911 & Porsche World 210

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September 2011 www.911porscheworld.com

CARBON FLYER Carbon fibre body G GT3 RS power G radical suspension mods:

WEVO’S LATEST PROJECT REACHES A NEW LEVEL NÜRBURGRING MARATHON 997 C2 TAKES IN 24-HOUR CLASSIC

BUYERS’ GUIDE: 968 FRONT ENGINED MASTERPIECE IN PROFILE

RACING CERTAINTY WHY STIRLING MOSS BOUGHT HIS OWN RS61

HOW TO: 996 SUSPENSION TUNE TRANSFORMING OUR PROJECT 996

NEW

911

SECRETS OF THE NEW 911 REVEALED INSIDE

£4.50 US$9.99 CANADA $12.95 No.210 www.911porscheworld.com

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Words: John Glynn Photography: Jamie Lipman

GENETIC

ENGINEERING

When it comes to early Porsche hot rods, one workshop stands head and shoulders above the rest. GT3 Cup engine in a carbon fibre-bodied 912, with ceramic brakes and 12” rear tyres? That’s got WEVO written all over it 34

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WEVO PROJECT PVX

H

ayden Burvill is a dark horse. I’m having breakfast with half the brains behind WEVO in San Carlos, California (the other half being Hayden’s wife and partner, Tracey), when I spy a Carrera GT workshop manual on the bookshelf opposite.

“What’s with the book?” I ask. “Oh, that,” says Hayden.

“That’s from when I engineered a production Carrera GT to the closed-course speed record at Talladega Superspeedway, with David Donohue, Jay Leno, Norbert Singer and a team of Porsche technicians.” Anyone else would have shouted this from the rooftops, but Burvill has no interest in self-promotion. Kinetic creativity is what makes this Aussie tick.

Graduating with a BA in Industrial Design from Curtin University in Western Australia in 1985, Burvill began a career in race car engineering. In 1992, he started at the back end of the Formula 1 grid, running Roberto Moreno.

There followed spells with Allard, Reynard and G Force, where Hayden had a hand in designing some successful Indy cars. In 1995, he came to IMSA racing, on Spice Chevrolet and Courage V8s. The next ten years brought Indy, Rolex 24 and ALMS engineering engagements, and the start of WEVO. In 2005, he engineered the Ferrari 360 for JMB Racing. Later that year, Hayden went to Brumos, to engineer the famous number 59 DP Porsche for the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

Pete von Behrens’ Porsche passion began in high school. His first Porsche was an autocrossing 944 Turbo.

“It had Cup suspension, and 330 horsepower at the wheels,” remembers Pete, “but it didn’t speak to me on the road. In comparison, my first 911 was technically flawed, but I smiled every time I drove it.”

When Pete’s best friend bought a mint 930, von Behrens responded with a 1970 911T, featuring RS arches, a full roll cage and a 3.2 Carrera engine. “The previous owner had put a pile of money into suspension: adjustable everything, with JRZ coilovers. We took it to Thunderhill, where it was almost undriveable, thanks to 1,000lb springs. After trying ten different spring sets, we eventually developed it into a fun street car.

Unfortunately, my then mechanic totalled it.”

A keen autocrosser in both the 944 and the 911, Pete needed something to fill the gap. When a Porsche friend found a solid 1969 912 for sale, von Behrens snapped it up. Operation Rebuild was on.

Burvill and von Behrens have quite a bit in common.

Both are California immigrants: Pete came from Seattle via Chicago, arriving in San Francisco at the age of 13.

Both have an appetite for autocrossing old Porsches, and both are engineers. Proper engineers.

While Burvill was engineering at Brumos, von Behrens was working for the US Air Force, as a crew chief on U2 spy planes. Pete entered the Air Force from college, where he had been studying mechanical engineering.

While serving his country, he read Communicology, eyeing a return to education. “The plan was to go back to school after the Air Force, but a friend of mine had a tech idea he wanted help developing. I joined his startup and things just went from there.”

Having since participated in a number of startups, von Behrens’ name appears on a number of patents. One is Nanomuscle: a nano-technology actuator to replace electric motors in some applications. Millions of Volkswagen and Mercedes drivers take von Behrens’ technology for granted.

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911 TESTING IN SOUTH AFRICA

SECRETS NEW 911 OF THE

Don’t be fooled by the disguise and the predictably evolutionary styling – this is the new 911. We ride shotgun with the engineers in South Africa Words: Paul Horrell Photography: Jamie Lipman/Porsche AG

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Words: Steve Bennett Photography: Antony Fraser

ENDURANCE

Take one Carrera C2, the Nürburgring 24-Hour race, the Carrera World Cup and a lost race track, then mix them together for a weekend road trip

T

hey say that when you’re bored with London, then you’re bored with life. What, then, if you’re bored with the ’Ring, as in the Nürburgring? Asked not so long ago whether I had been out to the Nürburging recently, I replied – mainly for comic effect: “No, I’m bored with the ’Ring!” The colleague asking the question was visibly shocked, and succinctly came up with the above London analogy. He’s right – but I was also, in an admittedly flippant sort of way.

Of course, I could never be bored with the ’Ring, at least not from a driving point of view. It’s still the ultimate challenge, the Green Hell and all that. What I really meant was that I’d run out of things to write about

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it. I didn’t have another ’Ring story in me, and I was sure that the overkill and hype surrounding the circuit in recent years had led to a kind of Nürburgring fatigue.

But then Porsche announced the coming together of the various Carrera Cup series from around the world for a big one-off Carrera World Cup Race as a support event for the annual Nürburgring 24-Hour race – a race, incidentally, that makes Le Mans look tame. And this year they were looking for an overall win for the 911R Hybrid, which would be supported by a Manthey-run GT3 RSR. Following the relative disappointment of Porsche’s Le Mans efforts, the Nürburgring race looked a safe bet and worth watching.

Then, of course, there’s the recent regime change at

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RETURN TO THE ’RING

It ’s ch a n g ed a bi t si n ce w e w er e la st n ew d ev el op h er e! Sh in y m en ts a t th e ’R in g d on ’t pl ea se a ll

y ca m pe rs an d t at ni gh t! Ha pp ou e m co ly on Th ey th e fo re sts rt y pe op le liv e in pa r ou -H 24 g Nü rb ur gr in

the Nürburgring that’s seen the circuit and the surrounding area pumped up with investment and development. Not all of it for the good, it would appear, judging by the ‘Save the Ring’ campaign that has captured the imagination of thousands of ’Ring regulars and led by girl racer and Clarkson antagonist, Sabine Schmitz.

Anything else? Yes, actually, there was a ’Ring story that I had put on the back burner: the ’Ring’s southern loop, or Südschleife circuit – a 4.8-mile circuit that connected with the Nordschleife and was used for smaller club races. Built at the same time as the Nordschleife, it always played a second fiddle role to the 14.2-mile monster circuit, but followed the same

G im m e sh el te r! Th e N ü rb u rg ri n g re to w n a s m a se m bl es a sh ke sh if t st ru a n ty ct u re s a re er ec te d

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BUYERS’ GUIDE

FULL FRONTAL

Regarded at the time as slightly outdated and overly expensive, a good example of Porsche’s 968 makes the perfect weekend sports hatch, practical daily driver, or track day weapon Words: John Glynn Photography: John Colley

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PORSCHE 968 BUYERS’ GUIDE STYLING AND BODYWORK While the side profile of the 944 and 968 are relatively similar, the later car’s restyled front and back ends set it apart. The main styling difference was obvious: those 928-style pop up headlamps, which the 993 echoed in family tree fashion. The side glass was bonded, with different door handles and mirrors, and the radio antenna moved to the roof on hard top models. The hatchless Cabriolet had its aerial set in the glass.

Coupé and Cabriolet were heavier than the 944S2 by 60 kilos each, with the drop top’s chassis reinforcements adding more weight. The Cabriolet tops the scales at 1440 kilos: 70 kilos more than the hard top. Add Tiptronic transmission and you’re carrying over 1500 kilograms before you add options, fuel and passengers. Pretty lardy versus a 1260-kilo Boxster: Porsche’s 968 replacement and the car that changed the game.

PRODUCTION AND MODELS

HATCHBACK HERO In 1990, Porsche had three model ranges: the 911, 928 and 944.

The 911 had just been updated as the 964. Despite a modest update for 1990, Porsche held US 928 prices at the same level.

The 928 was past its sell-by date, and Stuttgart knew it. That left the 944.

The 944 had evolved from the 924, designed in the early 1970s.

Though the 944 had been good for Porsche, there was no hiding its age. Free from the economic

malaise affecting much of Europe and the USA, Japan was building its best-ever sports coupés, at prices that made Stuttgart look silly. With neither the time nor the cash available to design and develop an all-new model, the 944 was up for a facelift.

Knowing the 944 S3 needed to be special to overcome its antiquated underpinnings, the Weissach boys got their thinking caps on. When they were finished, they reckoned 80% of the car was

new. With a monocoque, doors, glass, suspension, brakes and many other parts shared with the 944, how they arrived at 80% is a bit of a mystery. Nevertheless, legend has it that the car was so different, they decided to rename it. The 968 was born.

In production for just three years, the 968 was no sales success, but viewed now, the final iteration of the 924 project is a drivers’ delight. Read on for the full buying lowdown.

The 968 was sold from 1992 to 1995, and offered in both Coupé and Cabriolet body styles. Opinions differ on the numbers produced – Porsche Cars North America put numbers sold lower than some reference books – but the total manufactured is approximately 12,500 units.

The 968 was initially offered as a onesize-fits-all Coupé model with the everpresent options list. When year one sales were uninspiring, Porsche broadened the range with a stripped-out Club Sport model for 1993. Available in Coupé only, the Club Sport lost bits like the rear seats, electric windows and central locking, replacing them with racing seats, sports steering wheel and 17” alloy wheels.

The following year, the UK got the Sport model, which replaced the Club Sport’s lost luxuries for a £3000 premium. The standard car picked up some additional spec by way of leather upholstery and new-style wheels, but disastrous sales figures had put the writing on the wall. Sales were sinking and new MD Wendelin Wiedeking was set to revolutionise how Porsche did business. The 968 came off the price lists a year ahead of schedule.

Hard to believe that the 968 is the final incarnation of what started as the 924. The 968’s styling tweaks were a surprisingly effective update on the 944

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