by John Glynn | Jul 12, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Race and Rally
Our friends at Tuthill Porsche are chasing a win on Sweden’s Midnight Sun Rally. Porsche virgin, Patrik Sandell, is at the wheel and driving a near immaculate rally on his 911 rally debut.
It’s surprising that Sandell – the 2006 Junior World Rally Champion, currently starring in the US-based Red Bull Global Rallycross series – has never rallied a Porsche 911. There was a time when most budding rallyists would have clocked up 911 seat time, exploring the rear-engined icon on gravel.
But the 32-year old Swede comes from a different generation, where front-wheel drive Ford and Citroen rally cars dominate the junior classes, and there is no perceived need to understand rear-drive dynamics. Nonetheless, Patrik is giving it everything in his Below Zero Ice Driving Porsche to keep in touch with former winner and multiple runner-up, Kenneth Bäcklund in an Escort RS.
““I have finally realised what pure flat out action is,” said Patrik at the end of Day 1. “Driving a no pace notes stage rally with a rear-wheel drive car on great stages is awesome!”
“It’s been pretty interesting out there and Patrik has certainly shown his speed,” says Richard. “Yesterday was ultimately a bit frustrating. The first stage we were bang on the pace, despite a minor overshoot. From then on, due to a very hard packed surface with no gravel at all, plus the stages being very well known by all around us we struggled.
“The good news is that we ran through some setup changes and have ended up with a better setup running EXE TC dampers all round. It will be great to see how today goes on stages that are less well known to the drivers: this will level out the playing field.
“Second place is infinitely doable but to win we will need others to face misfortune. We must also not discount a few quick boys breathing down our necks as well. One mustn’t forget this is Patrik’s first time in a Porsche and the completion at this level is very high.”
With a recent win against the Red Bull Rallycross heroes in Washington, Sandell is clearly at the top of his game. To see a 911 being driven this hard by a relative new boy with no pace notes is thrilling. I am loving this event and the arrival of an exciting new force in classic rallying!
by John Glynn | Jul 9, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods, Project Cars
Love these new Porsche 911 anti-roll bars (sway bars) from our friends at EB Motorsport. Sold in matched pairs for front and rear, the front ARB runs through the body, while the rear is suspended across the chassis using the original mounts.
“The EB Motorsport anti-roll bar set has been developed on our own cars in racing,” says EB’s Mark Bates. “Front and rear bars are available in various sizes: 22mm is the most popular size for 3.0 RS and RSRs like our race cars. We use hollow bars as we prefer the characteristics. The ARB stiffness is fully adjustable.
“The EB Motorsport anti-roll bars feature elegantly simple engineering. The bushed mounting system on both front and rear installations is less likely to distort in extreme conditions. Consequently, it resists “grounding out” as many other ARB types are prone to when under high load, such as at the bottom of Paddock Hill, at Brands Hatch.
The original design of this product is multi-piece aluminium, TIG welded. The bushes used by these EB Motorsport Porsche 911 anti-roll bars are a modern polymer equivalent to the original Delrin Acetal resin. Drop links are beautifully machined from aluminium and anodised. Cross drilled moment arms allow for easy adjustment. All connections feature rose joints with machined spacers, to allow free movement.
Some friends of mine use the Smart Racing rear ARB on their classic Porsche 911 for track days, and I have definitely seen those ground out at Paddock. In fact, I have even seen the rear tyre rub against the inside of the wheelarch through that compression zone and burn the paint off the outside of the arch on a 3.2 Carrera. It’s a pretty intense Porsche workout around Brands Hatch! Impressive if EB has found a way around the issue.
The EB Motorsport anti-roll bar kits retail at £1215 ex-works. They are suitable for most early cars, and all 911s up to 1989 with some modification to front fitment: impact bumper 911s are not through-the-body as standard. Contact EB Motorsport via their website to find out more.
by John Glynn | Jul 4, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Modified Porsche Hot Rods, Project Cars
Happy 4th of July to all my friends in the USA! Hope you all have a great day. My last post was on Lewis Hauser’s Porsche 356 Sportolet. Lewis sent me a nice story afterwards of meeting Doctor Wolfgang Porsche with the 356, which is well worth sharing.
“I can’t believe I forgot to mention meeting Wolfgang Porsche! It was at the 50th Porsche Parade in Hershey, PA. We ran into some of the Porsche family members looking at the car. One of them was Wolfgang Porsche, who said he thought it was one of their original prototypes and that it was beautiful.
“Dr Porsche was a very nice man. He also talked with me about my ’55 coupe that was at the first Parade in 1956 and on display with the other historic Porsches that weekend. He liked it because he could tell that the car was driven regularly. He said that his father intended for Porsches to be driven, not scrubbed with Q-Tips.”
One man who is definitely not a Q-Tip scrubber is the Sportolet’s current owner: Rob Abbott in Maryland. Rob has a number of vintage Porsches, including the superb ST rep seen here. It was built by another pair of non-Q-Tippers, Dave B at TRE in Los Angeles and our hot rod hero, Hans Lapine at Kundensport.
“This project started with a very nice, original Signal Orange 1971 911T,” says Rob. “Having spent entire project budgets just sorting out previous rust-ridden 911s, we decided to start with a good car. The idea was not to build a perfect ST replica – no two were alike, in any case – but something that could have been ordered from the factory by someone with connections.
“All the bodywork was done at Kundensport. The car is mostly steel bodied including fenders (wings) and bumpers, which were cut and formed to the fenders, and slotted for the Carrera oil cooler. It has an aluminum rear deck lid and a factory-style balsa-reinforced fiberglass hood.”
The interior is super trick, and the engine is a hot rod 3.2 running PMOs. I’ve got some more build pics and detail shots from Rob to share later. For now, enjoy July 4th and the pics of this pair together on a Pacific coast drive during R Gruppe Treffen. Looking great!
by John Glynn | Jul 1, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Market & Prices
Catching up on some overdue Porsche insurance valuations today, I tripped over this superb 1970 Porsche 911 2.2 T Targa for sale in Kleve, Germany: just inside the border with The Netherlands.
First registered in May 1970, this Signal Orange 911 Targa has clocked up 135,000 kilometres, or about 84,000 miles. I did email the garage for some better pictures but they haven’t come back to me yet. So I apologise for the picture quality, but you get the idea of potential condition: seems super original to me. I also like the ad text.
“Here we have one of the few completely authentic 911 Targa vehicles, almost as delivered. The car has all the attributes of a historically valuable vehicle, also because of its small sympathetic errors. Average paint coating thickness of 140 My (only a point slightly more).
“Well documented: a plethora of bills, original service history, all keys. The vehicle was picked up in Stuttgart by the original owner. The train ticket from 07/17/1970 is here. Apparently matching numbers, aluminum brake calipers, 5 x “Deep Six Fuchs wheels“, radio, etc.”
No doubt a skilled eye will find some holes to poke in condition, and the ad doesn’t say how many owners, but a nicely patinated Signal Orange Targa with the original train ticket from factory collection? I just love it!
Let’s slip back to July 1970. Jimi Hendrix starts his first recording session in New York City, Casey Kasem’s Top 40 show enjoys its first recording (RIP, dear Casey) and the first Boeing 747 lands in Amsterdam, en route to Brussels.
As the Jumbo touches down in Amsterdam, a man steps on board a train, bound for Stuttgart. Awaiting his arrival is a new-for-1970 C-series 911 Targa, with the brand new 2.2-litre engine and alterations to front suspension geometry for a less fidgety feeling on the road. Signal Orange is the colour of choice: a brave decision.
June 1970 was a fine, sunny month: some German towns enjoyed more than two weeks without rain. July kept it going, and August was also a scorcher. September recorded fifteen days with no rain in some parts of Germany: perfect weather to enjoy a brand new 911T Targa. Oh, to be back in the ’70s!
What’s the verdict? It’s on Mobile.de, priced at €71,000. Not bad money if it’s solid.
by John Glynn | Jun 30, 2014 | Market & Prices, Porsche News
Dropped in to see Jonas Zambakides and a pair of perfect Porsche 911 Turbo S models this morning and catch up on used Porsche sales activity. Some interesting discussions on the state of the market and whether values have indeed peaked: I think we’re on the same page, but that’s a post for another day.
Classic Porsche fans who don’t hang on every detail of newer 911 machinery may be unaware of the 997 & 991 Turbo S. Both of these Weissach-tuned performance Porsche 911 Turbos have just sold, so it’s interesting to compare them in fantasy garage style and wonder what the choice would be if funds allowed.
Porsche 997 Turbo S
Introduced in 2010, the 3.8-litre Porsche 997 Turbo S was developed in response to customer demand for a bit more excitement. How about 523 bhp with 516 lb ft of torque and the sole transmission offering of 7-speed PDK with standard Turbo four-wheel drive. PDK gives launch control, offering 3.3 seconds to 60 mph and a top speed of 196 mph.
Spec includes PCCB (ceramic brakes), dynamic cornering lights, carbon seats, Sport Chrono and centre lock wheels. The Dynamic Engine Mount system is one of my favourite new-Porsche concepts and that is standard on the S. Porsche Torque Vectoring is an active diff that splits power across the rear axle depending on what the car is doing, improving traction and stability.
Porsche 991 Turbo S
New to the market last year, the 2013 Porsche 991 Turbo S beats the 997 in Top Trumps: 552 bhp, 197 mph and the grunt to sprint to 60 in 3.1 seconds. Interestingly, Porsche says it is faster around the Nürburgring than the GT3 RS 4.0, managing a 7:24 on Pilot Sport Cups. Hardly a surprise, but not a point one might expect Stuttgart to make.
Weighing just over 1600 kgs, the 991 Turbo S features the latest active rear wheel steering, active anti-roll bars and active/adaptive aerodynamics. EVO magazine knocked the 991 Turbo for a fuel-saving intermediate PDK gear setup, which shifts the car up a gear earlier than normal. Their tester said it made the car “deeply unresponsive: it feels like it’s on the verge of stalling”. As the latest 911, it is also fresher faced but, parked up side-by-side, all I can think of is how good the 997 still looks.
Brand new, the Porsche 997 Turbo S cost £123,000 from new, which is about £137,500 in today’s money. List price for a Porsche 991 Turbo S is £140,850, so a little bit dearer. The Porsche 991 Turbo S was a pre-owned example with 1,300 miles on the clock and sold for £135,000, while their Porsche 997 Turbo S had less than 25,000 miles and was closer to £75,000. That’s a 60 grand difference for new versus (not so) old.
Not saying the 991 is not worth the money or that the 997 is super cheap but it certainly puts choice and value into perspective. The reality is that someone looking at the 991 Turbo wants a 991 and the real purchase choice is this versus used McLaren, or used Ferrari. In comparison, the 997 Turbo S is a well priced list topper for those in search of the ultimate GT 911.
Given £75k to spend on one 911, would you go for a Porsche 997 Turbo S? Or would it be early 911 – maybe a simple 911T? 930 of some description? I could be tempted to opt for the 997 Turbo S. That shape rings true in my head: more than I remember a 993 or 996 ever doing.
