by John Glynn | Jul 17, 2013 | Project Cars, Market & Prices
This interesting Porsche 997 Carrera 2S is currently for sale. Hard to believe perhaps, especially as it looks so good riding on black-centred Fuchs alloys worth over £3,000! The matching Carrera S side stripes add to the look.
First registered in November 2004, this Arctic Silver 911 benefits from many driver’s improvements including a brand new engine fitted by Porsche in the last 31,000 miles. Black leather sports seats surround the all-important 6-speed manual transmission shift.
The cabin has Bose sound, with heated seats, PCM navigation, and Sport Chrono Package Plus. It’s got PSM stability management, PASM active suspension, Xenon lights. Elsewhere is a full set of Bilstein B6 front and rear shock absorbers, uprated rear control arms and carbon fibre headlight surrounds with carbon rear spoiler lip.
Ignoring all the cringeworthy acronyms, it’s basically a hoot to drive. Custom Bilsteins, Xenons, good seats and a 6-speed gearbox are all you need to have fun in a Porsche. If carbon trim is not your thing, then stick those bits on eBay and put the rest to standard, or give it a Gen 2 GT3 look:
Anyone looking for a sorted 997 to drive and enjoy on fine driving roads in the UK and Europe, or track days anywhere within motoring distance should check this one out. The sum of its parts could be just what you’re looking for.
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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 23, 2013 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
The Porsche 991 RSR came good today, winning the GTE-Pro class at the 2013 Le Mans 24-Hours.
The victory came at Aston’s expense, when the number 97 car was held up by a pit lane red light in the final safety car period. 2013 had twelve safety cars: most safety car periods ever.
Aston and Porsche had been neck-and-neck up to that point, and Dumbreck, Turner and Stefan Mucke drove their hearts out, so to be robbed of their chance by something so petty was horrible. But, that’s racing.
Aston’s loss was Porsche’s gain and the Manthey/Porsche AG 991 RSRs took first and second in GTE-Pro. When the safety cars pulled in and Aston’s bad luck was fully revealed, 97 stood no chance of catching the Porsches. The pace settled into a groove to the flag, with only Sebastian Buemi’s move to unlap his P2 Toyota worth mentioning in the last fifteen minutes.
This result bodes well for 2014 and Porsche’s return to LMP. It was good work to run reliably and keep the 911 out of trouble but, were it not for that safety car break, things might not have worked out so well for Stuttgart.
Nevertheless, a win is a win and we should be delighted that the racing 911 is right back on form. On to the next one!
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