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by John Glynn | Jun 7, 2014 | Porsche News
I’m not a big fan of gambling, but I’m all for good news and irritating the right wing. This superb story has both of the above. Unemployed 52 year-old Londoner, Andrew Boyce, recently returned home in his ageing Ford Escort to find a brand new Porsche Boxster GTS on the drive, won with the money from his benefits.
London Man wins Porsche Boxster with benefit cash
Currently claiming unemployment and sickness allowances, Andrew spent £250 of his benefit payments to buy 50 tickets in a spot-the-ball competition, with top prize of a Porsche Boxster GTS. A few days later, he was met on his driveway by competition MD, William Hindmarch, who presented him with the keys to a brand new Porsche Boxster and a briefcase filled with ten grand in cash. Andrew’s reaction was priceless: “Thank you very much. Would you like a cup of tea?”
The NIMBY press has jumped to attention, running quotes from wound-up locals. One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s sickening that I have to work two jobs to feed my family and that prat is spending my taxes spotting balls.”
Currently not working due to a bad back, Boyce said the comfortable Boxster would ease his spinal pain and people who don’t like his good fortune can choose from a variety of options, most involving rotating on fingers. “I was so happy to win, but it’s frustrating now because people are complaining that I spent benefits on it. What’s it got to do with anyone how I got the money? I got a bit of good fortune and it’s no one’s business how that happened. I’ve gone from rags to riches – I feel like Delboy.”
In sweet coincidence, Boycie from the Del Boy comedy, Only Fools and Horses, was a profit-hungry car trader, so will the new Boycie keep the Boxster or swap it for cash? No doubt it would sell quickly in the Sunday Times. The eagle-eyed among you will notice this is not a Boxster GTS but a regular S model: the GTS is not out yet but the competition company – which counts ex-F1 driver David Coulthard amongst its backers – still had a video to make.
And here is the video. Am I right in thinking Boyce initially denies who he is to the camera crew until he spots the Boxster? No doubt his ease in occupying the sports car’s low seats will catch the eye of his social security claim manager.
Congratulations, Andrew: see if you can get onto Question Time with this. If the powers that be decide you are entitled, then spend your money how you will. Just don’t come crying for more when it’s gone.
The legitimacy of marketing gambling competitions to people surviving on benefits is a different argument, but thankfully Britain is theoretically STILL A FREE COUNTRY. How true that might be, is a whole other argument.
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by John Glynn | Jun 7, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
There’s just one week to go until the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hour. Porsche will tackle LMP1 with its 919 Hybrid racecar and a star crew of drivers, but Le Mans is not all about prototypes. The reduced-power Porsche 911 Le Mans RSR faces a tough challenge to repeat last year’s win in both GTE-Pro and GTE-Am classes.
Watch Out for Corvette at Le Mans
It always feels like there are cars everywhere on track at Le Mans, but the GTE-Pro field is very compact. Nine cars will race in GTE-Pro: three Ferarris, two Corvettes, two 911s and two Aston Martins. While the GTE Pro Porsches finished 1-2 at Silverstone, the gap to third placed Aston was less than a minute behind. Both Aston and the P4 Ferrari finished on the lead lap in class.
Bruni’s Ferrari won at Spa, a lap ahead of Pilet/Bergmeister in an RSR that had been getting quicker as the race wore on. Now Pilet leads the RSR charge at home, in the third round of the eight for 2014 WEC championship and the final WEC race held in Europe this year.
““Le Mans is a very special race, especially for me as a Frenchman,” says Patrick. “It’s always an incredible feeling to go racing on such an extreme circuit in front of so many fans. We are well prepared and our 911 RSR is a strong contender, especially on the long straights. It would be fantastic if we could turn this into a win.”
Less Power for the Le Mans Porsche 911 RSR
It would indeed be fantastic as thanks to the “balance of performance” ruling, the RSR now weighs 25 kilos more and has a smaller air restrictor, reducing engine power. No one wants to see how this affects the 911’s chances in France more than the second French Porsche works driver, Fred Makowiecki.
“A Frenchman simply has to race – and win – at Le Mans. Your family is watching at the track, your friends are there supporting you. This makes it hugely motivating. As a child I dreamed of Porsche; I launched my racing career with Porsche. If I could now win Le Mans with Porsche, that would be the best thing in the world. But first we have to face 24 hours where pretty much anything can happen.”
Porsche Works Driver Le Mans Crash
Fred has bitter personal experience of this, as he crashed out of an established GTE-Pro lead last year when his Aston smashed into the barriers at a Les Hunadières chicane. “It was wet, and at the exit of the chicane the car just snatched, went 90 degrees and into the wall. We were going well, but as always the most important thing is to be first in the last minute. It was a small mistake on my side; I take the blame.”
Running at the last minute means everything at Le Mans. In eight days, we’ll know how that went for Porsche. Here’s how the French commentators reported Fred’s crash last year:
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by John Glynn | Jun 4, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
“Le Mans in a way is what drives us all. It’s the hardest race: night, day, hot, dirty. It’s one race, one year and one winner.” So said Tom Kristensen in 2013, at the start of a great short documentary by Michelin called “24 Hours: A Matter of Seconds.”
Made in conjunction with Audi, the video followed the team through the full 2014 Le Mans, a gripping race (which we blogged live on Ferdinand), when the lead Audi lost 45 minutes due to an electrical problem, leaving only one Audi car in contention for the win. Fending off a strong race-long challenge from the Toyotas, Kristensen’s Audi took the chequered flag after 24 hours of racing.
This made it nine wins for Kristensen at Le Mans: an all-time driver record. Porsche has gone to the next level: taking outright victory at Le Mans 16 times. But motorsport is a team effort, and racing cars are nothing without good rubber. Michelin tyres have claimed a mighty 22 Le Mans wins. I’m surprised that no one at Michelin has worked out how many miles that would be, driven at 200 mph or more, but no doubt that Michelin is a premier motorsport competitor and no doubt it cares about winning.
This year, Michelin’s Le Mans videos focus on Porsche. The latest video, “We Are Racers” – which Michelin has kindly allowed Ferdinand to share ahead of its official release – is challenging at first watch but it grows on you. No surprise to see Webber given headline billing as first driver on camera, followed by Hartley and then Marco Holzer, but the star of the show is Vincent Barthe.
Over a dramatic jazz soundtrack, tyre tech Monsieur Barthe is credited as Porsche’s ‘rain master’, delivering the 911s safely through torrential rain to victory at Silverstone and helping the 919 LMP1 hybrid to claim a podium first time out. “The battle isn’t just between the racers,” says Barthe. “You have to fight the weather too: you have to beat it. I used to be a sailor, so I don’t mind challenging weather conditions.”
I subscribe to Michelin’s motorsport feed on Youtube as I enjoy the authenticity of their motorsport videos. No hard sell on “race tyres driving road tyre development”, no deep voice-overs or blockbuster soundtrack, just a real racer’s grasp of the spirit of motorsport, and plenty of slow motion footage, showing what the tyres endure through the toughest of corners.
“I don’t want to see how tortured the tyres look at full speed through Eau Rouge and Raidillon,” said Audi’s Allan McNish at Spa last year, when Michelin brought the first-ever SLICK wet tyre to the party. Who knows what they’ll have for P0rsche at Le Mans 2014? We’ll enjoy watching. Here is “We Are Racers”.
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by John Glynn | Jun 1, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Testing for the 2014 24 Heures du Mans/Le Mans 24 Hours took place yesterday at Circuit de la Sarthe. While the Porsche team said it was happy with progress on the LMP1 hybrid – 90 laps completed in the morning session and 103 laps in the afternoon – both prototypes suffered small engine/overheating fires while stationary in the garage, and there were rumbles of discontent in the paddock concerning Porsche 919 flexible bodywork.
Sam Collins from Racecar Engineering magazine broke the body story on Saturday, following the pre-testing photo session held at the circuit. Sam’s photos show Audi engineers taking more than a passing interest in the 919’s rear bodywork, which at the time was missing a piece right at the back, allegedly pushing it outside the bodywork rules.
For the Sunday test, the missing component was present, and the appearance seemed to satisfy the regulations. But, as other teams had intimated on Saturday evening, photos were found that apparently showed the 919 bodywork deflecting at speed. This reduces drag and is not allowed in the rules – just as in F1.
“During the official pre-event photo session, the updated 919 was seen for the first time by rival teams and it was noted that a significant portion of its engine cover and rear bodywork flexed with a gentle finger push,” Sam reported. “This seems to be in breach of article 3.4 of the technical regulations which states that ‘movable bodywork parts/elements are forbidden when the car is in motion’.”
Collins’ intriguing piece – please read his complete report here – goes on to share these pictures: one of the 919 LMP1 at rest, and the other showing Porsche’s Le Mans prototype at speed. The rear bodywork is seen to be deflecting downwards at speed, relative to the static breather pipe. Audi and Toyota are said to have requested clarification of the legality of Porsche’s design.
I’m sure Porsche is not alone in testing the boundaries and no doubt rules are rules, so Weissach will make any changes required. But, as a motorsport diehard and Porsche engineering fan, I am always happy to see envelopes being pushed in the quest for performance. Porsche 911 RSR engine power has long been restricted by the governing body, damaging our race-winning chances more than once, so why not stretch rules to the max on this LMP1 car?
As Brundle always says of F1: if you’re not giving pressure in motorsport, you’re taking it. Let’s apply a bit of pressure to the regs and see what happens. I’m sure you will have feedback to offer: it will be interesting to see how it works out for Stuttgart.
Thanks to Sam for letting me share this. Racecar Engineering is a great magazine, and you can also catch Sam as an energetic pit lane commentator on the excellent Radio Le Mans Internet service.
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by John Glynn | Jun 1, 2014 | New Models, Porsche News
My former paymasters at Autocar magazine continue to produce excellent new car features. Their latest sports car test of BMW i8 versus Porsche 911 Carrera 50* sheds more light on the data Ferdinand shared yesterday, comparing lap times around a California race track for our friend Jack Olsen’s 1972 Porsche 911 RSR hot rod, which runs a standard 1995 993 3.6-litre engine, to professional race drivers in a Porsche 918 and Porsche 911 50th Anniversary model.
Porsche 911 versus BMW i8
The 918 set a lap time of 1:23.54, while Jack’s car managed a 1:26.88. “This is beyond an eternity on a race track” was how one Facebook comment put it, but let’s put “eternity” back into context of dollars invested and remember these are road cars. Three seconds over a 90-second lap time is pretty close for an old 911.
Porsche 997 GT3 RS versus Porsche 991
My question was where would/will the 991 GT3 RS fit in? Jack pointed out that “the 997 GT3 RS ran a 1:33 with pro driver Steve Millen at the wheel, so the 1:28.53 for the 50th-Anniversary 991 model is very impressive.” Autocar’s test underscores this conclusion, as it pits a 911 celebrating 50 years of history against a sports car that has been around just a few minutes.
“The Porsche’s (PDK) driveline lacks the complexity of the BMW’s, but it is not shamed for power,” says Autocar‘s Greg Kable.”The 911’s naturally aspirated 3.8-litre flat six engine, mounted behind the rear axle, nominally delivers 395bhp at 7400rpm. Our test car is a US-spec model, and receives a power kit as standard, upping it to 424bhp.
“It can’t match the BMW’s torque, though. With 325lb ft at 5600rpm, it gives away a considerable 95lb ft…but the 911 is not gutless. Above 4000rpm, its naturally aspirated engine provides prodigious shove. But by then, the i8 has already benefited from its initial spurt of electric propulsion and is away down the road. BMW claims 0-62mph in 4.4sec, compared with 4.5sec for the Porsche. However, a constant, linear surge of energy right from the outset makes the i8 feel considerably faster.”
Porsche 911 Hybrid is Coming
While the BMW has that instant hybrid electric torque – torque you know will eventually find its way to a production 911 – the Porsche has something else. Once heavily criticised for terminal understeer in press-on driving, the new 911 has apparently tamed that shrew and passed it to the Beemer. Is this what makes the difference in lap pace compared to the 997 GT3 RS?
“The fluidity of the 911…is so pure and involving that it makes the i8 feel stifled and artificial. The Porsche displays a lovely balance that prompts you to keep pushing at the sort of cornering speeds that begin to trouble the BMW, and there is a compelling completeness to the whole car, even as you approach the limits.
“And then there’s the rest of the 911’s absorbing dynamic character: its superb body control at any speed, the outright grip it generates, the terrific poise when loaded through a quick corner, the traction on the way out, the well-controlled ride and the way that its electronic driver aids allow you to dabble in a spot of tail-out action. Even if you put the i8 on its optional wider and stickier tyres, I still doubt that it could match the 911.” Greg Kable is a fan.
The Moral: Play Nice
Yesterday’s point was don’t put old Porsche 911s in with other old cars: they can more than hold their own when the going gets tough. While BB2 beat the Anniversary 991’s lap time around a California race track, the gap between the two is not “beyond eternity”. It’s just an interesting benchmark and talking point.
Today’s point is don’t do the “life was better when I was a boy” thing and look down on all new 911s. When a 50 year-old concept beats the latest carbon fibre coupe for intoxicating chassis dynamics, its future is bright.
*Autocar material shared for information purposes only with link to original article.
