by John Glynn | Apr 10, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
Spent some time with a very sweet 1966 Porsche 912 at leading classic Porsche specialist, Tuthill Porsche today. Owned by a single family from new, this 94,000-mile Light Ivory car was being prepared to depart for the Silverstone Auctions classic car sale at the NEC this weekend.
Sitting behind the wheel in peace and quiet, the air was filled with the smell of old car. Wood dash, leather seats, simple machinery with so much presence. A fantastic way to unwind for five minutes.
Silverstone Auctions estimate the selling price somewhere between £28,000 and £32,000. I might place it slightly higher. I didn’t have a good look at the car but it does have a sense of ancient solidity: not too many RHD 912s around in this condition.
Slightly sad story, as the owner who inherited the car from his dad – the original buyer – is suffering the indignities of age and can no longer use the 912. None of us know what’s around the corner: enjoy your cars while you’ve got the chance.
See the full range of collector cars on offer at the NEC Classic Car Auction this weekend.
by John Glynn | Apr 7, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
EB Motorsport has opened its 2014 FIA Masters Historic challenge at the Espiritu de Montjuic Barcelona event. The RSR took a pair of wins in both Trofeo Javier del Arco races amongst a field of historic touring cars, and a class win in the Masters Historic Sports Car race.
Qualifying second on the grid behind a De Tomaso for the first Javier del Arco race on Saturday, EB’s Mark Bates in his Porsche 911 RSR quickly found a rhythm around the Circuit de Catalunya, snatched first place from the pole-sitting Pantera and claimed his first win of 2014 at the chequered flag, twelve seconds ahead of Manuel Hermida’s BMW M3 touring car.
Starting from pole in Sunday’s race two, Bates’ RSR swapped fastest sector times with the M3 to the flag, but while Hermida chalked up two out of three fastest sector times, the win went to Bates’ Light Yellow Porsche, just two seconds ahead of the M3 after twenty five minutes of racing. Close contest!
In Masters Historic, Mark came home first in class (Pescarolo), behind the sole GT40 running. The Formula 1 layout at Barcelona favours the historic sports cars’ higher gearing, top speeds and aerodynamic bodywork, but the 911 gave it a good run, with a fastest lap a little over a second slower than the sleek Le Mans-winning Ford.
Barcelona was EB’s bogey track last year, when a gearbox issue put paid to a defence of their back-to-back titles. Finishing three tough races in two days reliably and on the top step throughout will inspire some confidence. Roll on the next round at Donington Historic Festival from May 3-5!
Here’s some great video of Mark Bates racing the EB Motorsport Porsche 911 RSR in action versus the modern-day BMW E30 M3 Touring car of Manuel Hermida. Super close racing through the backmarkers!
by John Glynn | Mar 25, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Road Trips
Tomorrow is the big day: off to Germany for the 2014 Essen Techno Classica. Thanks to one dirty dropout in our party of four, the M3 will be three up as it heads for Dover at silly o’clock, but not light on laughs. The craic should be mighty en route: this was the start of my 2010 drive in the orange Porsche 911.
Essen is one of those trips you put off for years and then wonder what took you so long. I often get to the end of a trip and think “I’ll have next year off”, as much of what’s there can feel samey for regular visitors. But, come January, we are booking hotels and planning transport. It’s not as expensive as you might think, and attending with a bunch of mates is great for the soul. It really is the ultimate way to start the Porsche season.
Never easy to predict what will be present, the Essen show honours attendees with the widest range of classic eye candy anywhere in Europe. Only bettered by the owner car parks at Classic Le Mans – and even then just because France is outside and sunny – Essen is a showcase for disposable income. Amongst the blatant dealer profiteering lie some really unique cars, competing for dealer bragging rights.
Last year, one dealer gathered Citroen DSs from the original Paris launch. All the cars were from private collections, with nothing for sale at the show, but that homework made him a megastar. The stand was thronged, causing traffic jams as the crowd stopped to take pictures: seriously good for business when the best network is all that matters.
What will be in this years ‘for sale’ car parks? What madness will have possessed the dealers’ pricing pens? What despicable characters await in the Dusseldorf bars? And the biggest question: why aren’t you coming to Essen?
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!
