Innehållsförteckning för January - February 2025 från Classic Porsche

PORSCHE MODERN CLASSICS BOOKAZINE New from the team behind 911 & Porsche World magazine comes this 164-page celebration of the 996- and 997-generation 911s and their Boxster/Cayman 986/987 counterparts. We chart the design and evolution of this hugely popular range of Porsches, going on to examine the long-lasting impact these cars have had on all subsequent Porsche products, not to mention the sports car world as a whole. Along the way, we get behind the wheel of standout models, delve into owner stories, explore ground-breaking engineering and show you what to look out for when on the hunt for an early water-cooled 911 or Boxster/Cayman to call your own. Essential reading for marque enthusiasts, this beautifully presented bookazine comes hot on the heels of our successful Porsche Air-Cooled Classics title…

Readers of Classic Porsche will be familiar with Ian MacMath and his collection of air-cooled sports cars, but to wind the clock back to almost pre-digital times, we encountered Ian in our sister title, 911 & Porsche World, before the notion of a magazine dedicated purely to classic Porsches was a thing. This was back in April 2001, when the subject of our attention was Ian’s six-cylinder 914 hill climber. We referred to him as Ian MacMad, “not entirely without reason”. This memory elicits a chuckle from Ian as we chat about flinging Porsches and other machinery up hills against the clock in a discipline pretty much the oldest form of motorsport. Back in the 1990s and 2000s, I participated in hill climb competitions with a Caterham, and although I…

Porsche has never had much trouble with image, and unlike many manufacturers, the Stuttgart brand has rarely had to buy its kudos. Thanks to the genius of Ferdinand Porsche, early pre- and post-war engineering prowess laid the foundations for the eponymous sports car maker. This brilliance was then taken racing, when the term ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ was years from being a thing. It helped that Porsche cut its teeth in an era of epic racing challenges. Think La Carrera Panamericana, Targa Florio, Mille Miglia, 24 Hours of Le Mans and Monte Carlo Rally. Porsche did its talking on the road. And the track. And on the special stage. In fact, wherever Porsche went, it created its own legend, all without the need for celebrity endorsements or hand-outs.…

The roads surrounding Carrera Classic’s base of operations a stone’s throw from Vaasa, a city an hour’s flight south of Helsinki and serving as the regional capital of Ostrobothnia, explain much about why Finland has produced so many successful rally drivers. Seemingly every main artery of asphalt cutting through the country’s lush, green countryside sprouts the kind of ‘roads’ any other domain would consider a dedicated rally stage. These aren’t short, isolated tracks. This is Finland’s road network outside of towns and cities. A sprawling web of rugged, mud-and-stone-covered byways strewn through dense forest. Needless to say, if you were raised in this environment, and if these are the kind of ‘roads’ you cut your teeth on when first getting behind the wheel, it stands to reason you’ll have a…

Originality. For many fans of classic cars, the quest to preserve authenticity and factory accuracy is of paramount importance. To find a vehicle remaining exactly as its manufacturer intended after multiple decades of use presents not only an extremely rare occurrence, but also a tangible rose-tinted glimpse into an automotive past long-forgotten. This combination of scarcity and nostalgia comes at a price, of course, with unmolested retro rides often reaching big numbers, which continue to increase as years pass. While the likelihood of stumbling across a perfectly preserved example of your favourite classic Porsche is infinitesimal, it is possible to achieve that oh-so-desirable ‘new car’ feeling from an air-cooled 911 without investing in a time machine. Simply recruit the services of restoration specialist, Early 911S. Based in Wuppertal, a city…

Thirty-five years of 964? Goodness, how did that happen? There’s nothing like an anniversary to make us feel old. That said, the 964, when ushered in for 1989, was the antithesis of old. It was the 911’s brave, modern, ‘new world’ future. Turning its back on the G-series cars of yore, the 964 featured a bold, smooth new look. Out with impact bumpers, in with slippery front and rear aprons. In, too, with an active rear spoiler and a low-drag flat floor. So long Fuchs five-leaves, welcome Design 90 wheels, shared with Porsche’s transaxle family of products. Back in the mid-to-late 1980s, and well into the early 1990s, no automotive feature suggested modernity quite like four-wheel drive. Think Audi Quattro and the mighty 959. The 964 therefore got all-wheel drive,…

Hans Herrmann had a spectacular career in racing. He was one of the earliest Porsche factory drivers and, alongside Richard Attwood, had the honour of scoring the manufacturer’s first overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the manufacturer, which he did with the mighty 917 in 1970. This achievement is fantastically documented, but Herrmann, who will be ninety-seven years of age in February, has led a remarkable life away from Circuit de la Sarthe. HERRMANN’S PROGRESS WAS BEING WATCHED CLOSELY BY MERCEDES-BENZ TEAM BOSS, ALFRED NEUBAUER He was born in Stuttgart in 1928. Tragedy struck early — not long after his eighth birthday, his father, a mechanic, was murdered. Left with her young son, Herrmann’s mother opened a coffee shop and, as he explained to Classic Porsche,…