Archive for category Porsche
Porsche 911 in Racing
Posted by in Porsche on June 23, 2011
Being the second oldest sports car still in production (the Chevrolet Corvette is the oldest), the Porsche 911 was introduced in nineteen sixty four and is produced in Stuttgart, Germany. The design of the 911 has been tweaked continually throughout its lifespan, yet the overall approach to the car has remained the same. The car remains rear engined, a characteristic shared with the VW Beetle which was also designed by Porsche.
The performance of the 911 has been proved in many racing competitions, proving to be one of the most successful racing models produced. Various variations of the 911 have performed extremely well in racing and rally events, with the Cerrera RSR winning numerous events in the nineteen seventies.
Due to its fame, design, focused vision, and undoubted racing success, the Porsche 911 was declared fifth in the nineteen ninety nine international Car of the Century award. The 911 could easily be argued to be the most timeless of the cars within the poll, with it being the only car still in production from the top five, and being the second oldest sports car in production. The other cars within the top five include; Model T, Mini, DS, and the Porsche designed Volkswagen Beetle.
The most powerful and fastest Porsche, the 911 GT1, was developed for the Le Mans race held in nineteen ninety six. Although it was much different than the standard 911, there were twenty road going models made to meet the racing requirements. These mid-engined 911s were the most powerful and fastest 911s ever produced. Read the rest of this entry »
Porsche Cayman S
Posted by in Porsche on June 23, 2011
The first time I saw the all new Porsche Cayman was in Los Angeles just before Christmas. I was tottering rather unsteadily from my favourite restaurant Shanghai Reds on the Marina del Rey, after a rather lengthy lunch with far too much Californian red! My host for the day had parked conveniently next to it, and through my drink-induced haze found myself spellbound by the Cayman’s sexy, neat and rather chic outline. I wasn’t alone either, men of all persuasions would cock a sidewise glance as they passed, obviously impressed by their first glimpse of Porsche’s new mid-engined coupé.
Now available here in the UK, I wanted to find out if this new sporty two-seater was more than just a Boxster with a lid? Both cars appear mechanically so similar, the Cayman S could easily have been called the Boxster Coupé, saving Porsche all the bother of coming up with another name; which in this case was lifted from an alligator indigenous to a warmer climate. Even Porsche have been at pains to point out that ‘to classify the Cayman S as merely the coupé version of the Boxster does a dis-service to both cars, each of which is unique with its own special characteristics.’
So, do both cars taste the same, or are they of a completely different flavour? Either way the Cayman S is a delicacy, my bright yellow car was littered with extras, but almost everything you need comes as standard: six airbags should the worst happen, tight fitting and beautifully crafted leather seats and Porsche’s stability management system which is one of the best and least intrusive stability systems around. The build quality is exceptional and inside everything just feels right – in its proper place.
When you slide into the driver’s seat, like the Boxster, the steering wheel feels overly large at first, but feels perfect immediately you hit the road – and hit the road you do! The Cayman S comes with a mid mounted, 24 valve, 3.4 litre, six cylinder engine that pumps out 295 horse power through a six speed manual gearbox – which is an absolute delight. It’s nearly as fast as Porsches 355 bhp 911 Carrera S, and simply leaves the Boxster standing!
The flat six storms towards its 7200 rpm redline as fast as the rev counter can tot up the numbers, with 0-60 taking less than 5 seconds and its standing quarter mile in a fraction over 13 seconds at 105 mph. It tops out at 170 mph but feels it could go even further. Well actually it can, Porsche claim 171 mph! Read the rest of this entry »