-old Kiwi who won a €200,000 Porsche Supercup scholarship at the start of 2014 is proving his massive talent every time he takes to the circuit. Starting seventh on the grid, Bamber had a great start, stayed focused and saved his tyres to pull skillful moves on Christian Engelhart and Porsche Junior, Sven Müller towards the finish, and finish second overall.
“It was like go-karts, battling all the way,” said Bamber. The post race video below shows how true that is, as Bamber, Engelhart, Muller and Ammermüller slip and slide on a greasy track within inches of each other. It is great racing and perhaps slightly worrying for Weissach.
Carrera Cup and Supercup is the breeding ground for future works drivers. If the baby-faced Müller can finish P3 in his first wet Carrera Cup race behind an undeniable 911 expert and the prodigious talent of Bamber, where will he racing in twelve months’ time? Weissach’s works squad had better watch out for these Carrera Cup kids: they are easily good enough to challenge for works drives.
Top of the driver’s table now is Konrad Motorsport’s Christopher Zöchling, another rising star. These are all names you will hear much more about! Zöchling leads by two points from Bamber, with De Phillippi a point down in third. Watch this race video from Porsche AG.
by John Glynn | Jun 23, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods, Road Trips
Nice email thread this weekend, as my buddy Craig from San Francisco picked up his latest Porsche purchase: a 1976 Porsche 911 Turbo Carrera. Bought in Denver, Colorado, Craig and wife Lori picked it up in person, then drove it home to California in a two-day road trip.
On my last trip to northern California, inveterate Porsche chopper Craig had the most amazing early 3-litre 930, in special order Albert Blue. He’d found that one on the other side of America, bought it and attempted to register it under the state’s smog laws. However, the work required to get it CA legal put him off. Being a muppet, he sold it.
Now, I can’t say too much here. I’ve sold cars I should have kept: no doubt you have too. But a SPECIAL ORDER ALBERT BLUE 930 is not the same as a common or garden SC, so I’ve booked a nipple tweak for Craig next visit.
Our friend then attempts to soothe his troubled soul by snapping up a 930 advertised on one of the US boards, within hours of it going online. Silver with Lobster interior is a nicely period combination, but the new owner has some work ahead to find the missing 15″ Fuchs, Recaro sports seats and who knows what else is no longer present. If anyone can do it, Craig can. That’s why they call US classifieds “Craig’s List”.
“It’s official,” said Craig. “I’m now the owner of a ’76 Turbo Carrera…again. Last year (for reasons that still escape me) I sold my Albert Blue Turbo Carrera. I’ve regretted that decision ever since. These cars have really gone ballistic since: mine sold for $155k shortly after I sold it. Just as I was thinking that I would never be able to afford one again, this one popped up in CO for a not-so-crazy price. I still can’t afford it but I bought it anyway! Not pretty, but all mine.
“With the keys in hand, it’s time for an epic road trip. I took the top shot from our hotel room while waiting for the wife to get ready, best angle of a 930 in my opinion. The first mod is already complete: R Gruppe license plate frame! WerkCrew sticker coming soon.”
The drive home offered a number of options. Ironically, Craig chose to ignore the opportunity to visit Craig, CO, and instead headed north from Denver into Wyoming. Cutting through Laramie and over the Medicine Bow National Forest, husband and wife entered Utah at Salt Lake City, skirting south of the Great Salt Lake before stopping briefly at Bonneville Salt Flats.
“I have to say, as bumped and bruised as the body is with 167k miles on the clock, she drives like it’s 1976 again,” says our hero. “This Porsche 930 is a good thirty-footer, but tracks perfectly straight and feels as solid as the day it was screwed together: a testament to Porsche engineering. No funny noises or smells or anything but, yes, those wheels must go!”
From Bonneville, it was over the border into Nevada for a monumental thrash through nowhere.com. I offered $50 towards a full-bore speeding ticket, quickly supported by fellow upsetters. When Arjen then shared a copy of his $1300 fine for doing 70 in a 55 and Craig said the tyres were 12 years old, we let him continue in peace.
The car eventually reached the safety of its new home late on Sunday night. Will he find the bits and pieces? How long will he keep it? What dramas are waiting to befall the Porsche fan when he goes to register it? All this and more in future updates. As the licence plate frame Craig took off the car on purchase said: “it’s cheaper than being married.” Aha!
by John Glynn | Jun 20, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
Just added another article to our series on Porsche people. This piece introduces Cary, an R Gruppe friend in California who runs a beautiful Porsche 911 Carrera RS replica.
In rare Silver with Mexico Blue accents, the RS recreation was purchased via eBay a few years ago. Cary bought it from a seller based in North Carolina and had it inspected by nearby Porsche specialist, Chuck Miller, before committing to the bidding process. Cary scooped the RS recreation for $30k: right at the top of his original budget, but it certainly looks like a mega bargain now.
Californian Carrera RS
The car started life as a 1969 Porsche 912. It was driven for a few years before being parked in a garage, where it sat for over 25 years until the RS project was born. The bodyshell was stripped down to the bare essentials, then media blasted and repainted silver. Silver is a quite a nice choice, as there was never an original Carrera RS in silver. I didn’t know this until Cary told me – quite a surprise.
Featuring RS bumpers front and rear, the classic RS ducktail and de rigeur Carrera rear arches, the newly painted shell was fitted with good bits including a 2,000-mile 2.7-litre flat six, with PMO carbs. Inside the cases were JE 9.5:1 pistons and GE40-profile camshafts. Electromotive electronic ignition gets it all fired up.
A short ratio 901 transmission puts the power on the road. The interior is simple classic RS ingredients and attractive OMP seats. “I wasn’t a fan of these at the start,” says Cary, “until someone told me they were rare carbon/kevlar mix seats so they were definitely staying at that stage.
Cary’s RS was great to meet and great to shoot. Shot in an evening session on a back road just outside San Francisco, we ran the RS up and down a country road and a guy came out of the stables alongside. Cary’s car is pretty quiet really and we weren’t being hooligans, but I still expected to get a mouthful from the stable master.
“Looks like a good one,” came the holler. “Is it a real one?” Turns out the horseman was a big Porsche fan. He had an original Speedster in a barn out back and drove an early 911 himself. This is how small our Porsche world is. Love the Porsche life in California!
Read about Cary’s Porsche 911 Carerra RS recreation and share your Porsche experiences over email. Send me some pics and text: I will feature the best ones in the Ferdinand Porsche blog.
by John Glynn | Jun 18, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices, Project Cars
Loyal readers of my original Classic Porsche Blog may remember the story of when Porsche 911 parts I bought on eBay were flown to me in person. I just found some of the old pictures and thought it was worth a re-blog.
eBay Porsche Parts Shipping
In need of some parts for The Varmint – a Porsche 911 SC Coupe I had bought in San Francisco on Craigslist, used in California and shipped back to England – I went on eBay and hunted around. I needed a door pull, door pockets and a few other bits. Peter had been backdating a 3.2 Carrera and was selling all the parts I needed on the auction site. He also had a few other NOS parts including a headlamp washer pump and some light lenses.
We did a little deal on the lot, I gave him my address and he went off to get a price on the postage. I had an email ten minutes later. “Are you near Silverstone and free tomorrow?” I’m just down the road from Silverstone, and I work from home, so that was no problem. “Meet me at Turweston and I’ll have the parts with me,” said Peter.
Turweston Aerodrome
Just a few miles from Silverstone circuit, which was a huge aircraft base in the war, Turweston also served as an airfield in WW2. Wellington, Avro Anson and USAF Mitchell bombers flew from its three runways (including a 1.6 kilometre-long strip still used for F1 car and MotoGP motorbike testing) until the aerodrome was closed at the end of 1945. After that, it was used for MoD storage until reopening in the 1990s as a private airfield. It’s where most helicopter taxi rides into the British Grand Prix start from.
It turned out that Peter was the only qualified town planner in the UK who specialised in airfield planning and permission issues, and Turweston was one of his clients. He had flown up from Kent in his Europa 2 Tri-Gear light aircraft and brought my eBay 911 parts with him: I was knocked out by the service.
Driving the distance would have taken more than two hours. Flying took less than a quarter of that, with a lot less fuel used also – the 100hp Rotax 912S engine in Peter’s self-built Europa uses as little as 6 litres per 100 kilometres while cruising, so about a gallon of fuel to get to me. It was a very cool experience: I know lots of Porsche guys are pilots too, so thought I would share pics of the aircraft.
Of the Europa 2, Peter says “The Europa offers a rare brilliance in light aeroplane design and handling. There is very little in the marketplace today that offers so much performance for so little cost in maintenance.” The car is, of course, my 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 Coupe in Continental Orange. Sits well against the white and blue paint scheme, with the orange on the tail. Here’s some video of Peter’s plane in action:
by John Glynn | Jun 17, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods, Project Cars
Fellow Porsche hot rod fans will totally get this Porsche 911 Targa Speedster. Originality crew, avert your eyes now.
Vincent in Colorado emailed me last night with pictures of his Porsche street rod creation. Known affectionately as ‘Butzi’, it’s a lightweight Speedster-style project, based on a 1971 911 E Targa. Inspired by a visit to the Porsche Museum, close inspection of the 550 Spyder and 909 Bergspyder hillclimb special drove Vincent to create a lightweight version of his early 911.
Hot Rod Porsche 911 Targa Speedster
“I bought my 1971 Porsche 911E Targa in California on 9/11, 2000. Always maintained by Andial, the car had been stolen from its previous owner, but subsequently recovered. While stolen, it had picked up body damage: a smashed front wing and door, clipped in a collision. Now far from immaculate condition, it was ready for a transformation along the lines of home-brew early race cars.
“I welded in rear flares to fit 8 x 15” Fuchs wheels, and added lightness to the entire body. Fibreglass bumpers, bonnet, deck lid, and front fenders keep with the lightweight build theme. I have yet to weigh the car, but you can be sure it’s in the 1800 lb range (800 kilos).
eBay Porsche Parts Find
“The most challenging part of the build was committing to the Speedster theme. This required removal of the original Targa roof components and fabricating the windshield. I got lucky and found the rear clamshell on eBay.
“Powered by the original 2.2-litre engine, refreshed and on Webers with the 901 transmission, I’m enjoying driving it, but have to start work on the suspension and get some ideas on paint. Originally silver, I really like the early Porsche race cars in white, hence the theme it is now: in various shades of white primer, awaiting the next stage.”
As a Porsche feature car veteran, I like the hot rods: cars with personality. I rarely get super excited by perfect Porsches that the owners won’t drive due to spotless condition. For me, a Porsche on the move is the real deal: even Zuffenhausen drives its museum exhibits every now and then.
Vincent’s 911 Speedster is towards the opposite end of the Porsche preservation spectrum, but this doesn’t make it less engaging. It’s a work in progress, and sometimes progress has to shake a few cages. Kudos, Vincent and Salut, Butzi. Keep on rocking in the free world!
