Andrew Frankel pilots the ‘70 Porsche 908/3 Spyder up “The Hill” At The Goodwood Festival Of Speed. Let’s hop on board, shall we?
Enjoy.

Porsche Celebrating 40 years since the first victory at Le Mans

Stuttgart. On 14 June 1970, Porsche claimed the first of what would become 16 overall victories in the world’s most prestigious endurance race, the Le Mans 24 Hours. After precisely 4,607.811 kilometres – or 343 laps – Hans Herrmann and Richard Atwood were first across the finishing line in the legendary Porsche 917 KH from Porsche Salzburg, which bore the starting number 23. Gerard Larrousse and Willy Kauhsen in the Martini Porsche 917 LH, followed by Rudi Lins and Helmut Marko in the Porsche 908/02 took second and third places respectively, making it a total triumph for Porsche.

However, the road to this victory was by no means an easy one for Porsche. The Zuffenhausen sports car manufacturer had been racing at the Sarthe circuit since 1951, achieving numerous class wins thanks to intrinsic Porsche qualities such as lightweight construction, aerodynamics and reliability. In 1969, Porsche was pipped to the post in the closest ever Le Mans race, with Herrmann and Larrousse in the Porsche 908 finishing just 75 metres – around one second – behind the Ford GT 40 of Jacky Ickx.

In the anniversary year of 1970, all the signs pointed towards an offensive that would finally see the much longed-for overall victory in Le Mans go to Stuttgart. The Porsche 917 was destined for victory, having made its debut just a year earlier. On 21 April 1969, the 25 Porsche 917s were approved by the homologation commission in Zuffenhausen. The cost of materials alone exceeded DM 5 million. The Porsche 917, developed by Ferdinand Piëch, was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. This new ‘ultimate’ Porsche quickly caused a stir among rival competitors. Weighing in at close to the minimum weight of 800 kilograms, it went on to become one of the fastest and most successful racing cars of all time. The lightweight 12-cylinder engine delivered up to 580 hp at 8,400 rpm with a displacement of 4.5 litres. This enabled the long-tail version to reach speeds approaching 400 km/h (248 mph) on the 5,823 metre-long Hunaudières straight at Le Mans.

In the run-up to the 1970 race, it was clear that the lessons learned from previous years had been worthwhile. Realising that rash manoeuvres in the first few hours of this classic endurance race would ultimately end in failure, Porsche made the experienced Hans Herrmann its first choice as driver. The Sindelfingen veteran combined speed and good sense. Together with Englishman Richard Attwood, he started in the 4.5-litre short-tail version bearing the number 23, which was painted in the red and white colours of Porsche Salzburg. The team’s second car, featuring a 4.9-litre engine and long-tail body, was driven by Vic Elford and Kurt Ahrens. A further three Porsche 917s were entered by John Wyer along with the psychedelic-coloured 4.5-litre long-tail version of the Martini team. There was also an entire armada of 907, 908, 910, 911 S and 914/6 models. At precisely 4 p.m. on 13 June, 24 Porsche cars stood at the starting line in Le Mans. By the next day there were still 12 remaining, five of which were classified. The only other cars to be classified were two Ferrari 512 S – this was out of a total field of 51 starters.

This race went down in history – and not just from the perspective of Porsche – because of the disastrous weather. Vic Elford recalled how it was sometimes impossible to overtake, even on the long straights. Kurt Ahrens described it as being like sitting in a boat. And just a few weeks after his victory, Hans Herrmann admitted that driving in the rain had prompted him to make the decision to finally hang up his helmet no matter what the outcome. When leaving his house in Sindelfingen-Maichingen, his wife had asked him when he was going to give up driving, to which he responded: “When I win.”
A promise is a promise. An hour after the start, which saw the drivers begin the race sitting in their cars instead of performing the world-famous “Le Mans start”, Herrmann was only in ninth place. The race leader was Jo Siffert, also in a Porsche 917, followed by Jacky Ickx in a Ferrari 512 S. Siffert later missed a shift and blew his engine, while Ickx crashed his red racer at the chicane. At around 6:15 p.m. came the almost unbelievable news that four Ferrari 512 S had crashed into one another in the driving rain and were out of the race. The race also took its toll on the Porsche armada, with all three 917s of the Gulf team gradually dropping out.

Now was the moment for the experienced veteran Herrmann, who had the perfect partner in Richard Attwood, to show what he could do. Under the most difficult weather conditions, he gradually moved his way up the field, guiding the Porsche Salzburg 917 confidently to the first ever overall victory for Porsche at Le Mans. He realised the significance of this moment as the race came to an end on 14 June 1970: “Wow! That may have been your last lap ever as a racing driver.” Back home in Stuttgart, his victory was celebrated with a parade, in which he drove his winning car through the city to the market square. Thousands of people turned out to congratulate Hans Herrmann, ex-racing driver.

Porsche followed up this success with a further 15 overall victories at Le Mans, the second coming just a year later in 1971. In a unique Porsche 917 with a lightweight magnesium chassis, Gijs van Lennep and Dr. Helmut Marko drove to victory on a still largely chicane-free circuit. In doing so, they set an incredible record, which has never been broken. The Porsche 917 completed precisely 5,335.313 kilometres and 397 laps in 24 hours, clocking up an average speed of 222.304 km/h (138.140 mph) despite all of the pit stops and the long night. The fastest lap in the race was achieved by Jackie Oliver’s Gulf 917, with an unbelievable 244 km/h (151.6 mph) average speed, while the 917 long-tail Coupé of Elford/Larrousse was clocked at a maximum speed of 386 km/h (239.8 mph) on Hunaudières in 1971.

In 1976 and 1977 the Porsche 936 was victorious, while in 1981 it won again under Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell with a new turbo engine. Belgian driver Ickx won at Le Mans six times, four of them in a Porsche. In 1982 he was yet again part of the winning team in a triple victory that represented the first milestone for the most successful racing car of all time, the Porsche 956. Up to 1994, different variants of the 956/962 won at Le Mans seven times. 148 of these were produced in Weissach.

In some years, Porsche conceded the most important race of the year to customer teams, who emerged as frequent winners. Klaus Ludwig and the Whittington brothers thus achieved victory in Le Mans in 1979 with a Porsche 935 for the Cologne-based Kremer team, while Reinhold Joest guided the Porsche brand to well-deserved overall victories in 1984, 1985 and 1997.

Faced with the strongest ever field to line up at Le Mans in June 1998, Porsche racing director Herbert Ampferer spoke at the time of the “race of the century”. Porsche was represented with two new 911 GT1s and achieved a stunning double victory for the factory in the world’s most important endurance race, in front of a crowd of 250,000 thrilled spectators. This was the 16th and most recent overall victory for Porsche at the Sarthe circuit.

From 10 to 11 July 2010, Porsche will be celebrating this special motor sports anniversary in suitable style by taking part in the “Le Mans Classic”, an event which is only held every two years. In six classes covering model years 1923 to 1979, around 400 historic racing cars will gather to relive their old racing triumphs once more. Among them will be some of the overall winners from the Porsche Museum, which will lead an anniversary parade on the race track. Many famous drivers including Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood will also be taking part and will be available for autograph sessions.

Porsche overall victories in Le Mans

1970
Hans Herrmann/Richard Attwood
Porsche 917 KH

1971
Helmut Marko/Gijs van Lennep
Porsche 917 KH

1976
Jacky Ickx/Gijs van Lennep
Porsche 936

1977
Jacky Ickx/Jürgen Barth/Hurley Haywood
Porsche 936

1979
Klaus Ludwig/Bill Whittington/Don Whittington
Porsche 935 K3 Kremer

1981
Jacky Ickx/Derek Bell
Porsche 936 81

1982
Jacky Ickx/Derek Bell
Porsche 956

1983
Al Holbert/Hurley Haywood/Vern Schuppan
Porsche 956

1984
Klaus Ludwig/Henri Pescarolo
Porsche 956 Joest

1985
Klaus Ludwig/Paolo Barilla/John Winter
Porsche 956 B Joest

1986
Derek Bell/Al Holbert/Hans-Joachim Stuck
Porsche 962 C

1987
Derek Bell/Al Holbert/Hans-Joachim Stuck
Porsche 962 C

1994
Yannick Dalmas/Mauro Baldi/Hurley Haywood
Dauer-Porsche 962 LM

1996
Manuel Reuter/Davy Jones/Alexander Wurz
TWR Joest-Porsche WSC95

1997
Michele Alboretto/Stefan Johannson/Tom Kristensen
TWR Joest-Porsche WSC95

1998
Allan McNish/Laurent Aiello/Stéphane Ortelli
Porsche 911 GT1 98

Last week we posted a ‘74 911 with a 2.7 RS style engine and setup nicely in a street/track configuration. That car sold pretty quickly afterwards…

So, here we are again with another street/track setup. An ‘81 911 SC Coupe. This one is from Mohr Imports of Monterey, California. They have an asking price of $14,900. That’s chump change when it comes to getting into a street/track-prepped Porsche 911. Since we haven’t seen this car in the metal, we’re guessing it’ll require additional attention before being considered truly track ready…One can easily spend again the asking price getting this car properly setup and still be light years ahead of the game. There is absolutely no way one can build a street/track 911 from scratch for this small amount of money. That said, this car looks like a great starting point for some serious fun on the track.

Guards Red over Black.Stock mechanicals. No accident history. Chain tensioner update. No oil leaks. Paint is excellent. No rust on the car. Gaps are correct. Interior is very clean. A/C works -blows cool but not cold. Compressor is good. All guages work. Defroster, Power windows and Sunroof are in good order.

Racing equipment:

• I/O Port Roll bar
• Shoulder Harness bar
• Kirkey Race seats, race seat brackets and Pyrotect 5pt Cam-Lock Harness.
• Stainless steel muffler dual out.

Same owner from the early 90’s to 2005. The car then changed hands from ‘05 to present. Excellent running and driving car. Engine is strong. No smoke. Great gearbox (good syncros in all gears) and clutch. The car has a very solid and tight feel. Runs great at freeway speeds or in town driving.

For further information, please call  Al or Adam Mohr at 831.373.3131.

They would be delighted to hear from you and answer any questions you have.

The weekend of April 9 – 11 saw this year’s running of the PCA Zone 8 “California Festival of Speed”. Now in it’s ninth year, this has become the largest Porsche-only event on the west coast, and it continues to grow. The 3-day (Friday–Sunday) event featured a Zone 8 Time Trial event along with PCA Club Race warm up and practice laps Friday and Saturday. In addition, the 1-hour PCA Enduro was on Saturday as well as the first PCA Club Race. Sunday featured the morning warm ups, qualifying PCA Club Race sessions, and the Sprint Races. There were Time Trial sessions and timing on Sunday as well.

A PCA Run Group Prepares To "Roll out"

PCA Zone 8 used the 21-turn, 2.88 mile Competition Road Course. The challenging infield course enters the D-shaped oval near the beginning of the front straight, utilizing most of its 3,100 feet of 11 degree banking before you enter turns 1 and 2, which are banked 14 degrees. We use about 1,000 feet of the back straight (banked 3 degrees) before re-entering the infield section. From the point where you come off the infield onto the main straight to where you re-enter the infield on the back straight is approximately 1.3 miles. The course is both challenging and fast.

The California Speedway Infield Road Course

Vendors, Beautiful Cars, and Porsche Enthusiasts of all types were out in force over the three days of the event.  Vendor Row featured a Concours exhibit – featuring 25 pristine Porsches –  on Saturday. Vendors included L.A. Porsche Dismantlers, GMG, PCNA, Southern California Porsche Dealers, Porsche Design, Porsche Motorsport, TC’s Garage, Hoosier Tires, Pirelli Tires, Better Bodies, WaveTrac Differentials, Borla Exhaust, Truspeed, PML,  Velvet Touch,  Symbolic Motors, and many more.

Stuttgart. A successful start to the American Le Mans Series season for Porsche: At the Sebring 12 hour race, Porsche clinched two victories with the Porsche RS Spyder in the sports prototype LMP2 class and the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the environmental classification, the Michelin Green X Challenge. The sports car from Weissach proved to be the vehicle that demonstrated the best overall efficiency and fuel consumption at the long distance classic in Florida.

The Porsche RS Spyder out on course

The jubilation in the pits of the Cytosport team knew no bounds. Class victory with pilots Klaus Graf (Germany), Sascha Maassen (Germany) and Greg Pickett (USA) at the wheel of the RS Spyder at the most prestigious race of the year was the first for a customer team with the Weissach sports prototype in the American Le Mans Series. “What a fantastic achievement. We didn’t have any problems in the race. The car ran like clockwork over the twelve hours,” said Sascha Maassen. With this, the RS Spyder continues on from its greatest success of 2008 when it claimed overall victory in Sebring and won all LMP2 championship titles between 2006 and 2008 in the American Le Mans Series. Sascha Maassen: “I can’t wait for the next race with this fantastic car.”

Prior to the start of the race Porsche aroused memories of old times in fans at the Sebring International Raceway. Fifty years after the first of 18 overall victories for Porsche at the long distance classic, Hans Herrmann turned several demonstration laps on the airfield circuit of Florida with the then winning Porsche RS 60 Spyder. The German, now 82-years-old, had won the race on 26th March 1960 with his Belgian teammate Olivier Gendebien.

Sebring 1960: Hans Hermann at the wheel of the RS 60

The Porsche RS 60 today

The Flying Lizards #45 car out on course

Round 2 of the American Le Mans Series takes place on 17 April on the street circuit of Long Beach in California.

A Strong Heritage

Porsche has never forgotten where they come from…Their tradition and history are part of their DNA – and they are keenly aware that the heritage is both – an honor and an obligation.
This is why Porsche has built the new Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen – a place designed to inspire visitors from all over the world and to display the diversity of the Porsche brand.

The West Coast’s largest Porsche Event – This is a “Must Do” if you are in the area.

The 48th running (2009) of the Rolex 24 at Daytona marked the 42nd anniversary of Vic Elford’s victory in the Porsche 907, Porsche’s first 24 hour endurance win. To celebrate the occasion, David Donohue piloted a 2010 Porsche GT3 around the Daytona road course while Vic Elford, the Grand Marshal for the 2009  race, tells the story of his victory for Porsche.

A restored/built-up outlaw ‘53 356 for $100?

True.

The Emorys

The Emory Family has been building Custom Cars dating back to 1949. Neil Emory’s Valley Custom Shop was a pioneer in automotive customizing. Highlights include winning the Oakland Roadster show and building the body for the SoCal Streamliner that held the land speed record in the 50’s. Neil passed his talent on to his 3 boys. Gary Emory, the oldest, went on to start the fad of the Baja Bug. Gary also went on to start his own company, Parts Obsolete,  in 1974.

In the early 80’s Gary was building and restoring 356 Porsches for people all over the world with his son Rod by his side. In 1990 Rod and Gary built two cars; a right hand drive 356 C coupe and a 1953 Pre-A Coupe. Rod went on to start his racing career in the ‘53 car getting his racing license in 1990 at age 16. While racing this car up and down the west coast Rod was approached by a number of people wanting him to build cars just like this for them. That is how Emory Motorsports was formed. Now 14 years later and 100’s of cars later, Rod has decided that it is time for this car to go to a new home.

Here’s your chance!

The Emorys have donated the car to the “Limbs For Life” Foundation. The car is being raffled off to change the lives of 93 people! 2000 tickets are available for $100.00 each. The drawing will be held on Saturday, February 2010 at the Foundation’s Benefit dinner in Dallas, Texas.  You need NOT be present to win. Information and purchase details can be found here.

This is a unique opportunity to own a piece of Emory Outlaw history and a very cool car.  The car is currently set up for Street use. If you win Rod’s Porsche and you want to try racing, Rod is available to coach you through the process.

Emory Outlaws

The term 356 Outlaw was a name given to The Emory’s in the early 80’s because they were not afraid to install race and rally inspired accessories to a vintage Porsche. At time when full concourse restorations were at their peak and the owners were using q-tips to clean the dust out of the defrost vents, The Emory’s were putting wide wheels and race numbers on their 356’s and driving them the way Porsche intended them to be driven. Now even the Porsche parade concourse events have classes for Outlaws. Emory Motorsports continues to build 356 outlaws for clients all over the world.

Give Rod a call and he can tell you all about it and why this is such a great cause to support.

FS: 1967 Porsche 911 S Coupe “former EMPI Porsche”

The second owner was an oil businessman and Porsche lover who cared for the car as a streetcar until 1995. This is when the current owner purchased the car and started to fulfill his vintage racing interests. What started as a three-month project took well over a year and as you can imagine, tens of thousands of dollars. However, all the money and time paid off with VARA CP class championships in 1998 and 2001.All in all, this 911 has been featured in 2 issues of Excellence Magazine including the cover in 2002 as well as the cover for the Early 911S Registry magazine called Esses.

Here are the mechanical details:
Engine:
2.5L 060 Overbore
66mm Crank
90mm Pistons
Sport “S” Cams
“S” Rods
Weber 40mm IDS Carbs
Custom Headers and Exhaust
Solid Motor mounts and Trans mounts
Dual front mounted oil coolers
MSD 6A with Bosch Distributor
Pertronix (pointless) trigger system

Drivetrain:
901 Close ratio transmission A, GA, J, Q, V
GT Torque Biasing differential

Suspension:
Front custom Bilstein shocks with raised spindles
Racing Dynamics shock tower brace
22 mm front torsion bars
Charlie Bar front and rear Sway bars
Bump steer modification
Rear Bilstein shocks
30mm Torsion bars rear
BRAKES Dual reservoir system
Front and rear “S” Brakes
Monoball rear trailing arm bushings.

Other Details:
Weight 1,977 lbs
Approx. 200 hp
7×15 Fuchs
Front and rear fiberglass bumpers
Fiberglass hood, deck lid, and doors
Plexiglas rear window
Interior 6-Point welded cage with side impact bars
Momo Corse race seat
Sparco suede race steering wheel
Schroth 6-point harness system
Phoenix Halon 5lb fire system
Fuel safe 12-gallon fuel cell
Facet fuel pump
Battery cut off switch
FABCAR Aluminum Shifter
Auto Meter Tach

In 2005, the owner spent over $12,000 freshening up the engine and gearbox. He was then out of racing until 2006. He did a couple of events between 2006-2007 and the car has been in storage since then.
This is a turn-key Porsche racecar that is ready to be enjoyed. It is fresh, all set up, and a proven winner. This Porsche comes with its original steel doors, hood, decklid, and original door windows.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Paul at 714-335-4911 or paul@autokennel.com

Ready to go vintage racing?