That Black 964

This is unquestionably not only one of the nicest 964s I’ve seen, but one of the coolest modified cars, period.

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Get Outside: Race Schedule (Part 1)

Lime Rock Park has announced their 2014 Spectating Event Schedule. In addition to events listed below, Lime Rock will host a summer SCCA Regional race weekend and, of course, the traditional early fall NARRC Run-offs, dates TBA.

IMSA Continental Tire Challenge, Porsche GT3 Cup, Sunday Royals Car Show
Memorial Day Weekend: Friday, Saturday & Sunday, May 23 – 25

The “Conti Tire” Challenge – some of the best stock car road racing in the world – is two big classes, Grand Sport (GS) and Street Tuner (ST). Each has their own stand-alone race. In GS, you’ll see the big, loud and fast Camaros, Porsches, Mustangs, Aston Martins, BMWs and 370Zs banging fenders. The ST race has the quick and agile Hondas, VWs, BMW 128/328, Mazda 3/MX-5 and Porsche Boxsters. The U.S. version of the extremely popular Euro Porsche GT3 Cup series makes just its second-ever visit to Lime Rock, while the uniquely exciting VSCCA race adds a little history to the weekend. Capping the weekend is the Sunday Royals Car Show, which draws 200-400 prime vehicles of every kind – from rare sports cars and contemporary supercars to hundreds of muscle cars from the 60s and 70s – and benefits local charities.

Historic Festival 32 & Sunday in the Park Concours
Labor Day Weekend: Thursday through Monday, August 28 – September 1

HF32 begins Thursday, August 28, with the Vintage Race Car Parade and Falls Village Street Fair, now in its fourth year: More than 120 cars bellow their way through a 17-mile rally route lined with spectators, ending in the fun, food and music – and impromptu car show – of the Street Fair in Falls Village. Come Friday, 300 historic race cars practice and qualify, then Saturday sees 20 fantastic races. August 31 is the famous Sunday in the Park concours d’elegance – 200-plus exceptional, invited entrants displayed on Sam Posey Straight – in concert with 600 collector cars deployed along the rest of Lime Rock’s 1.5 mile circuit that makes up the Gathering of the Marques element. On Labor Day Monday (Sept. 1), it’s back to racing, with 20 more races. Special guests, demo laps and noted collectors and their cars are also part of this historic racing extravaganza!

The Season Finale: The Trans-Am Series
Friday and Saturday, September 19 – 20

America’s fastest, most powerful production-bodied sports cars are in the Trans-Am Series. Harkening back to its origins, Trans-Am is the playground for the “pony cars” – Chevy Camaros and Ford Mustangs with stock-block engines making more than 800 h.p., wrapped in tubeframe race chassis wearing iconic bodywork. A Trans-Am race is 100 frantic miles of wheel to wheel, nose to tail, hardcore American-style racing. Support races TBA

Weeeeeeeeee!!!!

911 RSR catching some air

Porsche Buys Majority Stake in Manthey Racing

From Porsche:

“Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG has acquired a 51 percent stake in Manthey-Racing GmbH, thereby further strengthening its long-standing, successful cooperation with the racing team. Manthey-Racing GmbH specialises in developing and racing Porsche track cars, but also delivers all manner of services relating to the road cars from Zuffenhausen. Founded by Olaf Manthey in 1996, the company is headquartered in Meuspath, directly by the Nürburgring, and currently employs 40 full-time staff. Its many successes in the world of motorsport include eight titles in the Porsche Supercup, five overall victories in the Nürburgring 24-hour race and two in Le Mans. Since 2013, Manthey-Racing supports the Porsche factory entry at the sportscar world championship WEC. “I am certain that this move puts us in an even stronger position to tackle the challenges of the WEC and I look forward to working ever more closely with Olaf Manthey, Nicolas Raeder and Martin Raeder”, explains Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board Research and Development at Porsche AG.

Following his company’s merger with Raeder Automotive GmbH, this investment from the sportscar manufacturer promises a great future for Olaf Manthey and his team at the Döttinger Höhe. “Porsche’s commitment and dedication represents the best possible incentive to our employees”, states Manthey. “Not only can we pool our knowledge and expertise, but with Porsche at our side we can look forward to the future with great confidence”.

GO

12/16/2013″

Built with a Purpose

A 911 built to rally

 

 

Paul, we need some in-dirt footage next 😉

Fresh Cup

Freshly delivered 991 GT3 Cup Cars!

What’s Outdated to Some, is Timeless to Others: Perception is Reality

These cars are lamented by some, coveted by others. While many acquire only that which is brand new, shiny, technologically advanced, warranty-included, keeping-up-with-the-jones’ level cars, Mr. Walker simply does what he likes, drives what he likes, and makes no apologies for it. These cars are of my favorite era; a time where modern build and design techniques began coming to the forefront and where hints of the modern era emerged. Sure, they are non intercooled, impossibly geared, basically fuel injected…but the design is iconic. It arguably looks more contemporary than any other performance car of its day.

Save The Whales

Like a Meeting at the U.N.

Many cultures represented

Black and White

Guten Tag, lasst uns gehen für ein Laufwerk

You’ll notice a lot of German, and specifically Porsche content on the blog lately. As time has gone on, I’ve found myself more and more drawn to these timeless sports cars, and the culture surrounding them. It’s something I wish the “JDM” crowd would more readily adopt. Or rather, perhaps it’s that there’s always been this element to the “JDM” scene too, it’s just not either widely embraced or reported. Instead we end up often seeing the same old same old. Build it with an online signature filled list of sometimes random parts, dyno it, get it in a magazine or plaster pics all over, sell it. No desire to take the time and build it slowly. No real plan in place. Or worse, the ill-advised practice of building it with parts based purely on budget, without any consideration (or understanding) of the actual differences between Brand A and X.

No matter what scene you’re in, there are always dividing lines. Built vs original, real vs replica, genuine vs tribute, show vs race. The Japanese car scene will always be my first love. There are many iconic Japanese sports/performance oriented cars, and they deserve all the love that those who are consumed by their bloodline can bestow upon them. What I find the most intriguing thing about some of the European firms, is there are still firms trying to meld old and new. Classic styling with modern manufacturing techniques. Going forward, I think there is a lot to be learned from this direction of the hobby.

I also readily appreciate how fanatical many in the European scene are about the motorsport history of their favored brands. We all have heard of Alfa-holics, Porsche-philes, Tifosi. Guys that are seemingly walking encyclopedias for all things related to the car or brand that keeps their heart pumping. Let’s not forget, the Japanese similarly have a deep rooted car culture. One that has risen to the top of the motorsport realm in Rally, Sports Car, and Endurance racing. It’s something to be appreciated and preserved. But often is ignored. So to those out there who keep that candle lit; hats off to you.

Anyway, just some random musings on a Saturday morning. I recently saw an article on a DP Motorsport project 911 that really struck a chord with me. DP has an extensive history building, racing, and modifying Porsches, most notably, 911’s. This new project combines parts that span 4 decades. From the ’73 911T shell, to the modern carbon bodywork (carbon, not carbon stickers). It was built to deliver fun and reliable performance. Not built to set a dyno record, not built to win shows (though it easily could). The attention to detail is what I find most impressive. The car is cohesive. Everything in it’s right place. The design and parts classifications on the outside match those on the inside. Sure, it’s a bit raw (and expensive!) for a daily car, but it would easily serve it’s master for fun weekend jaunts and track days. While it certainly plucks at the heartstrings just looking at it – the execution is clean. It’s low, it’s wide, it’s loud – but it’s still subtle, at least till you drive it. It makes a substantial amount of power, particularly for a non turbo motor. But it’s the way that power is installed in an ultra lightweight chassis (ala the famed RSR) that makes the whole more than the sum of its parts. Which I personally think is a box that many “JDM” project cars fail to tick.

Now, I fully understand taste is subjective. Always will be…and I wouldn’t want it any other way. But when you’re building your car, no matter what it is, don’t be afraid to draw inspiration from different scenes. Be willing to look at a different canvas and see how and where you can apply some of the themes to your project. The car is an extension of it’s owner afterall. As such, it pays to be forward thinking. It pays to imagine yourself 10, 20, 30 years down the road and see if you can picture yourself still driving the car, as it sits. Do you view the car as a stepping stone? Do you view the project as a way to embrace a current ‘fashionable’ trend, or do you view the car as a almost an heirloom? Take your time with it, do it for you, and not for the feature, and most importantly, build it to drive it.

Anyway, I’ve drawn some inspiration from this video – I hope you enjoy it too. A detailed article on the car can be found in the current issue of Excellence for those interested.

El Capitan

This is what the Spanish settlers called this famous mountain in the Colorado Rockies. Standing just over 14,000 feet, it’s one of the tallest mountains in the US, as well as being a national landmark. And since the early 1900’s, it’s been home to one of the most heart pumping races in all of motorsport.

The Race to the Clouds as it’s come to be known, used to be run on a course that was paved in some parts, and unpaved gravel in others. The cojones it takes to run here are massive; big heavy brass ones. In 2011, the road was fully paved. However that doesn’t make it all that “safe”. The course measures just over 14 miles long, and rises 4700 feet during its 156 turns. Between the hairy turns, the normal mechanical attricion rate, combined with the effects the altitude has on anything with a fuel burning engine, it’s always a blast to watch

This year we may see some new course records broken – to tune into the live feed, Racecar Engineering magazine has the event live streaming on their site.

Here’s the live feed link: http://www.racecar-engineering.com/articles/features/test-page/

While you’re at it, if you’ve never seen the famous short film Climb Dance, it’s most certainly worth a watch.

Wingspan

Aero has come a long way in recent years

Feed the Need

Saw this posted on Motoringconbrio Blog. Their assertion is that this short film embodies the essence of owning a performance car that you’re absolutely in love with. It will bring a smile to your face.

Frogger