by John Glynn | Jan 16, 2014 | New Models, Porsche News
This video has just gone live on Youtube, showing a prototype Porsche 918 exiting an underground car park in Stuttgart.
This car – SM 2252 – features in a lot of Youtube spy stuff, as it runs around doing errands. I doubt the development engineer expected a stalker, but it’s interesting to see the car go about its business on normal roads and pavements.
Despite the production run well under way, PT1018 is a prototype (P/T). Our tipster points to Carrera GT roof and handles, 991 rear lights, static rear wing and a host of 918 trim that’s gone AWOL. The Corsa alongside is a minor distraction, but the electric steering, silent pull-away and throaty exit give us mere mortals a bit of a thrill.
We’ll all be excited to see our first 918 in the flesh. I hope one of these test beds is kept for the Porsche Museum.
by John Glynn | Jan 16, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Chris and Andy Osborne – the terrible twins – have been busy in Tuthill’s fabrication shop, fitting steel front wheel arches to this Porsche 911 RSR build.
Steel Front Wheel Arch/Front Wings 911
The most common front wing solution on widebody Porsche 911 RSR builds is using composite panels like the EB Motorsport Porsche 911 RSR front wings, which include the front wheel arch and are moulded in lightweight fibreglass. The main advantages of this approach are reasonable cost, very low weight and easily replaceable panels when things get bruised in competition.
For some of those building dream RSRs, the issue is less about cost and more about craft. Steel is solid, long standing and a rare commodity in arches for bespoke 911 builds. High-end Porsche aficionados like a complex metal wheel arch and the Tuthill Porsche fab shop is more than capable of fulfilling their wishes.
The Porsche 911 RSR build seen here is for street, circuit and rally use. It features a number of composite lightweight Porsche parts from EB Motorsport, but also a measure of old fashioned steel. It is true to classic Porsche, and to the owner, and will definitely turn a few heads when it’s finished.
by John Glynn | Jan 15, 2014 | Porsche Cayenne, Project Cars
I keep in touch with Steve Bennett at 911 & Porsche World magazine, and we’ve been talking about the Cayenne since I bought it. I’ve run gas-powered Subarus for years, and soon fitted gas to the Cayenne, so Steve was interested in my Cayenne LPG experience.
Steve ran a Citröen Xantia on Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) a few years ago, and is familiar with the upsides of a car on gas. I just wrote a quick piece for him on buying the Cayenne and fitting the gas conversion. I took a few pics of the main Cayenne LPG components and they seemed worth sharing here, too. See more of the story in Porsche World next month.
Above is the engine bay showing the injector relays (blue) and the evaporator (silver thing on the left hand side of the engine bay). The install is not super pretty, but who cares when you’re doing the equivalent of 35 mpg on petrol. My November fuel bill was £360, December was £163 on LPG with roughly similar mileage.
This is the dash switch: the red light on top is a gas level gauge, telling me to top up sometime (got 60 or 70 miles left at this), the green light on the bottom shows we’re running on gas. The light on the bottom right would come on if I was on petrol.
This shot shows the gas tank. I had a 50-litre toroidal tank fitted, which filled the wheel well and is level with the boot floor, but will ultimately sit lower in the boot. I’ll drop the floor panel back in (I use a load liner at the minute) and then fit a cylinder tank behind the seat, which should give me a total gas range of almost 400 miles: 750 when you add in the petrol. I get 50 miles more per tank of fuel than a certain track fiend friend of mine does! He strenuously denies this is possible: it always makes me laugh.
The floor of the actual bodyshell will be quite cut about to accomplish this tank drop: easy to sort as best mate Rob Campbell at Racing Restorations is an expert metal fabricator, historic race car builder and Porsche rust repair guy. Most normal owners just use a cylinder tank behind the rear seats and have done with it but, when you’ve got a pet metal guy, you put him to work.
The last pic shows the automatic transmission fluid being changed the other day. That is a whole other story.
by John Glynn | Jan 10, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Spotted a familiar Porsche Carrera hot rod at Tuthill Porsche yesterday: Simeon Anderson’s orange Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera with the classic ducktail rear end.
Based on a 1985 chassis, this 911 is a great example of impact bumper upgradery. Now kitted out with Tuthill 6-pot brakes, EXE-TC suspension, Recaro trim and an engine transplant, the Carrera also runs a torquey 3.6-litre engine, rebuilt by Nick at Redtek to give 290bhp.
I first encountered Simeon’s car for its 2013 insurance valuation. Back then it was painted mid metallic blue, but it now wears a colour worthy of its sass. Somewhat reminiscent of Oli Wheeler’s Lime Green 3.2 update, last seen at Cameron Sports Cars down in Wiltshire, the big difference is Oli’s car (previously owned by Chris Harris) ran a stock engine, with Jenvey throttle bodies and an Omex ECU.
Is this a future feature car? For sure. Anderson is a petrolhead par excellence and fine Ferdinand material!
![Porsche sales 2013: 162,000 cars delivered]()
by John Glynn | Jan 9, 2014 | Market & Prices, Porsche News
We have just seen the record figures for Porsche sales 2013. The unsurprising news came as the UK announced the best year for car sales since 2007, and BMW subsidiary, Rolls-Royce, also posted record sales for the fourth year in a row.
Rolls-Royce delivered 3,630 cars to customers in 2013. Fastest growing markets were the Middle East (up 17%) and China (up 11%). Rolls’ CEO intriguingly told reporters that the company was looking at new designs, including a potential 4×4 model.
In comparison, the volume-oriented Porsche brand saw stronger growth through 2013. Total Porsche deliveries for 2013 was 162,415: a 15% increase on the 2012 total. Sales in Asia and the Middle East rose over 20%, with China close behind.
The USA remains Porsche’s biggest single market, with 42,000 cars delivered in 2013: 20% up on last year. China’s 37,000 sales can be heard snapping at America’s heels. Sales to the Red Star must be set to overtake the US this year, assuming unrestricted supply.
Biggest Porsche seller is still the Cayenne, clocking up half of Porsche’s total production, with 82,000 cars sold. Zero surprise when you know how good this car is at everything.
The challenge for a 4wd Rolls Royce is delivering something capable off-road, which still delivers that heavyweight Rolls Royce experience without feeling like a military vehicle. The driving experience is unlikely to match a Cayenne, but it won’t have to do this to sell.
