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Glen Smale
JoinedSeptember 18, 2021
Articles481
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South African-born Smale started his professional motor journalism and photography career back in 1994, but if truth be told, Glen has had a driving passion for all things motoring since a tender age. In 1997, Glen launched Autosport & Classics, a classic motoring and historic motorsport magazine covering the local scene in SA. Two years later, having sold his share in the magazine. Between 2004 and 2016 Smale has authored thirteen books covering sports cars and motor racing. In 2007 he received the Laurin and Klement ‘Design Writer of the Year’ award for his book Jaguar E-type: Portrait of a Design Icon. In 2012 his book, Porsche at Le Mans: 60 Years of Porsche Participation in the World’s Greatest Motor Race, was shortlisted in the British Sports Book Awards. Of his thirteen books, no less than seven have been on Porsche cars, perhaps suggesting where his passion lies. Glen first started writing for the only magazine dedicated entirely to the Porsche 911, namely Total 911, as far back as 2005 and still contributes to this magazine on a regular basis. He has also written for the well-known Porsche magazines in America, Excellence, for a number of years. In addition to this, Glen has contributed to the Porsche Club of North America monthly publication, Panorama, as well as a host of other titles over the years in Europe, the UK and South Africa. Away from the race track, Glen was an aspiring golfer in his younger days and represented his province in the under-18 age group for a number of years. He went on to win his University Championships and represented Rhodes University for five years, as well as playing club league golf for ten years. With both children now out of the house and working, Glen lives with his lovely German wife, Elke, in the beautiful county of Carmarthenshire in West Wales. Glen has been a member of the Guild of Motoring Writers since 1995.
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Porsche 962

Porsche 956/962

It is 44 years since the all-conquering Porsche 956 burst onto the racing scene. Over a twelve-year period, from 1982 to 1994, the 956 and its successor, the 962, dominated the sport in a manner not seen before and in the process rewrote the aerodynamics rulebook. 1982 was the first...
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911 Carrera RS 2.7

The 911 Carrera RS from Rouen

Ask any Porsche enthusiast what their favorite 911 model is, and many will cite the 1973 2.7-liter 911 Carrera RS. But this recognition didn’t come about through conservative thinking. Fortunately, Porsche’s early days were characterized by talented engineers who weren’t afraid to step out of their own shadows, and as...
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997 Turbo

Porsche 997 Turbo (Gen.1)

It could be argued that in the year 2007, the world changed. First up, the original Apple iPhone was released, marking the start of the modern smartphone era. Another major milestone, or perhaps it was a bombshell, was the publication of the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the...
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Porsche 959

Porsche 959: All-Wheel-Drive Powerhouse

Most young boys have done it at one time or another, and if you love sports cars, you’ve probably been there too. Your bedroom walls were the perfect place to start a collection of pin-ups, and like many other teenage car enthusiasts, my walls were plastered with posters of Lamborghinis,...
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Porsche 961

Porsche’s 961: Close, But No Cigar

The Gruppe B rally class was short-lived, effectively only seeing action between 1982 and 1986. Porsche’s design study intended for this class, its technological powerhouse, the Type 959, was introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1983, showcasing the Stuttgart manufacturer’s capabilities to the motorsport world. But preparing such a...
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Porsche 911 (G-Series)

Join The Club

The 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera Club Sport was Porsche’s attempt at rolling back the years and once again stoking the fires of high-performance, lightweight motoring. Originally created on the core building blocks of lightweight, high-performance and superb engineering quality, the early 356 model did much to establish the Porsche name...
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Porsche Carrera GT

The Making of the Carrera GT

It is perhaps not well known that in 1992, Porsche designed and built a 3.5-litre V10 Formula One engine to replace the heavy V12 that had powered the 1991 Footwork F1 cars. When the Footwork team chose an alternative constructor and powertrain for the following season, the Porsche V10 engine...
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Book Reviews

Book Review: 964 Carrera RS

Launched just before Christmas, the latest Porsche offering from the publishing house, 964 Carrera RS by Mäder Morse Field Recordings GmbH, is now available. Author Christoph Mäder is no stranger to publications covering the Porsche marque and already has a string of highly impressive titles to his name. So, why...
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Misc

Pocher Unveils the Porsche 917KH – MARTINI Edition

Written by Glen Smale. Images by: Glen Smale & Pocher In a tribute to Porsche’s unrivalled success at Le Mans, Pocher, a leading manufacturer of high-quality model kits, has launched this new and exciting 1:8 model kit. For more than sixty years, this manufacturer’s unparalleled craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail...
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Book Reviews

Porsche 917 – The Film

Story by Glen Smale. All images © as stated in the book & on the DVD Brilliant…just brilliant!! I don’t often start a book review in this manner, in fact I can’t remember when I last did so, but this book and DVD set certainly deserve such a response....
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Book Reviews

Porsche Decades by Jay Gillotti

Porsche Decades book
All images: © Dalton Watson Fine Books There are so many books that have been written on just about every Porsche model and motorsport achievement over the years, that it would be a fair to ask why we need yet another one. But therein lies the opportunity, because the subject...
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Notable Chassis

Porsche 917/10 Can-Am Rocket

A front three-quarter view of the No. 16 Porsche 917/10 chassis #005 taken in Porsche’s secret bunker in Stuttgart, May 2017. Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale
Images by: Virtual Motorpix/Glen Smale and Corporate Archives Porsche AG  The Porsche 917 was the culmination of a line of race cars produced by the Stuttgart manufacturer during possibly the busiest decade, from 1964 to 1973, of its (by then) short existence. Just 21 short years after Porsche opened its...
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Motorsport & Racing

24 Hours of Le Mans 2022

The No. 8 Toyota (closest to the camera) leads the Hypercar class across the start line
Race day dawned with a blanket of morning mist covering the area. It was a crisp morning as I departed my accommodation to the east of Le Mans at around 07h15, and making my way towards the circuit, the pockets of mist became more sporadic. Approaching the airfield which lies...
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Le Mans 24 Hours

Le Mans 24 Hours Race Week

Official group shot of the cars showing the full starting grid at Le Mans 24H
Without doubt, this race is recognised as the most important, the most charged and the one that everyone who is anybody in endurance racing wants to drive in or watch from the stands. In particular, this year, being the 99th year since its inception, there are great expectations and high...
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People & Profiles

‘Quick Vic’ – Looking Back

Vic Elford, Porsche 911 driver, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2013
Words by Glen Smale / Images by Glen Smale & Corporate Archives Porsche AG The motorsport world woke up on Monday this week to learn of the passing of one of the sport’s greatest drivers. Vic Elford, or ‘Quick Vic’ as he was affectionately known, passed away on Sunday 13...
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Featured Content & Premium Editorials

The IROC Porsches

The IROC Porsches
This is the story of the International Race of Champions Porsche Carrera 911 RSRs and the drivers who raced them. It’s a story that is long overdue, as these cars formed an important part of Porsche’s historic rise to the top of the international motorsport pyramid. In 1973, Porsche introduced...
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Book Reviews

Mr. Le Mans: Tom Kristensen

The interesting thing about racing is that nothing is certain. You can prepare yourself and the car perfectly, but then another car hits you or pulls out in front of you, and there is little if anything you can do to avoid the inevitable contact. The unpredictability of racing is...
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Motorsport & Racing

Mini-Series Porsche GT Racing Part 4

This feature, the fourth in our mini-series, picks up where we left off last time (Part 3: 2013-2016) and highlights the continued growth and success of the evergreen Porsche 911 on the UK and European motorsport scene between 2017 and 2019. 2017 Silverstone 6 Hours, 16 April 2017 The Silverstone...
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WEC

24 Hours of Le Mans 2021

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) revealed just yesterday, Tuesday 9 March 2021, the 62-strong entry list for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. Announced recently too was the revised date for this year’s race, this being at the later than usual start time of 16h00 on 21-22 August. What will...
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People & Profiles

Rolf Sprenger: 1941 to 2021

It was with great sadness that we learned last week of the passing of one of Porsche’s stalwarts, Rolf Sprenger, on Wednesday 24 February 2021. Sprenger arrived at Porsche in 1967 as a young engineer, and as he explained to this writer in an interview in 2005, his first task...
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Book Reviews

Don’t Wash Mine

I have been looking forward to seeing this new book from Dalton Watson, covering the very colourful life and times of Kirk F. White. But, who on earth is Kirk F. White you might ask? Well, his name might not be on everybody’s lips, but he certainly played an important...
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Notable Chassis

Porsche’s fabulous 904/8 – Chassis #008

F.A. ‘Butzi’ Porsche, the eldest son of Ferry and Dorothea Porsche, joined the family business in 1958 having shown great interest in the field of industrial design. Working under the direction of Erwin Komenda, F.A. Porsche set about learning the business from the inside, and was soon given the task...
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Events

Brian Redman’s Targa Sixty-Six Track Day

From 19-21 February 2021, Brian Redman will again host a superb gathering of top-notch high-performance sports cars and race cars at Palm Beach International Raceway. The exclusive Targa 66 event is open to invitees and their customers over the weekend and this year, Brian will also be celebrating the 30th...
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PRR

The Spyder spins its web

Having quietly racked up numerous victories in the ALMS in 2006 and 2007, including an indecent number of overall victories, the LMP2 Porsche RS Spyder developed into a mature thoroughbred racer just as its forebears did. In the world of Porsche motorsport, nothing happens by chance and equally, nothing is...
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Book Reviews

50 Years Porsche 914

Whether you love it or hate it, the 914 served as a very important family member in the Porsche model line-up of the day. To appreciate this fully, you need to understand the circumstances surrounding its conception, and to have an insight into the period in which this model was...
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Book Reviews

DBR 9 – The Definitive History

At Porsche Road & Race, we receive many books for review, and these include books on all manner of high performance roadgoing sports cars and motorsport. So, when the Aston Martin book, DBR 9 – The Definitive History arrived on my desk, it created some fanfare because not only was...
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Notable Chassis

The fastest 935 of them all!

JLP-4 was the final race car in the line of Porsche 935 specials built for the John Paul father and son team. Using this final ‘weapon’, the Pauls notched up several outright victories in IMSA races and, in combination with JLP-3, John Paul Jr won the 1982 IMSA Camel Driver’s...
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Book Reviews

Porsche Unseen

Consider what it would be like to be given the opportunity to glimpse behind the scenes, into Porsche’s inner design sanctum, where the Porsche designers imagine the models of the future. There are 120 designers who work in the Porsche Design Studio, the epicentre where Porsche’s models of the future...
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Porsche Museum

A visit to the Musée des 24H Le Mans

It all started back in early March of 2020. I had a trip planned to visit the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, to conduct another extensive photo shoot expedition. The afternoon before I was due to leave, at 15h15 to be precise, I received a call from Porsche to say, “Don’t...
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Book Reviews

ROFGO Collection

Most motorsport enthusiasts will have attended historic races, events such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed or Revival, or similar events in the USA, where the familiar and much-admired Gulf orange and blue race cars have competed or been on display. The chances are that at least some of those...
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Events

Goodwood SpeedWeek 2020 Weekend Action

Regular Goodwood attendees would have been starved of all the glorious action in 2020 that this venue has to offer, as the Members’ Meeting, Festival and Revival were all cancelled this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But the Goodwood team have really done themselves proud with the newly created...
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People & Profiles

André Hugo Loubser: 1940-2020

It is with great sadness that we bring you the news of André’s passing this last weekend. André was an extremely enthusiastic and clever writer and a contributor to PORSCHE ROAD & RACE. Andre was born on 18 February 1940 in Cape Town, and was educated at Bishops in Rondebosch,...
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Book Reviews

Book Review: Racing Porsche with Style

This is Stéphane Coradi’s third publication, and the third of his books that I am reviewing. It must be said that Stéphane’s enthusiasm for his work is so irrepressible, it’s contagious. But that is refreshing, because he really encourages the contributors to show their work in his books and it...
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Featured Content & Premium Editorials

Porsche Speedster

There is a model in Porsche’s family line-up that receives little coverage and, as a result, it does not enjoy the attention it so richly deserves. The Speedster played an extremely important role in Porsche’s early popularity in America and this latest piece of work by Berlin Motor Books, Porsche...
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WEC

A very different Le Mans 24 Hours

The 2020 motor racing season will undoubtedly go down in history as the most unusual and disrupted year on record. Only twice has the Le Mans 24 Hour race been rescheduled from its traditional June slot, to a later date in September, the first being in 1968 when the race...
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WEC

Preparations for the 88th Le Mans 24 Hours underway

Under unseasonably hot conditions for late September, the 88th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours is finally a reality. Postponed from its traditional mid-June date, the world famous endurance race fell victim to the global Corona virus pandemic, but at least we have a date for the race, and...
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Porsche News

Special Exhibition at the Porsche Museum

#23 Porsche 917 KH 580 hp at the Le Mans 50 years victory celebration at the Museum on 13/14 June 2020
More than 4.75 million visitors have passed through the doors of Porsche’s Museum in Stuttgart since the company officially opened its doors to the public on 31 January 2009. There is no question, the road and race cars on display make for fantastic viewing, and when compared to the old...
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My Porsche Story

Vamos empuje! (Come on push!)

For some Porsche enthusiasts, the road to ownership follows a course which perhaps starts as an interest back as a young child, followed by increasing interest through those teenage years and early adulthood, ending in ownership at some later point. Others simply splash out later in life and buy a...
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Book Reviews

Ferrari 333 SP

I first caught sight of the Ferrari 333 SP at Kyalami in Johannesburg, South Africa, in December 1998. It was hot, as Johannesburg is at that time of the year, but the track action was even hotter with no less than four Ferrari 333 SPs in action. It was the...
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People & Profiles

Hans Mezger: 1929 to 2020

It was with great sadness that the motoring and motorsport world learned last week of the passing of Hans Mezger, Porsche engineer extraordinaire. He died at the age of 90 years, having grown up and lived near Stuttgart all of his life. His contribution to Porsche’s engineering prowess was nothing...
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WEC

Le Mans 24 Hour memories from 2019

As the weekend of the original 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours approaches, 13-14 June, we take a look back at some of the events that took place during the race week in 2019. Had things been running normally in 2020, we would have been on the ground at Le Mans...
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Porsche 935

Kremer’s Uber 935 – the ultra-rare K4

In the mid-1970s, Porsche developed the 911 for racing, and in the process, it created the all-conquering 935. In 1978, Norbert Singer was responsible for building the ultimate factory 935, the Moby Dick 935/78, and although this race car had a very short active racing life, it has gone down...
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Book Reviews

SportErfolge

Simply titled, SportErfolge (English: Success in Sport), this book came my way quite by surprise. It is not a book I knew anything about until I spotted it on the internet, and decided to look for a copy. As a writer on Porsche matters, I thought that I had a...
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Events

Redman’s Roast Coffee

Not many folk would have heard about Redman’s Roast, unless that is, you attended Brian Redman’s Targa Sixty Six event in February 2020, at Palm Beach International Raceway. Most of us like a good cup of coffee, but what is the special link between one of the finest racing drivers...
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