by John Glynn | Mar 10, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Nice surprise in the mail this morning, when a package of Porsche 911 backdate parts I was expecting from EB Motorsport turned out to be a pair of lightweight Porsche 911 rear lights instead.
I’ve been keen to check these light weight parts out for a while, and they do not disappoint. Finished to the usual excellent EB standards, the bodies feature brass inserts for the standard lens screws, and come with bulb holders, and bulbs.
Moulded in highly resilient composite materials, the units are a direct swap for the rust-prone originals. A set saves over three kilograms versus the factory parts. I think the boys use these on the race cars so they must be sturdy parts.
Most amazing was the closeness of each piece when weighed on the digital scales: within 10g of each other at 202g versus 212g. And that could well have been the bags.
When we think of fibreglass parts, we think of words like wobbly, flimsy and amateur. None of these words come to mind here: I might offer one up to the Orange and see how it fits (before they get ‘lost’ in my garage). The bodies are £280 a pair from EB direct, or similarly priced from European outlet, Twinspark Racing, or via EB Motorsport distributors Rothsport Racing in the USA.
by John Glynn | Mar 9, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Had a good email from friend of Ferdinand, Patrick, down in Christchurch, New Zealand. Patrick won a Jagermeister 934 print in one of our Porsche print giveaways a year or so ago and has kept in touch. Here’s his print hanging on the office wall:
He also sent some pics of a nice early car, recently unearthed close to home. It’s one of the last ’73 models, fitted with CIS: an efficient and economical set up that is easy to drive and maintain. WEVO Hayden has a similar car in San Francisco, cherished mainly for its fuel efficiency. I’ll let Patrick take up the story:
“Thought you might be interested in my latest acquisition which joins the 944 Turbo race car in my garage. This 1973 911T was sold new in California, USA and was brought into NZ in the mid 90’s. Done 120,000 miles but runs very strongly as it it is a 73.5 with CIS fuel injection.
“This car had been hiding undercover in a quiet street only a few blocks from my home. Having been without a 911 since I sold my 964 C4 two years ago, when my mate Charles phoned me to say the owner was thinking of selling, I didn’t hang around too long.
“The car is very sound & is a keeper. I intend making a few subtle mods, but will keep the narrow body look. It is LHD, but I prefer it that way (even though we drive on the same side of the road as you UKers) as there is no offset on the pedals. Photos are from Wanaka, about 350km from home, on a recent trip down to Central Otago to watch motor racing at the new Highlands Motorsport Park.”
Kudos Patrick: wishing you many happy miles in the new arrival. Great to see our photo hanging on the wall! Keep in touch with Ferdinand by email at mail@ferdinandmagazine.com.
by John Glynn | Mar 6, 2014 | Art and Books, Classic Porsche Blog
Today is World Book Day, a day when thousands of book fans celebrate their favourite reads and swap books that have inspired them. I was super inspired by a book today: my own book!
The first Cult of Porsche book (written by yours truly, with images by James Lipman – of course) is currently under development, in partnership with our friends at Ricoh Production Print UK. Today brought another meet with lead designer, Peter Silk (below), at the Silk Pearce design agency in Colchester.
My boyhood ambition was always to write about cars. I came to England specifically to do that and nothing inspires me more than a great story. This book is overflowing with beautiful images, and truly great stories. Silk Pearce’s design know-how, Peter’s exceptional knowledge of paper, and production expertise from the professional printing team at Ricoh have provided us with an incredible canvas for our first collection of work.
Today, Peter presented some design mockups. I may have got overexcited. Detailed discussions on look and feel, and what is at the heart of this Cult of Porsche concept movement, before looking at our work in mockup layouts: honestly, it was incredible.
I took a few pics of the mocked-up content, but I’m not going to share them. The material is just too special: you’ll have to wait and see! Our timeline is based around a print launch at the London Book Fair in April, we’ll start taking pre-orders later that month and send the first Cult of Porsche book into production. I expect books to be shipping by May at the latest.
Follow Ferdinand Porsche Magazine to see sneak previews when the time is right. Our first project is sure to be sought after and numbers will be limited: makes it even more exciting!
by John Glynn | Mar 5, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
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.
by John Glynn | Mar 3, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Race fans deserve epic paint schemes. Standing outside in all weathers, watching cars go around with no clue what’s happening half the time, the least teams can do is make the cars sexy with a great livery to inspire followers.
Porsche has finally dressed the 919 Hybrid for in its Le Mans livery. The car is pure sex, but the paint scheme’s got all the allure of a fax machine. Let’s hope there’s a stealth raid on Leipzig with some pig-coloured spray paint.
Bring on the Martini Williams! And where’s the Veltins on LMP1? Can’t be the final version.
