by John Glynn | Aug 16, 2014 | Modified Porsche Hot Rods, Porsche News
Enjoyed a run in this sweet used Porsche 997 GT2 for sale earlier this week: a 2008 registered/2009 model year car with the full Manthey M600 power upgrade and some other fun bits. The car arrived for sale and was sold soon after to a keen driver and regular customer. Small wonder when it is such a special machine.
JZM is the UK Manthey agent and built this car from new for the original owner. The factory spec is comprehensive enough, but this GT2 also runs: M600 engine upgrade, Manthey MM1 magnesium wheels, KW HLS2 nose lift system and Nürburgring-approved Manthey carbon bits including front spoiler, front arch Gurneys, sill trims and rear wing extension.
Inside it has even more carbon with PCM3, black leather sports seats and Schroth harnesses as well as the normal seatbelts. Upgrades to the six-speed manual transmission include a Manthey short shift and gearbox overhaul with a few tweaks at Frikadelli Racing. Manthey replaced the upgraded 890 Nm clutch in April of this year. It shifts like a dream, and needs that upgraded clutch pack.
Standard power in a GT2 is 530 bhp, but only a stone cold example holds on to those horses. As heat increases so power is lost, with the plastic-capped intercoolers soaking up heat and frying intake temps. Manthey solves the problem with bigger all-aluminium intercoolers, also adding adding 200-cell cats and an all-new Akrapovic silencer.
As intake temperatures are now much lower, and the gases can exit the car freely, Olaf’s boys remap the better-breathing GT2 on their 850 bhp Maha dyno, taking power to a dependable 600 horsepower (hence the M600).
On the road, the car is a pussycat. JZM’s Steve McHale took us up the nearby A41 for a few miles, exploiting gaps in the traffic to best advantage. An older Porsche with this much power on a wet greasy road would be a proper handful, but even when the traction light flashed at 5,000 revs in fourth gear, the car never deviated from the straightest of lines.
Noise is my only complaint about modern 911s. They all make a stunning amount of noise through those massive rear tyres, and the M600 GT2 is no exception. Trying to make a hands-free phone call on a grainy road surface like this English dual carriageway would be somewhat frustrating, but talking on the move is no problem.
All too soon, our twenty mile spin is over. The car gets a clean bill of health and I tick another 911 off the bucket list. A police car out front on the return leg kept our speeds fairly sensible, but the Manthey Porsche 997 GT2 M600 will top 203 mph where limits allow: 200 reasons to open your wallet.
by John Glynn | Aug 16, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News
Either I am following most of the Californian Porsche population on Instagram, or everyone else is at the first Werks Reunion at Carmel on the Monterey Historics weekend. My feed has been a parade of 356s, early 911s and latest Magnus Walker video exploits for the last few days.
Not seen many pics of this little beauty, though. It’s Joey B’s 1977 Porsche 911 S in Minerva Blue, which I shared a few weeks ago. Joey has now applied his meticulous attention to detail to what was already quite a nice car, and created something quite remarkable.
“Hey Johnny, hope you are well,” says his email. “Just wanted let you know this middie (what we call a ‘mid-year’ Porsche: post-1973 and pre-SC) is all buttoned up & ready for the prom this Friday at the 1st Werks Reunion in Carmel. Hope you approve of the changes, some more subtle than others.”
Changes obviously include a coat of wax! I spy 15″ Fuchs (of course), some period sounds and a retrimmed steering wheel. That Cork & Pascha interior is just right – makes me think I’d love to see some tan suede or Alcantara centres on early impact bumper Recaro sports seats.
Outside, that no-sunroof narrow body looks sharp with the black H4 headlamp trim rings and single door mirror. “I decided to stay with the 2.7-litre CIS engine with 10k miles on the rebuild,” says Joey and looks like a great decision to me. I see some yellow fog lamp bulbs, too. What a superstar classic!
Who has more pics to share from the Monterey Porsche Werks Reunion? Owner driver Porsche pics like this suit me perfect – we’re not about the garage queens. Drop me an email via the contact page.
by John Glynn | Aug 15, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
So much for more time for Ferdinand after last weekend: this week has been even madder than last. Much activity has centred on the WRC debut of the Tuthill Porsche 997 RGT car.
Originally intended to debut on the Ulster Rally, the schedule did not allow for transport to the first test to Germany on the following Monday: Germany is too far away at 53 mph in the race truck. So it is straight off to Germany today, to arrive on Sunday. There follows a week of full on activity with testing, recce, shakedown and then the rally proper.
I had a look through the WRC event paperwork with Richard this morning and it’s amazing what they give the teams to get their heads around, even before the co-driver paperwork. Speaking of which, Stèphane Prévot is co-driving with Richard next weekend, and that is another delight.
Stephane started with Bruno Thiry in European rallying before moving to WRC in 1993. He then partnered Francois Duval, Stèphane Sarrazin and now runs with Subaru/Hyundai WRC pilot, Chris Atkinson. The pair are not racing again until Australia, so Prévot can partner with Tuthill. Stèphane is well known to the team, as he often sits alongside Glenn Jannssens, Tuthill’s Belgian Historic championship winner.
An unbelievable amount of work has gone into the 997 development and launch, so opportunities to really enjoy that achievement have been few and far between. Richard took the car out to bed in new brakes last night and said that the nicest surprise was the smile that appeared on his face half way around our local test route. “The 997 GT3 might look big, but it doesn’t feel big once you get moving,” said Richard. “Our aim in Germany is just to enjoy being back in a WRC paddock, with what we think is the coolest car.
“We’ll be looking for reliability as it’s not an easy car to service and we still need to understand the best approach to that side of things. It is so exciting and there is a huge amount of interest in what we’re doing. I’ve got to shut that excitement out, find some space and just focus on the road.” The enormity of a Porsche 911 in full-on FIA WRC rallying makes me nervous just standing next to the machine, so I am super excited for the team.
by John Glynn | Aug 8, 2014 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Been a very busy boy lately with a bunch of new website builds and a lot of new products and projects to look after. It’s left little time for Ferdinand, but I should start catching up after this weekend.
Undoubtedly the biggest Porsche story of the past two weeks has been the launch of Tuthill Porsche’s 911 WRC car. Built to comply with complex FIA R-GT/RGT regulations, the project was led by Graham Moore, who also managed the original Aston Martin V8 Vantage Rally GT project. Graham is super interesting to talk to, and following Team Tuthill’s work in getting the car through the various levels of FIA approval has been highly illuminating.
Graham Moore – Chief Engineer Tuthill Porsche 911 Rally Car
Like many of the engineers and technicians who work with Tuthill Porsche, Graham started with Prodrive in the early 1990s and gained experience across all of the projects of the time, including BMW and Alfa Romeo touring cars. He then switched to Subaru’s Group A and WRC teams, where his work as head of powertrain helped Colin McRae secure Subaru’s first World Rally Championship.
Moving to the race track, Graham worked on the Drayson Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT2 program in Le Mans, American Le Mans and the 24 Hours. The team then built the first bio-fueled, Judd-powered Lola LMP1 to race in Le Mans Series. The car snatched pole in Japan ahead of a full season of Le Mans Series, ALMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2010.
Since then, Graham has been focused on developing high power electric drivetrains for electric racing championships like FIA Formula E, and served as Chief Engineer on converting the LMP1 Lola chassis to race with pure electric power. Graham’s lead role in the Tuthill Porsche RGT project has been a real dream come true for all at Tuthill Porsche in Wardington.
Porsche 911 FIA WRC Rally Car: Restrictions
It will come as no surprise to learn that the FIA’s RGT category is power restricted. The 911 has to run an inlet air restrictor, which limits outright performance on FIA events. This creates an interesting challenge to get the best performance, but Richard and Peter Lythell enjoyed their first outing at Harry Flatters, where the Tuthill 997 RGT car ran as course closing car with an official dispensation from the MSA.
“We had an amazing first day in the car,” said Richard Tuthill, who drove the car on the event. “The main aim of the day was to get miles under our belts. We tried a variety of setups and tyre combinations. Our target for the 911 WRC car was create a Porsche that is easy and fun to drive, and which will appeal to all levels of drivers.
“We’re delighted to report that the car lands beautifully from jumps, is incredibly nimble through the narrow tight twisty stuff and hugely competent in the fast sections. It was born to rally: there is also no doubt that it will be extremely competitive in the overall standings.”
Porsche 911 FIA RGT car at Ulster Rally and WRC Germany
Next outing for the Tuthill Porsche 911 WRC car is next weekend’s Ulster Rally. From Ulster it goes straight to Germany for testing for WRC Germany, and then possibly on to Scandinavia. We are waiting to hear! There may even be a video crew following the Tuthill Porsche in Deutschland, so we look forward to great content after that event.
The plan is to race this car to iron out any bugs and then open the order book for customer versions. Anyone interested in the Porsche 997 GT3 FIA WRC car should email Richard Tuthill and get talking, as build slots will fill up quickly. It takes very little work to switch the car from track day use to rally spec, so it is a true all-rounder.
Rally Pics by JMS Photographic
by John Glynn | Jul 28, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Ferdinand Magazine’s favourite digital artist, Guy Allen, has just released a new print for summer 2014. Celebrating a famous 911 win at the 1973 Daytona 12 Hours, Guy has created a striking Porsche 911 artwork that does justice to the hard-fought Sebring showdown.
Porsche 911 RSR Sebring 1973
Veteran race fans may recall how, in 1972, the Sebring 12 Hours was struck off the World Sportscar Championship calendar due to the state of the track. IMSA decided to include the circuit on its 1973 GT racing calendar and set the stage for a brutal test of survival.
A pair of Corvettes led from the start, but an unmerciful race pace around the airfield circuit took its toll. On lap 86, Porsche seized the lead. The Porsche 911 RSRs of Haywood/Gregg/Helmick and Minter/Keyser did battle to the flag, with Dave Helmick’s Light Yellow RSR coming home first.
Those lovely people at Gunnar Racing carried out a full restoration on the original RSR back in 2000 – see the Gunnar Racing 911 RSR restoration thread. At the time, it was owned by a gentleman living in Oxford, just down the road from here. No doubt this is an important 911: great to see it on a Guy Allen print.
Produced on archive quality heavyweight paper and available in a strictly limited edition of 100 prints, this is a large format A2 print: 594 x 420 mm. Each print is signed and numbered. Mine is number two – not sure where I’ll hang it yet, but it’s a really nice piece of work.
How Sebring Changed the Face of Racing
What I like about this story of the 1973 12 Hours of Sebring is how it changed the face of US racing. Gunnar’s website quotes Sebring historian Ken Breslauer’s summary of events around that time, following the FIA’s refusal to certify the circuit for 1973.
“For 1973, an upstart group known as IMSA added Sebring to its Camel GT series, and the race lived on, though radically different in appearance. The entire event was more informal, but no less competitive than previous years. In retrospect,the 1973 race was one of the finest gatherings of GT production race cars ever in North America. Entries totalled the second largest ever at Sebring.
“There was no race the next year, 1974, due to the OPEC oil embargo and resulting fuel crisis. Nevertheless, on the third weekend of March ’74, about 2,000 race fans showed up anyway. The Sebring tradition simply would not die.”
No race and a fuel crisis, but two thousand race fans “turned up anyway.” Way to go, America!
