Porsche 356 chasing Ferrari 246 Dino on Classic Adelaide rally

One of my favourite You tube in car video's, mainly for the straight to the point Australian pace notes.  The Porsche is clearly being held up by the Ferrari but I suspect it was better prepared for the event than what looks to be a stock Dino.

Porsche 911 GT2 RS

Porsche have announced  the long expected 911 GT2 RS.  As you would expect from the alphanumeric Spaghetti, this is a lightweight hardcore version of the 911 Turbo sporting 620bhp. It's also probably the last hurrah for the 997 version of the 911.


Curiously (and I'm prepared to be corrected on this) this is the first RS titled 911 which will not sire a race version. Maybe it should have been titled a CS (Clubsport) instead?

Pedro Rodriguez Porsche 917 at the Brands Hatch BOAC 1000KM 1970

Normally I would put a little description with this but in this case, only words required are, enjoy footage of one of the greatest drives of all time.

Porsche 911 RS Generations at the Silverstone Experience center

Porsche have released a new video of the new 911 GT3 RS (Gen 2) being compared with some of of the older RS models, namely the 996 GT3 RS and the Iconic 2.7 Carrera RS.

The video is shot at the rather excellent Porsche experience center at Silverstone.  For those not familiar wih the center it features a handling circuit (separate from the Silverstone circuit proper) along with low grip skid pan, a kick plate and an ice hill. The center gives owners (and prospective owners) the opportunity to test the limits fo their cars in a safe environment. I had the opportunity to experince a Gen2 997 with PDK there last summer and most excellent it was too. The highlight however was some fast laps in a 911 GT2 in the capable hands of one of the instructors.

Back to the RS's. and which would would I have? Of the two moderns RS's I suspect that the new Gen 2 GT3 is the one to have judging by the rave reviews it has received in the motoring press (also check out the Francois Delacour video on the EVO magazine website http://www.evo.co.uk/), but I'm not sure I could live with the garish graphics.  But to be honest for the sort of money a GT3 RS would set you back you could put yourself in the most iconic 911 of all the wonderful 2.7 Carrera RS, and that is where I would put my money.

Porsche 918 Spyder Concept part 2

Porsche have released a second video of the 918 Spyder concept. Little new details but some nice driving shots (seemingly at releatively low speed). The video draws a nice link to the iconic Porsche 917 racer although about the only thing in common between these two cars is the badge on the nose.

Stunning Porsche 918 Concept Spyder

Porsche's engineers clearly have been very busy. Along with the New Cayenne and V6 versions of the Panamera, Geneva sees the unveiling of the 918 Concept Spyder.


Sporting a 500bhp V8 possibly based on the one seen in the RS Spyder LMP car and three electric motors giving 218bhp (yes put together that does make 718bhp). Despite all this power,  Porsche claim that the petrol and electric motor concept can give near 100mpg. Wow.


The green credentials of this supercar will no doubt grab many of the headlines but for me the big news is the stunning styling. Okay this is only a concept but it does not take too much imagination to see this as a replacement for the Carrera GT (which has donated many components for this concept). Hopefully a production version will not have to be too watered down, but more importantly for those of without the budget for a hypercar it would be nice the styling cues from this inspire the next Boxster (even if the spyshots circulating the net indicate this will just be an evolution of the current car styling wise).

New Porsche Cayenne

Porsche have released pictures and video of the new Porsche Cayenne. Purists (including myself) may complain but this is probably now the most important model in the Porsche range accounting for approximately one third of annual sales. It should also be noted that in some markets (notably China) where four door cars have considerably more status than two door sports coupes, the Cayenne is considered the most important model and the 911 merely a sideshow.

Porsche is making big noises about how the new Cayenne is kinder to the environment with less weight and more tech to bring reduced CO2 across the range and more impotantly a hybrid model (crucial in the Diesel adverse US market).

The Mk2 Cayenne is certainly an improvement on the first version styling wise (although it would have been harder to make a worse looking car than that). The styling of the new model while taking the obvious Porsche cues also reminds me a little of the Audi Q5.

Can't see myself ever buying one and it's not a car I even like very much but now that Porsche's daliance with being a hedge fund is over, and it goes back to making cars (under the umbrella of the ever expanding Volkswagen Audi Group), I'm glad it exists if only to be the cash cow that allows Porsche to also bring us Boxster Spyders and 911GT3's.

Details and tech specs on the Cayenne can be found at http://www.porsche.com/

Porsche Panamera V6

Porsche have added entry level Panamera and Panamera 4 models.  The above video refers to both cars being powered by an all new 3.6 litre V6 engine producing 300BHP, although I suspect this is almost certainly closely related the V6 from the Volkswagen Passat R36. Porsche seem to be quite coy on their website on details about it and the numbers quoted seem to match those of the much cheaper VW.

Of note both the cars in the video sport blacked out window surrounds which to my mind suit the car far better than the chrome surrounds on the more expensive models.

Priced from £61K (£66K for the 4) these entry models are not exactly cheap when you consider that a Jaguar XFR for the same money  sports a full 200 more horsepower, but for the driver who wants a more environmentally friendly luxury sports saloon, these Panameras do duck under the all important 225g/km of CO2 barrier. For my money I would take the Jag, but then all these sports saloons are better brought second hand and I suspect the Porsche's more road tax friendly approach  may mean it will  hold its value a little better.

Porsche GT3R with KERS

At the Geneva show in March, Porsche will debut a version of the GT3R racer with a form of the Kinetic Energy Recovery system (KERS) as raced by several F1 teams last year (with only marginal success). The system differs from the F1 systems in that it is a flywheel based system with the unit mounted where the passenger would normally sit, Williams developed but never raced a similar system .

The system gives short bursts of up to 160bhp which would obviously be a massive advantage in an overtaking situation.

Personally if I was the driver I'm not sure I would want a flywheel spinning at 40,000 rpm right next to me in the passenger compartment.

Porsche History in 2 minutes and 20 seconds

This neat little archive footage shows the history of the Porsche in 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Lots of good footage here of some of the most iconic and not so iconic (Porsche Indy car for one) cars through it's history.

Porsche 911 Turbo S retrospective

To go with the launch of the new 911 Turbo S Porsche has published this promo of the history of the Turbo S.


Interesting to note that the 996 and 993 both produced the same power at 450 BHP. Also normally I'm not the biggest fan of the 964 versions of the 911, but in Turbo S form the 964 here looks like the most seriously developed version of the car while the others are lightly warmed over versions of the standard car. The video also glosses over that the later cars all had GT2 versions as the ultimate hot rod version.

The cars I would like to see made (or made again)!

Like just about every other car enthusiast, no matter how many different models the manufacturers make there is always other models of versions I would like them to make. Here I present the cars I would like some of my favourite manufacturers to be producing.

Overtaking 22 "faster" cars in one lap

I've developed a bit of a Porsche 914/6 fetish lately. This is in part bacause of Forza Motorsport 3, and also because the is one parked at my Friend in LA's neighbours house.


While having a surf on You Tube for 914 videos I came across this curio. I assume it's a very heavily modified 914/6 and / or the driver is very talented as he seems to cut through a pack of far more modern Porsches easily. Enjoy


Happy New Year

Porsche Boxster Spyder could you make one yourself for half the price?

Another promo video of the Porsche Boxster Spyder, this time being taken for a Sunday morning drive around the Monterey Area of California. Looks and sounds (assuming the engine noises have not been enhanced in the clip) like the perfect car for this sort of activity.



At the end the driver is shown erecting the hood, while not exactly the painless effort the standard Boxster's power hood is, certainly looks a lot easier to assemble than the similar efforts on the Murcielago Roadster or Ferrari 550 Barchetta? My initial thoughts that this would be a warm weather only car and while that still holds true it may be more acceptable in the UK than first thought (although possibly not in the recent biblical levels of rain we have suffered).



One concern with this car is the price, at £44,000 it seems rather expensive for a stripped out car (the days of the bargain priced 968CS are long gone). However with the price of used Boxsters now quite reasonable and plenty available (200 on Pistonheads when I last looked and that was just the 986 versions) it should be possible to make something similar for half the price?


Lets say start with a used 3.2S say £12,000 for an early noughties example with half decent mileage. Most of the weight saving for the Boxster Spyder comes from removing the power roof, so that would have to go. No idea what is involved or what it would cost but as a certain Jeremy Clarkson often says "how hard can it be?"


While the humps behind the rool hoops on the Spyder are not available, Porsche have offered similar humps for the standard Boxster for a long time (around £700 from good Porsche parts suppliers) these would also be needed to cover the gap left by the absence of the roof.


Optionally (but I would) you could fit one one of the Porsche Aerotek body kits (approx £1,000) to give the car a slighty racier look (the standard body looks a little anodyne on the early Boxster to me), and a set of GT3 style 18" rims (£1,200 for a set of four).

As there is now no hood it would probably be prudent to invest in a hardtop (£3,000ish), which would make the car more usable in winter than the Spyder itself?


Interior wise a good set of figure hugging recaros (or perhaps a set of GT3 items) should be around £400 each.


Finally an early Boxster S makes around 240bhp well short of the Spyder's 320bhp. I suppose a 996 engine conversion is possible but I understand the while possible it's not as easy as you would imagine (the 996 engine is mounted the other way round to the Boxsters for a start). So instead I would look at a Turbo or supercharger conversion. I surf of the net found this system for just under £5,000, and should give more than enough power to match the Spyder.


http://www.turboperformance.com/products/986987-ATPL-Low-Pressure-Turbo-System/

Okay we need to add labour onto all these costs but I reckon that it would be possible to do all this for around £25,000, which would lead more than enough change from £44,000 to afford somethng practical for those rainy days.

One Million Pound Car list

What cars would you buy if you had a million pounds to spend on cars? The question came up over lunch last Sunday, prompted by a discussion on the recent large wins on the Euro millions. You would think it would be an easy question to answer but then I realised that many of my dream cars for example the Mclaren F1, Ferrari 275 Nart Spyder or Alfa 2900 would cost considerably more than that even in today's recessionary climate.

NEC classic car show

Despite the dreadful weather today I had a very enjoyable visit to the NEC Classic Car show today. Highlights included the ex Steve McQueen Ferrari 250 Lusso, on the Ferrari Owners Club GB stand and an ultra rare Maserati 5000GT (with body work by Allemano) on the Maserati club stand.

Porsche 911 the Hunt goes on

You may have noticed I've not been blogging as much lately (but probably haven't). This has been for two reasons, firstly a worrying addiction to Forza Motorsport 3 on the Xbox, and secondly most of my remaining spare time has been spent time surfing the classifieds for a Porsche 911.

Porsche Boxster Spyder

The Porsche Boxster always has something of an image problem. No matter how good it is (and they are all great cars) it is always seen as being a car brought by people who can't afford a 911.  I personally think that is unfair and bearing in mind up to 80% of the parts are shared with it's iconic brother, I sometime wonder if it's actually the 911 owners who pay to much for their cars.

Porsche 356 on the road

This is a rather nice driving video found on You Tube, showing a rally prepared? Porsche 356 on some country roads in Austia.

Porsche Panamera Saloon or a GT coupe with four doors and seats?

The Porsche Panamera is a hard car to pigeonhole, Is is a luxury saloon? Is it a GT coupe that just happens to have four doors?

As a Luxury or sports saloon it doesn't entirely work for me. The interior whilst fantastically laid out is not accomodating enough to tempt plutocrats out of there S Classes or Seven series. It is also far more expensive (and bigger) than the sports saloons such as the Jaguar XFR and the class defining BMW M5. It's only real rival as a four door is the Maserati Quattroporte, which while it has been around for a few years is still probably the best looking four door ever made and has the pedigree and performance to give the non Turbo Panamera's a run for its money.