This amazing ‘55 Speedster was displayed by George and Susan Kehler of Johnson City, Tennessee at this years Hilton Head Concours d’Elegance.  It was originally imported to Central America and raced there extensively with many class victories. It won its class and fourth overall in the 1958 Santa Anna races in El Salvadore driven by a then 18 year old Pedro Rodriguez. 

It was ordered with the 1,600 Super engine with 75 hp for racing. Currently it has only 45,000 miles on it. I loved all of the racing memorabilia and pictures in the car. What a treat to see.

Four-Times Monte Carlo Winner Dominates European Championship Race

Stuttgart. Walter Röhrl has won the race for the FIA European Rally Championship for Historical Cars in the Spanish town of Lloret de Mar last weekend. Teaming up with co-pilot Peter Göbel, German Rally Champion in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006, the two-times World Rally Champion drove a 1981 Porsche 911 RSR to victory. With their re-built and perfectly prepared rally version of the 911, Röhrl/Göbel immediately moved up to the top group in the race, together with ex-Renault works driver Jean Ragnotti in an Alpine A110, Historical European Championship specialist Michael Stoschek, Valter Jensen and Toto Riolo, all driving a Porsche 911, and three Group 4 Lancia Stratos. Under very difficult weather and track conditions, Röhrl clearly demonstrated his unique driving skills as the four-times Monte Carlo winner on the last two stages of the race, bringing home an historical victory for Wolfgang Reile’s Classic Power Team in the very special style of the truly outstanding driver who also won the European Rally Championship in 1974.

Results Rally Costa Brava Historic:

This beautiful Dark Blue Metalic Panamera S arrived yesterday. It has Luxor Beige interior with Soft Ruffled seats. Other options are Heated Seats front and rear, Heated Steering Wheel, 19″ Panamera Turbo Wheels with Colored Crest Center Caps, Bluetooth Phone Interface, Universal Audio Interface, XM Satellite Radio, Bose Stereo, Variable Assist Power Steering and Floor Mats.

Gran Turismo ranked No 1 in the Luxury Performance Class

Stuttgart. The Porsche Panamera has been awarded the Golden Steering Wheel as the Best New Car of the Year in the Luxury Performance Class. With its combination of supreme comfort and outstanding sportiness, and through its unique design, Porsche’s Gran Turismo convinced the 50-man jury made up of racing drivers, engineers, celebrities and the senior editors of the Auto Bild Magazine Group trying out the candidates on thorough test drives. Before receiving this outstanding award, the Panamera had already been chosen by readers as one of the five best models in the luxury performance class with experts putting the car through its paces in the final contest on a test track in Italy for two enduring days.

This year this special prize presented for the first time by publisher Axel Springer in 1976 was awarded not “just” by the German Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag, but rather by a group of publications including the Auto Bild Motoring Journal and its European sister publications, making this coveted award even more significant than ever. Michael Macht, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, received the trophy on Wednesday evening from Bernd Wieland, Editor in Chief of Auto Bild, at the headquarters of the Axel Springer AG in Berlin.

It was great to see three local Porsche 356’s in this years Concours. You have seen all three of these beautiful 356’s posted here on Porschebahn. Ed and Jean Kriscunas displayed their White 1964 356 Coupe, George Word won Best of Class with his Black 1963 356 Super 90 Cab and Jim Smeltzer won the Palmetto Award with his Red 1962 356 Twin Grill Roadster. I will post all three cars and a 1955 356 Speedster over the next few days. Like Ed said, they had all the models covered, coupe, cab, roadster and speedster. The Speedster was once raced by Pedro Rodreguez.

Purist Mid-Engined Roadster is the Lightest Porsche

Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is introducing a new top version of the Porsche Boxster, a light mid-engined roadster making its world debut at the Los Angeles Motor Show in December.

Weighing just 1,275 kg or 2,811 lb, the Boxster Spyder is the lightest model throughout the entire range of Porsche cars. Clearly recognisable right from the start, this new mid-engined roadster represents the true, purist form of the Porsche sports car – light, powerful, consistently open, and very efficient.

This is precisely the formula already applied in creating Porsche’s most successful road-going sports and racing cars, ranging from the legendary 550 Spyder all the way to the RS Spyder so successful in motorsport today.

The Boxster Spyder now continues this clear-cut philosophy with full homologation for the road, thus reflecting a common wish expressed by Porsche customers. The new model is entering the market in February 2010 as the third version in the Boxster range, joining the Boxster and Boxster S.

The new member of the Boxster family stands out clearly at very first sight from the other versions of Porsche’s mid-engined roadster. Quite simply because the Boxster Spyder has been developed first and foremost for driving in the open air, the low-slung, light soft top extending far to the rear serving exclusively to protect the driver and passenger from bright sunshine, wind and weather. When closed, the soft top, together with the extra-low side windows and the two striking bulges on the single-piece rear lid, boasts a stretched and sleek silhouette reminiscent of the Carrera GT.

Significantly less weight than the Boxster S, a lower centre of gravity and an all-new sports suspension give the Boxster Spyder the right kind of driving dynamics clearly reflecting the unique look of the car.

The Boxster Spyder features a 3.4-litre six-cylinder with Direct Fuel Injection upfront of the rear axle. Maximum output is 320 bhp, 10 bhp more than in the Boxster S.

Equipped with PDK Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe and the Sports Chrono Package, the new Spyder, using Launch Control, accelerates from a standstill to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds. Again with optional PDK, fuel consumption is a mere 9.3 litres on 100 kilometres (equal to 30.4 mpg imp) in the NEDC New European Driving Cycle. Top speed, in turn, is 267 km/h or 166 mph – with the roof open.

In terms of its fundamental concept, the entire Boxster family is the successor to the legendary 550 Spyder built back in 1953, both models sharing the same mid-engine roadster concept, low weight, back-to-the-roots lifestyle, and supreme agility com-bined with equally outstanding driving pleasure.

The 550 Spyder was the first sports car from Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen developed specifically for racing but also homologated for the road. In the years following its production, this unique Spyder weighing only 550 kg or 1,213 lb, scored numerous victories on race circuits and in the road races so popular at the time.

The 550 Spyder was followed by other extremely successful Porsche Spyders such as the 718 RS 60 in 1960.

In 2004 and 2008 Porsche dedicated a limited edition of special Boxsters bearing the additional name Spyder to these legendary racing cars. By contrast, the new Boxster Spyder is a regular, specially developed and upgraded production model with far-reaching modifications versus the Boxster and Boxster S.

Market introduction of the new Porsche Boxster Spyder will start worldwide in February 2010. The base price in the Euro countries is 53,100 Euro. Including 19 per cent VAT and national specifications, the market price of the new Porsche Boxster Spyder is 63,404 Euro.

porsche 550 spyder

1960 Porsche 718 RS 60

 Check this out! Army Lieutenant Mike Nueman sent me this picture after a conversation we had while he was taking delivery of his 39,000 mile, 460 HP (aftermarket modifications) 2001 Turbo.

Mike is being deployed again around Christmas. Our prayers will be with him and his soldiers.

Here is the email he sent with the picture:

Wally,

Lovin the Turbo!!!!!  Wow is all I can say, what an incredible machine.   I had that thing truckin about XXXmph coming back up I95 when I left Hilton Head and it still had a seemingly unlimited amount of power. 

Attached is a picture I had promised you, it is a Porsche Dealership in Kosovo, courtesy of one of my fellow soldiers who is deployed there.  The country is 60% unemployed, but someone has money there obviously.  

Mike

If anyone has pictures of Porsche Dealerships in, what can I say, unusual countries, I would love to see them.

Mikes Turbo

This is our first sold order to arrive! How do you like it in Ruby Red?

Bleekemolen crowns championship with victory at final

With a win at the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi, Jeroen Bleekemolen from the Netherlands crowned his championship campaign in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Driving for Konrad Motorsport, the title defender beat his arch rival René Rast (Germany) after a gripping duel and was handed the winner’s trophy by the Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Dr. Wolfgang Porsche. The distinction for second place was undertaken by Wolfgang Dürheimer, Board Member for Research and Development.

After 14 laps on the new Formula 1 circuit in the UAE, Bleekemolen took a pole-to-flag victory to celebrate his fifth win of the season. Moreover, the Dutchman set a new record in the Supercup: At all 13 rounds of the series, he secured a podium result. However, with the number of race wins, René Rast was a nose ahead: The vice-champion from VELTINS MRS Racing dominated six times.

At the start, only Richard Westbrook (Porsche Cars GB) could match the pace set by Jeroen Bleekemolen and René Rast. However, in just lap two, the Briton, who won the rounds in Barcelona and Monaco this season and who claimed the GT2 class title of the FIA GT Championship in a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR a week ago, had to let the leading pair pull away. Westbrook saw the flag in third ahead of Ireland’s Damien Faulkner (Walter Lechner Racing School) and guest driver Alessandro Balzan (Ebimotors), who had put in a breathtaking charge through the field from 19th. The newly-crowned champion of the Carrera Cup Deutschland, Germany’s Thomas Jäger (Abu Dhabi Race Team), saw the flag in sixth, with seventh position going to Alessandro Zampedri (SPS Performance) ahead of Slovakia’s Stefan Rosina of the Walter Lechner Racing School squad, who secured third overall in the championship.

After Jeroen Bleekemolen had already claimed the championship with his pole-setting time before race one on Saturday, the final decision for further honours after a gripping season had to wait until Sunday: Konrad Motorsport won the team title, New Zealander Matt Halliday (SANITEC RACING) pocketed the Rookie Classification as the best Supercup newcomer.

Jeroen Bleekemolen (winner): “A fantastic race and a super fight with René. I was slightly quicker after the start, he picked up the pace later on. I’m very pleased to have won. It was very tough. It’s great to conclude such a successful season with a victory – you can’t ask for better than that.”

René Rast (second): “Of course, I would have loved to have won and I actually think I was faster than Jeroen. But what does it matter – it wasn’t so bad today. I’m very happy with the vice-championship and six wins this season.”

Richard Westbrook (third): “Third place is a wonderful success for the team. The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is one of the most fiercely-contested series. So I knew that Jeroen and René would be hard to beat. They are the quickest drivers so you don’t get to overtake them so easily. Still, it was an extremely encouraging and motivating race.”

1. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NED), Konrad Motorsport, 31:36.446 minutes
2. René Rast (GER), VELTINS MRS Racing, + 0.157 seconds
3. Richard Westbrook (GBR), Porsche Cars GB, + 0.507
4. Damien Faulkner (IRL), Walter Lechner Racing School, + 12.462
5. Alessandro Balzan (ITA), Ebimotors, + 13.251
6. Thomas Jäger (GER), Abu Dhabi Race Team, + 25.075

1. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NED), 254 points
2. René Rast (GER), 207
3. Stefan Rosina (SVK), 164
4. Patrick Huisman (NED), 148
5. Norbert Siedler (AUT), 132
6. Damien Faulkner (IRL), 126

The pits were alive with the sound of Cayman’s, Interseries Cayman’s that is. What a great show these guys put on Friday and Saturday. I was busy working our display and lining up people for test drives and hot laps in the Panamera and did not get to take many pictures. But I did keep my eye on the action on the track as they went by and was able to get a few pictures.

 Jim Bacus in his #3 Hippy car won the Interseries race on Friday. They competed again in the 1 hour enduro on Saturday with Neil Gehani in his #36 Salzburg car placing second, David Hansson’s #1 Rothmans car in third, Collin O’Brien’s #4 Gulf car fourth and Jim Bacus in sixth. Bob Woodman won the enduro in his ‘74 Carrera RSR but what a battle it was. The Interseries cars competed again in a race of their own on Saturday after the enduro with David Hansson winning in his Rothmans car. That is a busy weekend!

 Do not miss a chance to see these guys race, you will not be disappointed. They are VERY competitive but there is a lot of camaraderie amongst them. Thanks to all of the Interseries drivers for coming and giving us a fabulous show and thanks Jim for the race results.

To see more pictures of the Cayman Interseries cars visit Drivers Reception

Win for René Rast – title for Jeroen Bleekemolen

At the premiere of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in Abu Dhabi, René Rast (Germany) celebrated his sixth win of the season – however the championship title again went to Jeroen Bleekemolen. At the wheel of his Konrad Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, the Dutchman secured pole position for the first of the final two rounds of the popular brand trophy series. The two extra points that he received for this were enough for him to claim the title.

On the gigantic new Formula 1 race track in the largest of the United Arab Emirates, Jeroen Bleekemolen made the best start of the field. His teammate Nicholas Tandy showed little respect for great names at his debut in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup: The Briton promptly slipped into second position and put the front-runner under enormous pressure in the first lap. Initially, Bleekemolen was able to hold off the guest driver’s attack but had to let his arch rival René Rast overtake in lap five. Competing for VELTINS MRS Racing, the 2008 Carrera Cup champion, who had travelled to Abu Dhabi holding a small title chance, was able to quickly pull away from the rest of the field to bring home his sixth win of the season.

Behind Rast, his pursuers fought fiercely for positions. After half the distance, Nicholas Tandy overtook Jeroen Bleekemolen, who didn’t try too hard to defend his position. The Dutchman had climbed the podium at every round this season and was understandably not keen to jeopardise his eventual third position. Behind the leading trio came Austria’s Norbert Siedler (VELTINS MRS Racing) in fourth, followed by Slovakia’s Stefan Rosina (Walter Lechner Racing School) in fifth.

At his first race for SANITEC RACING, New Zealand’s Supercup newcomer Matt Halliday swept past many opponents to snatch sixth place and with this looks set to win the Rookie Classification. Behind Supercup record winner Patrick Huisman (Netherlands) driving for SPS Performance, American William Langhorne (SANITEC RACING) took eighth place. Ninth position went to Britain’s James Sutton (Porsche Cars GB), who came from the Carrera Cup Great Britain to compete as a guest driver. Siso Cunill from Spain (Konrad Motorsport) saw the chequered flag in tenth.

René Rast (winner): “That was a great race. I’m very pleased. Obviously we had the best set-up in the field, thanks to my team. My start was not perfect but after the Safety Car Phase my pace picked up. It was fierce racing today – and so at one point I just grabbed my chance.”

Nicholas Tandy (second): “I’m very happy. This was my first Supercup race and it was great fun. My start was very good and second position is more than I had hoped for. I would have loved to overtake René as well, but he was unbeatable today.”

Jeroen Bleekemolen (third): “I was amazed how several of my opponents behaved today. I was nudged by six or seven cars and that’s simply not acceptable. Of course, it’s great that we finished on the podium but I could definitely have secured a better result. We had a great car today and I could have won.”

1. René Rast (GER), VELTINS MRS Racing, 30:46.632 minutes
2. Nicholas Tandy (GBR), Konrad Motorsport, + 7.432 seconds
3. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NED), Konrad Motorsport, + 7.908

1. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NED), 232 points
2. René Rast (GER), 189
3. Stefan Rosina (SVK), 148
4. Patrick Huisman (NED), 140
5. Norbert Siedler (AUT), 123
6. Damien Faulkner (IRL), 110

Round 13 of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup takes place on 1 November as support to the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi.

Christmas gifts in the Porsche-Museum Shop

Stuttgart. The Museum of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is getting ready for the festive season with a range of new products. For the first time, Porsche is offering an advent calendar this Christmas which will provide pre-Christmas pleasure for those with a sweet tooth and sports car fans alike. As well as a high quality chocolate, each door hides a picture and description of an historic Porsche. The calendar is available for the price of Euro 15. The Porsche-Museum is also offering another new product with a set of four cutters for Christmas cookies. The cookie cutters, in the shape of the Porsche 356, 917 and 911 models, are available for Euro 6.90.

Four breadboards in the design of Porsche race cars are available for Euro 35 per set, reflecting designs including the Porsche 550 Spyder. The Porsche bearing the number 55, specially developed for competition use, won its class in 1954 and an overall third place in the Carrera Panamericana. This race success was the birth of the “Carrera” model designation. The famous pink Porsche 917/20 Coupé, known as the “Pink Pig”, also serves as a pattern for a breadboard.

Model car fans can add a very special vehicle to their collections: the metal Porsche 356 roadster from “Tucher + Walther” with a driver figure is available in black and red in display packaging for Euro 29. The 16 cm long car is made in Germany.

In memory of the race driver Umberto Maglioli, the museum shop is also offering the 2006 Sicilian red wine “Nero d’Avola” for Euro 11. Maglioli won the 1956 Targa Florio in Sicily with a Porsche 550 Spyder. Festive greetings can be sent with a set of greetings cards featuring historic Christmas scenes. The folding cards and postcards are also accompanied by a small selection of wrapping paper and are available at the price of Euro 19.

These and many other festive products are available in the Porsche-
Museum shop, which is accessible in the foyer without an entrance ticket. Further information can be found on the internet at www.porsche.com/museum or by e-mail: shop.museum@porsche.de.

The driver’s reception for the 2009 Hilton Head/Savannah Speed Classic was held at Johnson Square in Savannah this afternoon. The Speed Classic is the starting event for the Hilton Head Concours d’Elegance weekend. A parade of racing cars left the track at Hutchinson Island and drove over the Tallmadge Bridge into the historic district for the reception. You should have heard the sound of the engines echoing between the builds of beautiful down town Savannah! 

The best part for me was seeing the Cayman Interseries cars driving through town and parked around the square. I can not wait to see them on the track. They are absolutely gorgeous in their 917 livery! The drivers seemed to be having a great time and Roy and I really enjoyed talking to Jim Bacus about his Cayman and the series. They will be practicing and qualifying tomorrow and racing on Saturday. If you live in the area do not miss the event and the chance to see the Cayman Interseries cars in action as well as the vintage racing cars.

To see the Cayman Interseries cars on the track visit 2009 Hilton Head/Savannah Historics

Roy Stine with Jim Bacus

Roger Burdette sent me these last night. We received the allocation to order his RS yesterday and when I called to let him know we could order his car he asked about color choices. He had run across these pictures showing a Black RS. He really wants a Black with Red graphics. As of now they are only available in Grey, Blue and White. Hopefully this is a sign of more colors to come.

A tailor-made finale for Richard Westbrook. Claiming victory in Belgium’s Zolder at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, the Briton secured the FIA GT Championship GT2 class drivers’ title to continue the streak of 911 successes this year. With the 911 GT3 RSR, Porsche pilots won the GT2 championship titles in the American Le Mans Series, the Le Mans Series, as well as other championships. Moreover, the 450 hp racer from Weissach was celebrated as the winning car at the prestigious Nürburgring 24 hour race in 2009.

“We can look back on a highly successful year with the 911,” said a satisfied Hartmut Kristen, head of motorsport at Porsche. “Again the 911 GT3 RSR proved to be the most successful GT race car in the world. Congratulations to Richard Westbrook and the Belgian Prospeed team who made this feat possible.”

“This is the most important title of my career,” said a delighted Richard Westbrook. The Briton and his teammate, the French Porsche works driver Emmanuel Collard, had dominated the FIA GT Championship season. With two victories to open their campaign, they planted themselves at the head of the championship standings, which they only lost prior to the finale to the strongest Ferrari team. The pair travelled to Zolder with a three-point gap to the leader, where the Belgian top squad, Prospeed Competition, put together a clever strategy with the support of Porsche. The two title candidates manned different cars to increase their championship chances. Twenty-one-year-old Porsche Junior Marco Holzer joined Richard Westbrook as his new teammate. And the trick worked. Westbrook and Holzer dominated the two-hour final in the fiercely contested and highly competitive GT2 class. The young German performed equally as well as the experienced Briton – Westbrook was the champion of the Porsche Supercup in 2006 and 2007. “Marco did a super job,” praised 34-year-old Westbrook. It was with a touch of regret that Emmanuel Collard congratulated his English teammate on his title win. Together with Porsche Junior Martin Ragginger (Austria), Collard finished the race sixth at the wheel of the 911 fielded by the Italian Brixia Racing team to claim third overall in the championship.

1. Westbrook/Holzer (GBR/GER), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 76 laps
2. Ruberti/Malucelli (ITA/ITA), Ferrari F430, + 4.157 seconds
3. Bell/Kirkaldy (GBR/GBR), Ferrari F430, + 5.041
4. Bruni/Vilander (ITA/FIN), Ferrari F430, + 11.280
5. Bergmeister/Mamerow (GER/GER), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 22.947
6. Collard/Ragginger (FRA/AUT), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 59.237

1. Richard Westbrook, Porsche, 56 points
2. Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander, Ferrari, 54 points
3. Emmanuel Collard, Porsche, 49 points

I spotted this fire spitting Slant Nose Turbo conversion at this weekends Coastal Empire Driver Education being held at Roebling Road. The owner said he used to use it as a daily driver but has sense added a much bigger rear spoilor and relegated it to DE use. Check out the flames shooting out of the exhaust as he slows down for turn 1. I LOVE Slant Nose cars!

Today was the Press day for the Hilton Head Concours. The event was held at the golf clubhouse of the Westin Resort and Spa adjacent to the race track. We had three drives bring their Porsche’s to give rides to the press. Roger Burdette brought his Black ‘04 GT3, David Grandt with his Yellow ‘07 GT3 and last but not least Bob Woodman brought his White ‘74 Carrera RSR. It was fun watching the faces of the reporters as they went out on the track. Many of them looked very apprehensive but returned with big smiles. The weather was perfect!

This kicks off: Four Glorious Events – One Incredible Destination, the 2009 Hilton Head Concours d’Elegance and Motoring Festival Oct. 30, 31 and Nov 1. Come and join us, we will be debuting the 2010 Porsche Panamera with a ride and drive for the Panamera at both venues.

A new book about my favorite race car of all time.

Written by renowned automotive photographer Jeff Zwart, it consists of 190 color and black and white photographs – “Using dramatic angles and controlled lighting, Zwart provides a fresh perspective on these iconic cars. He reveals each 917’s distinctive characteristics and patina, and shows artful technical details from inside the cockpit, chassis, and engine compartments. These photographs are accompanied by engaging portraits and vivid recollections from 15 Porsche drivers—including Derek Bell, Vic Elford, Brian Redman, and Hurley Haywood—who look back on the anticipation, fear, and excitement they felt driving the 917″.

 Looks like a must have for those of us who love this car! To get your copy as I am visit: David Bull Publishing

This is AWESOME!

On October 17, Porsche will officially release its first ever four-door sedan, the Panamera, and the world’s first luxury supercar sedan. The Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa will be hosting the release throughout the following week, where anyone can get a first look at the car. Throughout the release event, the models also can be seen on the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving track at the resort. The event ends October 24.

If you live in the Phoenix area or will be in the area, it looks like a fantastic event to attend. The Resort looks beautiful and to see the Panamera on Firebird Raceway would be a treat. I looked on the Bondurant website and did not see a single picture of a Porsche on the track, only Corvette’s, Cadillac’s, Pontiac’s and Mustang’s. I guess they picked the right car to début there this time!

Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart will once again be offering a wide range of calendars for the coming year. There is a choice of three wall calendars and an appointments diary, which will give plenty of pleasure far beyond the year 2010.

Moving with Porsche all year round: the official Porsche 2010 calendar is a must for any Porsche driver. Under the motto “Driver’s Perspective”, it lets the images do the talking and highlights the passion for the Zuffenhausen sports cars from the personal point of view of drivers. The focus of the calendar is especially on the new Panamera models. The images continue on all twelve pages of the calendar to demonstrate the fascination and variety of the current range of cars. Each picture is a spectacular colour photograph. For all Porsche fans, the calendar is traditionally available with a collector’s coin which shows the motto and the year. The calendar measures 59×55.5 centimetres, costs 35 euros including VAT and will be on sale from mid-October.

The “style calendar” is traditionally created by Porsche designers from the Development Center in Weissach. This year it pays tribute to extraordinary sporting performance and individual exclusivity. Entitled “designed 4 ambition” it features the new four-door Porsche Panamera with the number four playing a special role.

This means that the various pages of the calendar take a close look at the new series in a range of ambitious images and show how functionality, performance, exclusivity and superior style are reflected in the design of the Panamera. The wall calendar measures 70 x 50 centimetres and is supplied with a CD-ROM which contains a screen saver and a short film. To match the fourth series of Porsche cars, the calendar is available in a limited edition of 4,000 copies. It costs 57 euros including VAT and is available now.

The historical Porsche calendar bears the title “One of a kind” and provides exclusive insights into previously hidden sports cars. Some of these cars are signs of the times whilst others were created as a result of efforts to find the best possible technology and the most competitive car – but only one of each of them was ever built. A spiral binding splits the 30×42 centimetres calendar vertically down the center (when unfolded it measures 60×42 centimetres) so that it can be kept in the sleeve it is supplied in well after 31 December 2010 as part of a collection. It is priced at 35 euros including VAT.

The Porsche Museum Zuffenhausen presents fascinating milestones from a whole era of automotive history, a place which contains a lot of histories around the company Porsche. The new Porsche timer “The Porsche idea in the Porsche Museum” is a neat embodiment of this idea – in the form of an appointments diary with a high quality finish containing images from the Porsche Museum and the exhibits on show there. With a spiral binding in DIN A5 format it costs 38 euros including VAT.

The three calendars and the appointments diary can be ordered on the Internet at http://shop3.porsche.com/all/static/country-selector-pdds/ and will also be available from the Porsche Museum shop in Stuttgart and from Porsche Centers from mid-October 2009. Some of these products may be available only in certain countries.

Look what stopped in for service. This gorgeous 930 Turbo belongs to Jack Meredith. Notice how straight the body is. This is an unrestored original car with only 23,664 miles on it when I shot these pictures. Jack said the engine is making 425 hp and has been modified with RUF cams, intercooler and Billy Boat exhaust. A classic look, a beautiful Black Porsche with fat fenders, a whale tail and BBS wheels. Thanks Jack for letting me show off your car!

You will LOVE this!

John from one of my favorite Porsche Blogs, PorschePurist.com has posted a great piece on a trip he and his wife made to California.  It is a wonderful read about their trip up the Pacific Coast Highway in a 2009 Boxster S.  He will be following it up with more posts chronicling the 1,200 mile trip and getting to know the Boxster S.  Have a look at Everything but the Kitchen Sink

 

PORSCHE’S PERFECT DAY ENDS WITH 100TH AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES WIN AND NINTH GT2 CHAMPIONSHIP; LONG/BERGEMEISTER LEAD LIZARDS TO HISTORIC LAGUNA VICTORY

MONTEREY, Calif.- Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) capped a successful 2009 American Le Mans Series season by winning their sixth race of the season, capturing the ALMS GT2 drivers, manufacturers, and team championships, as well as helping Porsche to earn its 100th class win in the American Le Mans Series today in the four-hour endurance event for the Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway.

Bergmeister, who took over the driving chores from Long for the final stint in his #45 Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, ran nose-to-tail with the #3 Corvette’s Jan Magnussen for the lead during the last 20 minutes of the race, holding off the more powerful Corvette despite a vibration from a flat-spotted tire. Then, with three laps to go, the Corvette passed the Porsche, but used the pit lane entrance to do it, and the IMSA officials made him tuck back in behind Bergmeister. Then, with two laps to go, Magnussen got by Joerg again, and Bergmeister picks up the story.

“He got by me, but he went too far into the corner and put himself out of position, and I was able to retake the lead. This happened one more time during the lap, and I was in front going into the last turn, when he pushed me twice. We bumped a third time coming out of the corner, and he went into the wall and crashed. While I feel badly that Jan crashed, and I was glad to hear that he was okay, I felt we raced hard and fair, and that the entire Flying Lizard team and my co-driver Patrick earned this win,” said Bergmeister after the race.

It was the team’s sixth GT2 class win of the season, including five wins in a row at St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Salt Lake City, Lime Rock, and Mid-Ohio; and, for Bergmeister, his fourth ALMS GT2 title (2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009). He won the 2005 championship in a Porsche with Patrick, the 2006 title with Patrick (although they did not share the final points as Long drove Sebring in the Penske Porsche RS Spyder), the 2008 title with Wolf Henzler (Germany), and this year again with Patrick. For Long, this was a special year because of the competition the team faced.

“With the addition of Corvette and BMW to the GT2 mix, it was easy to put in what you thought was a perfect lap, only to find out you were only fourth or fifth fastest. But Porsche gave us a car which only came into the pits for fuel and tires – no mechanical problems all year – and the Flying Lizard Motorsports team continually won races for us with their flawless service, innovative strategy, and hard work preparing the car. As for Joerg and I, we complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and are able to put all our efforts toward one goal – team victories,” said Long.

“And to score Porsche’s 100th ALMS win on top of that, it’s a real honor,” added Bergemeister. “We join the long list of Porsche factory drivers – Bob Wollek, Lucas Luhr, Sascha Maassen, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, Dirk Mueller, Randy Pobst, Marc Lieb, Wolf Henzler, Mike Rockenfeller, Ryan Briscoe, Emmanuel Collard – along with many independents, such as Cort Wagner, David Murry, Johannes van Overbeek, Bryce Miller, Richard Westbrook, Helio Castroneves, Kevin Buckler, Johnny Mowlem, B.J. Zacharias, Brian Cunningham, John O’Steen, Martin Snow, Melanie Snow, Patrick Huisman, Craig Stanton, Kelly Collins, and Darryl Havens.

Wolf Henzler and Pierre Ehret (both Germany) finished third in the GT2 class in their #87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, moving Wolf up to third place in the final point standings, despite having five different co-drivers this season while his regular teammate, Dirk Werner, was running a successful Farnbacher Loles Porsche effort in the Rolex Grand-Am series which results in a championship.

“The fight with the Panoz was a great battle, fun and fair. A prototype overtook me, but then he had a bad exit and I hit him. I don’t know if he was on cold tires, but I wasn’t expecting him to be so slow. I had to brake really hard, and Dominik in the Panoz had a great run, so he was able to pass me. After that, I was trying really hard to pass him back. I tried two times and we even went side by side through turns 1 through 4. We gave each other room and kept it fair. Finally with two laps until the end, I was able to pass him in the same way he passed me. He ran into traffic and he had a little bit of a bad exit, so I dove in. I had watched him from behind for 15 minutes, so I knew where I could out-brake him. So when we went into turn eleven, I knew I could make the pass so I said, ‘Okay, now or never.’ I made the move, and it worked perfectly,” said Henzler, who won the title last year with Bergmeister.

“Everyone worked very hard this weekend to provide me and Pierre with a good car for the race. We earned our podium position today and our third in the Championship. I’ve known Pierre for a few years now, but this is the first time I’ve driven with him. He’s used to driving Ferraris, but after a few laps in the Porsche, he got much more consistent and confident. He kept the car safe and developed a good rhythm as his stint went on. He was a big help to me today and we earned this podium together,” Henzler added.

Other Porsches got involved in this celebration day, with the #44 Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Seth Neiman and Johannes van Overbeek (both USA) not only finishing fifth, but winning the Michelin Green X Challenge for the second straight event, scoring enough efficiency points to win the season title for GT cars.

The Michelin Green X Challenge measures the best Green Achievement score from a formula which calculates performance efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, and petroleum displacement. For the second event in a row, the #44 Porsche ran the ALMS event with E85 fuel (85 percent ethanol).

The #45 Lizard team Porsche was second, and the #87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche third in the Michelin Green X Challenge final GT standings.

The #18 T-Mobile Porsche entered by VICI Racing, despite now entering the race until mid-week and missing the entire first day of scheduled practices, finished seventh with richard Westbrook (England) and Johannes Stuck (Austria) at the helm, while Team Falken Tire Porsche, with Bryan Sellers and Dominic Cicero (both USA) sharing the driving, finished eighth in only their third race.

In the LMP2 class, Klaus Graf (Germany) and car owner Greg Pickett made it four podiums in four events in their Team Cytosport Muscle Milk Porsche RS Spyder, finishing second in class despite a couple of spins and a clutch problem.

“The Muscle Milk Porsche RS Spyder was fantastic today. Unfortunately we had a clutch issue that caused me to go off track when I was warming up the tires during a caution period. After that I had trouble getting it back into gear but let me tell you that nothing other than a Porsche would have continued to make it in this race. It was magnificent. It’s a great testament to their engineering excellence and without that we would not have finished the race. The crew talked me through the re-set procedure for the transmission, which was stuck between gears, and I was on my way,” said Pickett, a former multi-time Trans-Am champion.

Graf, also a former Trans-Am champion, had his adventures on the track as well. “What a race! Fortunately we finished enough of laps to finish second and give us our fourth podium in a row, that’s a big achievement for the team coming into the ALMS LMP2 class at the end of the season, so hats off to the whole team. Obviously it was a pretty eventful race. I had a good start but I was stuck behind an LMP1 car for a couple of laps. I didn’t really get frustrated but I just wanted to get going. The Muscle Milk Porsche RS Spyder was good and I wanted to go faster. So I dove underneath him going into Turn 9, which is a really fast turn. And he just didn’t see me I guess, because he hit me flat out when I was basically through and passed him already. Luckily the Porsche RS Spyder is a really strong car and it only did body work damage and some damage to the wheel so we were able to recover from that and put in some strong laps afterwards. We have a really strong team and I’m really looking forward to next year,” Graf added.
In the American Le Mans Series Challenge class, for the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars running in the Patron GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama series, Melanie and Martin Snow (USA), both still in contention to win individual awards in the Patron series, captured the season championship in their Snow Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car despite not scoring any points at Laguna Seca due to a contaminated fuel issue.

They clinched the championship when the Wesley Hoagland/Bob Faieta Gruppe Orange Porsche did not finish first – a position they needed to overtake the Snows. Faieta took the checkered flag in third position, but later, the car was disqualified for having excess fuel capacity. The Shane Lewis/Mitch Pagery Velox Motorsport Porsche crossed the line in first place, but they too were disqualified (for not meeting the minimum weight) in post-race tech inspection. So, the winners of the ALMS Challenge class were Guy Cosmo and John Baker, in their Orbit Racing Porsche, having been on the pole in all three events they have entered, but scoring their first win.

“Today’s fuel problems were unfortunate, but we had a great season, and we’re glad it ended with a championship,” said Ms. Snow, mother of four and a driving instructor at Utah’s miller Motorsports Park. Along with Dutch champion Patrick Huisman, Martin and Melanie won the GTS class in a Porsche in 1999 to score a win in the first ALMS race at Sebring.

“As the season went on, I got more and more comfortable in our Porsche for these long races, and I had lots of fun,” she added.

PORSCHE AMRICAN LE MANS SERIES STATISTICS
(1999 – 2009)

Porsche overall wins: 11 (Mid-Ohio, ‘06; Long Beach, ‘07; Houston, ‘07, Salt Lake City, ’07, Lime Rock, ’07, Mid-Ohio ’07, Road America, ’07, Mosport ’07,
Detroit ’07, Sebring, ’08, Salt Lake City ‘08 )

Porsche Class Victories: 100
Audi – 80
Corvette – 71
Lola – 33
Ferrari – 27
BMW – 18
Acura – 18
Dodge – 16

Porsche LMP2 Wins: 24
Porsche GTS Wins: 2
Porsche GT/GT2 Wins: 74
Porsche 911 GT3 R/RS/RSR wins: 72

Porsche Class Poles: 86
Audi – 62
Corvette – 64
Lola/MG/AER – 31

Porsche has won the GT/GT2 ALMS manufacturers title nine of the 11 years of ALMS’ existence. 2006 was Porsche’s first LMP2 title, and Porsche won the drivers, manufacturers, engine and chassis titles in LMP2 for 2006, 2007, and 2008.

The image at the top came from Flying Lizards web site! They have 20 fantastic wallpaper images at www.lizardms.com

This is our first Panamera to arrive. It is equipped with 19″ Panamera Turbo Wheels with colored crests, Bluetooth Phone Interface, Park Assist, Variable Assist Power Steering, XM Satellite Radio, Universal Audio Interface, Soft Ruffled Leather Seats and Floor Mats. I will post more color combinations as they arrive. You have to get out to your nearest dealer and drive this car! It may be a sedan but it is all Porsche!

Geoerge and Patrick are still doing the PDI when I took these. More to come!

I will post more pictures once we get it out of the wrapping and the PDI completed.

This 1975 Carrera IROC Replica is up for sale by Ken Collins. It was built by TRE Motorsports using light weight fibergalss replica body panels with front oil cooler. It has 9″X17″ front and 9″X11″ rear HRE 3 piece wheels and new brakes and rotors. The interior is in excellent condition with light weight carpet, correct RS door panels, leather 930 Turbo seats, roll bar, fire system, WEVO shifter, Momo Prototipo steering wheel and Momo pedals. The engine is a 3.2 liter with GE cams, a Motronic chip, stainless steel headers and new exhaust. The gear box is a 915 and was rebuilt 1,000 miles ago. Ken is looking for $25,000 and you can reach him at: 96coll@hargray.com

Allen and Bonnie Miller traded this car in on their new Carrera S Cab and it has sense gone to a new owner. I ran on to these pictures and thought what a great look with the Aluminum look Grills, Side Vents and Mirrors. These pieces, clear side marker lenses and the 19″ Carrera S wheels made this car really stand out. They would look great on Midnight Blue or any dark color and not that expensive to add at the dealership.

Innovative Production Facilities Cut Emissions to a Minimum

Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart is expanding its innovative automobile production at the main factory in Zuffenhausen with one of the most modern and environmentally-friendly paint shops in the world. The carcass work that began only a few weeks ago and the steel construction are set to be completed early 2010. This will be followed by the construction of the facade and technically complex facility structure.

The new facility that will be commissioned in 2011 is being built directly adjacent plant 1 and 5 on a property that previously belonged to Dürr AG, which Porsche acquired in early 2008. The paint shop will be run on two-shift-operation with a daily capacity of up to 170 vehicles from the 911 and Boxster series. The latest technologies, particularly in the area of environmental protection, are being used for the new construction. The painting process features complete dust protection as it is 100 percent encapsulated. This method not only enhances the already high quality of the vehicle paint coat, but also reduces the required amount of conditioned hall air required.

A novel electrostatic precipitator for paint dust cuts the emission of solvents and particles to a minimum. The painting process is able to do without the mandatory 60 meter-high exhaust smokestack. This is attributed to the increased amount of circulated air and the exceptionally effective exhaust air purifier that only requires a small smokestack, which extends 10 meters over the roof. Another environmentally-friendly innovation represents a highly efficient energy management system.

“With the new paint shop, Porsche is ensuring that it will deliver surpassing quality in Zuffenhausen today and tomorrow – while also conserving resources in an exceptionally ecological and economical manner”, explains Wolfgang Leimgruber, head of Porsche AG Production and Logistics.

Porsche is relying on specialists from the region for the technical undertaking: The Stuttgart Maschinen- und Anlagenbaukonzern Dürr AG, as the general contractor, is equipping the painting lines with the latest application technology, driers for hardening the paint as well as control and conveyor technology. “Porsche will have one of the most modern paint shops in the world that taps new potentials in quality and productivity, thereby setting new standards”, explains Ralf Dieter, Chairman of the Executive Board at Dürr AG.

The pretreatment system and cathodic paint dipping system with novel conveyor technology and the electrostatic separator for paint particles will be supplied by the Böblingen system provider, Eisenmann, a sub-supplier of Dürr AG. In connection with a comprehensive wastewater treatment facility, the environmentally-friendly technology enables level that are many times less than legal limits. “Porsche is the first automobile manufacturer in the world to use this technology”, explains Dr. Matthias von Krauland, spokesperson for the Executive Board of Eisenmann AG.

I ran onto these pictures today while searching for material on another post. Bill’s Slant Nose has received so much attention I thought you may enjoy these. Can you believe it, only 2,500 miles and all original? To see more pictures and information on this rare and beautiful piece of Porsche history visit: 1986 Porsche Slant Nose Turbo with only 2,500 miles

 I thought I would post a few more pictures of the Panamera at the dealer launch in France. The official launch date at the dealerships is October 17th. We are still waiting on the arrival of our first car. There is a ton of excitement and anticipation being generated over this car! We will have at least 6 available for test drives at this years Hilton Head Concours d’ Elegance and Motoring Festival that starts October 30th and runs through November 1st. Come join us.

I know this car will not speak to everyone but look at the details on the interior. I found these on the Porsche Club Kuwait’s website. It would be great to have a few more images. What do you think of the color combination? Check out the deviated stitching every where, all in Yellow. Notice the backs and bases of the adaptive sport seats painted exterior color as well as the shifter trim and gauge faces and Yellow trim on the floor mats. That was followed up with aluminum look multi function steering wheel and gauge surround to tie in with the rest of the aluminum look trim that comes in the Turbo. I wonder if the seat belts are Speed Yellow. If anyone has more pictures of this cars interior I would love to see them.

To see another beautiful car in Speed Yellow from the same Porsche Club Kuwait Concours event visit:  Speed Yellow GT2

More models of the 911, Boxster and Cayman delivered in September

Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, sold more cars this September than last September. Overall, 1,581 units were sold to US customers, which is about 8 percent more than September 2008. The current figures reflect the continuing overall slump in the US market as a result of the worldwide financial crisis.

Nevertheless, the premium sports car manufacturer was able to increase sales in the USA in the month under review. Sales figures for the 911 series rose: 720 Carrera were delivered to customers, which is the equivalent of a 40 percent increase compared to September 2008. Sales were even better for the Cayman models. In September, 175 units of the mid-engine sports car were sold, which represents a 140 percent increase. Sales of the Boxster models rose by 24 percent with 151 cars sold. In September, the Cayenne model posted a decrease, related to the life cycle of the vehicle, of 28 percent with 535 units sold.

I found these pictures on the Porsche Club Kuwait’s website. The Porsche brand and culture is well represented in Kuwait. I love seeing the different color combinations that are popular in other nations. The possibilities are endless in how you can personalize your Porsche. Are there speed limits in Kuwait?!

Watch the video and you will see a few shots of this car in closer detail. Pay attention to the interior. Gorgeous!!!

The 2009 Hilton Head Concours d’ Elegance & Motoring Festival starts October 30th and runs through November 1st. The event begins with the Savannah/Hilton Head Speed Classic at the race track on Hutchinson Island just across the river from Savannah in the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and Spa.

This two-day track event kicks off the  festivities for the 2009 Motoring Festival offering everything for the avid performance car fan including historic racing, hot laps rides with certified drivers around the track at racing speeds, autocross course rides and touring laps around the track in your own car.  Adjacent to River Street in downtown Savannah, GA, the venue offers a one-of-a-kind event.

HSR will be facilitating the Speed Classic track activities again this year and will have several vintage racing classes. They are also bring the Cayman Interseries. I have been dying to see these cars and cannot wait to see them on the track! Napleton Porsche teamed up with HSR to develop an affordable class using equally prepared 2009 or 2010 Cayman’s. All of the cars have vintage Porsche 917 graphics to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 917. My favorite race car of all time! To read more on the Cayman Interseries and see a couple of videos visit Napolton Motorsports.

Porsche Clinches ALMS Manufacturers Title at Petit Le Mans

Speaking of drivers titles, Patrick Long (USA) and Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), along with fellow Porsche factory driver Marc Lieb (Germany) who were running as high as second place in GT2 just before the red flag flew, settled for fifth in their #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Long/Bergmeister retained their driver points lead, however, even though the Melo/Kaffer Ferrari finished first. Long/Bergmeister now have 156 points, while Melo/Kaffer have 137 – a 19-point lead with 25 points available for the last event.

Long was philosophical about the finish as he sat in the paddock waiting for the rain to stop.

“We ran really well today, and pressured to GT2 leaders for the whole race. I have to offer congratulations to the Ferrari for coming in just at the right time for rain tires. In those last two laps in the rain, they went from fourth to first, and we went from second to fifth as we had to skate into the pits for rains. We are still in the drivers seat for the championship, and we will now turn our attention to Laguna.

Long shared the ALMS GT2 title with Joerg in 2005, and Joerg won it alone in 2006 when Patrick took one race off to drive the Penske Porsche RS Spyder. Then Joerg won with Flying Lizards and Wolf Henzler last year.

The #44 Flying Lizard Porsche team car, which ran Ethanol E85 fuel for the first time, finished first in the Michelin Green X Challenge GT competition. The car, driven by Johannes van Overbeek/Seth Neiman/Darren Law (all USA) finished seventh in the GT2 class, was rated the best Green Achievement score from a formula which measures performance efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, and petroleum displacement.

The #44’s win clinched the Michelin Green X Challenge GT manufacturers title for Porsche over Chevrolet (Corvette). Both the #44 and #45 Lizard Porsches, along with the #87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche, have a chance to win the Michelin Green X Challenge team title at Laguna Seca in two weeks.

The other Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the event, the Team Falken Tire entry of Bryan Sellers and Dominic Cicero (both USA), finished 11th in GT2 in only its second event.

In the LMP2 class, the Cytosport Porsche RS Spyder, driven by Klaus Graf and Sascha Maassen (both Germany), and team owner Greg Pickett (USA), took its third podium finish in three races by finishing third in class, but the team had quite an adventure on the wet Road Atlanta track. Graf started the car from the pit lane, and quickly carved his way through the field, catching all the LMP2 cars and most of the LMP1 cars, finally passing the eventual overall winning Peugeot to run fourth overall. But then, things started to happen.

“Obviously I don’t want a race to end like that weather-wise with these conditions. Everybody wants to race but it’s a podium for us and we’ll take it. We had a really fast car today and I really enjoyed myself out there, even in the very difficult conditions. I made a little mistake coming out of the pits after switching to slicks but that wouldn’t have had that big of an impact except that we then ran in to a technical problem which really took us out of contention to win the race. We found the problem actually which was really difficult so hats off to the engineers, it’s not easy to locate the issue. So we fixed it and we brought it back out, but we had lost 48 laps. We ran really strong lap times again after that. I’m happy for everybody on the team, it was great to have Sascha (Maassen) on board and I can’t wait to get to Laguna Seca,” said Graf.

The Porsche RS Spyder has won both the manufacturers and drivers championship the last three years in the American Le Mans Series.

Management consultancy Porsche Consulting expands its successful training portfolio

Leipzig/Bietigheim-Bissingen. With a “Model Factory” directly at the Porsche plant in Leipzig, Porsche Consulting GmbH, Bietigheim-Bissingen, is expanding its training portfolio. The management consultancy, a subsidiary of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is already running a comparable academy at its headquarters. “To meet the large demand, we would now also like to show participants from a wide variety of sectors with practical simulations in Leipzig how work flows with lean processes from the automobile industry can be improved”, explains Eberhard Weiblen, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Consulting.

The new “Model Factory” is characterized by the plant atmosphere and its practical orientation. During training, participants are also able to experience the implementation of lean work methods up close. Through a large glass pane in the Academy, they are able to view the production of the new Porsche Panamera. The manufacture of the sports limousine was designed in close adherence to the principles of virtually waste-free production. A new logistics concept makes expensive storage areas a thing of the past. The parts are delivered frequently and arrive just one hour before they are to be processed on the assembly line, as part of a system that is unique in global automotive production. Plant manager Siegfried Bülow, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Leizpig GmbH: “With lean and flexible production, Leipzig has developed into the second home of Porsche alongside Zuffenhausen.” The Stuttgart sports car manufacturer has invested approximately 150 million Euros in order to also produce the fourth model of Porsche, the Panamera, in Saxony in a model mix with the top selling Cayenne on the basis of state-of-the-art methods.

The entire service portfolio of the Porsche Academy with focuses on lean management, lean production, lean administration and a continual improvement process is being gradually integrated in the Leipzig location. All seminars focus on achieving the same goal: Companies and their employees should be able to tap potentials more effectively in order to be more forward-looking and competitive.

Companies can now claim public funds for training their employees in the “Model Factories” in Leipzig and Bietigheim-Bissingen. The Porsche Academy was recently certified in accordance with the Recognition and Approval for Further Education and Training (AZWV). That means
100 percent of the external qualification costs are covered by the Federal Employment Agency.Companies can now claim public funds for training their employees in the “Model Factories” in Leipzig and Bietigheim-
Bissingen. The Porsche Academy was recently certified in accordance with the Recognition and Approval for Further Education and Training (AZWV). That means 100 percent of the external qualification costs are covered by the Federal Employment Agency.

More information on the Porsche Academy offerings is available on the Internet at www.porsche-akademie.de. Information on Porsche Consulting can be viewed at http://www.porscheconsulting.com/pco/.

Notice the Panamera’s in the back ground.

I shot these Cayman’s at the last Florida Crown Region DE. The White number 28 car belongs to Conard White. I hope to do a feature on Conard’s car once we can get it on the chassis dyno. He has done several engine and suspension modifications.

I had to post this picture! Roger and his car were photographed for an upcoming edition of Effingham Magazine by Shawn Heifert. Roger sent me the link to Shawn’s blog to have a look and I was blown away by his work. As a lover of photograph I will be a regular visitor to Shawn’s site as he not only does fantastic work but he also lets you know what equipment he is using, camera settings and about the lighting. There is another great picture of Roger and his Carrera at Shawn Heifert Photography, take a look.

Look at the cars in this video! WOW!!!

New books on the Panamera and 917

Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, has two new publications to offer fans of high quality automobile books, which are just as unique as the cars they describe: Just in time for the sales launch of the Porsche Panamera, the Bielefeld-based traditional publisher, Delius Klasing, has produced a large format illustrated book on the four door Gran Turismo. With the title “Panamera Moment”, journalists Elmar Brümmer and Reiner Schloz describe the latest model from Porsche. The pictures, as unique as they are imposing, are the work of well-known automobile photographer Frank M. Orel, who surprises the reader with his very own views of the Panamera. The Stuttgart photographic artist has shown the Panamera in both unusual and unexpected situations. The scope of the images ranges from Shanghai to Elmau, Bavaria, or from an aircraft hangar to a dry dock. In each situation, the Porsche Panamera has its own unique effect – that’s the Panamera Moment. This illustrated book with its extraordinary views and insights into the fourth Porsche range is available immediately for € 49.90 in the Porsche-Museum shop, from all Porsche branches or from good bookshops (ISBN 978-3-7688-2654-9).

When the Porsche 917 was launched in 1969, the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer had dominated the race for the world manufacturer’s championship and the CanAm race series for years. Developed under the leadership of Ferdinand Piëch, the 917 was one of the most successful race cars of all time. The 40th birthday of the legendary race car was a good enough reason for the Porsche-Museum to publish a comprehensive chronicle of the whole 917 project. Under the title “Porsche 917 – Archiv und Werkverzeichnis 1968 – 1975″, the former Porsche race engineer Walter Näher has produced a work that runs to 576 pages and leaves no question unanswered. After racing at Le Mans 19 times for the Zuffenhausen factory, the author has an unique wealth of expertise that is reflected in every page of the book, the product of many years of research. For the first time, the author had access to all the documents and photos held in the Porsche factory archive. This book describes the history of the creation and development of the Porsche 917 in great detail from the factory point of view, supported with documentary evidence.

Book Launch at the Porsche-Museum

The official launch of the book “Porsche 917 – Archiv und Werk-verzeichnis” will take place from 3 pm on September 29, 2009 at the Porsche-Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. The author Walter Näher will present his work in a roundtable discussion with former racing drivers, including Hans Herrmann and Hans Herrmann, as well as staff who worked on the 917 project. Museum visitors will have the opportunity to buy the book at the event and have it signed by the author and the racing drivers present. The book, published jointly by Edition Porsche Museum and the Delius Klasing Verlag, will be available from September 30 for the price of € 59.90 in the museum shop and from good bookshops (ISBN 978-3-7688-2651-8).

Renato Bellote has posted another 914 from Sao Paulo Brazil. He comes up with the greatest cars! He has more pictures and a video of this one. I love the sound of the exhaust in the video. To see more on this beautiful 914 visit: Garagem do Bellote PST

Can’t wait to drive it, what about you Roger?! Have you decided on a color yet?

I shot these pictures at the beautiful Domaine des Planes Winery on the Côte de Provence. This was one of three winery’s we visited on the drive from  Marseille to Saint Tropez. The view from here was stunning. Unfortunately we were driving so we could not sample the wines. Porsche doesn’t just build the best cars in the world, they also know how to launch them. The roads made for a fantastic drive in the Panamera!