Unless I’m much mistaken, this video shows two R Gruppe friends of mine weaving Cult of Porsche through the California pines. Sums up what happens on a lot of the R Gruppe Porsche hot rod drives I’ve taken part in.
Check out the comments: there’s always someone who wants to rain on a parade. Whatever way you turn the wheel and whoever makes a comment, fun is fun. Critics can only take the fun away when you give them the power.
Been meaning to uncover my Carrera 3.0 for a while and stick the battery on charge. Did it this evening and found a big surprise hiding under the cover. The roof, rear arches and scuttle are peppered with microblisters. What a pain in the arse!
It’s not a huge deal, as the guys at Racing Restorations have some Porsche rust & bodywork repair work to do for me: repairing the dents I made over the driver’s door in Monaco, and sorting a bodged repair from before my time on an offside rear quarter replacement. So we’ll have to paint lots of the the car anyway, as matching this custom Continental Orange mix won’t be easy.
While we’re chopping about, I might get them to make a nicer job on the oil cooler nose box (done before me), and change an inner rear wing where it’s been hammered out in the past, so they might cut the rear quarter panel off for that. I’ll find Rob’s boys some other stuff to do: maybe chop the sills open to look for any rot. Tuthills have some nice carbon 935-style mirrors coming through on a new build, so maybe I’ll switch to those too. And fit a Safari roof vent! (might be just kidding)
I suppose this only really bugs me as there was nothing wrong with the paint when it went under cover, and the cover is not some cheap blanket affair: it’s a supposedly breathable genuine Porsche Tequipment accessory.
But I’m not blaming the cover and I don’t blame the car. I’ve neglected the Orange for long enough, so will just get it fixed. First thing to do is drag it out and run it to for an MOT when the battery’s charged. That’ll clean the mildew off the throttle.
Jan sent me some pics of the Turbo Look Porsche 911 Carrera he’s building as an RSR-style hot rod out in Hamburg. We’ve been chatting about using a Twinspark WEVO Porsche shifter to sharpen up the gearshift of his 911, and interesting ideas to tidy the inside.
This is my favourite kind of project: a constantly evolving development. Just as every 911 owner is always changing and picking up new inspirations, so those inspirations must find their way onto classic Porsche canvas.
It’s as yet decided what route Jan will take on gearshift. So far he’s got SSI heat exchangers and a two-out muffler, an upgraded chip, 9-and 10-inch Fuchs, Bilsteins and new bumpers. There might be a paint to do, or not. Looks cool as it is, though the sharkfins have to go.
Hamburg is a very cool place to build cars. Going out there soon to see the Prototype Museum. More news on that coming up.
Got a 911 hot rod build in progress? Send your pics to me as they are always up my street. Ferdinand is the home of hot rod Porsches. Email mail@ferdinandmagazine.com.
Excellent email from a Ferdinand reader in Brazil, who shares this picture of his family’s Porsche 356 Speedster. This 356 Speedster was originally owned by Ferry Porsche.
Bought by his dad in 1981, the car came via a young Brazilian Porsche racer who was sadly killed at Le Mans, then a local businessman and through a series of family friends. Eventually found unloved and in need of restoration, the Speedster was brought back to life and has been enjoyed as a living, driving entity ever since.
“It’s not a concours car by any means,” says the owner, “but it is in good shape. We like to drive it on weekends, and go to our local events, so we prefer to have a road-going car, than just a piece of art standing still.”
I’m getting a few more details. It’s an early chassis number for the Type 2 models, shown on the Porsche Kardex as a “Versuchwagen” fur T-2 (T2 prototype), and listed as first owned by Ferdinand Porsche Junior (Ferry Porsche).
Absolutely super cool. Colour changed from Aquamarine to Red somewhere down the line, but easy change it back if you consider that important. Ferry would be happy that it’s still in use and bringing joy.
January 30th is the anniversary of Professor Ferdinand Porsche, who died on this day in 1951. We remember the Professor with admiration and respect, enjoying his legacy while working on the Cult of Porsche book.
In Stuttgart 1931, astride a successful career working for others, Ferdinand Porsche founded an engineering consultancy that would change the face of motoring. Porsche and his team created some of the world’s most iconic cars, and patented technology still in use today.
Already a successful automotive leader and engineer when freelance took hold, with designs including the world’s first 4wd electric hybrid, and the famous Auto Union racing cars, Professor Porsche would not create the cars which built the world’s most successful automaker, nor fully experience his family’s fame. Yet Ferdinand’s creed resonates from every Porsche produced, through one instantly-identifiable ‘Porsche line’.
Unique in the automotive world, this Porsche line drives and binds our community. A fascination with Ferdinand has underpinned my working life for ten years and counting, and brought a rewarding creative partnership with one of the world’s finest photographers, Jamie Lipman. Working with James continues to inspire great stories.
We’ve wanted to create books with these stories for a while, and have finally found the ideal creative partner and patron in Ricoh, the respected Japanese imaging company. Alongside their market leading commercial electronics business, Ricoh owns Pentax cameras and has developed a exceptional range of Ricoh production printers. Keen to test their production technology to the max and sponsor real stories with passion, Ricoh has invited us to create a series of three books, collating some of our best work to date.
Two versions of each book will be available: a quality hardback version and a limited, beautifully bespoke edition. We’re revisiting some favourite stories, and have also created some brand-new material. We’ll be using a number of groundbreaking Ricoh innovations to deliver a print experience like no other! Our first book will launch at the London Book Fair in April, and Ferdinand Press will publish and distribute the books right here online.