by John Glynn | Jul 18, 2014 | Porsche People, Race and Rally
Normally, nothing clears my living room like the sound of Formula 1 engines from the Sky Sports F1 channel. Yet I watched Sky’s F1 show tonight with wife and oldest daughter in attendance. Why? Because Patrick Dempsey Porsche Supercup.
This weekend is the German Grand Prix, and Dempsey has a seat in Porsche Supercup. I know many groan at the celebrity circus of McDreamy in racing but, away from the hype, his racing is serious.
“I am so grateful to Porsche and delighted to be here in Supercup,” Dempsey started off with David Croft, Grand Dame of Sky’s F1 coverage. “Never mind all that, what is happening in Series 11?” demanded Crofty, apparently a fan of Gray’s Anatomy. Dempsey warmed to the kickoff and was most entertaining.
“I get the feeling that you’re not going to be in this next series a lot, because you’re now a proper racing driver, and that’s why you’re here in Hockenheim?” asked Croft.
“I’m having a lot of fun here this weekend,’ said McDreamy. “Porsche Supercup has some of the world’s finest GT drivers, so to be here racing on an F1 weekend is a lot of fun. Although it’s very, very warm this weekend, so lack of grip through the twisty last sector is giving us quite a lot of understeer.”
“Struggling overall? Do you think your lap times will be good enough to give you a decent race on Sunday?”
“I don’t know: we’ll see how we qualify. You know it’s gonna be great [whatever happens]. It’s my first standing start, so I’m looking forward to that. I hope I have a good run; I hope I have someone out there to run with.”
Patrick Dempsey Porsche Supercup
That this is Dempsey’s first grid start is quite a revelation and shows how few competition miles he has clocked up in racing, at least here in Europe. As he’s such a huge part of Porsche’s Le Mans coverage, I forget how new Patrick is to racing, but it’s easy see how Le Mans drives him on.
“Le Mans is it for me really, that’s my dream,” smiled Dempsey. “We’ve come close now the last few times and I really want to win that race in class. It is so competitive – especially this year – that I just need to be training more, which is one reason why I’m over here. I enjoy being around all the drivers who are in the Supercup and have been incredibly supportive, and all my sponsors have been helping out, so I just need to be in the car. I need seat time and I need to be driving with the best drivers in the world to really improve my speed.”
Eurosport did a great documentary series following three drivers through Le Mans this year. Dempsey was one of them, and I really switched on to his focus. Supercup is a brutal barometer – packed as it is with incredible professional talent, all driving very similar cars – so I hope it treats him kindly. I don’t doubt Dempsey can finish up the field a bit, as long as he can navigate the Hockenheim GP circuit. It’s a super tricky place.
by John Glynn | Jul 17, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices, Porsche News
The annual Silverstone Classic is next weekend – July 25 to 27 – and of course we will be there to follow the Porsches coming from our friends at Tuthill Porsche, and the mighty EB Motorsport.
This RSR replica has spent the last few weeks at Tuthills being prepared for the Silverstone weekend. Built elsewhere, the car had a number of issues after delivery, so arrived at Wardington with a list of repair jobs to do. It is coming together nicely, so I hope the owner enjoys a reliable weekend.
EB Motorsport’s Light Yellow Porsche 911 3.0 RSR and the Guards Red RS will both run at Silverstone on Friday and Saturday, in the Masters Historic qualifying and race. The SWB 911 sadly won’t be seen at Silverstone but is still looking good for Spa 6-Hours.
As always, Silverstone Auctions is holding a sale at the event. Running over two days, there are a number of Porsches listed for sale. A 1974 Porsche 911 S restoration project is estimated at £10-15k, while an allegedly stunning Carrera 3.2 Cabriolet is estimated at £18-22k. Seems low to me for a three-owner car with 81,000 miles. In Iris Blue, the colour may not arouse a majority of buyers, but only takes one to make a sale (or two to make a war).
The 1967 Porsche 911 2.0 ex-California car in Sand Beige seen above, with low mileage since a full engine rebuild is estimated at £45-55k: sounds alright for a left-hand drive car if it’s in good condition. But my favourite photo from the catalogue must be this Mini Cooper S, which has lived in the seller’s living room since purchased in 2006. It’s been recommissioned and MOT’d since leaving the sofa.
As ever with auctions, do your homework before committing to anything. Estimates are usually low, so expect some auction fever to knock prices up a notch. We’ll be around somewhere to watch how the bidding goes.
by John Glynn | Jul 15, 2014 | New Models, Porsche News
If you thought special edition 911s were reserved for run-out models, think again. Porsche Cars GB has just unveiled a unique-to-the-UK limited edition of 40 991 Turbo S models, priced from £150,237. Forty for sale marks the 911 Turbo’s 40th anniversary. The ‘from’ in the price sounds a bit ominous.
Based on the 991 Turbo S – we shared this Porsche 997 versus 991 Turbo S for sale choice last week – the Turbo S Exclusive GB has the same four-wheel drive chassis with active rear axle steering, adaptive aerodynamics, full-LED headlights and a 560 hp flat six-cylinder twin-turbocharged engine.
With Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) active anti-roll system, Sport Chrono Package Plus with dynamic engine mounts, and Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB), the 991 Turbo S hits 62 mph in just 3.1 seconds and runs to a top speed of 197 mph.
Porsche 911 Turbo S Exclusive GB Edition
The 991 911 Turbo S Exclusive GB Edition adds some unique features, to help the car stand out versis other Turbo S examples.
A black rear upper spoiler is said to hark back to the 1974 3.0 930, along with twenty-inch Sport Classic wheels in black, black finished exterior door handles, and the black ‘Porsche’ script along the sills. Black leather upholstery features Guards Red contrasting stitching, with an embossed Union Jack flag on the centre storage compartment lid.
Special features of the 911 Turbo S Exclusive GB Edition are:
- Choice of three exterior colours: GT Silver metallic, White, Guards Red
- Contrasting exterior features in high gloss black: 20-inch Sport Classic alloy wheels, upper part of rear spoiler, SportDesign wing mirrors, exterior door handles
- Porsche logo script in black along door sills
- Storage compartment lid with embossed Union flag
- SportDesign steering wheel with centre marking in Guards Red and rim with Guards Red stitching
- Black leather interior with Guards Red stitching
- Privacy glazing
- Porsche crest embossed on head restraints
- Seat belts in Guards Red
- Personalised carbon door sill guards with ‘911 Turbo S – Exclusive GB Edition’ in illuminated lettering
- Carbon interior trim, including PDK gear lever, with chrome logo on dash insert
- Bespoke floor mats with leather edging and decorative stitching in Guards Red
- Complementary accessories including personalised indoor car cover, a unique photo book and key pouch in leather with decorative Guards Red stitching
Porsche 997 Turbo S with Delivery Mileage: Half the price of 991 Turbo S GB
Adding a few more options will take the cost of the 991 Turbo S to over £160,000, which is twice the price of the delivery mileage Porsche 997 Turbo S PDK in Guards Red arriving at JZM Porsche for sale later this week.
A superb looking car in a very rare colour, the specification is massive. I hear the Porsche 997 Turbo S PDK will retail around the £80,000 mark.
Will Porsche Cars GB find 40 people to buy the UK-only 991 Turbo S Exclusive GB? Perhaps that doesn’t matter as long as everyone knows Exclusive is alive and well and living in Stuttgart. I like that dash badge, but the standard Turbo S is more up my street.
![Kremer ST Replica: Porsche 911 Desert Drive]()
by John Glynn | Jul 14, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods
I caught up with my Arizona Porsche driver friend and fellow 911 Carrera 3.0 fan, Gib Bosworth, over the weekend. Gib sent me these wonderful photos of his Kremer Porsche 911 ST replica on the famous Apache Trail – what a route to drive!
“The Kremer ST rep is a special sports purpose car, not intended for Sunday cruises,” says Gib. “It’s a blast to drive with strong acceleration and great sounds inside and out. It has a very vintage feel, which is what I was after. I’ve got a 1990 964 for comfortable cruising, with good air conditioning!
“The ST is based on a Euro ’72 T, just like the original car. It has a 2.5-litre twin plug MFI engine, and runs 9 x 15″ Fuchs front with 11 x 15″ Fuchs rear. The project took about two and a half years: I enjoyed the learning experience when researching the details of what the Kremer Racing team did with this private entry in Europe’s GT class events. The original car won the European GT competition in 1972, and also took the Porsche Cup.”
The product of Gib’s fascination with the classic 911, it must be an incredible car to see on the road in the proper wild west of America. That said, it’s highly fitting that this unique machine should race through such a unique landscape, where the early pioneers pushed into unknown territory, just like the Kremer brothers back in the day.
The peak seen here is Superstition Mountain, king of the Superstitions and topped by Flatiron Peak: a well-known Pheonix hiking favourite. Climbing to the top is doable as long as you have stamina, plenty of water and a strong head for heights. The last part of the ascent is a 12-foot vertical climb, guaranteed to test your staying power.
Back in the Gold Rush times of the 1890s, nearby Goldfield was a booming mining town with a population of five thousand. More than fifty working gold mines once graced the area, but the original town eventually disappeared and a tourist attraction cowboy site now stands in its place.
Arizona is a beautiful state and towns including Tombstone, Bisbee, Jerome (once named wickedest town in the west) & Vulture Mine are all on my list of places to go in a Porsche. I don’t believe in a previous life, but if I had one it was something do with gold mining. You know when you just get a feeling?
by John Glynn | Jul 14, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Porsche News, Race and Rally
A nail-biting finish on the 2014 Midnight Sun Rally yesterday, as the 911 legends at Tuthill Porsche claimed another European rally victory, this time by just six seconds after three days of hard fought, flat-out rallying.
Even more impressive was that driver, Patrik Sandell, was on his first ever rally in a Porsche 911, and catching some very experienced drivers ahead of him despite zero pace notes, their supreme local knowledge and proven speed as previous winners. Also the fact that he was driving a 3-litre Tuthill 911 normally found on the Below Zero Ice Driving school! Awesome job all round.
Sandell started the day over forty seconds down on the leader, with just forty kilometres of stages remaining. So Sandell needed to take a second a kilometre out of previous rally winner and former WRC driver, Kenneth Bäcklund, in a very quick Escort RS. As anyone who has rallied will tell you, this is almost impossible.
“Second place is infinitely doable, but to win we will need others to face misfortune. However, the completion rate at this level is very high,” said a cautious Richard Tuthill at the start of day three. The Tuthill mechanics had made quite a few setup changes overnight, so would the car be quick enough? We were about to find out.
The first stage of the day was SS13 Ramsjöhult: a nine-kilometre thrasher. Sandell won the stage, finishing 8.8 seconds faster than the leader. The day was off to a proper start. “I’m in love with this car right now! It’s close to perfect,” said Patrik at the end of stage thirteen. Next stage was Vallavägen at 8.8 kilometres. Sandell was five seconds faster than the next quickest Porsche, but only six-tenths up on Bäcklund.
Then came Viggaren: 13 kilometres long. Bäcklund held nothing in reserve, but Sandell was first, six seconds quicker than Kenneth. The next stage was Forssjö, five kilometres long. Sandell took a further eight seconds off the leader and with two stages left was just fourteen seconds down.
Penultimate stage was by far the longest of the two remaining: Härad at 6,240 metres long. Over six kilometres, Sandell stuck to his second-a-kilometre rhythm and finished the stage just under nine seconds down on the Escort. Heading into the last stage, a win was looking unlikely. Semi-resigned to finishing second, which would still have been a great Porsche debut for the Red Bull Global Rallycross winner, Patrik left the start with all guns blazing for the 1.5 kilometre stage.
Then, who knows what happened – a burst of nerves, a slippy clutch foot, a distraction in the corner of his mind – but Bäcklund blew the start. False starts earn a ten second penalty: one more than Sandell needed to win. Bäcklund finished eight seconds down, and Sandell finished on top.
“I had a fantastic weekend with Tuthills and the car was awesome to drive,” said Patrik (above, right) at the finish. “The car gave me great feedback all weekend, and I don’t think people understand the speed you can get from a historic Tuthill Porsche. The team have been so professional the whole race and we have really worked together to get this win!”
I know how delighted everyone in the team is to see a fresh face take to the car and bring it home undamaged, on top of the podium. Tuthill Porsche has a groundbreaking rally project coming out soon – it could be amazing if they can get Sandell in that. I will be there to cover it!
Pics courtesy of Midnattssolsrallyt/Fotogubben
