![Porsche Drive-In Movie Festival at Le Mans Classic]()
by John Glynn | Jun 24, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Nice idea from the team at Le Mans Classic this year, as the organisers have decided to erect an inflatable movie screen and show porsche drive-in movies in the Le Mans circuit infield on Friday and Saturday nights.
The inflatable screen will be installed near the famous Dunlop Bridge. Filmgoers will be provided with an audio headset, so not to be disturbed by the roaring sound of engines coming from the circuit.
Movies being shown at Le Mans will please Porsche fans. The Friday night menu includes:
- 21:30 – A Man and a Woman (Claude Lelouch)
- 23:55 – C’était un Rendez-Vous ; “It was a date” (Claude Lelouch)
- 00:00 – Bullitt (Peter Yates)
Saturday’s schedule features:
- 21:30 – Le Mans (Lee H. Katzin)
- 00:05 – C’était un Rendez-Vous ; “It was a date” (Claude Lelouch)
- 00:15 – Weekend of a Champion (Roman Polanski)
Steve McQueen in Bullitt and Le Mans will keep the crowds happy, but the other movies are also worth seeing. Rendez-Vous is short but sweet: the contrived early morning lap of Paris, supposedly driven in a V8 Mercedes, but the director allegedly dubbed it with the soundtrack of his V12 Ferrari 275GTB!
Weekend of a Champion is Polanski’s excellent documentary following Jackie Stewart through his 1971 Monaco Grand Prix weekend. It’s a considered look at motorsport of the era and gives an engaging insight into a driver at the top of his game, doubly concerned with safety and with beating his less safety-conscious rivals.
Each movie will be shown in its original version with French subtitles for foreign films and English subtitles for French films. “Who has never dreamed about the drive-in movie theatre?” asks Classic Le Mans. “It came to us from the United States, combining the two major national industries, auto and film. Le Mans Classic will recreate this atmosphere!”
Ferdinand Magazine is not at Classic Le Mans this year: Abu Dhabi beckons instead. Enjoy your CLM weekend and share your Porsche pics using Ferdinand Magazine’s Facebook page, our Twitter feed, or send them to us via email!
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 22, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Former Belgian Historic Rally Champion, Glenn Janssens, blitzed to victory on the last weekend’s Ypres Historic Rally in a Tuthill Porsche 911.
Close to the Franco-Belgian border, the beautiful city of Ypres is storied in European rallying. First run in 1965, the Ypres Rally has attracted the biggest names in rallying, with previous winners including Walter Röhrl in the Opel Kadett, and a trio of Porsche victors: Bernard Béguin, Marc Duez and the great Henri Toivonen.
The Ypres Historic continues the great rally’s tradition of running through Ypres marketplace at the start before heading to the first special stage at Boezinge. Driving his powerful Tuthill Porsche 911, Jannsens and co-driver Stéphane Prévot dominated proceedings from the evening start on Friday, taking stage wins in all but the final sections of the two-day classic.
Tuthill Porsche wins Ypres Historic Rally
Fending off challengers including five-time British champion, Jimmy McRae, in an Opel Ascona and experienced rivals in quick Ford Escorts and very fast E21 BMWs, Janssens and Prévot married speed and experience to build a dominant lead, before managing their pace on the closing stages to come home first overall.
“Stage results don’t show the skill and concentration required to win at this level,” said Richard Tuthill. “Glenn’s got exceptional natural pace, which is encouraged by complete trust in his Tuthill Porsche platform and partnership with such an experienced co-driver.
“A long-time European classic, Ypres Historic is the Monaco Grand Prix of the Belgian Historic calendar. To take a convincing win against strong competition underlines the pace of our cars and proves Glenn’s fire to win burns brighter than ever. Well done to Glenn and Stéphane from all of the Tuthill Porsche team.”
Tuthill Porsche now moves on to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, charity support with five Porsche rally cars running at this summer’s Carfest and launching a groundbreaking Porsche rally car on this summer’s European WRC events. Top secret at the minute, but all will be revealed!
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 18, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
Had a nice email from Raleigh up in Utah, who thanked me for pointing him towards Impact Bumpers (you’re welcome mate) and shared some pics of this very smart 1984 Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera Coupe in rare Ruby Red. With just two owners and low mileage from new, it’s the antithesis of yesterday’s Targa Speedster feature car.
Introducing the Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera
1984 was the first year of the 3.2-litre Carrera. The new 911 was a development of the 911 SC, which had sold well for Porsche through the late 1970s, when Porsche management was planning to axe the 911 in favour of the 928.
New Porsche CEO, Peter Schutz, saw that enthusiasts were not ready to abandon Stuttgart’s rear-engined sports car. Schutz reversed the 911’s sentence, and gave orders to restart product development. In 1981 there was had a power hike for the SC, then another in 1983 (RoW) and then a displacement increase and fuel injection system change for the new model 911 3.2 Carrera in 1984.
The 911: Saved by Schutz
“The decision to keep the 911 occurred in the office of (engineering chief) Helmuth Bott, when I noticed a chart on the wall,” recalled Schutz. “It showed the ongoing development schedules for the Porsche 911, 928 and 944. Two of them stretched far into the future, but the 911 line stopped at the end of 1981. I walked to the chart, took a black marker pen, and extended the 911 line clean off the chart. I’m sure I heard a silent cheer from Bott.”
Bott went on to father the 959, and the work his engineering team did on the Carrera paid off handsomely, as the new 911 sold in record numbers. Bosch Motronic was a clear step up from the earlier CIS or K-Jet system used on the 911SC (and every other contemporary Porsche), giving better efficiency. While the bigger displacement came via a longer and lazier stroke, the increased capacity and better intake system gave more headline horsepower: quite a marked jump for US enthusiasts. More power, more prestige, more sales.
Two Owners from New
One man keen to sign up for the 3.2 Carrera was Raleigh’s father-in-law, who ordered this 911 brand new in 1983, and had it delivered that Christmas. Those early 3.2 seats are still as 911SC: most early 3.2 trim shows no change from previous. Teledial wheels were Carrera additions and are rare items now: sunroof and air con is not super common outside the US.
The classic Carrera has covered just 41,000 miles and looks in superb condition. Raleigh took over the 911’s upkeep one year ago, and reports the only change to standard as an updated radio – literally nice to hear. Good job, Utah Porsche guys: this 3.2 is a cutie.
