by John Glynn | Jul 19, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
The wonderful Porsche Museum is currently running a special exhibition celebrating 50 years of the 911.
More than forty exhibits chart the progression of Porsche’s most famous progeny from 1963 to date, including a 911R, 3.0 RSR, a 934 from the 1976 Le Mans race, the first 964 Cup car and a GT3 RS 4.0.
Friends of Ferdinand have been visiting the museum and sharing their pictures through Ferdinand Magazine’s Facebook page, which is now followed by more than 110,000 Porsche fans. Latest to share was Isle of Man resident Karl-Heinz, who recently took his 1981 911 SC to Sicily and Malta via Austria, with a stop-over in Stuttgart to catch the show.
“A classic 911SC is the perfect touring car for two adults, plus a 6 year-old, with luggage! We visited the “50 Jahre 911″ at Stuttgart on the second day after opening with our own 911. A priceless experience!” Good work, Karl!
The 50-Year exhibition began on June 4, so has only been going for the last six weeks, but those lovely people at the Porsche museum are delighted by the response to their one-off event. “Since the opening of the most 911-centric 911 exhibition in the history of the Porsche Museum, we have welcomed more than 35,000 visitors,” says Astrid in Stuttgart. “This is more than we expected! All appreciate that we honour the 911 in such a huge environment.
“Looking at the first six months of 2013, we have seen more than 182,000 visitors from all over the world. In comparison to the first six months of 2012, that’s an increase of 6,000 visitors. This is amazing!”
I agree it’s amazing, and richly deserved. Even better is the social nature of the show. At least one of the cars on show is privately owned by a bona fide Porsche enthusiast friend, so its great to see these cars being shared. The ImpactBumpers.com crew recently stopped at the museum on their Slovenia road trip and one of the tour’s 964 interlopers made a memorable impression out front. Forget aesthetic barriers to 911 passion!
My own visit to the museum (in my own 911) for this unmissable show will correspond with the date the 911 was first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, on September 12, 1963. The plan is to take the Carrera to this year’s Frankfurt Show on the 12th and then drive back to Stuttgart, to see the 50-Jahre spread before returning home that weekend. Awesome road trip ahead! Anyone interested in coming along, just drop me an email.
The exhibition closes on September 29. All 911 drivers get free entry to the exhibition, obtained by presenting their registration papers at the museum ticket office. If you don’t have a 911 but were born in 1963, then it’s free in also! You can’t say fairer than that.
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by John Glynn | Jul 15, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
I love the daily drivers used by some of my Porsche friends around the world. The Californian climate allows the use of proper oldies, as is the case with this 1965 911, just pressed into service by a SoCal superstar: Hans Lapine at Kundensport in Camarillo, CA.
“It’s a 1965 2.0, with a bit more ooomph,” says Hans in his Facebook thread announcing the car. A bit more ooomph is right, as bluey runs an Andial-built engine. “The add-ons will be original rollbar, Scheel seats, my old Britax harness and maybe an old Momo steering wheel.” Soaked in the patina of a fascinating history, this 302-numbered chassis will provide some smiles in the months ahead.
Someone once said “time is a great healer, but a lousy beautician”. Based on what we see here, I’m inclined to disagree. Sun-bleached short wheelbase cars are the way forward!
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by John Glynn | Jul 10, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Art and Books
Ulf Poschardt, full-time Deputy Editor of Die Welt and Welt am Sonntag and long-time 911 driver has written a new book on the Porsche 911. Titled simply ‘911’, it sounds rather fascinating. I swapped some Facebook messages on the Ferdinand page with Ulf yesterday, and he shared the purpose of this work.
“It’s a cultural & social history of the Porsche 911,” says Ulf. “I have driven a 911 every day since the age of 23 – now more than 23 years. That time has allowed me to reflect on how and why this sports car became a symbol of German modernism after World War II, as well as a manifesto for individualism and a masterpiece in engineering culture.
“I talked to a variety of owners and drivers of Porsche 911 and tried to squeeze out their personal philosophy on the car. Everyone from artists and architects to engineers and politicans – and to Jerry Seinfeld, of course. The Ferdinand blog has many friends in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and they can find 911 in bookshops from July 24.”
Renowned Stuttgart publishing house, Klett-Cotta, is initially publishing the book in German only. Ulf hopes that an English version will follow, and I would certainly be interested in reading it. Of all the 911 books released to coincide with the car’s 50th anniversary, this one piques most interest.
I once took the EB Motorsport Porsche 911 ST built by Tuthills to the ruins of Coventry Cathedral, to consider the question “was the 911 part of Germany’s peace offering after the war?” It led to great discussion with citizens who endured concentrated bombing through the Coventry Blitz, which wiped out the ancient cathedral.
We left with an exceptional view of the people of Coventry: it was an incredible day. When I later mused upon Britain’s equivalent cultural offering, I struggled a bit. It’s something I still wonder about – my current favourite answer is ‘The Beatles’.
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by John Glynn | Jun 29, 2013 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Love this photo of current Belgian Historic Champion, Glenn Janssens, back in action this weekend in his Almeras-style Tuthill Porsche. Glenn returns to action following his super scary crash at over 100 mph in Haspengouw.
Car and driver are running in this weekend’s Ypres Historic, Belgium’s most storied event and an unmissable part of the European classic rally calendar. Anyone who has been to Ypres will know the town, the atmosphere and the territory around this unique part of Europe. It’s a proper setting to rally through, and we wish Glenn all the best for the weekend.
The car has had quite a bit done to it over the months it’s been at Tuthill Porsche in Wardington, Oxfordshire. The Tuthill boys have repaired the damage suffered in the mega-shunt and added a few chassis tweaks here and there. The transmission is all new – an evolution of the Tuthill Porsche dog ‘box – and the engine has been refreshed.
Belgian driver, Mats Myrsell, was recently asked for his best memory of the Ypres Historic by an interviewer. His reply was “that gorgeous waitress I met in a cafe off the square”. Hopefully this year, a few people will leave with the best memory of Glenn Janssens’ fire-breathing 911, en route to victory in 2013.
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by John Glynn | Jun 6, 2013 | Market & Prices, New Models
Towards the end of the 997, Porsche unveiled a spate of special edition 911s, which raised the spam filters against limited production models. Stuttgart’s just unveiled another special, but this one’s better than expected.
The limited edition runout 997 Carrera GTS was probably the best water-cooled Porsche I’ve driven to date, including all the quick stuff. It suited my love of cross-country thrashing much better. I’ve enjoyed my drives in 991, but can’t escape the list price for what’s now a volume unit, and don’t like how busy the car is inside. The latest model might be different.
Unveiled this week, the 50th Anniversary car looks good at first glance. It uses the wider 4wd bodyshell, so is essentially a C2S with rinky-dink special bits including:
- Specially-tuned PASM
- Sports Exhaust
- Special 20-inch wheels, inspired by Fuchs (glad no Fuchs here)
- Chrome front air inlets, engine grille and rear light panel strips
- Dynamic Lights with bi-xenon and cornering
- 3D logo on engine cover, tacho, sill trims & headrest embroidery
- Cupholder plaque with edition number
- High gloss exterior trim and Sport Design mirrors
- Retro instrument dials
- Tribute material on 14-way sports seats (optional 18-way)
- Swish stiching on interior leather
- Porsche Exclusive gear shift
Despite this comprehensive and cohesive spec, I predict some classic angst. Air-coolers with short memories will screech at the cupholders, but the 3.2 Carrera and 964 both had Jubilee specials with fluffy carpets and painty bits. This is no different.
Sure, it’s miles away from the first 911s, but there’s finally a hint of some personality, so I like it. I like the paint, I like the wheels, and I like the bling-y engine grille with the recessed brake light: wait for the aftermarket to rip that off. I like the trim, I like the clocks and I like the mirrors.
Did I say I liked the paint? I can see a slew of hot rods painted in the Geyser Grey Metallic shown here: like a modern Sahara Beige. Graphite Grey and Black Monochrome are your only other options.
What are the downsides? Ninety-two grand is rather a big one, big like that vast centre console, but no doubt some of you have put your deposits down. I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who’s got one coming: there’s a feature here for sure.
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