Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i Classic Porsche

COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION OF Classic PORSCHE ORDER BACK ISSUES AT bit.ly/issuescp SUBSCRIBE TO Classic PORSCHE SEE PAGE 108 FOR DETAILS OFFICIAL MARTINI RACING 42MM CHRONOGRAPH Designed by Studio FA Porsche, manufactured in Germany and limited to 1,911 individually numbered units, this official Martini Racing wristwatch features a RONDA analogue quartz movement and a case manufactured from finely brushed stainless steel finished matte black. The mineral glass offers an anti-reflection coating. This attractive chronograph includes a date window at the four o’clock position and three totalisers, each with a different function: a second counter at the three o’clock position, a thirty-minute counter at the nine o’clock position and an hour counter at the six o’clock position. The metal silver dial features Martini Racing stripes, while the crown is…

An unfortunate vacuum in international endurance racing followed the collapse of the 3.5-litre FIA World Sportscar Championship at the end of 1992. Events were held on traditional circuits, including the Nürburgring, Monza and Silverstone, but the demise of the series meant the 24 Hours of Le Mans was the only major endurance race in 1993. That year, organisers of the French enduro invited a range of cars, including 3.5-litre prototypes, older Group C cars and Grand Touring cars, to participate. Porsche was interested in the GT category, so much so the company prepared a competition car based on the 964 Turbo S production chassis. This was first campaigned at Sebring in March 1993 with Walter Röhrl, Hans-Joachim Stuck and Hurley Haywood at the controls. The car won the GT class…

The cult of Porsche and the enduring appeal of the 911? Blimey! We could debate this forever. Instead, how about we fast-track? Here’s the Classic Porsche quick take: motorsport. The importance of going racing has been at the heart of Porsche since its inception as a manufacturer. Racing creates legends. Think Carrera. Think Targa. Think the racing requirement of homologation, which gave us Rennsports and more — RS became RSR in the 911’s competition-driven development curve. Race cars were developed from road cars and then back again, per series rules and regulations. Racing legends are forged behind the wheel, too. Think Elford, Ickx and Bell. A NEW DRY-SUMPED CRANKCASE, NEW CYLINDERS, LIGHTER PISTONS, STRONGER CONNECTING RODS AND HIGHER COMPRESSION RATIO Porsche has always been quick to share the spoils of…

Motorsport has underpinned the Porsche philosophy since the manufacturer’s inception. Indeed, the speed freaks in Stuttgart have turned wheels in anger – and emerged victorious – in fields as contrasting as rallying and endurance racing, but in the wake of the Tesla-chasing Taycan, and at a time when car makers are edging ever closer to presenting product lines dominated by vehicles offering battery-powered propulsion, the wizards in Weissach take full advantage of the Formula E series as a development platform for new automotive technology. The 99X has proved a force to be reckoned with in the championship, though the 919 Hybrid prototype racer set the scene, bagging three successive outright wins at Le Mans before Porsche announced its shock retirement from racing at Sarthe in favour of investing resources in…

On the face of it, there are plenty of reasons not to meddle with a 964. Sure, time was, they lingered in the desirability doldrums. Back then, everyone wanted a long-bonnet classic. Now, though, this generation of 911 is highly sought after. Values have skyrocketed accordingly. I thought I was doing well getting twice what I paid for the Peppermint Pig when I sold it in 2016, but I weep when I see what a 964 of its calibre is worth today. Generally speaking, buyers want standard specification 911s. With values as they are, why would you compromise originality by altering a 964 and turning it into a full-blown backdate? Granted, Rob Dickinson would no doubt give you a decent price for your standard 964 in order for it to…

Alex Manos is owner of Beverly Hills Car Club, sourcing and selling some of the world’s most beautiful and unique vintage automobiles, including a wide range of air-cooled Porsches. View the firm’s inventory at beverlyhillscarclub.com When we see Lamborghini making the switch to plug-in hybrid power following almost $2billion of investment toward electrification of the brand’s entire product line, it is, perhaps, time for a measure of reflection. Will battery propelled premium sports cars hold their value for the long term? What about EV-converted air-cooled 911s? Is this particular flavour of classic Porsche a safe place to store your money? From 2010 until 2015, the values of used Porsche sports cars rose every year. They remained more or less static for the following half decade, but from 2020 onward —…

Think of Devon. The glorious Riviera seaside, Dartmoor and cream teas are likely to spring to mind. We can safely add Porsche restorations to the county’s attractions. Indeed, Honiton-based Classic Fabrications can turn a basket-case 356 or early 911 into a head-turning concours competition winner. Established in 2014, the company averages just three complete restorations each year. Quicker jobs occasionally pass through, such as when the shunted corner of an old Porsche needs attention, but for all other work, exclusivity is the name of the game. Save for leatherwork, all aspects of restoration are carried out under one roof. “My speciality is manufacturing body panels,” explains Classic Fabrications proprietor, Steve Kerti. “I therefore make all the panels for the cars we restore. This is how I earned my reputation within…

Before telling you about the refit of this unusual 356, let’s delve back in time. By 1960, the 356 was a well-respected model on the automotive scene, its fastback lines familiar to the cognoscenti. What wasn’t so established was the general perception of a coupé versus a grand tourer. A coupé was essentially a roadster with a hard-top, while a grand tourer was a sleek hardtop with a roofline sloping elegantly down to the tail (a fastback, in other words). Both relatively novel concepts in the grand scheme of things. What we have here is an extremely rare 356 B coupé, otherwise known as a notchback. Just 2,229 examples were assembled by Karmann at Osnabrück between 1961 and 1962, using panels made by Reutter at Stuttgart and finished at the…

Early July 1948 was a heady period for the Porsche sports car project. While the 356/2 coupe was racking up its first road miles, the 356 roadster was strutting its stuff at the Swiss Grand Prix (and then at Innsbruck). In spite of being launched as a project six months after its open-top sibling, the coupe had almost caught up. This was when the first pictures were taken of the two cars together, and although the coupe had been insufficiently mature to be taken to the Grand Prix, its characteristics were explained to (and reported by) the writers who tried the open car. Under agreement with Swiss entrepreneur Rupprecht von Senger, the fates of the 356 roadster and the first coupe were already sealed. On the 12th of May, his…

The 911 is Porsche’s ultimate — some would say untouchable — icon. We all know this to be true, but there was a time in the late 1970s when the manufacturer was preparing to end production of its flagship product line. With square-edged transaxle models ably proving there was life outside the curvy coupé, many saw the air-cooled, rear-engined Porsche as being long in the tooth. Despite these concerns, however, the three-litre 911 SC was released to great acclaim in 1978. Even though the new car was down on power when compared to the Carrera 3.0 it replaced, strong sales forced a rethink in Stuttgart. It seemed there was still life in the 911 concept after all. Arriving for the 1984 model year, the Carrera 3.2 is arguably the greatest…