by John Glynn | Dec 3, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News
The Porsche Museum has a special Rennsport exhibition running until March 17, 2014, celebrating “60 Years of Super Sports Cars”.
Porsche Museum Rennsport Exhibition
Some rare birds can be seen in the exhibition, including this beautiful 550: the first Spyder ever bought by a private individual. I don’t know the chassis number, but the colour scheme is perfect for a privately owned car. I’ll try to get a few more details.
Also in the show is Herbert von Karajan’s unique lightweight RS-bodied 911 Turbo: a factory special for the famous German conductor, which featured on the cover of his Famous Overtures album, recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic. Porsche 911 Turbo is classic rock ‘n’ roll!
The Porsche Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 9.00 to 18.00. Entry is €8 for adults and UK readers can fly to Stuttgart return from £120 (Flybe out of Birmingham for a January weekend: Friday-Sunday).
by John Glynn | Sep 24, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
The Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera Club Sport Coupe formerly owned by Porsche author and historian, Gordon Wingrove, found a new home a few days ago, when a Scottish enthusiast journeyed to Autofarm in Oxfordshire and had a test drive with Josh.
You might remember I blogged about this car a while back, soon after the well-known Porsche author became ill, when it was decided that the car should return to Josh at autofarm and be sold to a deserving buyer. One lap of the Autofarm block was all it took to convince the new owner to part with the asking price.
The Club Sport – one of just 53 RHD examples – was not cheap, but as one of the best examples I have seen for sale in a rather long while, it was money well spent as far as the buyer was concerned.
Fingers crossed we get a few pics of the car in its new home. I was telling the new owner how much we all enjoyed the Porsche Panamera Diesel launch up in northern Scotland. I covered it as a freelance alongside my MSN mate, Ian Dickson. Very good times!
About the Porsche 911 3.2 Carrera Club Sport Coupe
Removing luxuries from the standard 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 took an estimated 40kg off the car’s overall weight. A blueprinted engine and reworked mapping took the rev limit to 6,840rpm, but Stuttgart remained tight-lipped on overall power, and I never saw a Club Sport make huge numbers on a dyno.
Values for the Club Sport (do not call this a Clubsport) track higher than the standard 3.2. Only 53 RHD models were manufactured and it is not certain how many are left, but collectors value these cars most highly. Expect to pay more than £100.000 in today’s market (June 2014) for a Club Sport Coupe in original paint with matching number and low mileage.
by John Glynn | Sep 19, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
While at Autofarm last Friday, I caught up with the Signal Yellow Porsche 911S restoration repatriated from Eire a while back and had a chance to meet the owner. Chris is a really nice guy, been a 911 man for years and currently owns a 993 Turbo, amongst other things. He’s doing some of the work himself at Autofarm’s workshops.
I’m sure we’ll feature more of Chris and his Porsche later on, but what a lovely car this is, and great work being done to preserve the fabric of the spotless 911. Much of the paint and trim is still original and only minor rust repairs have been needed.
Undisturbed factory touches are always nice to see, and usually unheard of on a classic Porsche this clean. The landmark score of an important European football match (7-1) is preserved on the inside of one rear quarter panel – you don’t get better dating points than that!
Speaking of dating points, I’ve had no response from Porsche Cars GB to my request last April for build date and details on our Project 924 Turbo. I’ll check whether my cheque’s been cashed before getting cross about it.
Also just heard from Autofarm that the 930 I blogged about yesterday has been sold. Apparently someone got pushed off the fence! Well done, buyer.
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by John Glynn | Aug 20, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
I spent the morning at Tuthill Porsche, doing more stuff on Safari packing operations to share via Tuthill social feeds on Twitter and Facebook. The Team Tido cars are back for last minute checks and all looking fine. Check out this one, built using terrific Almeras-kit Porsche panels from our friends at EB Motorsport: *drool*
Alongside the two container-loads of tyres, wheels, suspension parts, roll cages and more, each car being run on the 2013 Safari Rally by Tuthills has a crate of all-new parts that travels with it. Charlie B has been gathering those parts, and her guys are now building up the metal frames to go in wooden crates, boxing them up for shipping next week. Open the crate, put the frame in your Landcruiser and hey presto: ready to rock.
Race week is getting ever closer! There’s a ton of other stuff happening in Wardington,with Safari right at the heart of it. I’m always thrilled to be part of the Tuthill crowd, but I think this year is the most exciting ever.
Apparently, the 2013 Tuthill Safari team is the biggest single rally team ever assembled. I’m keeping mum on numbers, but easy to count how many parts crates are in that container, assuming everyone turns up. Every crate of parts used would be best-case scenario, or should that be worst?!
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Ferdinand blogs my freelance adventure with Porsche at the centre. To support the blog or engage with me in other ways, you can:
by John Glynn | Jul 23, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Sabine Schmitz will drive a Porsche 962 at the 2013 Silverstone Classic, which runs this Friday to Sunday at our home track here in Northamptonshire.
Since first appearing on Top Gear and thrashing Clarkson around the ‘Ring in a Transit van, Sabine Schmitz has carved an unassailable niche as totty of choice for the discerning Porsche racing fan. The 1995 and 1996 Nurburgring 24-Hour winner will share a Porsche 962 with Klaus Abbelen in the Group C showdowns at Silverstone.
“The Porsche 962 is such great car for the purists – I just love driving it,” said Sabine Schmitz. “With all the downforce in the fast sections, racing the 962 is going to be a fantastic experience, if a little painful on the poor old neck muscles!”
This year’s Group C grid includes six Porsche 962s, with ex-F2 racer Herve Regout the predicted pacesetter. Others worth watching include Japanese Katsu Kubota in his Nissan R90C – a winner at the 2011 Classic winner – plus the 1989 Mercedes C11 ‘Silver Arrow’ shared by Gareth Evans and triple FIA Thoroughbred Grand Prix champion, Bob Berridge.
The Group C race through dusk on Saturday was a blast last year. Here’s hoping for more of the same! When we’re not watching the action, you’ll find us in the paddock with EB Motorsport, racing in FIA Masters this weekend. Stop by and say hello if you’re passing.
