by John Glynn | Jan 21, 2016 | Market & Prices, Porsche News
Official UK Porsche dealer, Porsche Centre Bolton has lost a court battle with the aggrieved would-be buyer of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 who was gazumped by the dealership following confirmation of order.
Portrayed in a slightly frantic local press report as a duped and dispossessed pensioner (the buyer may not be entirely delighted about this), local enthusiast and classic car restorer Kevin Hughes (67) put a £10,000 deposit down on a 997 GT3 RS 4.0 back in March 2011 and was emailed by the sales department to say “I can confirm that you will get the first one from Porsche Centre Bolton if we get one, which I am very confident that we will”.
Some time later, OPC Bolton told Mr Hughes that they had actually not received any 4-litres, and returned his deposit. When Mr Hughes discovered that they had in fact been allocated a 4-litre RS but had secretly sold it to someone else, the shit hit the fan and Hughes commenced proceedings against OPC Bolton’s owners, Pendragon Sabre Ltd.
The deposit was paid in March 2011, but the case has only just come to court. This tells you that the legal costs are not insignificant. The court ruled that OPC Bolton had lied, found in favour of Hughes and awarded him £35,000 in damages, which was said to be the current value of a RHD 4-litre minus the original cost new. They also awarded costs, so Pendragon will have to pay Hughes’ legal bills as well as its own.
“Plain as a pikestaff” is how the judge described the binding contract between Mr Hughes and OPC Bolton. By paying a deposit up front, Kevin Hughes had done more than just expressed a passing interest and the sales team had promised him the first car in writing. The secret sale behind Hughes’ back of the one car which the dealership received was therefore a clear breach of contract, according to the judge.
Given that RHD 4-litres are fetching far more than £170k to collectors, I think Pendragon has got away lightly. Thanks to a decade valuing cars for a living and now running my UK Porsche insurance valuations service, I get called in to legal disputes as an expert every once in a while. Hughes’ legal team should have googled a values expert for this one: their client might be a hundred grand better off now.
An old friend of mine works at OPC Bolton. I’m sure there are two sides to the story – maybe one day I will hear the rival viewpoint – but it seems to have looked pretty cut and dried to the judge.
by John Glynn | Jan 20, 2016 | Market & Prices, New Models, Porsche News
Porsche is currently hosting the press launch for its newest 911: the 991 Turbo S. The event is being held at Kyalami Circuit in Johannesburg, South Africa, but more of that later. The car will apparently outrun a 918 Spyder from 50-75 mph (count 1.8 seconds in the Turbo), but some reviews seem to suggest that the £150,000 991 Turbo S is just not special enough.
These days, we do not have to wait until the earliest print date for journalists’ first impressions of a new car: reviews are online by lunch in the era where web content is king. The verdict seems to be that the Turbo S is unbelievably fast but it’s not as special as similarly-priced alternatives. Unless you are a Porsche nut, in which case it’s the hottest Turbo yet and therefore must be owned.
The Turbo S produces 572bhp at 6,750rpm. Peak torque of 553lb/ft runs from 2250 to 4k rpm. PDK is the only transmission on offer, which all the Turbo S owners I know will be quite satisfied with. Who needs a manual option confusing future values/residuals? That’s what the 991 GT2 will be for.
How much faster a GT2 manual might be is anyone’s guess. Official 0-60 time for the Porsche 991 Turbo S PDK is 2.9 seconds, but engineers claim that they can fling it to sixty in 2.6 seconds under optimum conditions. Top speed is 205 mph: this thing is unmercifully fast.
Porsche 991 Turbo S Magazine Reviews
Greg Kable’s Porsche 991 Turbo S review on Autocar is perhaps the most enthusiastic summary available for now, and reads like Greg had a day in the car while other journos made do with just a few laps. “[The 991 Turbo S] represents a significant step in terms of dynamic prowess and ability to entertain. While a lot about the facelifted 911 Turbo S remains the same, its intrinsic character has evolved, making it more memorable to drive than ever.”
Dan Prosser is rather more restrained in his review of the Porsche 991 Turbo S for Evo Magazine. “Given that the revisions are quite subtle, the 911 Turbo S’s overall proposition remains the same – for everyday usability, and for those buyers who require two small rear seats, it’s in a class of one. The similarly priced McLaren 570S has the more engaging chassis, while the Audi R8 V10+ has a massively more exciting drivetrain.”
Reviewing the Porsche 991 Turbo S for CompleteCar.ie, Kyle Fortune gives the car four out of five overall, noting: “If the engine’s lacking in any area it’s in the aural department. That remoteness is present in the steering too, which, while undeniably accurate, lacks the weighting and feel that’s present even in the four-wheel drive 911 Carreras.”
Porsche at Kyalami Circuit
Perhaps I missed something, as I haven’t been paying that much attention, but I think this is the first time Porsche has used Kyalami in anger since Porsche’s SA representatives bought Kyalami Circuit at auction a year or so ago. The pics I’ve seen suggest the place has been well and truly spruced up. It seemed obvious to me at the time that Germany might have had a hand in the purchase, as Kyalami is a perfect spot for car launches during the cold months of a European winter. Nice to see that prediction has come true: there’s a first time for everything.
by John Glynn | Jan 19, 2016 | Porsche Cayenne, Porsche News
Porsche Cayenne running reports have been thin on the ground lately as not used the car much since November, when I disappeared to Kenya for the Safari Rally. After that, I cleared off to Spain for a fortnight before spending Christmas at home.
The UK weather was mild through the end of last year – mild enough to use the Clio Cup or our Polo on summer tyres – but the mornings recently turned frosty and we finally had some snow here last weekend. It was time to bring the Cayenne into service, and try out some new winter tyres that were fitted to the car at the start of November.
You may not have heard of the tyres in question: Gislaved Euro Frost 5. Founded in Gislaved, Sweden in 1893, Gislaved Tyres built a useful reputation for their ability in snow and icy conditions. When the company was a century old, it was bought by Continental AG and remains part of that group to this day. So the Gislaved brand has some credibility.
I have previously run both Pirelli and Continental winter tyres on the Cayenne, but part-worn versions of either are hard to find and tend to be a few years old. The original equipment Pirelli Scorpions in particular go rock hard after a while and are useless in cold weather at that stage, so when I found a good price online for Gislaveds in the Cayenne’s size of 255/55 R18, I bought a set and had them fitted and balanced.
I bolted them to the Cayenne at home (in my new garage – nice one) as part of some work to change driveshaft bolts and other bits so only drove them long enough to move the car around. Then I headed off to Africa. When we got the Cayenne out last week, I used it on the school run for a few days, then did a few client visits in it and tried the tyres at higher speed. Finally there was some snow last Sunday so that was worth trying too.
Given the cost of just £86 per tyre – £344 for all four – I have to say I am pleased with performance. They didn’t need much weight to balance and are very comfortable on the car. The Cayenne tracks well at speeds up to the maximum rating for these tyres (130mph) and the Gislaveds are not as noisy as some reviews claim. No more noisy than Pirelli Scorpions, that’s for sure. Economy is unchanged at 18 miles per gallon on LPG. Dry grip is fine: slightly more squirm than a Continental summer tyre but not entirely lifeless. There is no tyre squeal on hard dry cornering. But it is on icy roads where these tyres do their thing.
No surprise that the Gislaveds recently made it to the final of Auto-Bild’s winter tyre test, beating more than thirty alternatives. Up against the market leading brands – all of whom advertise with Auto-Bild – these tyres rated in the high teens overall but the big picture was quite encouraging.
On frost-covered roads where other cars are clearly being careful, the Cayenne on Gislaveds is very surefooted. Icy corners present no problems for the Gislaveds: a tiny little slide on sheet ice, which stops almost as soon as it starts, thanks in part to PASM but aided by the grippy tread compound, which feels sticky to the fingers even in sub-zero temperatures.
We often argue over N-rated tyres on Porsche cars but so far I find nothing much wrong with these tyres for the price I paid. Michelin Latitude Alpin XLs in N-rated 109V cost £50 more apiece, so £200 extra a set for tyres that will come off in February/March and be replaced by smoother summer rubber on the 19-inch wheels. Doesn’t seem to make that much sense when winters are this mild nowadays.
Elsewhere on the Cayenne, nothing much to report. The odometer has just hit 154,000 miles and while I have written a for sale ad for it, it’s not been advertised as yet and is unlikely to go on sale anytime soon. I’ve bought some grey carpet to trim the new false boot floor and the starter is getting ever-slower in this cold weather so I reckon it is coming up for rebuild. I’ve got a used one in the garage to send out. Also, the plastic handle to remove the detachable towball has snapped: I blame the last man to borrow the car for overtightening it. He knows who he is!
by John Glynn | Dec 18, 2015 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
I’m working outside the UK at the minute, catching some winter sun in Fuerteventura. As ever, I’ve brought a few books along in case of long lunches, including ‘We are Porsche’: Ferry Porsche’s first autobiography, written with John Bentley in the early 1970s.
I’ve read this book many times, as Ferry’s words both inspire and encourage. All freelancers face constant changes and challenges, which can often feel insurmountable. Ferry’s story demonstrates that, no matter what life throws in one’s path, patient perseverance will find a solution. Hard work and the occasional retreat to simple pleasures can power body and mind through tough situations.
Ferry Porsche and his BMW Motorcycle
As a young man, one of Ferry’s simplest pleasures was motorcycling. At the age of eighteen, Ferry got his motorcycle licence and shares how the independence of increased mobility brought new opportunities to meet girls. “I no longer had to rely on the family car to get me from one place to another in a hurry,” he recalls. “The motorbike I then used was a 500cc BMW and this proved useful in more ways than one.”
This would have been circa 1927, making Ferry’s bike an R42: Max Fitz’s blueprint for just about every BMW road bike made afterwards. Pristine R42s now sell for big money – £40k or more – so Ferry’s mount was well chosen. Given Doctor Porsche’s interest in BMW motorcycles, I wonder what he’d make of the machine seen here, being offered by Bonhams at its Paris sale on February 4th: a 1952 Sunbeam S8, with Ferry Porsche power.
BSA bought the rights to Sunbeam’s motorcycle business in 1943 and revived the brand after the war, when it was given German motorcycle designs as part of the war reparations. Based on the BMW R75, the Sunbeam S7 had a pre-war-designed inline twin which left it low on power, and its successor, the Sunbeam R8 was apparently not much better.
Porsche Engine in a Motorcycle Frame
In 1969, the then owner of this S8 decided to upgrade the power with a 1200cc motor from a Volkswagen Beetle. This was not the ultimate incarnation, as he subsequently ditched the Beetle engine, replacing it with a 1955 1300cc Porsche motor featuring bespoke cast aluminium bellhousing and rocker covers.
The Sunbeam’s first outing was to the 1972 BMF show, where it caused a sensation. MCN’s John Ebbrell tested the bike for the paper, and the Sunbeam was also shown at Olympia, fitted with Amal concentric carburettors a la Triumph and others. A BMW tank was added later, along with Norton Roadholder forks and some other cool touches, including a Vincent Black Shadow speedometer.
For sale due to the advancing age of its owner, the Sunbeam was offered at Bonhams’ last sale in the RAF Museum at Hendon where it failed to find a new home. Given that the price aspirations seem sensible (£9.5k), I was surprised by this, so I emailed Bill To at Bonhams to get his thoughts on why such an interesting piece failed to sell.”We were a little surprised ourselves, but I guess that’s the nature of public auctions: we just don’t know what to expect on the day,” said Bill.
I’m not the world’s biggest vintage bike fan, but I do like this. If it’s something you are also inspired by, get yourself to Paris on February 4th, or contact Bonhams to register as a bidder. I want a ride if you buy it!
by John Glynn | Dec 13, 2015 | Porsche People, Race and Rally
If the first eleven months of Nick Tandy’s 2015 were the best of his life, December is swinging the pendulum back. Following a disgraceful lack of recognition in this year’s Autosport awards, further disappointment arrived at the annual Porsche Night of Champions in Stuttgart, where the 2016 Porsche LMP1 programme was confirmed as a two-car push for all nine WEC rounds, including Le Mans, with the regular driver squads running unchanged.
Porsche cuts 2016 LMP1 Le Mans Squad
Despite Porsche’s best-ever year selling cars with more than 200,000 Porsches delivered in the first eleven months of 2015, both Porsche and Audi have agreed to cut their Le Mans teams to just two LMP1 cars a piece for “maximum cost efficiency”. The decision means no LMP1 for the 2015 Le Mans winners, despite their superior pace in the 2015 event: Bamber’s debut race at Le Mans.
Porsche axes 2016 WEC GTE-Pro Team
Maximum cost efficiency has also led Weissach to axe its factory GTE-Pro campaign for the full WEC season. Richard Lietz and Michael Christensen will instead defend their 2015 GTE-Pro titles in a 911 (991) RSR run by Proton Dempsey Racing. While Proton runs the old 911, Porsche will develop a new RSR for the regulation changes effective next season, which allow GTE-Pro cars to run 20 more horsepower and 10 fewer kilos. Though the old RSR might find the new regs tough going, anything can happen in racing. No doubt Lietz & Christensen will apply all of their talents as reigning World Champions.
Extra RSRs planned for Le Mans
They’ve lost their LMP1 seats, but it’s hoped that Tandy and Bamber will drive at Le Mans. Their participation has yet to be confirmed, but Porsche hopes to receive two more GTE-Pro entries for the 24 Hours. Fun-loving Pilet and Tandy with newest works driver, Kévin Estre, would take one 911, while Bamber, Fred Mako and Jörg Bergmeister would get the other. Porsche would also have cars in GTE-Am, so its promo machine should take maximum value from being the only manufacturer to have entered three of the four Le Mans categories.
2016 Le Mans versus Formula 1
The 2016 Le Mans 24-Hours takes place on the weekend of 18/19 June, and coincides with an F1 race for the very first time. The FIA says that the start of the Baku Grand Prix will be scheduled so as not to clash with the end of the 24 Hours.
ACO’s plans to extend the Le Mans pit lane to sixty garages – four more than are currently available – would allow a few more cars in the race, so it’s hard to imagine Le Mans saying no to the reigning champions. It is therefore quite likely that we will see Tandy and Bamber on the grid in France, although I suspect that if a competitive LMP2 drive turns up for either, they will do their best to be in it. Let’s wait for the entry list.
