by John Glynn | Mar 15, 2013 | Art and Books, Classic Porsche Blog
An exciting design exhibition will grace North Carolina’s Museum of Art this Autumn. Twenty-plus Porsche cars will make up the museum’s first design exhibition, celebrating the “consistency of the Porsche esthetic over decades of engineering innovations”.
“Porsche has had a very distinctive look and way of building its cars,” says NCMA curator and former Petersen Museum director, Ken Gross. “The line of its first car – the 1938/39 Type 64 Berlin-Rom Racer which will be shown at the museum – can be seen sweeping through whole history of Porsche.”
The concept of a Porsche line comes up at every cars and coffee meeting I’ve ever been to. Accepted as the key to Porsche identity, kudos to North Carolina for stamping it with art approval. Porsche will support the event by shipping four cars from Stuttgart, with other cars coming from famous US collectors, including Chip Connor and Ralph Lauren. Chad McQueen will lend his dad’s 1600 Speedster, with a 904, 908 and 917 also on the list.
Porsche by Design: Seducing Speed opens on October 12 and runs to January 20, 2014. Pics courtesy of the NCMA.
by John Glynn | Mar 13, 2013 | Porsche People
Porsche’s Leipzig plant currently employs 1,150 people. This seems like a low number, but if you watched the ‘superfactories’ programme on the facility, you’ll know how much technology is used there.
Today’s announcement that the Leipzig labour force will double when Macan arrives in a few months says everything about volume aspirations. Porsche’s baby SUV could be the motoring equivalent of the iPad, and Stuttgart is gearing up to take full advantage when demand kicks in.
Porsche has just announced a recruitment programme for 1,000 production workers at Leipzig, including 400 engineers for production planning. The company seeks “skilled employees with professional qualifications in body construction, painting, assembly and quality assurance – to include operators, staff for ultrasonic testing, staff for metal sheet forming (and others).”
Unsurprisingly, interest is through the roof. The company has already received 16,500 applications with a further flood expected to follow the official announcement. “The facts speak their own language,”said Siegfried Bülow, Lepizig’s Chairman. “[We offer an] attractive environment and an emotional product. Moreover, the jobs here are future-proof, because in Leipzig all signs point to growth.”
Insert something here about pride and falls, but I doubt Siegfried is wrong. Porsche is putting €500 Million into converting the site to a fully-fledged plant with paint shop and body assembly: its biggest building project ever. “In the summer, we will commission the new paint shop, so the first customer vehicle will roll off the assembly line at the end of the year. The schedule is a challenge, and the plant extension a truly mammoth task. But we are going all out for it,” declares the boss man.
Link here to more information on the Leipzig Porsche plant extension and 1,000 new jobs on offer.
Learn more about Porsche Jobs on Ferdinand Magazine – you know you want to!
by John Glynn | Mar 13, 2013 | New Models, Porsche News, Race and Rally
Porsche has upgraded the 997 GT3R ahead of the 2013 season. We’ve already covered some of this in our earlier Falken Porsche N24 RSR blog, but it’s useful to look at Porsche factory pictures of the R.
The most obvious changes are to the aero package. Front bumper, wings, sill trims and underbody diffuser have all been optimised to produce additional downforce. The rear wing has been widened to full body width.
Longer wheelbase, increased track – 50mm wider front and rear – and 12-inch front wheels combined with improved aero performance allow higher cornering speeds.The 4.0-litre flat six produces 500 hp, sent to the rear via a 6-speed sequential dog ‘box with air shift and steering paddles. This is fast and smooth, and should be reliable.
Porsche offers a conversion kit for older GT3Rs at €45,500 plus tax. I wonder how many Euros that is per Nurburgring tenth of a second.
by John Glynn | Mar 8, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
Good times last weekend, as I spent Saturday covering the Saturday Surgery: a three-hour morning tech session. This is where owners can bring cars like this classic Porsche 964 Turbo in for a proper 45-minute inspection free of charge, and get some advice on keeping it right.
My friends pioneered the idea of these free inspections. They promise no hard sell and so it transpired, as four different owners brought their cars for attention, with only one spending money: on a much-needed battery. Two other 911s were new owners, checking the boys out for future servicing, and finding out if they’d bought a good car. The fourth Porsche was a silver 964 Turbo, not long sold but in for a trial fit of Fuchs alloy wheels.
The UK distributor of genuine Fuchs forged Porsche wheels always has sets in stock. The 17″ versions are still eagerly awaited, but these 18″ wheels were test fitted to the 964 and really did look a treat.
Fronts went on without a spacer while the rears tried a 20mm wide one that could easily be replaced by 10mm or less. I’d probably do something with the ride heights on these wheels, but it looks pretty good. What do you think?
by John Glynn | Mar 7, 2013 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Our friends at Falken Tyres have confirmed their driver lineup for the 2013 Nurburgring 24-Hour. The team will also run their Porsche 997 GT3 RSR at a number of VLN events this season.
Sebastian Asch, Peter Dumbreck, Wolf Henzler and Martin Ragginger are all confirmed as Falken Porsche drivers for the year, with the clear aim of a top ten finish in the 24 Hour event. The Porsche 997 GT3 RSR has also received a few upgrades ahead of its first outing: a VLN test on the 16th of March.
Falken Motorsports’ experienced team principal, Sven Schnabl, has upgraded the teams’ RSR with a new aero package of wider wings, new splitter and double canards up front, with a larger rear wing to increase downforce. Cooling vents around both front and rear arches are bigger, and the car can now run 12-inch front wheel rims, half an inch wider than last year. The 997 also now runs four headlamps.
Falken’s Japanese engineers have developed a range of new tyres for this season, which the drivers are keen to explore. “After a really exciting 2012 season, we are hungry for more in 2013,” says former Porsche Junior, Martin Ragginger. “We will give it everything we’ve got for the fans and aim for a top ten place in the 24-Hour Race.”
Falken’s season looks busy, with a race weekend every month bar September:
- 16.03.2013 VLN Set Up Day
- 23.03.2013 ADAC Westfalenfahrt
- 27.04.2013 ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup
- 17-20.05.13 ADAC ZURICH 24h-Rennen Nürburgring
- 22.06.2013 Adenauer ADAC Simfy Trophy
- 20.07.2013 ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen
- 24.08.2013 ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen
- 12.10.2013 ROWE DMV 250-Meilen-Rennen
Chances are we’ll get to at least one of these events: I rarely miss a Nurburgring 24-Hour and am overdue a weekend in the woods. Are you heading out to one or more VLN rounds? Keep in touch if yes – could do with some keen amateur photographers on my side.
Email mail@ferdinandmagazine.com to let me know your plans. See the Falken Tyres site at Falken-Europe.de.
