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February 2012 www.911porscheworld.com

STREETFIGHTER NEW TECHART GTSTREET DRIVEN

TECHART’S GT2 RS BASED MACHINE PACKS A 711BHP PUNCH AND 220MPH PACE

THE RIGHT ONES DRIVING THE MARTINI PORSCHE ROAD CARS

GT3 RS V CARRERA CUP RACER TRACK DAY CHOICE: ROAD OR RACE CAR?

REINVENTING THE WHEEL THE CLASSIC FUCHS WHEEL IS BACK

TIMEWARP 959 The ultimate warehouse find! This 959 supercar discovered with just 222-miles on the clock £4.50 US$9.99 CANADA $12.95 No.215 www.911porscheworld.com

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Words: Brett Fraser Photography: Antony Fraser

CASE

BLUES

E H T F O

Bored with white? Welcome to TechArt’s new 997 GT2 RS based GTStreet. It’s much more than a paint job though and worthy of a trip out to Germany to check it out

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TECHART GTSTREET RS FIRST DRIVE

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hite. It’s the new silver. Certainly was in Hall 5 of the (2011) Frankfurt motor show, where a blizzard of modified Porsches (and Audis, BMWs, Range Rovers, Mercedes, Ferraris, etc) assailed your eyes with a retina-ruining intensity of sheer whiteness. Sort of makes sense, the white contrasting nicely with dark carbonfibre panels and components, but it sure makes it hard to pick out one modified Porker from another…

Standing out boldly amongst a few exceptions to that rule was a trend-bucker from TechArt: the second generation of the Stuttgart-based tuner’s GTStreet RS. It was blue. Matt blue. Very blue. Blue from the tip of its revised front bumper to the tip of its dramatically vented revised rear bumper: blue from its carpets to its quilted headlining, from its half-cage to its instrument dials. Blue, blue, blue, blue, blue… Take it or leave it.

Many of you may perhaps choose the latter option, preferring subtlety to flamboyance. But, as we discover when we front up at a chilly, fog-wreathed disused runway not so very far away from Weissach, one Chinese gentleman has chosen the former option – as a consequence we shan’t be taking the car out onto the road today, as it’s unregistered for Germany and needs to leave our clutches unmarked and in perfect working order. Which isn’t to say we can’t have any fun…

Other than a fancy paint-job – and despite being matt, it is paint and not one of the increasingly popular vinyl wraps – why bother trekking all the way out here for a ‘yesterday’s news’ 911? After all, a few clicks down the road at the Porsche factory, there are several of the new 991-model 911s knocking around the place.

Well, as ever with the tuning world, we’ve made the effort because of different numbers, numbers that reference power and torque outputs. And in this instance, they are quite big numbers. Such as 711bhp and 664lb ft. Then there’s 219mph and 3.3sec 062mph. Not to mention 0-125mph in 9.5sec. They’re fun numbers. Numbers that make a visit worthwhile.

So here we stand, in the fog, in the cold. On a disused airstrip that TechArt is permitted to use by the kind allowance of another famous Stuttgart car maker, Mercedes-Benz. Given the conditions and the location, I’m glad we learnt the basics about the GTStreet earlier this morning, back at TechArt’s infinitely warmer and glitzy HQ, based on a not quite so glamorous industrial estate in Leonberg, a feeder town for Stuttgart. (Many tuners’ showrooms are like this: hidden away on an industrial estate for the cheap premises, yet fancily attired because if you’re entertaining big spenders, you’ve got to put on a bit of a show…)

First thing to know is that the GTStreet RS is based on a 997 GT2 RS. Yes, to a degree, you’re right – why mess? The standard car is, after all, something of a

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BUYERS’ GUIDE

FIRST AND FURIOUS In the 1970s, the words ‘Porsche Turbo’ sent a tingle down the spine of any red-blooded car fanatic. Today, Porsche’s original turbocharged road car is still capable of having the same effect Words: Keith Seume Photography: Michael Ward

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930 TURBO BUYERS’ GUIDE STYLING AND BODYWORK In the 1970s, just about every teenage boy had one of two posters affixed to his bedroom wall: it was either of a tennis player scratching her backside, or a black Porsche Turbo. They were objects of adolescent fantasy in almost equal measure…

Beneath the wide-body styling lay the basic body structure of the Hprogramme (1975 model year) 911. The major differences between the Turbo and its normally-aspirated siblings were the widened front and rear wheel arches, and the iconic ‘whale-tail’ rear spoiler. There was also a revised front valance, incorporating a deeper, wider front spoiler.

The arches were deemed necessary to cover the 7J and 8Jx15 Fuchs wheels. The aerodynamic aids were judged necessary to keep the beast on the road… The ‘whale-tail’ gave way to a ‘tea-tray’ in 1978, the larger wing being needed to accommodate an intercooler – and to provide even more downforce…

PRODUCTION AND MODELS

PORSCHE TURBO – A MODERNDAY ICON The word ‘iconic’ is greatly overused these days, but it’s unlikely anyone will question the status of what has to be a real landmark in Porsche history: the 930 Turbo.

Launched in the autumn of 1974, the project began life as a design study shown in Paris a year earlier. There were doubts as to its viability, given that the west was in the midst of an oil crisis, with restricted speed limits introduced in some markets to

preserve dwindling fuel stocks.

Initially, the idea was to sell a limited number of stripped-out lightweight Turbos but the ‘bean counters’ had other ideas, suggesting they be sold as wellequipped range-topping luxury models. The accountants won the day, and the Turbo became the star of Porsche’s line-up.

The reaction to the Turbo was dramatic – it was a supercar in every sense yet, like so many Porsches before it, the new model

proved to be practical. It was a car you could use every day, safe in the knowledge that it wouldn’t let you down. Then, at the weekend, you could drive to the south of France in air-conditioned luxury, cruising effortlessly at three-figure speeds for hours on end. It was a perfect all-rounder.

Porsche’s Turbo may not have been the first production car to be turbocharged, but it’s certainly the one most people remember. It was truly a ground-breaking design.

The Turbo’s roots can be traced back to the Frankfurt Motor Show of 1973, when Porsche displayed a prototype to test public reaction to the idea of a roadgoing turbocharged 911.

The bodywork was influenced by the new IROC Carrera 3.0RS, and there was talk of a 160mph top speed. The only problem was that a recession was looming. Porsche, however, steamed ahead and launched the production version at the 1974 Paris Salon d’Auto.

The original Turbo came with a 260bhp 3.0-litre flat-six (US models came with just 245bhp) and a fourspeed gearbox. Then, in August 1977, the engine capacity was increased to 3.3-litres, and power output to 300bhp.

In July 1979, the Turbo was dropped from the North American market, but reinstated in August 1985, with a revised and upgraded engine management system. At the same time, Targa, Cabriolet and ‘slant-nose’ versions were launched. In October 1988, a fivespeed gearbox was introduced.

The 930 series finally came to an end in July 1989, to make way for the new 964 Carrera C2-based replacement.

What a profile! Even today, the Porsche Turbo looks menacing. It has real presence on the road. Distinctive ‘shark’s fin’ on rear wings gave protection from stone chips

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Words: Adam Towler Photography: Antony Fraser

THERIGHTONES A blend of herbs and wine doesn’t seem like a very likely accessory to Porsche’s racing past and present, but the Martini livery and tie up is an enduring one. We drive the road cars

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lthough based in the cold, hard-nosed reality of global business, sponsorship deals in motor racing have over the years wormed their way into the affections of racing enthusiasts the world over. Who can think of Team Lotus without John Player Special (the current Renault-‘Lotus’ F1 team clearly can’t), Brabham without Parmalat (or the Martini years, come to think of it) and McLaren without seeing the red and white chevron of Marlboro?

Porsche, in particular, has been associated with some highly memorable liveries and deals over the years, both with the factory’s efforts and with privateer teams.

Jägermeister, Valiant, Samson, Liqui Moly, Blaupunkt and Apple are just a few of the memorable company liveries that have adorned the flanks of 911s, 935s and 962s over the years, while Rothmans will always resonate as the factory’s partner in the 1980s: it’s hard to picture a 956 without the blue and white with gold pinstripe of that particular cigarette brand and the livery must go down as

That’s all very well, but for most people – racing fans most definitely included – Martini would have been just another alcoholic drink with very much an acquired taste (and the preferred tipple of a certain Mr J. Bond) had it not been for the company launching headlong into motor sports in the late 1960s.

Martini Racing made its debut in 1968 as the sponsor of a Porsche 908. However, it was in 1970 that the team began to come to prominence, fielding a pair of 908/2 models in the Championship of Makes (the World Sports Car Championship of the period, if you like) and the famous ‘Hippie’ 917LH at Le Mans. Nicknamed thus due to its green and purple swirling paintjob, this 917 was perhaps the most eye-catching car on the grid, but it was an odd specification, being to long-tail spec but featuring the smaller 4.5-litre engine (as opposed to the 4.9-litre unit) and the four, not five, speed gearbox. Even so, Gérard Larrousse and Willi Kauhsen splashed through the dreadful weather and survived the atrocious attrition amongst the front runners to finish second behind

to this day Porsche retails a range of “Even merchandise in the Martini colours ”

being one of the most iconic in motor sport.

Ironically, it was during those Rothmans 956 years that the factory faced its greatest competition from a rival backed by the Martini and Rossi drinks company – Lancia, with first the LC1 Spyder and then its own Group C contender, the LC2.

Ironic, because Martini has an association with Porsche that goes back to the start of the drinks firm’s participation in motor sport, and to a time when Porsche itself was still a relative minnow on the world stage. So strong is that association that even to this day Porsche retails a range of merchandise in the Martini colours, despite the two companies no longer having a commercial deal in motorsport.

The Martini vermouth has its roots with the Romans blending their wine with Mediterranean herbs, something that became a speciality of the northern Piedmont region of Italy over time. In the middle-ages merchants brought in more exotic herbs to the port of Genoa, further developing the taste, and it was during the ‘café culture’ in a burgeoning Turin during the 19th century that an entrepreneur called Alessandro Martini and a distiller Luigi Rossi met and developed their own blend for the scene.

‘Martini’ was launched in 1863, and even by the early 1900s was being drunk in over 70 countries.

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Porsche Salzburg’s white and red 917K of Richard Attwood and Hans Herrmann, on what was a watershed weekend for the car manufacturer.

For 1971 Martini Racing took over from the Porsche Salzburg team as the ‘other’ entrant of works 917s alongside John Wyer’s Gulf-sponsored outfit. Now at last the famous Martini stripes appeared on a Porsche: on a silver background mostly, although sometimes white, with the cars driven by star peddlers such as Vic Elford, Gérard Larrousse , Helmut Marko, Gijs Van Lennep and Rudi Lins.

At Le Mans the silver car of Elford and Larrousse adopted the new-for-1971 long tail body and was phenomenally fast, but it was the short tail entry of Marko and Van Lennep (switched to a white background for the stripes – and to an experimental magnesium spaceframe for the chassis) – that won the race, setting a new distance record that would last until 2010. Martini’s third car was another different 917: the 917/20, or ‘Pink Pig’, so called because its experimental body was painted an odd shade of pink and marked out with the different butcher’s cuts of a pig.

As far as the Martini livery was concerned, the ‘look’ had now been established: a white or silver background, with the red, blue and pale blue stripes applied in a

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DRIVING PORSCHE’S MARTINI CARS

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TIMEWARP 959 Virtually unused, this 959’s inherent value depends on it remaining motionless.

We can only stand and stare Words: Johnny Tipler Photography: Antony Fraser

FADE TO GREY The USA was prime target market for the 959, but though some cars undoubtedly gained entry as grey imports in the late ’80s it couldn’t be legally imported until the Show-and-Display law was passed in 1999 as it didn’t comply with emissions legislation. Porsche declined to supply the US Department of Transportation with the four examples they wanted for crash testing (even prototypes were too valuable) so it was never certified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Among the customers to fall foul of this situation were Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen, whose cars were impounded for 13 years by Seattle customs officers.

CANEPA’S CANAPÉS If the 959 Sport is not hardcore enough for you, ex-IMSA and TransAm racer Bruce Canepa’s tuning business can help. Long associated with the 959, in 2003 Canepa Design produced an evolution of the 959 armed with turbo, engine management and exhaust modifications enabling the model to pass current emissions legislation. Power output rose from 450bhp to 575bhp, with consequent improvements in performance. They even modified the wheels to take modern tyres.

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DELIVERY MILEAGE 959

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hat is art? An eighties supercar? Well, it has been said that art is anything you can get away with, and a rare car is fair game, regardless of design pedigree or intrinsic beauty. This 959 has done just 222 miles since its creation – barely the distance from London to York – which means that, for most of its 23 years, its appeal has been purely aesthetic, because only on the move can its technical arsenal be appreciated. And there’s the paradox – drive it as was intended and its value diminishes in proportion to miles covered. Problem is, if it isn’t used, a 959 costs an awful lot to recommission.

Mr Fraser and I are on the North York Moors and a visit to Specialist Cars at Malton is a given. If ever a name does what it said on the tin, this is it: Specialist Cars can make the wildest dreams come true – at a price. These cars ooze quality. There are a dozen Porsches to die for in the

showroom, including a pair of Carrera GTs, a 911 ST, a slant-nose Ruf 930, a 997 RS 4.0 – and a Guards Red 959 Sport. Proprietor John Hawkins is a straight talking Yorkshireman, and he’s clear from the outset. ‘You can’t drive it,’ he says. ‘It’s Sport chassis 1, which makes it even rarer, plus it’s sold, so you can’t risk it on the A64!’

Specialist Cars are in the process of recommissioning the 959, which means the fuel sender is absent while a copy of it is made, leaving an uncapped hole in the top of the tank. Not insurmountable, but another reason not to challenge his veto. ‘We ship a lot of cars abroad, and customers who often buy unseen rely on us to make sure they perform as they should,’ he says. He reveals they’ve driven it a grand total of seven golden miles to that end.

The car is wheeled silently into the adjacent paintshop for Cameraboy to wave his magic wand.

The 959 is a rare beast in the Zuffenhausen hagiography, with 292 cars produced between 1986 and

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GT3 RS V CARRERA CUP RACER

ROADracervRACEcar

Ultimate track day car? Well the 997 GT3 RS 3.8 must be close to top of the list, but what about investing in a dedicated Carrera Cup car?

We put the two head to head Words: Adam Towler Photography: Antony Fraser

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he 911 has always been the sports car that could do it all, from circuit racing to rallying and even the rough and tumble of rallycross.

But in recent years it’s adapted to another discipline: that of the track day car. Whereas the RS lineage was once the enthusiast driver’s wheels of choice, the rise in popularity of the track day over the past 15 years has coincided with the advent of the GT3 series of cars, and as does tend to happen, Porsche has dominated the market.

The best way to experience this is by simply attending a track day. Look around and try to name another marque of car that is so well represented along the pitlane. Sure, Caterhams and Lotuses are still very popular lower down

the price structure, but for those with more to spend – and with a desire for more power – the GT3 has become the de rigueur choice.

It’s not hard to see why. With its pure racing pedigree, the GT3 really is the authentic product. Its ‘Mezger’ engine is the very same one used in countless racing 911s: 996 Cup, GT3R, GT3RS, GT3RSR; 997 Cup, Cup S, GT3R, GT3RSR – although they all differ from the road cars to a lesser or greater extent, nowhere else in the market is a road car and its racing twin so closely related.

What that means is that track day buyers know they’re getting not only a fast car, but also a durable one. The GT3 has got steadily more potent over the years as development has progressed, but a constant is that this

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