Belgian Historic Rally Champion, Glenn Janssens, thanked his lucky stars last weekend after walking away from a huge 100-mph crash in his amazing Tuthill Porsche 911 rally car.
Rallying the opening event of the season at Haspengouw, Glenn had just shifted into fifth gear around a right-hand bend when a hint of oversteer escalated into something bigger, leading to a series of barrel rolls at very high speed.
The landscape surrounding the crash was ploughed fields in usual Belgian style, but the ground was frozen solid. Imagine crashing on rutted concrete and you get the idea. This video shows the damage suffered, and also shows the guys walking away: the only happy news for Janssens fans from this event.
Tuthills have been building rally cars for over thirty years and crashes are part of the world they live in: I’ve got plenty of crash damage pics from the workshops over the seven years we’ve been working together.
It’s never pleasant to see a car bent and broken, but it’s always very satisfying to see a Tuthill Porsche roll cage work as intended. This won’t be an easy repair but I’ll keep you up to date with the rebuild as it unfolds.
Here’s an interesting read for you: the first feature Jamie Lipman and I ever did in the USA from 2008. Was a minor disaster getting there and making this happen, but the end justified the means. R Gruppe Porsche 911 SWB Hot Rods shot in California.
Interest in the short wheelbase 911 has surged in recent years. John Glynn drives a pair of American beauties that make a convincing case for less is more.
Ah, California. In stark contrast to preconceptions of a concrete jungle, California is a state with personality. Away from the major population centres, amazing light and fresh Pacific air mingles with the blissful aroma of pine trees and vines to create a technicolour environment. No wonder they built Hollywood here.
I’ve come to the Golden State to attend the R Gruppe Treffen, an annual ensemble of early 911 enthusiasts from across the US and beyond. This year, the meet is centred on Cambria, a pretty little coastal town 100 miles south of Monterey. This is the site of the very first Gruppe get-together, ten years ago.
R Gruppe’s raison d’etre is to honour the intent behind Porsche’s Sports Purpose range: factory parts for adding that extra zing to to the pre-’73 911. This is a club for road trippers, not trailer queens. Some of these guys have travelled almost 3,000 ground miles to be here. (more…)
Another bereavement in the Porsche community this week, when the respected technical writer, Bruce Anderson, passed away at the age of 75. Bruce’s wife, Stephanie, sent me the following story of how Bruce got into Porsche cars and built a career from his passion:
“Bruce was head of publications for Hewlett Packard’s Santa Clara Division in California. He was a tech writer first at HP. At the same time, he was a Porsche guy. Can’t tell you how many he owned back in the day but his love was the air cooled 911 etc. He and his friend, Bob Garretson, would tinker on the cars on the weekend. Thus they began “Garretson Enterprises”, which in fact was primarily owned by Bruce and his brother, Clark. Then in 1974 Bruce decided to quit HP and open a real shop.
“When that relationship fell apart in 1986, Bruce decided to write the “911 Performance Handbook”. He was Tech Chair for the Porsche Club of America and did that for 21 years, helping guys work on their cars in the garage. He also became a great photographer: most of the photos in his books are his. He also served as the Technical Editor of Excellence Magazine from its inception until he passed.”
I never met Bruce, but his writing was a favourite source when I first came to Porsche. My first-edition copy of his Porsche 911 Performance Handbook is on the desk as I type, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to know air-cooled.
Never wishy-washy in opinion, Bruce did his research and was ready to stand by his point of view. His attention and forthright delivery set a proper example: this loss leaves a hole that will prove tricky to fill. There’s no doubting his place as a much-loved member of the tight Porsche community and Bruce will certainly be missed.
Friends of the man speak warmly of days spent at Monterey listening to jazz – a great love of Bruce’s – and long nights at Daytona and Le Mans. With a taste for red meat and fine wine, Bruce was all about living his passions, and his writing is rich with the same. Few authors share as much detail on the technical aspects of engines and performance as Bruce: visit the Bruce Anderson blog to read some for yourself.
Former Porsche CEO, Peter Schutz wrote the foreword to Bruce’s performance book. Peter is sincere in his appreciation for the man’s driving force.
“Bruce is one of those people who never does anything half way. His knowledge of Mexican food and jazz is exceeded only by his knowledge of Porsche, and particularly the 911 in all its variations. It is thus in the true Bruce Anderson style that he has decided to share his love and knowledge with the rest of us, in this book. Beyond all else, Bruce is a sharing person.”
Bruce had been in and out of hospital for months: purgatory for one who so enjoyed being out and about in the company of Porsche heads. With his passing comes peace in the sound of air-cooled flat six engines in Porsche heaven. Best wishes to his family and friends, surely blessed to have known him. The rest of us will continue to enjoy Bruce’s work through his legacy of words and ideas.
Genuine Fuchs wheels have been the lightweight sports rim of choice on Porsche 911 since the 1960s. Fuchs recently started making forged anodised rims for newer Porsches, but it’s not easy to get pictures of the wheels on interesting cars!
That situation improved today, with some pics of a Porsche 996 Turbo S just sold, where the owner also bought a set of Fuchs for it.
This Turbo S is a peach: 2005 with just 23,000 miles and full Porsche history. Slate Grey paint, ceramic brakes, full leather: perhaps the perfect 996 Turbo. Were it not for the spotless Speed Yellow X50 996 Turbo sitting alongside it, also waiting to be handed over to a new owner today, the Slate Grey S would be a no-brainer Ferdinand company car.
Bigger blowers and intercooler, combined with a remap give the Turbo S 30bhp more power than a standard 996 TT. Torque is up to 474 lb/ft and the car will do 191 miles an hour.
Intelligent four wheel-drive and ceramic brakes make the six-speed manual Turbo S a driver’s favourite. Adding these 19″ Fuchs not only looks good, it also drops the sidewall profile of the tyres and adds a bit more footprint, a combination sure to add traction and perhaps a hint more firmness, without being crashy.
The Fuchs wheels on this Porsche 996 Turbo are 8.5 and 11-inch by 19-inch diameter, with 235/35 front and 290/30 ZR 19 rear tyres. These wheels are finished with black centres, but an RSR finish is also available. See the full range of genuine Fuchs wheels on the Porsche tuning website.
Porsche’s plans to run a pair of works 991 GT3 RSRs in the World Endurance Championship and at this year’s Le Mans were confirmed today by the respective championship organisers: FIA and ACO.
Stuttgart is keeping us gagging for all-new RSR pics, but the drivers have been rubber stamped. Porsches number 91 and 92 will be run by Manthey and driven by six works pilots: Lieb and Lietz in the 91 car, partnered by Romain Dumas at Silverstone, Spa and Le Mans, while the 92 car goes to Bergmeister and Patrick Pilet, with support from Timo Bernhard at the same three races.
Everyone else will be battling it out in ALMS for the year, so I wonder what the chat is like at the Porsche drivers’ training camp in Tenerife right now (pic from today by Michael Christensen).
The works cars race in LM GTE Pro at Le Mans, while three customer cars fall into LM GTE Am. IMSA Performance Matmut and Proton return, both running 997 GT3 RSRs. Shame no Nic Armindo with the tri-coloured IMSA team, instead Raymond Narac will drive with Jean-Karl Vernay: reigning champion of Carrera Cup France.
Vernay has support from Porsche to race in Supercup this year, which should be interesting. IMSA will also run a second GT3 RSR featuring Pascal Gibon as lead driver. All we need now is Seb Loeb, and we’ll have most of France driving Porsches this year. Loeb Racing’s entered an ORECA-Nissan, but a lot can happen in 24 hours.
As for the second customer team, Mrs Glynn will be delighted to see newest ALMS GTC Porsche driver, Patrick Dempsey, popping up in Ferdinand posts from Le Mans this year. The Gray’s Anatomy heart throb and rather handy racing shoe will chalk up 24 hours in the number 77 Dempsey Racing-Proton Porsche RSR at Circuit de la Sarthe, along with topping Sarah’s list for the fifth or sixth year running. Patrick Dempsey & Ewan McGregor: nothing else matters to SG on TV. Apart from David Tennant.
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