Innehållsförteckning för August 2025 från Classic Porsche

Considering the colossal success of the 356 Cabriolet, not to mention sports cars being defined by al fresco motoring throughout automotive history, it seems impossible to consider the 911 line-up without a convertible. Even so, Porsche waited twenty years to provide its dealership showroom visitors with a fully retractable roof for the company’s flagship offering, though an innovative (and subsequently regularly copied) semi-open-top body style was developed by Zuffenhausen’s engineering team in the mid-1960s, debuting on the 911 and its four-cylinder sibling, the 912. As we know, the 912 was introduced to the Porsche product portfolio on account of the 911 costing significantly more than the outgoing 356, resulting in slow sales of the ‘new Porsche for a new era’. The business wasn’t as cash-rich as it is today, meaning…

Many Porsche purists are aghast at the growing trend of restomods, but this is a segment of car culture continuing to gain popularity. Arguably the boldest expressions of restomod would be widebody cars and, in particular, those modified by Akira Nakai in Japan. He began radically altering vehicles years ago, when he was immersed in his home country’s drift scene, but soon turned to Porsche, treating air-cooled 911s as a blank canvas and reimagining the model long before anybody knew of Singer Vehicle Design, Gunther Werks and the like. Nakai-San’s company, RAUH-Welt Begriff (RWB), took an approach to styling and performance pursued with much in the way of artistic expression, though proving hugely polarising. He tells us “every RWB creation is more than just a redeveloped 911. It’s a statement…

From the moment my eyes roamed over the 917, in that first sweeping glance, I knew I had fallen in love. This was different to any race car I’d seen before. It possessed an almost ghostly white skin, as well as a body with full, sensuous curves. The 917’s proportions were much larger than those of the race cars I’d been used to until then. They bore a hint of the hidden power beneath them. Edging closer through the crowd of us at the early test sessions, I was able to stroke this new Porsche, which would have a major impact on my life for the next few years. Like the Ferrari 512 soon to make its appearance in Maranello, the 917 was born almost by accident. In 1968, the…

The secret to enduring happiness? That’s a big question, existential even, to which there is no definitive answer. Living in Finland, however, could well be a major factor. It is, at least, a quantifiably major factor. How so? Well, in 2025, and for the eighth consecutive year, Finland topped the World Happiness Rankings. You didn’t know there was such a thing? There is. And, if like most of the world’s population, you don’t live in Finland, then you’re automatically on the back foot. Following close behind Finland are fellow Scandis, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden, with the perennially laid-back Netherlands rounding out the top five. The metrics of happiness? According to the United Nations, which commissions this annual research, it’s all to do with inequality (or absence thereof), social support, GDP…

While many of us appreciate 356s in all their shapes and forms, one could argue early models display a certain purity. Porsche made various aesthetic changes to its 356s as time passed, yet these changes were not necessarily dictated by a desire to improve the car’s shape, rather necessity to comply with legislation, hence increasingly bigger bumpers, as well as headlights positioned higher on the front fenders. The design of the 1951 model presented on these pages thus demonstrates the visual simplicity of the early 356, superbly streamlined with relatively ineffective bumpers positioned very close to the body. Historically, the first 356s (built between 1948 and 1950) were hand-built in Gmünd, Austria, and made use of aluminium bodies. Some call their lines slab-sided, chiefly because these cars look more upright…

One of Porsche’s most revered nameplates, Targa, has its origins in a fearsome endurance race initiated by a well-to-do car enthusiast who went by the name of Count Vincenzo Florio. Established in 1906, the challenging event spanned ninety-two miles of unrelenting street circuit scything its way through the Madonie Mountaines east of Palermo in Sicily. The sinuous snake of asphalt almost immediately gained notoriety due to its dangerous high-speed straights and more than nine hundred punishing corners, but breathtaking scenery and superb spectator viewing ensured the Targa Florio became motorsport nectar to racers the world over. Fast cars and the picturesque views of Cerda and Collesano proved irresistible to racing’s glitterati. Ferociously close-to-spectator danger also proved difficult to ignore, and though Porsche’s official involvement as a works team began in…

The Specialist Equipment Manufacturer Association (SEMA) Show has played an essential role in shaping the automotive aftermarket since the event’s inception in 1967. It has since grown into the world’s premier automotive trade event, held annually in Las Vegas, with more than 160,000 attendees visiting from 140 countries. This hotly anticipated gathering features in excess of 2,400 exhibitors showcasing the latest in automotive performance products, custom builds and technological innovations. Engineered Motor Products Inc (EMPI) was among the companies displaying its parts and accessories at the most recent SEMA Show. Furthermore, the business exhibited one of the few Porsches found in the event’s various heavily populated halls. Painted orange, EMPI’s 914, manufactured by Karmann in 1976, drew a thick crowd during the four-day extravaganza. Part of the two-seater roadster’s appeal…

COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION OF Classic PORSCHE ORDER BACK ISSUES AT bit.ly/issuescp PORSCHE CULTURE AND COMMUNITY CELEBRATED AT FAT MANKEI EATERY To honour the ‘Porsche Community’ opening at FAT Mankei, a collection of road and race cars from Porsche’s history were assembled on the Austrian Grossglockner just as this issue of Classic Porsche was heading to print. Since its grand opening in May 2023, the FAT Mankei restaurant — located on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road — has quickly become a must-visit destination for automotive enthusiasts from around the globe. As the brainchild of Ferdinand ‘Ferdi’ Porsche (grandson of Porsche’s founder and great-grandson of his namesake), FAT Mankei is the ultimate rest spot to take in breathtaking scenic views along one of Austria’s greatest driving roads. To help promote existence…

Pretty, isn’t it? Decorated in the familiar blue and orange colour combo inspired by Gulf Oil racing livery (in part, made famous by the 917 sports-prototypes depicted in Steve McQueen’s motorsport movie magnum opus, Le Mans, not to mention the Ford GT40s victorious at Circuit de la Sarthe in the run up to Porsche’s first overall win at the daylong French enduro in 1970), this stunning 911 looks to be a factory derivative of the Carrera RS 2.7. An RSR 2.8, perhaps? Only the centre-exit exhaust and modern flourishes, such as those powerful LED headlights, suggest all is not as it might seem at first glance. Another RS-influenced backdate, then? Yes, kind of. But also, no, not really. You see, the fact many Porschephiles will eyeball this car, nose to…

Another major step in the continuation of Porsche’s now iconic air-cooled four-cylinder boxer engine was the decision to replace the unit’s Volkswagen-sourced crankcase with a new design. This took place at the end of 1954, resulting in a three-piece case with a much larger oil sump, all made from aluminium. The new design took into consideration the need to continually increase engine capacity and was a key part of 356 A’s launch in late 1955, which is where the second part of our look at the flat-four’s development begins. Two versions of the old 1.3-litre engine were carried over, powering the 1300 A and 1300 Super. The former, loaded with the Type 506, made 42bhp, while the latter, powered by the Type 589, produced up to 59bhp. At this time,…