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!
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by John Glynn | Jun 8, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
Flicking through Instagram this morning, a 356 friend on there posted this picture of his stunning Coupe. Turns out the colour is Aetna Blue – a new one on me, available on 356s for just two years: 1960/61. Porsche paint names intrigue me, so I got onto Google.
You’ll have guessed that Aetna is a Greek word. In classic mythology, Aetna was the daughter of Uranus and Gaea: nymph goddess of a Sicilian volcano said to entomb the giant Typhoeus, whose frequent restlessness led to the eruptions from the mountain, and terrifying earthquakes that shook the island.
That Sicilian volcano is, of course, Mount Etna. It is easy to understand how a sojourn alongside the Sicilian coast could have led to this rich melt of sky and sea finding its way onto a svelte 356. Continuing the Google led to a thread on Rennlist, which once again proved to me how small this Porsche world is. But that’s another story.
Marc L in Houston, Texas shared how he had bought this used Porsche 991 C2S manual from a Houston Porsche dealer, in paint-to-sample Aetna Blue with Espresso leather and wood trim. Apparently the car had covered less than a thousand miles but had come back in soon after delivery, as part exchange on a C4S 911. Numerous local Rennlisters contributed to say it had been at the dealer’s for a while: the unique colour and trim proving difficult to sell.
Marc walked in looking for a Cobalt Blue 997 Turbo, but was struck by the luxurious combination of this custom-built 991. While there is the usual backlash on the thread against the wood trim, seeing these things in person is a totally different experience. No surprise Marc was smitten, buying it on the spot.
The original owner of the Aetna Blue 991 also chimes in to the thread, sharing how “that vintage feel is what I was looking for. My dealer would never order wood in a 911 but after this car they’ve done it several times. With the right colors it looks good.”
Porsche’s paint to sample facility is a wonderful thing. A skilled aesthete can build a beautiful car that would be kept forever. It can also go exceptionally wrong, of course, but to me this 991 sums up the best of modern Porsche. Perhaps it also shows that the 991 is now a car for fifty- rather than thirty-somethings (I’m at the wrong end of that scale), but now the young folk have the Cayman and Boxster, let all 991s look as special as this. It’s my favourite 991 to date.
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by John Glynn | May 24, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods, Road Trips
Tripped over these pictures from our shoot of the original Singer Porsche 911 on Pacific Coast Highway. I remember it as a very good day, but was amazed to find it was almost five years since I did this job with my partner in Porsche, James Lipman.
Back then, I was still working for motor trade publishers, Glass’s Guide, and Jamie had yet to fully establish himself amongst the favourite photographers of Rolls Royce, Bentley and the other top brands he now shoots for. I was just out there on a busman’s holiday, having fun in a twice-yearly visit with friends on the west coast, enjoying the Porsche scene and blogging it on the Internet.
This trip in November 2009 was a bit special. Singer’s Rob Dickinson had pinged me a few weeks previously, asking if we wanted to be first to shoot the Singer before it went out to a wider audience. Of course I was up for that and booked the cover of 911 & Porsche World. We did a few day’s work up in San Francisco before driving to Ventura for the Porsche show there, and dropping down to LA’s Mulholland Drive for the Singer shoot one Saturday afternoon.
Suffice to say, it did not run quite to plan. Mulholland was a challenge as the car was not a happy bunny. The famous road is a rat run in rush hour (which it was when we started) and there were few obvious spots for us to shoot it on the move. In the end, the light passed and we still hadn’t managed a cover shot.
We stayed late in the car park at the Bel Air Presbyterian Church on Mulholland, where Jamie shot some of the most shared Singer pictures on the Internet with just one light (above), but we were missing the drama of the car in motion. Not much chance to do it like this – find the car in this pic:
Next day, were were back down near LA to meet Bata Mataja at his house in Malibu and shoot his 356 Speedster. There might be a chance to shoot the Singer in Malibu on Pacific Coast Highway – also known as Highway 1 – at the end of the day. We all really wanted that shot, so Rob would try to get the car out to Malibu and we could have a go at doing it.
Even before meeting Bata, I knew the 356 would be a long day. After we started talking, it was almost the whole day: we had a fantastic time with an amazing character. This left precious little time to do the Singer.
After meeting at the famous Neptune’s Net (stunning seafood shack), we had a quick coffee, wiped the dust off the car and got going, driving down the legendary Highway 1 out of Malibu. As the sun began to set on the Pacific, Jamie hung out the window of my Craigslist-purchased 911 to grab some of my favourite Porsche pictures ever.
When you’re in the middle of a job, it’s tough to stand back and enjoy the moment as the focus is just on doing the work. Now I can enjoy the pictures, I remember the sun on my face, the wonderful golden light, the noise of two flat sixes and that feeling of driving my own 911 in such a fantastic part of the world.
People often ask how Jamie did this in Photoshop, but this is how it just about looked on camera. Rollin’ with the pros!
by John Glynn | May 16, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
Porsche of the 1990s was a very different company to the one we know today. Squeezed by recession, Stuttgart turned to final evolutions of its classic designs and pushed to slash production times (and therefore cost) on new models, to increase profitability.
The 964 Turbo – often referred to as the 965 – was one of the last Porsche models to be built in the old fashioned/traditional way, with plenty of hand-finished aspects. Good examples of 964 Turbo are amongst the most sought after 911s in the current classic market and this one may be the rarest of the rare: an X88 964 Turbo, ordered and owned by the Sultan of Brunei.
Sultan of Brunei Porsche Collection
Depending where you look, estimates for the Sultan of Brunei’s Porsche collection ranges from 160 Porsche models to over 200. The only one I have seen up to now was a special 959 at William Loughran’s in Preston, but now there is an X88 pack 964 Turbo with just 18,200 miles.
First registered on April 8 1994, this Horizon Blue 964 Turbo is amongst the last ‘965’ models built as part of Porsche Exclusive’s 964 Turbo run-out programme. The 3.6 already had a number of improvements over earlier 3.3-litre cars, including a 360 bhp engine, bigger brakes, upgraded final drive and the iconic Speedline split rim wheels. The X88 Turbo S versions had another jump in power: dyno testing this car a few years ago showed 402 bhp and 556 Newton metres of torque.
Delivered straight to Ruf in Pfaffenhausen, the car was fitted with the Ruf electronic clutch system, which has since been removed. The car now runs a five-speed transmission, albeit still Ruf badged. Post Ruf, the 964 Turbo entered the Sultan’s collection where it remained until 2003, when it was sold back to the UK.
Porsche 964 Turbo S X88 Spec
Originally supplied through Porsche Centre Malaysia, the Horizon Blue exterior is matched with a Marine Blue full leather trim, featuring electric ‘Comfort’ seats and the X26 leather steering wheel with airbag (bespoke to the Sultan’s collection). Options on the air-cooled cars are always amusing compared to today’s plethora of PCM, PMS and the rest, but this has an on-board computer, rear window wiper and holder for cassettes and coins. Plush to the max.
It’s offered for sale at just under £200k. Given that a standard 911 964 Turbo with this mileage could sell pretty quickly for around £130k, it’s conceivable that someone will pay this.
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by John Glynn | May 12, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Tuthill Porsche driver and fellow Irishman, Howard Redhouse, has won the 2014 Mini Britannia one-day rally in an ice-driving Porsche 911 taken straight out of Sweden!
Tuthill Porsche wins Britannia Tour
Three Tuthill Porsche-prepared 911s took part in this precursor to the full Tour Britannia: the Belgian Historic Championship challenger of Glenn Janssens, Duncan Buck’s RSR-style rally car, and a Tuthill-built 3-litre 911, which had last run at Tuthill Porsche’s Below Zero ice driving camp on the frozen lakes of Sweden.
In changeable damp-to-wet conditions, Tuthill Porsche 911s traded fastest times on every stage of the historic motorsport event, including those run on the BBC Top Gear track at Dunsfold Park (pics by Steve Kilvington Motorsport Photography). In the end, the winning driver was long-time Tuthill competitor and experienced endurance racer, Meath’s own Howard Redhouse.
“This event was excellent fun,” smiled the victorious Redhouse. “It was my co-driver Scott Nicholson’s first motorsport outing, and we pushed flat out from the start. The sometimes damp, sometimes wet conditions were a great leveller in the inter-team battle between our 3-litre ice driving car and Glenn Janssens’ championship-winning monster. It’s a very satisfying victory!”
“Only one thing beats watching Tuthill Porsche cars in competition, and that’s watching our drivers compete for the win,” said team boss, Richard Tuthill. “Howard, Glenn and their co-drivers gave it everything and it’s especially rewarding to see one of our Below Zero Ice Driving cars take the win. A well-prepared Tuthill Porsche with a capable driver stands a chance on any event.
Tuthill’s Winning Week
“In the last seven days, Tuthill Porsche has claimed a category win in the British Historic Rally Championship, taken second and fourth place on the 2014 Sydney London Marathon rally and we’re about to confirm a former World Champion for our team on the Classic Rally of South Africa in September: another great Tuthill 911 adventure for experts and novices alike. It’s been a week to remember!“
