by John Glynn | Feb 4, 2015 | New Models, Porsche News
Porsche has finally released official details of its brand new GT4 Cayman. The car is expected to race.
Powered by a 3.8-litre flat-six engine derived from the 911 Carrera S, the GT4’s 385 bhp is sent through a six-speed manual gearbox with dynamic gearbox mounts. Cayman GT4 goes from 0-60 in 4.4 seconds, and on to just under 300 km/h.
The new Porsche Cayman GT4 shares some components with the 911 GT3. This is nothing super new, as GT3 parts are commonly used in upgrading Caymans: brake master cylinders and so on. But this car goes further, apparently using GT3 parts throughout the chassis. Some will be obvious from the photos, but more details to follow.
New Porsche Cayman GT4 Track Day/Race Mode
Outside, the GT4 majors in race mode. Three large intakes at the front and a sizeable rear wing point to downforce. The aerodynamic package is one part of a track-focused options list that includes ceramic brakes, carbon seats, custom Sport Chrono and a Club Sport package.
The Cayman GT4 premieres at Geneva in March, and can be ordered now for delivery by the end of March. Basic list price in Germany is about €86,000 (which is £65,000, or just under $100,000 according to fxtop.com).
by John Glynn | Jan 25, 2015 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Tuthill Porsche celebrates tonight, following victory in the world-famous Monte Carlo Rally. Driving a Tuthill Porsche 911 in the R-GT category, François Delecour finished almost three minutes ahead of his rival, Romain Dumas, to win the opening round of the R-GT Cup.
“We’ve won rallies in Porsche 911s on every continent, but no rally means more to Porsche fans than Monte Carlo, site of so many classic moments in Porsche history,” said delighted team boss, Richard Tuthill. “To win on this event with the great François Delecour is extremely special: something we will always remember.
Having spent days with the Tuthill crew and most of the weekend keeping tabs on events in Monte Carlo via every available social channel, I know how hard the team worked for this win. Rallying may look like a rock-up-and-ponce-around event, but nothing could be further from the truth. The conditions were deadly: one false move from Delecour or one mechanical failure would have killed the whole effort. Victory in a heavier car with less power than the 4-litre RS of Romain Dumas, a more than worthy adversary, is an excellent achievement.
“An overall Porsche win is no longer possible in the modern World Rally Championship, but we treasure this win just as much,” Richard told me. “Fighting equally committed competitors in capable cars right to the finish was incredible. This year’s Monte Carlo Rally showed just how exciting R-GT rallying can be with more cars taking part.
Delecour in Tuthill Porsche wins Monte Carlo
François Delecour and co-driver Dominique Savignoni set quick times from the start of the 2015 Monte Carlo Rally, building a lead of more than three minutes as they entered the fourth and last day’s rallying. Over the final three stages, including the treacherous Col de Turini, Delecour shrugged off extreme pressure before sealing a memorable victory: the first Monte Carlo Porsche win since 1978.
“This rally has been a huge challenge,” said François. “Snow and ice on the twisty mountain roads makes a great test for the driver! The final day of managing the gap to Dumas while driving quickly to keep concentration was not easy: I am just so happy now! We will celebrate tonight with family and friends, and this amazing team of Tuthill Porsche.”
The Monte Carlo win puts Tuthill Porsche and Delecour on top of the 2015 R-GT Cup: a five-round FIA championship for R-GT cars. The next R-GT round is the Geko Ypres Rally in June, which Tuthill Porsche has previously won in historics, as part of a victorious Belgian championship campaign.
“Ypres is a mega event,” says Richard Tuthill. “Starting with a Monte Carlo win in our pocket, a wonderful car that the fans absolutely adore and this incredible driver and co-driver pairing will be a dream come true. R-GT rallying is a brilliant experience: we want to see more drivers signing up for 2015, hopefully using Tuthill Porsche 911s!”
Photos by McKlein Photography
by John Glynn | Jan 24, 2015 | Race and Rally
Much-loved Porsche maniac, French rally legend François Delecour, is currently leading the R-GT category of the 2015 Monte Carlo Rally. The event reached its mid-way point this evening, at which point Delecour’s 3.8-litre ex-GT3 Cup car was two and a half minutes ahead of compatriot and Porsche works driver, Romain Dumas in a GT3 RS 4.0.
Romain is doing a superb job in the 4-litre, matching Delecour’s pace to the second in some split sections on his first-ever Monte and setting faster times in a couple of stages. But Delecour is driving like a man possessed, because he is a man possessed: by a passion for this course. His previous Monte Carlo rallies don’t count for a great deal of pace, as the stages are brand new for everyone. It’s a very careful game of power versus know-how.
The rally kicked off last night (Thursday), with two long stages over a deadly ice-into-snow-into-dry-tarmac-into-ice surface. Everyone was running studded tyres: the only option in these freezing conditions, high in the mountains around the ski resort of Gap. Making his return to the WRC was fellow Porsche fancier and nine-time world champion, Sebastien Loeb, driving a one-off event for Citröen.
Reigning world champion, Volkswagen’s Sebastien Ogier, went first into the snow, setting a quick time right from the off. The WRC Live service streamed perfect TV pictures of the unfolding stage from Ogier’s front bumper, which were studied very closely. I was texting info back to the Tuthill service tent and maybe Loeb (below) was watching too, as he went out and set a time half a minute quicker than Ogier on the thirteen-mile section. The online rally world went nuts – such a great start to the Monte.
Three R-GT cars are running in this year’s Monte Carlo Rally: all of them Porsches. Delecour and Dumas are racing against Belgium’s Marc Duez in a 996 GT3 built to R-GT rules. Duez set an opening time of 20:38.0 over the stage. Dumas went 20:24.6: roughly 14 seconds quicker than Duez. Delecour went out with the bit between his teeth, setting a time of 19:01.2 – a full minute and 23 seconds faster than the 4-litre.
Stage 2 was another 20 kms. Delecour 16:56. Dumas 17:06, so another ten seconds chipped. Stage three took place early this morning (Friday) in thick fog and sheet ice. Delecour was eight seconds slower than Dumas, but went 17 seconds faster on the following stage.
On it went until the day’s final trial. This stage was a killer, with three top guys (Meeke, Loeb and Kubica) coming off heavily and ripping huge chunks off their cars. Delecour took it steady, finishing ten seconds slower then Romain, but with a lead now stretched to 2m30s. He was joyous on WRC Radio.
“It’s fantastic to drive a Porsche in Monte Carlo: it’s a dream,” he enthused. “When I was a little boy, I watched Waldegård and Nicolas, winning Monte Carlo in 911s, so today it is a dream for me to drive this car on this rally.
“Things now are more complicated than in the past, because we have to run these large tread tyres, which makes it very difficult to keep the car on the road in tricky conditions. But for now we are happy and will keep pushing hard.”
Pushing hard included losing his rear window and a brake line on Stage 5 (above), where he still went thirty-five seconds quicker over the course, with much-diminished rear brakes. The team changed the brake line and the rear discs and pads, and sent their young charger on his way.
“Our aim for this rally was a strong start to our R-GT Cup campaign,” says team boss, Richard Tuthill. “Everyone in the Tuthill Porsche workshop has worked tirelessly since the car’s last WRC outing on Rallye de France-Alsace, making changes required by the FIA and a few more based on driver feedback.
“François has also worked hard. His commercial efforts brought in a major new sponsor, and he’s maintained a high level of personal fitness through the winter. What we’ve seen in the last two days of rallying is a product of all that commitment.”
The 2015 Monte Carlo continues with four tricky stages on Saturday – including the two longest stages in the rally at 51 km and 36 km respectively – before finishing in the mountains above Monaco on Sunday afternoon. Follow the latest news and stage times on www.wrc.com or via @Tuthill_Porsche on Twitter.
Featured Photo Credit: Colin McMaster for McKlein Image Database
by John Glynn | Jan 16, 2015 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
Pictures have just been released of the 2015 Porsche 919 LMP1 Hybrid, three of which will be raced at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours on June 13-14, with drivers including Formula 1’s Nico Hülkenberg.
Weissach rolled the car out onto the test track for various systems checks in December last year, but serious testing of Stuttgart’s WEC challenger kicks off in Abu Dhabi on January 18. More testing is scheduled before the opening round of the 2015 World Endurance Championship on April 12 at Silverstone.
Porsche’s 2015 LMP1 car is said to be “a comprehensive evolution of the successful car that made its debut in 2014. It features the same innovative drivetrain concept consisting of a 2-litre V4 turbocharged petrol engine, an electric motor powering the front wheels, and two energy recovery systems.”
What has been dropped? We don’t know. Details will emerge as the season progresses: it will also be interesting to see what pace the car runs when it gets to Silverstone, how hard it is on its tyres and whether Porsche applies any changes in approach to quali and race strategy.
2014 was a mixed bag for Porsche in the WEC, with some teething troubles on track and a serious crash for Mark Webber at Interlagos. The team did manage a win with the 919 – Dumas/Jani/Lieb (above) coming home first in Brazil – but only after Toyota had clinched the World Championship, following a virtually flawless season by Anthony Davidson and Sebastian Buemi. Here’s to better results for the car and our heroes in 2015.
edit: Daily Sportscar has done a quick analysis of 2014 919 vs 2015 model, also making the point that Porsche has gone to an 8mJ Hybrid system which requires more cooling. The initial changes are aerodynamic – at least Porsche has its own wind tunnel this year.
by John Glynn | Jan 14, 2015 | Porsche News, Race and Rally
The Paris-Rouen Horseless Carriage Competition of 1894 was one of the very first motorsport events, and gave rise to many more inter-city races over low-grade public roads. In 1911, the inaugural Monte Carlo Rally took early motorsport events to a whole new level as competitors started at points all over Europe, racing south to Monte Carlo. The world’s first proper rally would demonstrate automotive development, manufacturer reliability and the resilience of its participants.
Fast-forward just over a century, and Tuthill Porsche is on the verge of its first ever Monte Carlo Rally. Racing in this first part of the five-round 2015 R-GT Cup, it faces competition from two worthy adversaries, both highly talented and equally as passionate about motorsport.
Romain Dumas: 2015 Monte Carlo Rally
Romain Dumas is a former Le Mans winner, and winner of the 24 Hours of Spa and 24 Hours of Nurburgring. A regular rally competitor in 911s, Romain is a Porsche works driver and pilots a 4-litre Porsche R-GT rally car for Monte Carlo. No change has been made to the 4-litre engine specification to bring it closer to the 3.8-litre cars.
Marc Duez
Marc Duez is a Belgian driver, highly regarded in European rallying. A former WRC driver in BMW M3, Toyota Celica GT4 and no end of Porsche 911s, Duez has claimed a number of top ten Monte Carlo finishes and is sure to be on form.
François Delecour
In the Tuthill Porsche camp is François Delecour: heart-sleeved legend of rally fans everywhere. A four-time winner in WRC, François has a “win it or bin it” reputation, which may not be entirely accurate but, whatever the story, he is adored. Tuthill has one word for Delecour: angry.
“François is an angry man,” said Richard Tuthill when interviewed at last week’s Autosport Show. He means it as a compliment. “Sleeves rolled up, let’s get to business, angry, angry man and a total legend.” With François to keep Tuthill Porsche firing along, Monte Carlo can’t come quick enough. Alongside François is Dominique Savignoni, with whom Delecour has won the last three Romanian rally championships.
Romania is a 50% sponsor of the Tuthill Porsche R-GT attack in 2015, with Richard Tuthill currently footing the bill for the other half. I don’t know many people who would be as brave with their money: Tuthill does not have an endless supply of cash and is well into this project already. Some might have left the car parked up for Monte Carlo and spent some money on classic Porsches instead, but that is not the Tuthill way. These are adventurous spirits, looking for the next thing in epicness and taking Porsche to the forefront of whatever that is.
In a fairytale world, François would have a small issue on the first day of the rally – maybe an off-piste in snow – find himself well down on Duez and Dumas and climb back up through the ranks before taking the win by four seconds on the final day. But there are no fairy tales in the WRC.
The politics of getting a quick GT car onto a rally stage alongside manufacturers who have invested millions of marketing Euros into making their hatchbacks look good are insane. Tuthill has a long way to go before its gravel spec R-GT is approved for stage use: an approval that has little to do with engineering. Anyone thinking the speed of the cars is down to the teams needs to wake up a bit: WRC status quo is not up for discussion.
Rallye Monte Carlo kicks off on January 19th and runs to the 25th. Some stages are up towards Grenoble, well north of Monaco, with weather ranging from -15 degrees with heavy snow to 9 degrees C and some sunshine. François Delecour will need all his wits about him if he wants to kiss a princess at the finish.
As for the gravel spec R-GT car, Chris Harris tested the car on gravel in Wales at the end of 2014. Chris is no rally driver, but he’s a capable racer who knows 911s and has driven every brand of hypercar for his popular videos. “This is the most exciting car I have driven all year,” he said. Watch this:
