by John Glynn | Apr 7, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
EB Motorsport has opened its 2014 FIA Masters Historic challenge at the Espiritu de Montjuic Barcelona event. The RSR took a pair of wins in both Trofeo Javier del Arco races amongst a field of historic touring cars, and a class win in the Masters Historic Sports Car race.
Qualifying second on the grid behind a De Tomaso for the first Javier del Arco race on Saturday, EB’s Mark Bates in his Porsche 911 RSR quickly found a rhythm around the Circuit de Catalunya, snatched first place from the pole-sitting Pantera and claimed his first win of 2014 at the chequered flag, twelve seconds ahead of Manuel Hermida’s BMW M3 touring car.
Starting from pole in Sunday’s race two, Bates’ RSR swapped fastest sector times with the M3 to the flag, but while Hermida chalked up two out of three fastest sector times, the win went to Bates’ Light Yellow Porsche, just two seconds ahead of the M3 after twenty five minutes of racing. Close contest!
In Masters Historic, Mark came home first in class (Pescarolo), behind the sole GT40 running. The Formula 1 layout at Barcelona favours the historic sports cars’ higher gearing, top speeds and aerodynamic bodywork, but the 911 gave it a good run, with a fastest lap a little over a second slower than the sleek Le Mans-winning Ford.
Barcelona was EB’s bogey track last year, when a gearbox issue put paid to a defence of their back-to-back titles. Finishing three tough races in two days reliably and on the top step throughout will inspire some confidence. Roll on the next round at Donington Historic Festival from May 3-5!
Here’s some great video of Mark Bates racing the EB Motorsport Porsche 911 RSR in action versus the modern-day BMW E30 M3 Touring car of Manuel Hermida. Super close racing through the backmarkers!
by John Glynn | Apr 6, 2014 | Art and Books, Classic Porsche Blog
I spent a good morning with our friends from Ricoh Production & Print on Friday, trimming the first bound copies of our Cult of Porsche book down to size. The work was done at Morgana print finishers in Milton Keynes. If you thought producing books was all about printing then think again: Morgana’s range of print finishing equipment is huge, and it was interesting to learn what the machines all do.
Our work was on the Morgana Digibook 150 Perfect Binding Machine and the EBA 5560 Guillotine. As this first book also showcases Ricoh’s digital print output on a series of boutique papers, care was essential in getting the book through the systems.
Morgana is led by a bona fide Porsche enthusiast (just bought a 911-50), with a few more Porsche owners on the shop floor, so I needn’t have worried. The pre-production prototypes came out perfectly and the beautiful design has been proven. We now have a great example of this project to take to this week’s London Book Fair and share with the industry.
How and Where to Buy
I appreciate the questions on how & where to buy the book! Short answer is I don’t know yet. If we end up with a publisher, standard channels will apply. If we publish ourselves, then you’ll buy it from here. Our finish for this version is high end, so the production costs are steep, but a publisher may do something simpler. Should that occur, any high end finish will be sold via Ferdinand. Jamie & I will autograph & authenticate each copy sold via this website.
My plan is for this first “The Cult of Porsche” series as a trilogy. Readers have the option of eventually collecting all three and housing them in a bespoke box. I’m working on that idea with Ricoh and we’ll see how it develops. It is a very exciting project: not your standard Porsche book and we have plans to add a few tricks in the future. I’m keeping the Book 1 look a bit secret for now.
I followed this little brown impact-bumper Porsche 911 for a short while as as I left Morgana. Good omen!
by John Glynn | Apr 4, 2014 | Art and Books, Classic Porsche Blog
Less than 5 days to go to London Book Fair 2014. Version 1 of our Cult of Porsche book has been printed and bound, and I’m off out the door to Ricoh’s print finishers in Milton Keynes to watch them trimming the book down to size.
Bonus is I am driving my Cayenne there – picked it up yesterday following its gearbox rebuild. Running perfectly, but the bill is higher than expected and I have a different tyre on one front wheel. That is bad karma for someone.
I’m also meeting some book publishers and a literary agent at the show. Am totally new to books, so anyone wants to give me a few pointers then drop me an email to mail@ferdinandmagazine.com. Here’s our press release with Ricoh UK:
London, 8 April, 2014 – A digitally printed coffee table book celebrating the ownership and enjoyment of classic Porsche cars, illustrated with lavish photography, will be launched by Ricoh and its publisher The Cult of Porsche at the London Book Fair (LBF) at stand R505 on April 8, 2014.
The book, titled The Cult of Porsche: In the Beginning, documents beautifully preserved classic Porsche cars and inspiring owner-modified machines that pay tribute to Porsche’s unique engineering vision. The book was written by long-time Porsche journalist and blogger, John Glynn, with pictures by internationally renowned automotive photographer, James Lipman, and designed by Silk Pearce. ‘Ferdinand: The Cult of Porsche’ is John’s curated Porsche news blog with a massive global readership of nearly 250,000 unique users.
“In the Beginning is part one of our first classic Porsche collection,” says John. “Spread over three volumes, the first Cult of Porsche book trilogy traces an emotional line entwining true Porsche enthusiasts. It showcases wonderfully original cars as well as beautifully modified classics, to honour the legacy of Ferdinand ‘Ferry’ Porsche.
“Doing justice to James’ incredible photography has always been a Cult of Porsche priority. When the opportunity arose to print a beautifully designed book on Ricoh’s digital print machinery, we jumped at the chance. Our work was the ultimate test for Ricoh’s technology and this exceptional end product will delight readers, while doing justice to the material.”
The Cult of Porsche: In the Beginning is digitally printed and delivers the impact and quality that until now has been associated only with offset printing. It provides a practical example of the benefits digital printing can bring to publishers: a cost effective route to market and; a fast and straight forward way to produce short-run books and those requiring frequent updates. It can also benefit authors who want to print their own work with an affordable printing method, and the opportunity to collaborate on bespoke solutions.”
Gareth Parker, strategic marketing manager – production print, Ricoh said: “Collaborating with John, James and Silk Pearce to create this beautiful book has been an enormous pleasure. The project has enabled us to demonstrate the first class results publishers can get by printing digitally to create unique, short-run books. As readers’ habits change, publishers must change their mindsets to embrace the capabilities of digital, and the sellable impact it can offer. By adopting new technologies today, publishers can start to transform their businesses for the future.”
by John Glynn | Apr 4, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Been doing a lot of Porsche inspections lately. I only look at impact bumper 911s and don’t advertise my services, so it shows just how much interest there is around these Porsches right now. I can’t share any inspection pics, but I can share this: a cabriolet hack job built on a 1965 Porsche 911 SWB, recently dragged out of the Tuthill Porsche barn.
The complete article is stunningly irreverent, reminding us that people didn’t always care about tired early SWB Porsche 911s, out of step with the supercar times. This homemade Porsche convertible was much more in keeping with whatever swamp of despair it crawled from: side strakes, front fog lamps, chopped door glass frames and bits of angle iron welded to the rear quarters to hold a soft top frame on. A b-grade Miami Vice stunt car, maybe.
Note the press studs screwed to the top of the windscreen frame and the filled horn grille apertures. Classy.
by John Glynn | Mar 31, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Following its record-breaking 17-car entry on the 2013 East African Safari Classic Rally, renowned UK Porsche specialist, Tuthill Porsche, is amongst the first teams to commit to the inaugural Classic Rally of South Africa.
Tuthill Porsche South Africa
Held over five days from September 1, the 2014 Classic Rally of South Africa will cover more than 2,000 kms, including 800 kms of special stages through the incredible Mpumalanga Valley, close to the Kruger National Park, and South Africa’s borders with Mozambique and Swaziland.
The South African Classic is the brainchild of Surinder Thatthi, former head of the East African Safari Classic Rally and FIA World Council representative for Africa. Early rally entrants, John Lloyd and co-driver Adrian Cavenagh, have chosen a Tuthill Porsche ‘Safari’ 911 to attack this epic endurance event. Lloyd has previously tasted success with Tuthills, finishing fourth overall on the 2005 Safari Classic in a Porsche 911 prepared at the rally team’s base in Wardington, Oxfordshire.
“We’re excited to be heading for South Africa, racing to win in an all-new location,” says Richard Tuthill. “The team behind Classic South Africa is the same group that made Safari such a test of car and character. With a challenging route through a glorious landscape, no doubt this rally will be just as exciting.
“Thanks to discounted entry fees on this inaugural event, we’ve created some attractive arrive-and-drive packages with full car support. Enjoying a Tuthill Safari Porsche at speed through some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, not to be missed. The opportunity to break new ground in rallying is rare, so we’re looking forward to a strong Team Tuthill presence in Nelspruit on September 1st.”
