While all the hype surrounding the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hour race in France was occupying everybody’s mind, an endurance event of another kind was taking place elsewhere in Europe. Ahead of the toughest motor race in the world, an ambitious Trans-European expedition has taken the company’s track-to-road technology transfer...
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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.
There was great excitement in Porsche circles around the world, when it was announced earlier this year that the Italian Ferrari driver, Gianmaria Bruni, had split from his AF Corse Ferrari team and was to join the Porsche GTE ranks. His contract precluded him from racing for an opposition team inside six...
Introduced in June 2017, the new 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series is the most powerful all-wheel drive turbocharged member of the 911 family. Limited to just 500 units worldwide, this model offers a power output of 607 bhp (446 kW) which represents an increase of 27 bhp over the standard...
The 2017 Le Mans 24 Hour race will go down in history as one of the most dramatic in years. If you thought that last year’s race ended in dramatic fashion, then this year’s event was equal to or even more gripping than in 2016. Unavoidably, it involved the same...
Held on the weekend of 3-4 June 2017, the test day for this year’s Le Mans was run under clear skies. It was an excellent opportunity for the teams to put their cars, drivers, personnel and systems through their paces ahead of the big day on 17-18 June. Below is...
Sixty-six years ago, on 24 June 1951, the first Porsche was pushed tentatively onto the starting grid of the 1951 Le Mans 24 Hour race. The lone, diminutive 356 SL would finish in a remarkable twentieth place overall. Fifty-one years ago, on 19 June 1966, the first Porsche 911 would...
Born: 8 May 1981 Where: Hasselt, Belgium Lives: Waiblingen, Germany Height: 1.80m Career 2017 Porsche works driver 2016 Audi works driver, Winner FIA GT World Cup Macau, Winner Intercontinental GT Challenge, 1st Dubai 24 Hours, 1st Sepang 12 Hours, 3rd Blancpain GT Series 2015 Audi works driver, 1st Nürburgring 24...
Every so often, Porsche creates a short production run of cars that celebrates the attributes of one of their special models. In 1993, the Stuttgart engineers decided to develop a race version of their 911 Type 964 Carrera RS, aptly named the Carrera RSR 3.8, and aimed it squarely at...
Born: 7 February 1992 Where: Mainz, Germany Lives: Bingen, Germany Height: 1.81m Career 2017 Porsche works driver 2016 Porsche Junior, 1st Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Championship, 1st Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland Championship 2015 Porsche Junior, 2nd Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Championship, Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland Championship 2014 Porsche Junior, 1st...
It’s called, ‘being in the right place at the right time’! Only the previous day, I had spent photographing the most iconic bunch of Porsche race cars, from Le Mans 24-Hour winners to top international competition cars. It was while I was waiting for the first of the cars to...
It was a case of ‘what might have been’ as the two LMP1 Porsche 919 Hybrids experienced frustrating delays during the Spa 6 Hour race on Saturday 6 May 2017. Having said that, the two cars did finish with valuable points, and will continue their fight for a third WEC...
Born: 25 May 1981 Where: Hannover, Germany Lives: Würzburg, Germany Height: 1.80m Career 2017 Porsche works driver, 2nd Daytona 24 Hours (GTLM) 2016 BMW works driver IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (2 podiums), 5th Nürburgring 24 Hours (GT3), Spa 24 Hours Blancpain Endurance Championship 2015 BMW works driver, 2nd Tudor United...
The origin of the model name, Porsche Carrera, is not only interesting but also somewhat hazy. It all started in a dusty town called Tuxtla Gutiérrez near the southern border of Mexico. The year was 1950, and an epic road race was about to get underway, La Carrera Panamericana, in...
Born: 19 November 1981 Where: Duisburg, Germany Lives: Tokyo, Japan Height: 1.84m Although it is his first year as a Porsche LMP1 works driver, German-born André Lotterer needs little by way of an introduction. Lotterer, it seems, was born to race, having attended races with his father from a young...
Porsche made a solid start to their 2017 WEC campaign, when the #2 LMP1 919 Hybrid (Bernhard/Bamber/Hartley) finished second in the top class followed by the #1 car in third place (Jani/Lotterer/Tandy). On the podium in the GTE Pro class, was the #91 RSR of Richard Lietz/Fred Makowiecki, when they...
It was a dry day at Silverstone on the first day of practice for this year’s WEC opening round at Silverstone. This, you would think, would give the teams the best chance of testing their steeds, but in reality, very few teams were willing to show their hand at this...
Now in its fourth year of competition, the Porsche 919 hybrid continues to be developed into a more efficient racer. Retaining its same 4-cylinder petrol-driven engine, the LM P1 regulations require that the 919 be ever-more efficient while delivering similar performance.Team Principal and acting technical director, Andreas Seidl, said, “For...
Following their second- and sixth-place finishes at Daytona a few weeks back, the Porsche GTLM squad were understandably upbeat about their chances in the 12 Hours of Sebring 2017 race this past weekend. This was not to be, however, as the two works Porsches finished in seventh and eighth places...
The 65th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring fuelled by ‘Fresh from Florida’ takes the green flag at 10:40 am (local time) on Saturday, March 18th 2017. The gates opened on Wednesday, March 15, and will remain open 24 hours a day through Saturday. First run in March 1952,...
Porsche’s popular 911 model range has evolved hugely over the years, but a few iconic models stand out head and shoulders above the rest. In 1973, the Carrera RS 2.7 lifted the bar in the sports car market, but a decade and a half later, it was the turn of...
The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 broke cover in October 1972, being revealed to the public for the first time at the Paris Motor Show. Porsche’s marketing department considered it a big risk for such a small company to make such a high performance and specialised model. Although the Carrera...
Mention the name Porsche and motor racing, and minds immediately focus in on one of the famous race cars to pass out through the gates of the Stuttgart manufacturer. Depending on your age or favoured period in racing, the number of ‘best’ racers will be many and varied. However, the...
After Daytona and Dubai, the twelve-hour race in Bathurst, Australia is the third major long-distance race of the season. On the Mount Panorama Circuit in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, the Walkinshaw GT3 team will field a Porsche 911 GT3 R on 5 February with factory backing from Porsche...
This Porsche 996 GT3 R is being offered for sale by Coys of London. When it was launched in 1998, the Porsche Type 996 represented one of the most significant changes to the 911 model range in its (then) 35-year history. While all previous road-going 911 models had been powered...
The countdown for the Daytona 24 Hours is on. At ‘The Roar before the Rolex 24,’ drivers and teams used this past weekend at the Daytona International Speedway to prepare for the season-opener of the IMSA SportsCar Championship on 28/29 January in Florida. At the three-day official test, the main...
The Porsche 911 family is expecting a new member. In March 2017, five new variants will join the range: the rear-wheel drive 911 Carrera GTS; the 911 Carrera 4 GTS with all-wheel drive available in both Coupé and Cabriolet; and the 911 Targa 4 GTS with all-wheel drive. Newly-developed turbochargers...
The 2016 Porsche Carrera Cup GB season began at Silverstone, on a cold, bright day in March. For the first time, all the teams, cars and drivers who would light up six circuits over eight weekends and 16 rounds were together in one place. The class of 2016 was a...
When Brian Long’s latest 911 tome arrived, I could see the postman physically relieved to be handing over the package. But, in all seriousness, this is one very impressive piece of work. Brian Long has written many books, but he is best known for his writing on the Porsche marque,...
It has been said before that there have probably been more books written on the Porsche 911, than almost any car model. In this case though, it is no ordinary 911 that is being unpacked and revealed between the covers of this book. Rather, it is in strict 911 lore...
It is by now well known that Porsche won the prestigious Le Mans 24-Hour race in 2016, the company’s 18th such victory in this classic French endurance race. To put this achievement in perspective, Audi have won the title thirteen times and Ferrari nine times. Just as they did in...
The 2016 motorsport season ended successfully for Porsche at the Intercontinental GT Challenge 12-hour race on the Sepang International Circuit on 11 December 2016. Second place went to Earl Bamber, Patrick Pilet and Nick Tandy, while their teammates clinched fifth place at the final round. With a spectacular charge through...
Yes, it is getting a little late and you had the best intentions of being better organised this year – but you still haven’t got all your Christmas presents. So, we want to help you with some Christmas gift ideas for the Porsche enthusiast. And here’s what we came up...
Often overlooked, the Porsche Type 64 holds a significant place in the history of Porsche sports cars. Great strides were taken in motor car performance during the 1920s and 1930s, a development that actively fed the motorsport industry, which in turn grew in popularity at an astonishing rate. During this...
Porsche AG reopened its pavilion at the Autostadt park in Wolfsburg 15 November 2016, after a significant expansion programme. The exhibition area inside the pavilion has been expanded from 65 m² to 504 m², and going forward, this new exhibition space will house two special exhibitions each year. The new...
A couple of world records were set at the Silverstone Auctions’ NEC sale at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, at the NEC in Birmingham on 12th and 13th November 2016. Silverstone Auctions has established itself as something of a specialist Porsche auction house of late, and this was evidenced...
For the second consecutive year, Porsche has taken all the titles in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC)! These include: victory in Le Mans, winning the manufacturers’ world championship and the drivers’ world championship at the finale in Bahrain. In fact, Porsche had already clinched the manufacturers’ world championship at...
It was announced today (25 November 2016) by Porsche Motorsport, that Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb will be leaving the Porsche LMP1-Team. This development follows intense speculation in the press over the past few weeks surrounding the availability of seats in the Porsche team in the wake of Audi’s decision...
Much has been written about the Porsche 911, in fact there are few manufacturers in the world, that could boast as having as many books written about one of their models. But as can be expected, many of these books cover selected top models, and those perceived as less salubrious...
The 914 is the Porsche that most sports car enthusiasts turn up their noses at. Let’s face it, the 914 isn’t the most beautiful Porsche in the world, with its flat surfaces and angular styling. It looks unpretentious, unattractive, and was generally unloved by many. But is that a fair...
John Fitzpatrick needs little by way of an introduction. He learned his trade the hard way, by racing his own private road car, a Mini, in local races. But we are getting ahead of the story a bit, because as a youngster, Fitz as he is known, was an aspiring...
Ever since the company first opened its doors for business in 1948, Porsche sports cars have epitomised the sporting side of driving. Indeed, Porsche’s Le Mans debut in 1951 cemented the company’s future as a manufacturer of race orientated sports cars and ever since, motor racing has remained a driving...
It’s out, the new model Porsche 911 RSR was launched this evening at the LA Auto Show. Porsche will tackle the 2017 racing season with its all-out newly developed GT racer which features an ultra-modern, flat-six unit positioned in front of the rear axle. The four-litre, extremely light aggregate features...
So you think the Cayman is just a Boxster with a roof. Well, perhaps technically it is, but the two models are distinct in their appeal and in the way they deliver their excitement. If the open-top, wind in your hair thing is for you, then the Boxster will no...
Most people, even those only vaguely interested in motor sport, will have heard about the Porsche 917. The first of Porsche’s race cars to truly dominate the world of sports car racing, the 917 project was in 1969 almost a step too far for the small Stuttgart manufacturer as it...
Twenty years after the launch of the original Porsche Boxster, a new generation of Boxster was introduced in January 2016, with first deliveries in the UK scheduled for the spring of this year. Up until last year, the Boxster was powered by a 6-cylinder boxer engine, but this new generation...
The Porsche Museum is a living museum, and is equally at home at its state-of-the-art headquarters in Zuffenhausen as it is anywhere in the world. With the special exhibition ‘Roadbook. The Porsche Museum on the road around the world’, the museum curators are giving fans a glimpse behind the scenes...
Congratulations and good luck to Porsche Road & Race on the launch of this exciting new website, celebrating something that is also very close to my heart – the powerful, stunning and exquisite Porsche marque! I’m delighted to be a columnist, and I hope you’ll find them a lot different...
Every now and then a truly good book comes along, one that is not only excellent in its content, but is also significant due to the rarity of the subject it covers. Roy Smith’s book on the Porsche 924 Carrera is one of those books because it covers a worthy,...
The author starts his book, The Monza 1000km: 1965-2008, by calling the first chapter, the years between 1965-1971, the ‘Golden Years’ and he is not the only one to do so. While the cars were rather ‘explosive’ in their performance, drivers and team personalities could also be rather explosive in...
This is an autobiography by a man who enjoyed what many would describe as the perfect job. A talented mechanical engineer, Horsman worked first for Aston Martin under the legendary leadership of John Wyer on such projects as the DP214. After Aston Martin, Horsman moved to Ford Advanced Vehicles where...
The very existence of the Porsche sports car must rank as one of the more unlikely histories in the automotive world. Yet such was the pioneering spirit of Professor Ferdinand Porsche and his son, Ferry, that the irrepressible 356 eventually saw the light of day, produced behind the doors of...
Porsche Sounds is another fine publication to have been produced by the Porsche Historical Archives in Stuttgart. But why, you may ask, do we need another book on Porsche’s long and well covered history, and what makes this book any different from the many others out there? Valid questions indeed....
Author Brian Long needs little introduction to the serious motorsport enthusiast, and in particular, Porsche racing. This title covers Porsche’s motor racing achievements between 1953 and 1975, and is the first of two volumes (the second volume covers 1976 to 2005). Offering a brief historical look into the company’s origins,...
Porsche’s domination of sportscar racing in the 1960s and 1970s by the 917 is well known, but the manufacturer’s rise to the top would not have been possible had it not been for the existence of several highly successful race cars that were created before it. Bill Oursler, who needs...
If there was one Porsche racing car that set the Stuttgart company on the road to motor sport stardom, then it must surely be the 1970 Le Mans winning Porsche 917. For many years it had been the sole aim of Porsche’s Director of Research & Development, Dr. Ferdinand Piëch,...
Every once in a while a man or woman comes along who wants to shake the tree, turn convention on its side, or just to improve the way we do things. Having written several books on the Porsche marque, when the opportunity arose to review Karl Ludvigsen’s book, Ferdinand Porsche:...
For starters, when you pick up your copy of Kussmaul Chronicles, you can jettison any preconceived ideas of reading a ‘normal’ book on the story of an engineer and his years spent at Porsche. That way, with a clear mind, you will be better prepared for the unexpected when you...
Born: 5 April 1975 Where: Nürtingen, Germany Lives: Nürtingen, Germany Marital status: Married, 2 children Height/Weight: 1.74 m/69 kg Hobbies: Mountain biking, skiing, fitness, golf Wolf Henzler has an accolade that none of his works driver colleagues have achieved yet. In December 2011, the 2010 Le Mans winner put in...
The name Porsche is synonymous with the world’s toughest endurance race, the 24-Hours of Le Mans, boasting an unbroken run of 65 years. During this time, they have amassed 18 victories. This is Part I of their story… Le Mans – 1951 to 1963 Whether the year 1948 was a...
At the end of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship season Mark Webber will quit his professional racing career. The six-hour race in Bahrain on November 19 will be the last time the reigning World Champion from Australia will compete as a works driver. After the Bahrain race, new tasks...
The reigning world champions Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber won a thrilling six-hour race in Mexico City on 4 September 2016 in the #1 Porsche 919 Hybrid. By winning the fifth of nine rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the 919 Hybrid Porsche further extended its lead...
Porsche secured its fifth win of the season at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas on 17 September 2016, extending its lead in the manufacturers’ standings of the FIA World Endurance Championship....
Porsche came third and fifth with its two 919 Hybrids in a thrilling six-hour race at the Fuji International Speedway on 16 October 2016, preserving its lead in both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ classifications. Fuji was always going to be a tough contest and it did not disappoint because when...
The Porsche Carrera GTS represented a watershed in the company’s march towards motorsport fulfilment. Gone was the space frame and aluminium construction of the 550s, the Type 904 ushered in a completely new way of thinking. Porsche Road & Race investigates… The Porsche Carrera GTS, or Type 904 to give...
The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup is the racing version of the 911 GT3. In 2016, almost 320 of the near-standard racers, based on the seventh generation of the iconic 911 sports car, will be campaigned in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, the national Carrera Cups as well as major GT3...
Born: 8 October 1981 Where: Auch, France Lives: Le Chesnay, France Marital status: Married Height/Weight: 1.76 m/67 kg Hobbies: Golf, cycling, fitness, cinema He is a man for all occasions. Regardless of the championship, Patrick Pilet is always good for top results. In 2014, the film buff won the Daytona...
An exceptionally original, never restored, beautifully preserved 1956 Porsche 550RS Spyder, estimated at £4.7-6.2 million has been announced for the Bonhams Goodwood Revival Sale, taking place on 10 September in Chichester, West Sussex. “The 1956 Porsche 550RS Spyder offered is so original, that you could travel back in time 60...
Born: 5 November 1984 Where: Bedford, UK Lives: Bedford, UK Marital status: Married, 1 child Height/Weight: 1.78 m/71 kg Hobbies: Badminton, darts, golf, iRacing When Nick Tandy clinched Porsche’s 17th overall victory at the long distance classic in 2015, he fulfilled his greatest dream as a racing driver. But the...
Born: 27th August 1976 Where: Queanbeyan, Australia Lives: Buckinghamshire, UK Height/weight: 1.83 m/76 kg Marital status: Partner Ann Neal Hobbies: Sports, mountain biking, flying helicopters It’s been two years now since Mark Webber has had a roof over his head. After 215 Formula 1 Grands Prix, and having won nine...
Born: 4th July 1980 Where: Stuttgart, Germany Lives: Ludwigsburg, Germany Marital Status: Married to Alexandra, two sons (Benedict and Jonathan) Height/Weight: 1.82 m/74 kg Hobbies: Football, jogging, reading At the age of 20, the native Stuttgarter won the Porsche Junior driver selection. Since then he has been celebrating Porsche victories...
The power of the Cayman GT4 Clubsport is powered by a 3.8-litre mid-mounted flat engine developing 385 hp (283 kW) with a maximum torque of 420 Nm giving a top speed of 295 km/h. This model cannot be registered for road use, and as a result it has been adapted...
Born: 15 September 1956 Where: Oberwölz, Austria Lives: Munich Marital status: Married with one daughter Hobby: Icelandic horses At the end of 2011, the Styrian started to shape Porsche’s return to top motorsport, with a new building, new staff and a new vehicle. Four years later he harvested great success...
Born: 22 November 1980 Where: Arras, France Lives: Perpignan, France Marital status: Married, 1 child Height/Weight: 1.76 m/66 kg Hobbies: Cycling, music, karting He already underlined his strong passion for Porsche in his campaign to win the Porsche Carrera Cup France. Twice he had to settle for runner-up and once...
Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser joined Porsche as a mechanical engineering student in 1995. With a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering specialising in combustion engines and technology management, Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser held the position of General Manager of Motorsport Strategies at Porsche from 2003 to 2008. As the overall project manager of...
Born: 6 January 1976 Where: Passau, Germany As a team boss, Andreas Seidl is responsible for the technical running of the vehicles, and as race director, he coordinates the entire organisational aspects of the World Championship races. For the LMP1 drivers he is virtually like a national trainer, he heads...
Now imagine yourself in a rollercoaster at your local fair with its multiple ups and downs, and even upside down loops. In a similar way, the 24-Hour race this last weekend was a bit like a Le Mans rollercoaster ride, one minute Porsche was up, then it was Toyota, and...
In 2014, Porsche marched back into the top class of endurance racing, and announced that they were here to take the championship. Their new racer, the Porsche 919 Hybrid, was powered by a 2.0-litre V4 petrol turbocharged engine, and they proudly claimed that it held a technological advantage over the...
The 1998 GT1 car was a totally rethink and vast upgrade versus the prior year car. 1998 Le Mans 24-hour race In the 1998 jubilee year, the Porsche team celebrated its 16th overall victory in Le Mans with a double win for the 911 GT1 98. On 6th/7th June, the winning car was driven by Laurent Aiello, Allan McNish and Stéphane Ortelli. It was almost 50 years to the day on which the first Porsche sports car saw the light of day.
The 993 Carrera RSR takes the 993 Carrera RS formula and makes it even more track-ready by adding a roll-cage and removing carpet, power windows, and a/c. There were just thirty Porsche 911 Cup 3.8 RSR (Type 993) race cars produced for the 1997 season. This model was the last of the breed of air-cooled, naturally-aspirated 911 race cars to come from the Weissach race department before the introduction of the Type 996 water-cooled cars. To find a 993 3.8 RSR that participated in some of the world’s toughest endurance races in period, and survived unscathed and unmolested, is quite rare.
Introduced in 1989 (the year of the 911’s 25th anniversary), the 964 Carrera 4 was a significant new model for the company, but the 4-wheel drive system was deemed unsuitable for the company’s racing series. Manufactured alongside the Carrera 4 at the same time was the more traditional rear-wheel drive Carrera 2, but this model’s launch was only planned for a year later, in the hope that it would not detract from potential sales of the Carrera 4. The 1990 season was the first season that saw the 911-based model become the pillar on which the Porsche Carrera Cup series has been established.
Built so that the factory Rothmans Porsche Rally Team could hit the international stage, the SC RS used the Turbo’s body with fibreglass bumpers and aluminium doors. In Autumn 1983, Porsche presents the 911 SC/RS for motor racing. The engine originates from the 911 SC, with improved performance achieved by the mechanical ball fuel injection, increased compression, the cylinder heads from the 935 and forged pistons. Racing seats are fitted in place of the standard seats.
One of the most confused of all Porsche is this DKS or Dreikantschaber. It might appear like a mid-engine RS61 Coupe, but it is a rebodied 356B with a rear-mounted engine. Unlike the earlier 356s, this one featured fared-in driving lights and cut-off greenhouse reminiscent of of the RS61 coupe. Porsche didn't give this new a car a name since it was homologated and considered a Carrera 2 by the FIA. It was nicknamed Dreikantschaber.
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