by John Glynn | Mar 25, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Road Trips
Tomorrow is the big day: off to Germany for the 2014 Essen Techno Classica. Thanks to one dirty dropout in our party of four, the M3 will be three up as it heads for Dover at silly o’clock, but not light on laughs. The craic should be mighty en route: this was the start of my 2010 drive in the orange Porsche 911.
Essen is one of those trips you put off for years and then wonder what took you so long. I often get to the end of a trip and think “I’ll have next year off”, as much of what’s there can feel samey for regular visitors. But, come January, we are booking hotels and planning transport. It’s not as expensive as you might think, and attending with a bunch of mates is great for the soul. It really is the ultimate way to start the Porsche season.
Never easy to predict what will be present, the Essen show honours attendees with the widest range of classic eye candy anywhere in Europe. Only bettered by the owner car parks at Classic Le Mans – and even then just because France is outside and sunny – Essen is a showcase for disposable income. Amongst the blatant dealer profiteering lie some really unique cars, competing for dealer bragging rights.
Last year, one dealer gathered Citroen DSs from the original Paris launch. All the cars were from private collections, with nothing for sale at the show, but that homework made him a megastar. The stand was thronged, causing traffic jams as the crowd stopped to take pictures: seriously good for business when the best network is all that matters.
What will be in this years ‘for sale’ car parks? What madness will have possessed the dealers’ pricing pens? What despicable characters await in the Dusseldorf bars? And the biggest question: why aren’t you coming to Essen?
by John Glynn | Mar 12, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Had a very quick stopoff to check some Porsche 911 restorations at Rob Campbell’s Racing Restorations in Pershore yesterday evening. I also looked at a Mercedes E55 estate he is selling (nice) and to drop off some carpets for my 924 Turbo, which is still there waiting for me to screw it back together.
Rob and the guys have three Porsche 911 restorations in progress at the minute, and a Fiat 500 Abarth replica build. Loads of other stuff moving from fabrication to finishing workshop next door, so the fab shop is pretty tight until two classic Mercedes rust repair projects get finished and go to the paint shop.
Here’s how he solved the floorspace drought. I want a Fiat 500 Lampshade!
by John Glynn | Mar 10, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Nice surprise in the mail this morning, when a package of Porsche 911 backdate parts I was expecting from EB Motorsport turned out to be a pair of lightweight Porsche 911 rear lights instead.
I’ve been keen to check these light weight parts out for a while, and they do not disappoint. Finished to the usual excellent EB standards, the bodies feature brass inserts for the standard lens screws, and come with bulb holders, and bulbs.
Moulded in highly resilient composite materials, the units are a direct swap for the rust-prone originals. A set saves over three kilograms versus the factory parts. I think the boys use these on the race cars so they must be sturdy parts.
Most amazing was the closeness of each piece when weighed on the digital scales: within 10g of each other at 202g versus 212g. And that could well have been the bags.
When we think of fibreglass parts, we think of words like wobbly, flimsy and amateur. None of these words come to mind here: I might offer one up to the Orange and see how it fits (before they get ‘lost’ in my garage). The bodies are £280 a pair from EB direct, or similarly priced from European outlet, Twinspark Racing, or via EB Motorsport distributors Rothsport Racing in the USA.
by John Glynn | Mar 9, 2014 | Classic Porsche Blog, Project Cars
Had a good email from friend of Ferdinand, Patrick, down in Christchurch, New Zealand. Patrick won a Jagermeister 934 print in one of our Porsche print giveaways a year or so ago and has kept in touch. Here’s his print hanging on the office wall:
He also sent some pics of a nice early car, recently unearthed close to home. It’s one of the last ’73 models, fitted with CIS: an efficient and economical set up that is easy to drive and maintain. WEVO Hayden has a similar car in San Francisco, cherished mainly for its fuel efficiency. I’ll let Patrick take up the story:
“Thought you might be interested in my latest acquisition which joins the 944 Turbo race car in my garage. This 1973 911T was sold new in California, USA and was brought into NZ in the mid 90’s. Done 120,000 miles but runs very strongly as it it is a 73.5 with CIS fuel injection.
“This car had been hiding undercover in a quiet street only a few blocks from my home. Having been without a 911 since I sold my 964 C4 two years ago, when my mate Charles phoned me to say the owner was thinking of selling, I didn’t hang around too long.
“The car is very sound & is a keeper. I intend making a few subtle mods, but will keep the narrow body look. It is LHD, but I prefer it that way (even though we drive on the same side of the road as you UKers) as there is no offset on the pedals. Photos are from Wanaka, about 350km from home, on a recent trip down to Central Otago to watch motor racing at the new Highlands Motorsport Park.”
Kudos Patrick: wishing you many happy miles in the new arrival. Great to see our photo hanging on the wall! Keep in touch with Ferdinand by email at mail@ferdinandmagazine.com.
by John Glynn | Mar 6, 2014 | Art and Books, Classic Porsche Blog
Today is World Book Day, a day when thousands of book fans celebrate their favourite reads and swap books that have inspired them. I was super inspired by a book today: my own book!
The first Cult of Porsche book (written by yours truly, with images by James Lipman – of course) is currently under development, in partnership with our friends at Ricoh Production Print UK. Today brought another meet with lead designer, Peter Silk (below), at the Silk Pearce design agency in Colchester.
My boyhood ambition was always to write about cars. I came to England specifically to do that and nothing inspires me more than a great story. This book is overflowing with beautiful images, and truly great stories. Silk Pearce’s design know-how, Peter’s exceptional knowledge of paper, and production expertise from the professional printing team at Ricoh have provided us with an incredible canvas for our first collection of work.
Today, Peter presented some design mockups. I may have got overexcited. Detailed discussions on look and feel, and what is at the heart of this Cult of Porsche concept movement, before looking at our work in mockup layouts: honestly, it was incredible.
I took a few pics of the mocked-up content, but I’m not going to share them. The material is just too special: you’ll have to wait and see! Our timeline is based around a print launch at the London Book Fair in April, we’ll start taking pre-orders later that month and send the first Cult of Porsche book into production. I expect books to be shipping by May at the latest.
Follow Ferdinand Porsche Magazine to see sneak previews when the time is right. Our first project is sure to be sought after and numbers will be limited: makes it even more exciting!
