TIPEC All Torque 133

L AL E U Q R TO BRUARY/M ISSUE 133 FE

ARCH 2019

PRETTY IN PINK

CROSSING EUROPE IN A 968 TO REACH A POLISH WEDDING

REMOVING RUST Graham Waller’s 911SC receiving much-needed TLC

CANARY YELLOW Martin Broadribb drives Ted Walker’s bright yellow 911 GT3

BRINGING THE METAL HOME Sean Smallman and friends visit both the Porsche factory and Ruf

WWW.TIPEC.NET LIVE & BREATHE THE MARQUE

For anyone who’s not visited it yet, The Porsche Enthusiast’s Club has a brand spanking new online store, hosted by UKCarclubs.com, the UKs #1 dedicated car club merchandise site.

What makes us different? Well, we’re fellow petol heads, we love our cars and we started UKCarclubs as an excuse to go to more car shows (but don’t tell anyone) and it grew from there, today we have club stores all over the uk with members in the 100s of thousands.

Today we dedicate ourselves to making sure that our club’s members get only the best quality merchandise, service and of course value. That’s why we are so excited abut the opening of your new store, because we’ve been working together to make sure you get ju that, a great range with everything from branded mugs and decals right through to the just finest quality lambswool sweaters and everything in between, all branded with the club logo, you’ve also go the oppon to choose the club logo that suits your model best as well as choose your region, logo colour and even personalise the items with your name, What is good club merchandise? We think it’s having things people want to wear or own and at the same me gives them the opportunity to support their club. We know you’ll love the store as much as we do, so why not have a look hhps:///pec.ukcarclubs.com

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All Torque 133 Feb/Mar 2019 All Torque is published bi-monthly by TIPEC (The Independent Porsche Enthusiasts Club) Text & images are © their creators.

Front cover image: ‘Cassie’, Gareth Aldrige and Stef Mahan’s 968, photographed by Rob Cheyne.

All Torque is based entirely on submissions from TIPEC members. This is your magazine!

Submissions for issue 134 (April/May) must be in before Friday 1st March 2019.

Editor & designer: Tony Blow tony@typescape.com Flat 2, 2 Bowmont Terrace, Glasgow G12 9LP Printed by: The Lavenham Press Ltd, Suffolk (01787 247 436) Advertising in All Torque is managed by: Sean Smallman, Walnut Tree Farm, Grain Road, Lower Stoke, Rochester ME3 9RE (07500 332 790) Website: www.tipec.net Twitter: @Porsche_TIPEC Search for us on Facebook TIPEC Chairman: Sean Smallman (07500 332 790) sean.smallman@tipec.net Treasurer: Paul Bird (01922 428 409) paulpsb928@yahoo.co.uk Advertising & sponsorhip: Sean Smallman (07500 332 790) sean.smallman@tipec.net Media Director: Paul Ffelan (07391 510 054) paul.ffelan@tipec.net Membership Director: Sue Simmons (07530 312 700) sue.simmons@tipec.net TIPEC Membership: Lavenham Group (01787 249 295) membership@tipec.lpl-uk.com TIPEC Valuations: valuations@tipec.net

All Torque & TIPEC are entirely independent of Dr. Ing. H.c.F. Porsche AG, Porsche Cars GB Ltd and its dealers. All registered Trade Marks owned by Dr. Ing. H.c.F. Porsche AG, including the word ‘Porsche’, the Porsche Crest and Porsche Script are acknowledged as such and are their property. Whilst all due care is taken in the production of All Torque; neither TIPEC, its officers or the editor can accept responsibility for the advice, information or opinions expressed herein. Opinions contained in any article published herein are of the author or editor and do not reflect the official position of TIPEC, its management or membership, unless clearly stated by a club official.

HAPPY NEW YEAR. For once I achieved my 2018 resolution, which was to use the cars more. A couple of long European Adventures (read about the German trip in this issue) and the Speedster going to the NEC, my P-car mileage for 2108 was just shy of 10,000 miles.

I have already attended a couple of events this year, the January Scramble at Bicester Heritage was fantastic. Nick Papé mentioned this event in the December issue, we had a great turnout and a really nice mix of Porsches on our patch.

Definitely worth the 100 mile drive up from Kent and a great way to blow off the cobwebs on a cold winter day.

The regional teams will have probably shared their events calendar with you.

A big thank you to all the organisers, it is hard work trying to second guess what everyone would like to do and to please everyone. If you have any ideas please share them, anyone can organise an event and with the reach of Social Media it is easy to share your plans and invite people to join you. With so many events happening locally, it is impossible for them all to be included on the Regional Calendar. As a member you also have the option to attend any event taking place, including those in other regions. Please check out the website as well as these pages and if something whets your appetite please contact the Regional Organiser.

A lot of effort goes into making these events happen and the phrase ‘the more merrier’ is very true. Whether you get the car out for a drive or polished to be admired at a show, using the car is good for the soul. Meeting people that share the same passion, making new friends and having fun is what being in the club is all about.

As well as the regional calendar, we also have several national events that we attend as a Club. Donington Historic Festival in early may and Silverstone Classic in July; using the club code you get half price tickets and infield parking on the club display. Check them out online, one day is not enough to watch all the racing and have time to get close to the cars in the open paddocks. Simply Porsche is the first Sunday in June. After just a few years this has arguably become one of the largest Porsche events in Europe.

It is awesome to see the cars parked all around the Beaulieu estate and with so much else to do when you get there. This has to be the must do event of the year, with lots of beautiful scenery and other attractions around the New Forest. Lots of members make a weekend of it and I will share our thoughts for a Saturday event in the April issue.

A couple of other events that attract a large number of Porsches are the Northern-ish Gathering organised by the North West region on Sunday 14th April – I am hoping to attend this year – and on Sunday 19th May Porsche in the Glen, organised by Scott, our former Scotland RO. The Club AGM is Sunday 7th April at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, just off J12 of the M40. I say the same thing every year, it is your club so please come along and have your say. The format of the meeting is very informal and whilst we do have an obligation to follow an agenda, we rattle through it as quickly as possible. If you can not attend you can submit questions via me and I will raise them on the day. One of the key topics will be the structure of the Club and what the Committee should look like going forward. Details on how to attend are in the news section.

Lots to look forward to and hopefully I will meet many of you over the course of the year.

3

News & updates Donington Historic Festival 2019 May 3rd–5th (Friday–Sunday)

Simply Porsche June 2nd (Sunday)

Donington Historic Festival is firmly established as a major fixture on the international historic racing calendar, attracting many thousands of spectators, hundreds of world-class historic racing cars and huge numbers of classic car club displays, including TIPEC. There are always plenty of off-track attractions and TIPEC will be attending in force as usual.

The must do Porsche event of the year, with over 1,600 Porsche’s parked along the tree lined avenues of Beaulieu in 2018.

Club tickets are half price and can be booked online by following the instructions below, or by phone on 0843 453 9000.

1.

Go to: https://shop.msv.com/DisplayCar/ClubRegister/DP-19-Historic

2.

Select TIPEC from the list of shown and click on its name. If you already have an MSV account, login. Otherwise, create an account.

3.

You’ll then be presented with a page showing the conditions for displaying a vehicle – click the box at the bottom to say that you agree, then you’ll be taken to a page that asks ‘who are you displaying with?’ Select ‘With a club’ then select TIPEC from the list that appears and press ‘Continue’.

4.

Select the day or days that you wish to attend and press ‘Continue’.

5.

CAR DETAILS: Add the details of the vehicle/s you will be bringing to display on the club stand.

6.

TICKET SELECTION: Follow the process through to ticket selection. IMPORTANT – the online club ordering system automatically puts one adult entry ticket for your chosen day/ days into your shopping basket before you get to the ticket selection area. So please only select any additional entry tickets that you may need when you get to ticket selection.

7.

In the shopping basket you will see any additional tickets you have chosen showing as entry tickets and your driver entry ticket will show as a vehicle display pass (shown at the price for your entry ticket).

8.

At this stage everything will still be shown at full price – press to go through to checkout, then enter our unique club code DHF_JWJGEH9 in the Promotion/Voucher Codes box, which will apply the 50% club discount.

All entry tickets, including the driver ticket, will be sent out immediately but the vehicle pass (which is only a parking pass this year) will be sent out separately, two weeks before the event. Passenger Tickets will be available for immediate download (you can select to have them posted to you at additional cost). Display Vehicle Passes (including your entry as driver) will be emailed to you two weeks before the event. This is to allow allocation of parking positions after club ticket sales close. If you have any problems or questions, email karen@historicpromotions.com AT 133

Make a weekend of it and book your accommodation now before everywhere fills up.

Club AGM 2019 April 7th (Sunday) British Motor Museum, Gaydon CV35 0BJ This is the opportunity to have your say and share your ideas/thoughts about the Club. We quickly get through the formal agenda, so that we plenty of time to chat. Lunch will be provided for those confirming their attendance by sending an email titled ‘AGM’ to cluboffice@tipec.net by 25th March. After lunch you are free to look around the very impressive museum. Please note we have 45 spaces due to size of room.

• • • • • • • • • • •

Agenda 10:00 Arrive/refreshments (park in front of museum) 10:30 AGM starts Apologies Approval of minutes Chairman’s Report Finance Directors Report Determination of Subs Election of Officials Amendments to Rules Constitution Any Other Business

Club shop Polo shirts We have a new club shop, run by UKCarclubs.com, a dedicated car club merchandise site.

They offer a huge range of products, from the usual T-shirts and caps to mugs, umbrellas, high-quality lambswool sweaters, fleeces, and fully weatherproof outdoor jackets.

Everything comes with your choice of TIPEC logo (featuring the silhouette of a 911 or a transaxle car) as well as your choice of region, and even your own name. All that can be in the colour of your choice.

You can reach the shop directly at tipec.ukcarclubs.com or visit from our club’s homepage at www.tipec.net by using the ‘Shop’ link.

Membership management Contacts for member queries We have a dedicated membership management agent.

The contact details for and TIPEC membership renewals, changes of address, queries, etc. are detailed below. Please make sure you mention that you are contacting them about TIPEC, as they deal with multiple car clubs: 01787 249 295 membership@tipec.lpl-uk.com TIPEC Membership Arbons House, 47 Water Street, Lavenham CO10 9RN www.tipec.net Go to the membership renewals tab. Password: tipecmember

All Torque Submissions

TIPEC website www.TIPEC.net

Submissions for the magazine are always very welcome – All Torque is your magazine and we rely on your articles, reports and photographs to keep it full of varied, interesting, Porscherelated stuff.

You can use the TIPEC website to register or renew your club membership, advertise cars and parts for free, view old issues of All Torque, and keep up with events.

Anyone can contribute – we only ask that it is all your own work (both writing and photography).

Email tony@typescape.com Sometimes there simply isn’t room for everything, so please bear with us if your piece hasn’t been printed in this issue – we’ll hold some over for the quieter months when less events are on.

We really do appreciate the effort made by our club members and contributors, and value every individual submission.

At the top-left of the homepage, you will find a link to TIPEC’s online discussion forum. This is the place to trade banter with fellow club members on a day-to-day basis, ask questions and share knowledge with your fellow TIPEC members, up and down the UK (and worldwide!)

The club’s 25th anniversary display at the NEC Classic Motor Show 2018 THE CLASSIC MOTOR SHOW in November was a celebration of our 25th Anniversary and I knew the display had to be a special one.

To be honest I can’t remember who first suggested an ‘all silver’ showing to celebrate our silver jubilee but I thought it was a great idea and set about sourcing the cars. Little did I know how difficult it was going to be but at the end of it all we ended up with six special cars, all of them a credit to their owners and to the club.

In no particular order the cars chosen were: • 911 Supersport (Lindsay Brown) • 356 Speedster replica (Rick Bennett) • 996 Turbo (Paul Winters) • 944 (Nicholas Papé) • 928 (Phil & Claire Hughes) • 911 Speedster (Sean Smallman) As ever we had three fun filled days at the show meeting and greeting club members and chatting to folk about the club and the many benefits of being a part of the ‘family’.

By Sunday evening we were all shattered but had a great weekend to remember. Thanks as always to the owners of the display cars, especially those that travelled long distances to show their cars, and thanks to the rest of the guys who helped man the stand over the three days. Thanks to Neil Smith, Paul Foster, Paul Webster, Chris Harrison and Jarrod Mollison for all their help.

A special mention is deserved for Paul Webster who has volunteered to man the stand every year for as long as I can remember and who celebrated a ‘special’ birthday the week of the show in Portugal but got back to the UK in time to help us out on Sunday. Don’t worry Paul – we won’t mention it was 60 years old!

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Author Paul Bird Photography Nicholas PapĂŠ

7

TIME CHANGES EVERYTHING

THERE WAS a time when Porsche used to use the tagline ‘We Only Make Sports Cars’ in their press advertising. Aside from episodes such as the abortive Hunter 4x4 in the 1950s and their tractor range, that remained largely true until the arrival of the Cayenne in 2002.

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The strategy in introducing the Cayenne and subsequent Macan was to provide supplementary volume and profits from another product line, one separate from whatever forces might affect the sports car market. However, it is not clear if the company expected the balance to tip from its being a world-leading sports and racing car maker towards it becoming primarily a producer of four wheel drive vehicles with a halo sporting range, but that is what is happening – or has already happened.

You might argue – and perhaps with some justification – that the production of vehicles that have little in common with the longstanding sporting heritage of the company is simply a way of providing highly profitable and relati vel y mass mar ket products which allow the more niche operations of the company to continue in financial security.

I guess that we might even be grateful that upwardly mobile Chinese customers are effectively financing the racing programme, but the major changes in the company and its philosophy have continued apace over the last 16 years after the initial 54 years of relative stability.

T hes e d ay s Por s c he is f a s t becoming a volume producer, not in the sense of Ford or GM but certainly in relation to its former status. The pursuit of numbers logically goes hand in hand with the pursuit of profits and in the first nine months of 2018 the company delivered 196,562 vehicles, up from 186,000 in the same period the previous year. Of those 117,765 were from the Cayenne/Macan ranges and while 911 sales showed a 19% increase the Panamera grew by 60%. The Panamera is another part of the range-broadening process that has taken Porsche into a sector previously unknown to it, although its shape is perhaps symbolic of how hard the company finds it to break free of the long shadow of the 911.

Author Martin Broadribb Photography Porsche AG

The fact that China is now their largest market and increased by 4% in 2018 is certainly having a bearing on what the company m a ke s th e s e d a y s , th e U S having been toppled from its longstanding position as the biggest Porsche consumer some time ago, although sales there also increased by 3%. At the time of writing in late 2018 total deliveries of 250,000 are on target for this year, something that will be another record-breaking pe r for mance but w ill mar k another step away from what the company used to be.

Does any of this matter? Perhaps only to the historian or the romantic but it is nonetheless important to mark these and other changes. Further aspects of the evolution of the company are the joint developments and platform and component-sharing with others in the VW portfolio, along with its relatively brief affair with the diesel engine. Of course, the demise of the latter in Porsches is only a prelude to the demise of combustion engines generally and Porsche embraced the development of hybrid and electric propulsion surprisingly early. That technology is becoming more and more a part of the production range and coupled with the social pressures on internal combustion vehicles we also need to consider the future of the conventional Porsches that we presently drive.

How available will petrol be in future and at what cost as its s ales volume decreases?

Improvements in alternative fuels, ta xation changes and subsidies are just some of the things that could have a bearing on those questions and where would it leave conventional cars like ours? Certain models have already attained a status where they are collected and traded like antiques rather than driven.

These will probably always have an intrinsic value in the same way as other objet d’art, but mass and relatively mass-produced cars – including many Porsches – might find themselves suffering massive reductions in value, as those prepared and financially able to keep them running in the face of much higher costs and environmental legislation also decrease.

Common and relatively common c a r s mig ht b e co me a lmos t wor thless – this happens to some already for not dissimilar reasons – and the march towards a different type of car culture also has massive implications for the worlds of motor racing and vehicle maintenance, not forgetting parts suppliers. Even car clubs would find it a ver y different world as conventional ideas and aspirations change. Of course, it is very difficult to accurately predict a timescale for all these changes, but the future has been shown to have a habit of arriving sooner than we were expecting. It may already be later than we think.

9

DEALING WITH RUST GRAHAM WALLER’S 911SC NEEDED A LITTLE TLC …

Author Graham Waller Photography Graham Waller & Barkstone Refinishing Ltd

I’D LIKE to say that it started with a kiss. Maybe it did? Maybe it didn’t? If it did, then it could so easily have been the kiss of death.

I’ve owned this car now since June 2009. My first, and so far only, Porsche Neunelfer (I previously owned a 986 Boxster).

Those who know me will know this car very well. They’ll also tell you that I have spent a fortune on it. Oh no, sorry – I got that bit wrong. Other than for some routine maintenance, and the usual replacement parts – starter motor, two batteries, brake callipers, three alternators, clutch, heater problems, a ding after tracking it (d’oh!) and some corroded pipes – it really has served me well. However, little did I know but there was a silent assassin waiting – rust. The first indication was pointed out to me by Paul Bird, Treasurer of this very club, and well respected all-round good egg. He suggested I look into getting the windscreen surround looked at (I understand this to be called a ‘scuttle’, but I’m sixpence none the wiser, to be honest).

Anyway, I took it in for a service to a very reputable indie close to work (GCR Central, Wigston) and they also suggested it was lacking some TLC. I searched high and low for the aforementioned ‘TLC’ but to no avail. I can only imagine it’s only something you get in the trade, as it were. As Paul Weller once said, Time Passes, and in my case it was a couple of years before lo and behold, the rust started showing itself in earnest. I could envisage myself opening the garage door one day and just seeing a ton-and-a-bit of rusted chassis. Another persuading factor came when I had the insurance valuation – any money invested (and yes, I use the word ‘invested’), would shore up its market value. So, I set about getting a budget together and investigating bodywork specialists. This is where TIPEC really does come into its own. I attended a few meetings, in particular those with bodywork people giving a bit of spiel. I took advice, I did some investigation, and I invited a couple of tenders. Paul Sharman of Barkston Refinishing

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Ltd, after a long day at work, made his way from Grantham to Loughborough one evening and met me at home. Already, a plus point! He quoted me and I was happy. Even though I suspected that more would be involved. My only concern was how to get the car to Grantham? “Oh we’ll collect it in a covered trailer.” Two-nil to Barkston Refinishing. I researched the company too – it’d be remiss of me not to carry out some due diligence. Barkston is a family owned business, set up by Paul’s father who, only in 2018, handed over the reins to Paul.

So, having been in the family for 35 years, I can only surmise that they must have been doing something right!

I told Paul that as a classic, garaged car, I wouldn’t be needing it over the winter months, so he could keep it for as long as he wished. That worked out well too. I got my ducks in a row.

I organised funds. I organised collection. And I awaited the horror stories.

OK, there were a few surprises and the budget increased accordingly. But to be honest? Nothing I didn’t really expect having dug beneath the cosmetic bits. Looking at the original issue having removed the rubbery bits (oh, my technical knowledge knows no bounds) it was worse than first thought.

When the finger poking was done (shown above), it showed the rust at its worst – even the bellows were corroded. Paul fabricated a new part. There was a tiny bit of rust on the back edge of the boot, but Paul thought otherwise! Back to the offside, and Paul did a damn good job at correcting the issues (far right). He sprayed everything up and matched up both rear wheel arches (right) before performing a complete re-spray across the back.

Then onto the scuttles. He removed the entire window to show the full extent of the damage before, again, fabricating parts to match. Not shown was the blowing in of the roof area which required a sunroof removal and the purchase of new sealing rubbers using OEM parts.

Also done were both front and rear bumpers. Alas, the chin spoiler was too far gone (another OEM replacement) and all four bellows were misshaped and were unlikely to look very good if they were simply put back on. So again, four more OEM parts. All the work, start to finish, including sourcing new parts was done at Barkston. All of it. He also got two new stone protector foils.

On top of this, Paul resprayed the air intake on the tea tray as I’d not even noticed it was grey (and was supposed to be black!). Thanks Paul!

Paul and his team have treated my car with exceptional care, and in my professional (ahem) opinion, have done a fantastic job. They kept me updated with photographs and progress and asked for my input throughout.

Obviously, my 911 needed repatriating at some point, and Paul called me over one Saturday to sign off the work and arrange delivery. I was one very happy chappie. It was looking beautiful and I paid Paul’s extremely reasonable bill without any hesitation.

If anyone wants a recommendation – this is it. Paul and his team at Barkston Refinishing Ltd, Grantham, have done an excellent job, very reasonably priced and I’d recommend them for any of your bodywork. He works on all cars, all marques and all models and had a 356 in at the same time as mine.

Paul doesn’t just work on Porsches either, or cars, and will turn his hand at fabricating anything that is required to get your pride and joys back to spec. Highly recommended.

Following on from this, Paul has since arranged a coffee morning for TIPEC members on 24th March (primarily from East Midlands and Peterborough) to have a look at his facility.

Needless to say, I’ll be going in the newly refurbished 911SC. 11

ANOTHER CANARY

BUT A DIFFERENT SONG Author Martin Broadribb Photography Martin Broadribb

SOME OF you may recall a piece we did in All Torque 125 on Ted Walker’s newly acquired Cayman GT4. As is often the way with Ted’s cars, that one has now been supplanted by yet another Porsche, but again one with a sporting slant and also finished in yellow. In fact, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I would see him behind the wheel of a 911 GT3, having found him sitting in the latest model at the Geneva Show a few years ago with a faraway look in his eyes!

Ted has owned 911s before – the last was a GTS – and while this is not meant to be a comparison between the GT3 and those or his previous GT4, the latter certainly makes an obvious starting point. As Ted says, the GT4 was a Cayman with a fast engine, while the GT3 exhibits something of a different approach. I suppose that just saying that the car is more focused in everything that it does in comparison with the Cayman would be a broad way of covering the difference between them, but as usual the full story lies in the detail.

Before we go there, let’s take a look at the background of this model. The GT3 badge was first applied to a 911 road car in 1999, but the lineage of roadgoing but competition-oriented 911s goes back a long way, perhaps as far as the 1960’s when the S/T model appeared. The initial GT3 was a model in the 996 range which was powered by a 355bhp version of the 3.6L engine and the name has been present in the subsequent 997 and (as here) 991 line-ups to the present day, the latest RS iteration packing over 500bhp from a 4.0L unit.

As befits such a car there have also been many purely competition variants, in fact the production model was based on the first of these, introduced in 1998. The racing models have also evolved in parallel with the 911 range and there have been various national racing series catering for them. They have naturally also competed in many other events and have scored some notable outright victories, including the Spa, Daytona and Nurburgring 24 Hour races.

So much for the background, now here are some of the bare bones of Ted’s example before we flesh out the whole car. A 2015 model, its heart is a 3.8L engine producing 475bhp driving the rear wheels through the standard sevenspeed PDK transmission. Rear wheel steering also comes as standard and the very brave are AT 133

able to rev the engine to 9,000rpm thanks to the titanium connecting rods and forged pistons.

Being fitted with a Clubsport package like Ted’s previous GT4 means a half roll cage along with carbon seats and the optional ceramic brakes are also a worthwhile addition in relation to the performance available. Oh yes, performance: With the top speed at around the 200mph mark and 0–60 in about three seconds ‘adequate’ is not really a strong enough term.

This is all very well on paper, but how does the theory translate into practice? The initial impression is of a hard ride and the sound of stones hitting the underbody due to the reduced soundproofing, but the faster – and it doesn’t even have to be much faster – the car goes, the better the ride becomes. I have experienced some truly awful modified cars where the all components seemed to be working against one another, but with the luxury of their own test tracks Porsche spend many hours honing their suspension systems for optimum effect and it shows. Likewise, the results of any steering input are incredibly direct and now that the initial fuss about the adoption of electric PAS – often from those who had not even experienced it – has been forgotten it can be appreciated for how good it really is.

The normal variations of auto/sequential/stick/ paddles/modes apply to the PDK transmission – there was no manual option – and with so much torque available (325lb/f) it is easy just to let the technology do the gear-changing for you. However, for even more rapid progress swopping ratios yourself produces stunning performance, allowing very safe overtaking.

0–60 times are a useful benchmark, but real world acceleration takes place elsewhere and the lightning progress from 50–100mph is quite remarkable. However the gearbox is used, the changes are seamless and instantaneous.

There is a type of analogue/digital comparison often made between the performance Porsches of the past and those of today and while ‘each to his own’ must always be the situation, the way in which this car uses many automotive advances to allow fast and safe progress with the minimum of fatigue should not be undervalued. While the seats only offer fore/aft adjustment they are supremely comfortable and keep their occupants well-located. They also have the benefit of not being too difficult to enter or exit, which is not always the case with performance cars.

Black is naturally the cockpit hue but with enough silver detailing to stop things being too oppressive and alcantera is used for the seat facings and steering wheel. The half roll cage still allows some items to be stowed in the rear too, thanks to the tilting seat backs.

Exhaust noise can be a bugbear for the occupants of some sporting cars on long journeys and while the GT3 is an aural delight when extended there is nothing intrusive or wearing about any of the sound that enters the cabin. Although the performance of the car – engine and chassis – leaves little to be desired, how easy and comfortable it is to drive is perhaps the bigger and the least expected revelation. Indeed, it is hard to see how a better combination of road and track capability could be delivered and street practicality is aided by the front axle lift system, giving an extra 30mm of spoiler-saving clearance when required.

Until now, Porsches such as this have continued to evolve, with each new model surpassing the last in the way in which it delivers its unique take on sporting motoring. The end of that era may be in sight though, with the accelerating (if you’ll forgive the pun) development of alternative power units. Necessary as those may be, it is hard not to wonder if the cars of the future, whatever the benefits of their technological advances, will be able to deliver a driving experience to match the one that this GT3 so effortlessly provides.

“THE GT4 WAS A CAYMAN WITH A FAST ENGINE, WHILE THE GT3 EXHIBITS SOMETHING OF A DIFFERENT APPROACH.”

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Guernsey and Jersey might be small Islands but combined they have a surprising Sparkling seas, golden sands, rugged cliffs, picturesque harbours and fascinating 550 miles of roads. You’ll rediscover the pleasures of driving as you explore countryside await the visitor to Jersey, a welcoming island that offers the best of the spectacular coastlines and twisting country lanes, stop at one of the secluded bays and enjoy lunch or a cream tea at one of the numerous restaurants Britain with the added zest of France. The largest and most southerly of the and cafes. The Channel Islands are just bursting with attractions to visit, especially in the summer months, there are so many choices, that you will Channel Islands but still only 45 square miles, Jersey is situated on the edge of need more than a week to visit them all. the Gulf Stream, 100 hundred miles south of England and 14 miles from France and boasts the best sunshine record in the British Isles and a climate which is Poole to Guernsey/Jersey with Condor Ferries generally more mild in all seasons than the UK.

May, June & September Departures Prices from £759.00 Per Person

Including  Return Condor Ferries Fast Crossing from Poole to Guernsey, Guernsey to Jersey & Jersey to Poole  3 Nights Hotel Accommodation in Guernsey  4 Nights Hotel Accommodation Jersey  Breakfasts & Dinners as per itinerary  Detailed Road Book featuring Maps, Great Drives and Local Attractions  Commemorative Tour Rally Plate

Set sail to the Channel Islands onboard Condor Liberation and arrive in Guernsey in as little as 3 hours. Onboard you can relax in one of the spacious passenger lounges, or enjoy a breath of fresh air out on deck. If you’re feeling peckish or fancy a drink you’ll find something to satisfy you in the Island Bar, and Casquets Bistro. And make sure you visit the onboard Duty Free shop where you will find great savings on your favourite brands!

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THE UK’S LEADING TOUR OPERATOR 01732 879153 or see our website FOR THE DRIVING ENTHUSIAST www.sceniccartours.com All flight bookings are operated for Scenic & Continental Car Tours by our sister company Success Tours ATOL No. 5114

THREE YEARS AFTER THEIR LAST GERMAN TRIP, SEAN SMALLMAN AND FRIENDS RETURNED TO THE PORSCHE FACTORY, VISITING RUF EN ROUTE.

Author Sean Smallman Photography Sean Smallman & Paul Howman

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BRINGI METAL

GING THE L HOME AGAIN

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FOLLOWING ON from our trip in 2015, we went back to Stuttgart for the 70th Anniversary Display and a tour of the new look factory. Our week long trip took us through the Rhine & Mosel Valleys, Romantic Road, RUF, Nurburgring and Spa. The trip did not get off to the best of starts with a three hour delay at the Channel Tunnel due to a power issue. To top the day off, as we pulled off the train it started to rain. The drive to Koblenz was not at all enjoyable and we abandoned the scenic routes due to time pressures. I have had better days but a burger, a few glasses of Weissbeer and the locals in the bar breaking into song lifted our spirits.

We woke to more rain and a heavy mist. I decided to go and get some fuel before breakfast and spun the car on a hairpin. No damage done and a timely reminder that you have to be gentle in a 964 when it’s wet.

The Rhine Valley from Koblenz to Mainz is a picturesque drive by the river, through vine covered slopes and castles on the hilltops. We stopped at Rüdesheim for a ride on the cable car up to the Niederwald Landscape Park, not that we could really see the famous monument which was obscured by the mist. We took a stroll along Drosselgrasse, billed as Germanys happiest street – you would certainly be merry after frequenting the many bars and restaurants. We followed the river until we got to the industrial zone, then went cross country on a scenic route to Wurzburg and the start of the multicoloured gingerbread style houses in the towns on the Romantic Road.

There are around 30 towns along the Romantic Road and the countryside around them is a mixture of pasture and forests. The roads in the area are great for spirited driving with lots of fast, sweeping corners perfect for having some fun in a sportscar. We stopped in the walled towns of Rothenburg and Dinkelsbuhl, where there is lots of interesting architecture to look at and enjoy. The towns are very relaxed and easy to walk around.

I’m not sure if it would be the same in the height of summer but it was very pleasant in the autumn sunshine. Our overnight stop was Augsburg, one of the larger towns on the route. We had a nice walk around the old town before dinner overlooking the main square.

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The following day everyone was down early for breakfast and the group were chatting excitedly about our morning visit to RUF’s headquarters in Pfaffenhausen. The showroom was very modest, with space for two cars sat in front of a plain white counter. The cars were stunning: a brand new SCR at €650,000 and a 993 conversion, both combining the best of design and classic retro Porsche styling.

The workshop facilities were functional, with several of the CT range on the ramps for service and a very pretty heavily customised 356 sat in the corner. Built by a Frenchman with a 993 engine, RUF are trying to make it drivable, as it is dangerous over 60kph. The rest of the industrial unit had dedicated areas for every stage of the build and preparation process. The engine test beds were the highlight, one for water cooled engines and one for air cooled. The air cooled test bed was bought from BMW when they stopped building engines for F1. RUF take great pride in their engines and for €50,000 they offered to double the power of my 964.

When you see the technicians at work, you appreciate why a RUF conversion is so expensive. As well as the new CT models that they design and build, conversion is their bread and butter. The attention to detail is meticulous, the old engines looked brand new. When you are told that they have never had an engine fail, you can see why. Our guide for the morning was technically excellent, expertly answering all of our questions in very good English. RUF also have a Porsche Franchise and manage a service only centre on the opposite side of the road – which was handy as I needed my oil topping up. In a separate workshop over there, technicians were assembling Impact Bumper (1980s) wide-bodied Turbos. When Porsche launched the 964, RUF bought the overstock of bodyshells. You can own a brand new, 30 year old looking 930 for the bargain price of €400,000.

It was a short drive to Fussen, near the Austrian border, and the last town on the Romantic Road. Bakewell is famous for its tart, but the delicacy of Fussen is the snowball. A solid cricket ball sized ball of biscuit covered in chocolate or icing, with a cream filling of your choice from a large selection of sweet, savoury or alcoholic flavours. They looked better than they tasted, although it was good fun trying to eat them.

To burn off some calories, we spent a couple of hours walking around this very pretty town also famous for making violins. The final stop of the day was to Schwangau, to take some pictures of Schloss Neuschwanstein. A 19th Century fairytale castle, it is the fourth most visited attraction in Germany and was flown over by Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

There was a change of scenery for the drive up to Stuttgart, through the forests of Bavaria to Lake Bodensee. Then heading north to the B500, The Schwarzwaldhochstrasse (translated as The Black Forest High Street). The 60 kilometre route starts at Freudenstadt and finishes in the spa town of Baden Baden. This is a high road with lots of fast bends and hairpins. The scenery is very dramatic, as you drive above the forest which stretches across the horizon. It was a long day and it was nice to arrive at the 14th Century Schloss Hotel and catch up with the group that joined us for the next few days.

We arrived at the Porsche Museum well ahead of our 10am time slot for the factory tour. The factory is expanding and a new one kilometre track has been built for transporting the Taycan painted bodies and drive units across a new bridge to the assembly area. Porsche are investing €3 billion over the next four years, lots of building and upgrading works were taking place at the time of our visit. The trimming section had row after row of leather, the pieces are cut out by machine and stitched together by a seamstress on what looked like a standard sewing machine.

The engine assembly plant was also surprisingly labour intensive and while some elements were built by robot, the majority of the unit is completed by hand. Our guide told us that robots can not perform complex tasks and the engine is too precious to risk. Our tour ended on the production line, we watched the final checks taking place as the cars were signed off for delivery.

After a quick coffee break we spent the next couple of hours wandering around the museum. The 70 years display was fantastic, from coupes to single seater GP cars – not forgetting the roadsters. This showcased the evolution of Porsche perfectly and that motorsport was and still is the DNA of the brand.

We arrived back at the hotel to find that we had created quite a stir in the village of Höfingen and the local press had been despatched to find out what all the Porsches were doing in the car park. The interview was translated by the owner’s daughter and a round of drinks was gifted by the boss after the photoshoot.

The penultimate day we split into two groups after driving past the motorsport and development factory at Weissach. One group headed to the Nurburgring to meet up with Nick Ramsey who had kindly offered passenger laps for those that had not driven the ring before. The rest of us headed to the ring, taking the scenic route and a drive along the Mosel Valley to Cochem. Then taking the 258 – one of the best roads in the area and a favourite for the guys of Total 911. Unfortunately heavy rain after lunchtime closed the track, so we settled for a Bratwurst in the famous Pit Stop Cafe.

On the final day we woke to heavy mist, but despite the damp conditions it was a spirited drive to Spa and the last event on our itinerary. The Racing Festival is a three day end of season finale and is free to enter. As usual at Spa all areas are accessible and you can stand by the cars in the paddock as they queue to go on track. We found a good vantage point on the roof of the restaurant and watched the racing in the warm autumn sunshine.

I always enjoy Germany. The roads are great and you get the opportunity to release the horses on the autobahn. That said, a lot of sections are now restricted and that seems to be a trend across the network.

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A WOLF IN WOLF’S CLOTHING IT HAS long been in a feature of car ownership that there are people who want something different to all of the models available from the world’s manufacturers. For some it is a way of putting some sort of personal stamp on what they drive, for others a matter of elevating an already rare car to a state of uniqueness but for some, even though they can afford just about anything commercially available, they have to drive that certain, wildly different, ‘something’.

So it was with the Canadian Walter Wolf, a selfmade man who had been born in Austria of mixed parents on the cusp of WW2 and only reached his adopted home via time spent in the Balkans, a Russian internment camp and West Germany. A successful businessman in

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the oil industry, he began to take an interest in Formula 1 in 1975 and in 1976 bought into Frank Williams Racing prior to Frank leaving and forming Williams Grand Prix Engineering. For the 1977–79 seasons Walter Wolf Racing, as the team became, ran cars of their own designs, but their performance alternated between success and retirement and he ultimately exited F1.

Wolf was precisely one of those men who needed a road car with a certain ‘something’ and this led to his commissioning the creation of three modified versions of the already outrageous Lamborghini Countach. However and as we all know from our childhoods, even the biggest and shiniest toys can lose their lustre – but just how do you replace a 200mph (and this was 1979, remember) Lamborghini with looks to match?

Quite simply, you just take a pure racing car and put it on the road with the minimum of modification. That was certainly not a new idea even then – Count Rossi’s 917 springs to mind but there have been various other examples – and while Wolf was also looking in the direction of a Porsche he had something even more powerful in mind: The model that had just won Le Mans for the Kremer team! Based in Köln, the well-known Porsche tuning and racing business run by the brothers Erwin and Manfred Kremer had already been making a model called the 935 Street, which incorporated some of the features of their evolution 935 racer into a 911 or 930 base. Few of these were made – one was

supplied to British record producer and Porsche fan Mickie Most – and so Wolf approached them to commission a roadgoing 935.

However, what he wanted was not a 935 lookalike but an actual 935 with the minimum of technical modifications to make it a road car, plus some civilising features. Kremer had reached the K3 stage of developing their own variant of the 935 and it was one of these 2.85L, twin turbo, flat six, twin plug, flame breathing monsters that formed the basis for the Wolf project. While the suspension received attention in terms of height and compliancy it was probably the practicalities of making the engine (reduced to 740bhp!) run happily in normal road conditions and getting the exhaust quiet enough that most preoccupied the brothers. Adding some luxury to the interior looks simply to

have been a matter of raiding the 930 parts bins – right down to electric windows and air conditioning – although its racing origins were certainly not totally disguised. A nice touch was the incorporation of the wolf’s head ‘W’ symbol used on his F1 cars on the rev counter face and very much in the manner of the era a huge custom-made stereo was fitted, with speakers and controls each well into double figures.

Speaking of figures, while a fuel consumption of circa 11.5mpg may seem not unreasonable in the circumstances the various sums quoted for the car’s 1980 invoice price certainly were not!

The interior was finished in blue with red piping and exterior in navy with some subtle red detailing, along with a few of those ‘W’

symbols again. The appearance was pretty much standard 935, with normal K3 lightweight panels and only small modifications like the incorporation of some neat indicators/ side lamps at the front and fog lamps at the rear. The car was somehow (perhaps by Wolf using his connections) registered in Alberta, Canada, although it was only used in Europe and resided in the south of France. It was obviously able to offer insane acceleration and top speed, particularly for the period and Wolf once claimed that replacement tyres needed to be sent ahead on long journeys due to its propensity to consume them. Presumably luggage was also forwarded, given that the front compartment was occupied by the fuel tank and other essentials.

Wolf managed to clock up 6,000 miles during his ownership before selling it to the Swiss collector Angelo Pallavincini in 1987, a man who raced many Porsches between 1975 and 1986 including 935s. He retained it until 2013 with still only 6,300 miles recorded and the car is apparently still in remarkably good and original condition today. We can only hope that no-one is tempted to convert it back to race trim, as to do that would be to miss the point made by this unique and charismatic car – that wolves do not always disguise themselves in sheep’s clothing.

Author Martin Broadribb Photography Ted Walker Archive

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EARLIER IN 2018, two snapped springs and a weeping PASM shock left me with a predicament; should I replace with the OEM Porsche equipment of Bilstein B4 Damptronics and stock springs, or take the opportunity to upgrade? I’d bought the car from the original owner in May 2017 and have been gradually replacing and enhancing aspects of the car. It’s a late 2005 997 C2S in the most desirable, but sadly not uncommon, Arctic Silver.

Those that know me for my modding addiction will know there was no way the stock kit was going to go on! Speaking with Bilstein, the lifetime of the shocks is 100k miles and as my car was over 125k miles, it was time for a change.

Given I wanted to keep the PASM button, I was surprised by the lack of choice on the market for replacement shocks – eventually all enquires led back to Bilstein.

With the shortage of Bilstein shocks in the UK, I found a very nice Frenchman at Rose Passion in France who had a set of Bilstein B16 Damptronic Coilovers on the shelf. After trying my best GCSE French (what is the French for PASM compatible damper?), he handed me over to an English speaking colleague and the deal was done on a favourable exchange rate. With shipping, the lot came in about the same as four shocks and springs from the local OPC so I was happy with the outcome.

PERFECT BALANCE CENTER GRAVITY WORKING THEIR MAGIC ON NICHOLAS PAPÉ’S 997 Author Nicholas Papé Photography Nicholas Papé

A box of goodness arrived the next day and it was straight off to DW Performance to get them fitted. I also took the opportunity to replace the coffin arms, tuning forks and inner and outer track rod ends. There were lots of shiny new bits of metal and the car felt much more planted and of course, lower. I also bought hub centric spacers to widen the track and push my Carrera Classic wheels out using 15mm at the rear and 9mm at the front. The stance looked just right.

A few track days at Bedford Autodrome and Blyton let me feel the limits of the car and I noticed how flat the car cornered and also how the speed coming out of the corners was improved. I fitted some RS spec engine mounts and the whole car felt really tight.

Given the car had had most of the suspension replaced and new tyres, I felt it deserved to be properly set up so I could really feel the benefit of the investment. Asking around for recommendations, the resounding and almost unanimous response from Porsche owners far and wide was to go and see Chris and Pete at Center Gravity. I booked in on a Saturday and made the journey over.

The day started with a test drive where Pete drove me around the local and known roads for about 30 minutes testing the car, how it held and fell with road cambers, thrust and handling.

It was great being driven in my car as that is a rare occurrence for me, especially by someone who has driven lots of 911s. Remember, I have no benchmark of what it ‘should’ be like so being driven on a controlled route by someone who does this day in and day out gave me confidence that I was in safe hands.

The team were very friendly and interested and very passionate about what they do. I was also instantly offered a cup of tea which for me is a winner on so many levels! I spoke with them both and discussed my history with the car and what I was looking for in terms of road use. For me, it’s about B-road blasting, track work and the occasional long tour; so I was interested to see what they had to say and how they would set up the car.

On returning, Pete summarised the test drive.

The car pulled to the left on both left and right cambered roads and also pushed to the left under acceleration. Also, the front wheels were erratically distracted by any interesting dips or lumps in the road which I thought was just 911s being 911s. Finally, there was a touch of oversteer. It sounds odd to say this, but I was really excited that there were things wrong with the car as this meant it could get even better!

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I liked their approach; they wanted to see how the car felt, come up with a hypothesis and then use machines and technology to prove the point.

The car then went up on the ramp and a full diagnosis was carried out including tyre pressures and ride height. First job was to put adequate weight in the front tub as Porsche specify the vehicle to be measured with a full tank. Before the wheels left the ground, the Hunter Hawkeye alignment tool was used to see how the wheels aligned with Pete’s theory and sure enough, the numbers and pictures supported the hypothesis. Both front wheels were facing outward causing the interesting steering, the thrust angle was sending the car left and there was too much camber on the rear which meant not enough tyre was in contact with the road and led to oversteer.

From there, a myriad of adjustments and measurements were made.

“IT’S NOT ABOUT IMPROVING IT, IT’S ABOUT RETURNING YOUR CAR TO HOW PORSCHE MEANT IT TO FEEL.”

Chris and Pete talk of ‘chasing cherries’ similar to that of a fruit machine. When you change one thing, be it caster, toe, camber or ride height, it pushes the others out. To me it seemed like juggling soot but Pete soon had all aspects set up to our chosen specification. Given the car has PASM and B16s and the fact I don’t want to be arguing with speedbumps at the station, we decided to go for a GT3 specification including ride height. Once that was set, the car was corner weighted which involves putting scales under each wheel and adjusting the ride height to balance the car. This means the 1,494kg is shared equally as it should be. 911s are still very rear heavy and there is unfortunately no getting over the physics.

Once everything was set, all the bolts were torqued up and marked to show they had been adjusted and torqued. I was given strict

instructions not to touch anything! “Bring it back if you bend it or want to make it more track focused” was the clear instruction. The only component needing replacement was a front drop link where the plastic had cracked and that arrived within a couple of hours from ECP. A final dousing of liquid wax liberally applied over all the components and the car was set down. The next step was of course a test drive.

Pete did the same test drive as we had done in the morning and showed how the characteristics of the drive earlier in the day were now changed.

I then took over and finally felt how a 911 should handle. I felt I was doing less steering on

B-roads and more aligning. The car felt very steady and I found myself feeling confident to press on. I had more grip and the car pulled straight under all testing, including a now level steering wheel … a wonky wheel is one of my biggest bête noires! A big thank you to the team at Center Gravity, nothing is too much trouble and the care and attention to detail is amazing and confidence inspiring.

Naturally I thanked Chris and Pete for all their hard work and for improving the handling and Chris made a comment that stayed with me: “It’s not about improving it, it’s about returning your car to how Porsche meant it to feel”. He is spot on.

If you have a Porsche of any shape or size and you want to know if the car is set up correctly or you want it set up to suit your driving style, give Center Gravity a call. You won’t be disappointed.

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PORSCHING TO POLAND

IN THE SUMMER OF 2018 GARETH, STEF AND CASSIE (THEIR 928) HIT THE OPEN ROADS AND HEADED FOR POLAND FOR A FAMILY WEDDING …

Author Stef Mahan Photography Stef Mahan & Gareth Aldridge

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AFTER A Dover to Calais crossing, we headed for the Netherlands and arrived in the early hours of Sunday morning. Refreshed after a good sleep, and ready to begin exploring, we headed into Amsterdam and explored. We enjoyed a cup of coffee whilst realising that cars are not liked in ’Dam, but our Cassie did look stunning on the riverside! We had the bride and groom to meet up with at Quedinburg, so we needed to get on with the road trip.

Back on the autobahn heading to meet up with Karolina and Mike we came across a slight issue – Cassie decided that she no longer liked one of her front belts (driver error shall we say), which in turn took out all her other front belts and proceeded to chew up her wiring loom! So we were stranded on the side of the autobahn and awaiting recovery. We were taken to a hotel near the local Porsche Centre at Leusden and hoped that they would have what we needed to get back on the road. No such luck – the Netherlands had no 928 alternator belts, so we had to await a delivery from Germany before we could get back on the road …

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On the Monday Gareth fixed the wiring loom and fitted a power steering belt (they had this in stock). Thankfully Tuesday’s delivery from Germany brought Cassie’s alternator belt, so Gareth fitted that, whilst I packed a spare belt in the boot – yes we bought a spare too. The only reason we didn’t have a spare with us was because she had only just had all new front belts fitted the week that we left … not wanting to fall into that trap again we now had a spare belt in the boot and we were back on the road …

Overall a truly magical day with our landshark as a much-loved part of the wedding party.

We finally arrived in Berlin on Monday night having missed the bride and groom, so Wednesday saw us exploring Berlin before heading into Poland. Our first stop was the Television Tower. The 360-degree view was spectacular and let us eyeball where we were about to explore. On the road heading to Tuefelsburg we saw a fellow landshark parked up – the first transaxle porker spotted on the trip – and it was a beauty.

We found ourselves exploring the Polish Transport Museum, where you were able to sit in some of the cars/trucks/bikes and sidecars, and the engineering behind the cars was also explained. Next to the Transport Museum was the Steele Sculpture Exhibition, so this had to be explored too … WOW the sculptures that have been made from nuts, bolts, chains, etc. were out of this world. There was Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Minions, Dinosaurs, Predator, Tasmanian Devil, bikes, cars (some even had working engines), R2D2 and CP30 to name just a few – and they were all life-size.

Tufelsburg was another world – exploring the old Soviet Spy camp was truly mesmerising.

In its heyday the building was built to listen in to radio frequency broadcasts during the war.

They could listen in to frequencies as far afield as Russia! Now the site is the largest graffiti artist studio in the world and is open to the public.

We both could have explored here for days but we had a wedding party to get to – so after a cheeky photo or two in front of the towers we were back on the road.

Before we crossed on to Polish soil, we stopped at the last German service station – where Cassie received the VIP treatment. As soon as we had pulled onto the forecourt the service attendant made a beeline for our sexy landshark and she was personally fuelled by him. When I came out of the shop having paid, the lovely gentleman was now kindly cleaning her windscreen and proceeded to clean her headlights! Cassie had all her dead bugs removed and she could see her way into Poland properly.

Thursday was the start of exploring Warsaw’s Old Town but also the beginning of an epic Polish and South African wedding. Gorgeous architec ture and cobbled streets made for stunning backdrops, especially for the gorgeous landshark, though not as much as the stunning woodland and forests that surrounded us. Anyone who knows us will know that our cars are well photographed so pictures in the forest were an opportunity not to be missed.

Saturday morning was bath time as Cassie needed to get her all her mile-munching dust and dead bugs removed to look pretty for her wedding duties. Once she was clean and polished, we got ourselves ready and headed over to the wedding venue. The traditional Polish venue was truly amazing, and my biased opinion is that Cassie looked stunning too. With her duties as wedding car fulfilled, Cassie sat and enjoyed the party in the courtyard. The vodka flowed VERY freely, everyone’s inhibitions went flying out the window, there was dancing in the very much needed rain and lots of food.

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After sleeping off all the vodka we had the pleasure of working air con on a taxi ride back to the venue to pick up Cassie. Once reunited we took a sedate drive into Warsaw for more exploring. We stumbled across the Palace of Culture and Science Building – wow, this place was like a Tardis housing a couple of restaurants, a cinema, casino, and art galleries.

Sunday night was a post-wedding BBQ and party and was a night that saw many more vodka shots, music, food and dancing … meaning only one thing – Monday was a day of rest, recovery and definitely no driving!

By Tuesday we had recovered and we were back on the road, heading to my Auntie’s in a village north of Warsaw. After a couple of hours on the open roads we had arrived at Myszyniec, though before going to Auntie’s I took Gareth to visit the lake where I have many memories … as we are now in the heart of ‘proper Poland’ as I call it, I felt at home, though this was short-lived as all of a sudden we hear a very loud whooshing noise and yes, you’ve guessed it, we had a flat tyre.

We got out expecting to see a screw in Cassie’s tyre, but instead find what I can only describe as a torture device sticking out! Don’t think a tin of tyre weld is going to help here, but one goes in anyway and we gently drive 50 yards to a safe place by a nearby shop. Gareth sets to getting Cassie’s rear tyre off and I am now testing my very rusty Polish with the shop owner lady to see if there are any local tyre shops …

Some time later, and with the very kind help of the shop lady’s brother, we have a repaired tyre back on Cassie and we are back on the road heading to Auntie’s where we finally arrive safely after following the one-word instruction that Gareth translated from the tyre hut repair man … “SLOWLY!” After catching up with family we were back on the road towards Krakow by Wednesday afternoon.

This was now the start of the unplanned part of the road trip and where we were going was a mystery. Arriving in Krakow we met up with friends we had made at the wedding and more new friends were made too. After a night tour of the amazing city we enjoyed a mystical rooftop sunrise before deciding where our next destination would be.

Thursday was a glorious morning and the sunrise was one that will never be forgotten.

Poised with a morning coffee and an open map book we decided that the best place to head would be Austria to drive one of our ‘bucket list’ passes – Großglocknerstraße. Cassie’s V8 engine roared into life and we set off onto the open road – Austria here we come! We passed through Czech Republic a few Koruna lighter after I/we got a fine from the Motorway Police for not displaying a toll sticker – I had to be driving at the time didn’t I? Arriving in Austria was out of this world – the scenery was picturesque all around and there was even snow still on the mountains, which felt bizarre with the temperatures at 35+ degrees.

After climbing the Großglocknerstraße Pass I completely understood how it was still there – the cold, fresh, invigorating air at the top was well received.

We explored the surroundings before heading to Stuttgart on Friday Afternoon – we couldn’t miss the Museum when we were this close, and it was where Cassie was built some 30 years ago. Yes, she turned 30 on this adventure too, so with off to the museum we headed. Leaving the amazing views behind us we were soon on German soil again and as night drew in, we could see the Porsche beacon in the sky as we neared the museum and factory. Cassie got to show us where she came from all those years ago and we could explore the museum the next day.

We found a special ‘69’ parking space in the museum car park with many models of Porsche friends from Cassie while we explored the vast array of cars on display in the museum. We were both in awe at what was there and pleased to see a few of our favourite ones out on display.

The Porsche 70th birthday year had brought worldwide celebrations and the museum was housing a beautiful 356 that had travelled from China to Stuttgart for the anniversary – on display for the remainder of the year before travelling back to China. That adventure was definity more epic than ours!

Our own adventure was coming to an end and the reality of Monday morning was nearing. We booked our ferry home for Sunday and headed back to port for our last night before heading back over the sea to British soil.

Over 15 days we travelled approximately 5,500 miles (‘approximately’ because Cassie’s odometer broke the morning we left!) We covered the Netherlands, Berlin, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany and the UK. We made memories that we will cherish forever and enjoyed every sweltering second in one sexy Porsche 928 S4. We saw a petrol station in every country, though she wasn’t quite as greedy as we thought she would be, and we would do it all again tomorrow.

If you want to see more of Cassie’s international adventures have a look at our Instagram pages on @stef_928 and @porsche_duck

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Regional round up R2

Scotland

R20

South Central

R25

Cumbria

R8

Anglia & North Essex

R4

Yorkshire

R11

North London, Herts & South Essex

R5

North West

R12

Kent & South East London

R18

Cheshire & Staffs

R13

Thames Valley

R26

Shropshire & Mid Wales

R9

Surrey & Sussex

R6

South Yorkshire & North Notts

R21

Hampshire

R24

Peterborough

R23

Southern

R19

East Midlands

R22

Bristol, South West & South Wales

R7

Central

R15

Cornwall & Devon

R2

R25 R4 R5

R18

R26 R7

R22 R23

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SCOTLAND

scotland@tipec.net RO David Clelland • 07794 600 808 ARO (West) Neil Baird ARO (East) Tim Price Facebook: TIPEC Scotland Meetings are held first Wednesday of every month 7:30pm for an 8pm start in the 007 bar, upstairs at Bo’Ness Motor Museum, Bridgeness Road, Bo’Ness EH51 9JR. www.motor-museum.bo-ness.org.uk Regional sponsors: McLean and Stewart, Solicitors & ClipperTrek Motorhome Hire First of all I would like to wish everyone a happy new year and I hope that 2019 will be as successful and enjoyable as 2018.

Nothing ever stays the same and it is with regret that I have to inform you that after one year as ARO and two years as RO, Scott Allan has given up the reigns of the Scottish Region to pursue more pressing work and family matters. Russell Burton also decided that he did not want to continue in his post, but I’m glad to say John

Davidson is happy to be part of the new structure.

On behalf of the members I’d like to thank them for all they have done in the past. The Scottish Region is the biggest in the club (membership and geographic area) which is partly due to the efforts of the outgoing team. The workload that this generates is considerable and it was decided at the November meeting that we should now have a committee or management team instead of restricting ourselves to three officials (although for administrative reasons we will retain these posts).

The new team Regional Organiser: David Clelland Assistant Regional Organiser (West): Neil Baird Assistant Regional Organiser (East): Tim Price Andrew McDowell, John Davidson and Nick Marshall will make up the management team to add experience and expertise to lessen the workload. Out with the old and in with the new.

The last event of the year was our annual Christmas dinner held at Selkirk and by all accounts everybody that attended had a great time. I’m sure there were a few sore heads on the Sunday morning.

Following a poll prepared by Neil Baird and thanks to our sponsors Angelwax for the prizes, the awards for 2018 were: Newcomer Award 2018 David Clelland (runner up Tim Price) Technical Award 2018 Sean Garswood (runner up Russell Burton) Spirit of the Club Award 2018 Neil Baird (runner up Nick Marshall) Member of the Year Award 2018 Scott Allan (runner up Margaret Adey) Since there was no January meeting, due to it being too close to the holidays, the first meeting of the year will be at the start of February. The following are the dates of the first few meetings in 2019 (first Wednesday of the month).

February 6th (Wednesday) Club night at Bo’ness Motor Museum March 6th (Wednesday) Club night at Bo’ness Motor Museum April 3rd (Wednesday) Club night at Bo’ness Motor Museum May 1st (Wednesday) Club night at Bo’ness Motor Museum A full calendar for the new year is currently being prepared and more details of events and runs will be given when this is complete. It will include many of the shows that we have attended in 2018 and possibly some new ones as well as day and weekend outings. Check our Regional Facebook and club website pages.

TIPEC Scotland’s Christmas meal AT 133

David and Scott

Please feel free to email any suggestions to the new management team on scotland@tipec.net

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YORKSHIRE

yorkshire@tipec.net RO Chris Grayson-Pedley RO Laurence Parkin Facebook: The Independent Porsche Enthusiasts Club Yorkshire Meetings are held third Monday of every month 7:30pm at The Red Lion, Main St, Burley in Wharfedale, Ilkley LS29 7BT.

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CUMBRIA

RO & ARO wanted urgently No meetings at present.

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NORTH WEST

RO Colin Hammerton • 07500 908 091 col.hamm@hotmail.co.uk ARO Richard Sholl • 07970 147 779 n22rks@googlemail.com ARO Allan Diamond • 07582 197 558 joandald@aol.com Meetings are held on the second Monday of the month from 7pm (with club business dealt with at 8pm) at The Bowling Green, Preston Road, Charnock Richard PR7 5LA. Let me start my first report as RO by giving Richard Sholl a huge thanks from everyone in the NW for all his and Diane’s hard work over the last three years.

I have worked very closely with Richard as his ARO in those three years and can confirm we’ve had an absolute blast.

Thanks also go to Darron (Bowser) Pollard who has also stepped down from his role as ARO. Going forwards I will do my utmost to fill the big boots that Richard has left behind. We now have a new ARO who many of you will already know well, in the form of Alan Diamond.

Alan has been a very active NW member for the last couple of years and I look forward to working with him to keep TIPEC North West moving onwards and upwards.

Richard has agreed to stay on for the next 12 months in an ARO position to help keep things going as usual.

We had a fantastic end to the NW ‘club run’ season.

Our last run of the year in mid-November saw no less than 27 Porsches rock up for coffee at 8am at McDonalds Clitheroe.

At 8:30am we got on the road and headed off to The Anchor Inn at Salterforth for Breakfast where we were met by two more Porsches to make a grand total of 29! A hearty breakfast was then enjoyed by all.

TIPEC North West ‘Mecca’ at Ribblehead Viaduct with 27 Porsches

After breakfast 27 cars enjoyed a run up to Settle.

We regrouped on the car park there and then had a spirited drive at TIPEC NW pace to what has become known as TIPEC NW Mecca. Ribblehead Viaduct is the perfect location for a photoshoot.

From Ribblehead a couple of cars turned back for home but the rest of us carried on up to Hawes and the Wensleydale Creamery for a brew and a bit of Cheese sampling. From Hawes we made our way home in smaller groups.

Our Christmas lunch this year was held at The Foxfields Hotel, where we had 48 members in attendance. New member Neil Bancroft also joined us later for a drink as it was his birthday, making 49 in total – our busiest Christmas lunch yet. A fabulous afternoon was enjoyed by all involved, good food, great banter but most of all fantastic NW Porsche people.

Our December Christmas Club Night was absolutely crazy, 50+ people filled our club meeting room to capacity with extra seating having to be brought in! There were some high value prizes up for grabs generously donated by our friends at Unique Porsche Specialist and Jasmine Porshalink along with many other prizes.

The first place winners were a team of three made up of Brian Butterworth, Paul Ffelan & Michelle Bonnar. The quizmaster was Richard Sholl and his questions fairly taxed most people’s knowledge.

The TIPEC North West Christmas meal

March 8th (Friday) RS Day at Oulton Park March 11th (Monday) Club night at The Bowling Green March 31st (Sunday) Breakfast run April 7th (Sunday) TIPEC AGM April 8th (Monday) Club night April 14th (Sunday) Northern-ish Gathering April 26th (Friday) Chippy tea run May 3rd–5th (Friday–Sunday) Donington Historic

That’s all from me for now, if you’ve never been to a club night or event please do feel free to come along meet the gang and get involved. You can find us on Facebook, search for ‘North West Region - Porsche Enthusiasts Club’.

May 13th (Monday) Club night at The Bowling Green

February 11th (Monday) Club night at The Bowling Green

May 19th (Sunday) Porsches on the Prom

February 24th (Sunday) Breakfast run

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CHESHIRE & STAFFS

RO Chris Hulme • 07775 794 291 chris@claytonhulme.co.uk ARO Stefanie Mahan • 07776 132 389 ARO Gareth Aldridge • 07881 228 944 gj.aldridge@yahoo.co.uk ARO Ian Highfield ianhighfield@talktalk.net facebook.com/groups/TIPEC.CS Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month at 8pm at the Kilton Inn, Warrington Rd, Knutsford, WA16 0PZ. As you are reading this we have welcomed a new year and there are a lot of plans for the region.

2018 finished off with a Christmas drive through the Peak District – the weather was a crisp winters day with an array of Porkers, a Scooby and MX-5 in convoy. The open roads were sunny and picturesque – perfect to blow away the cobwebs before the festivities began. We stopped for a coffee at the hidden cove of a book shop in High Peak before hitting the roads again to finish off with a lovely country pub meal in Whaley Bridge.

Our December club night was our annual Christmas meal, quiz and raffle night. After a lovely Christmas meal, everyone enjoyed the picture quiz of region members cars … with some

of them being a real challenge to answer. Our raffle received some fantastic prizes from Darren at Unique Porsche, Autoglym, Porsche Centre Bolton, Aldridge & Co and region members too. A massive thanks to everyone – those lucky members with winning tickets got some fab prizes, as did their Porsches.

December club night also saw our previous RO, Mr David Watson, receive honorary club membership for the hard work and commitment he has shown not only Cheshire & Staffs region but also the club over the last 18 years. Truly deserved and us at the helm currently have very big shoes to fill. I (Stef) have had the pleasure of learning so much from Dave, not only about Porsches but 928s specifically – as well as having the pleasure of helping with his restoration project too. I know everyone within the region has fab memories of Dave over the years. For all that you have done and continue to do – THANK YOU Dave, and continue to enjoy the club as a valued member who can take a ‘back seat’ now.

As you are reading this we will have seen in 2019, as a region, around the Welsh hills for our New Years drive, though don’t worry we have lots planned for 2019.

There’s a few of our current planned events below, but please keep your eyes out for announcements via email, social media and website.

Wishing you all an amazing 2019 and look forward to seeing you all on an adventure or two over the year.

February 17th (Sunday) Dubfreeze Show, Stafford County Showground (contact Stefanie or Gareth for details) February 19th (Tuesday) Club night at The Kilton Inn March 3rd (Sunday) Burgers & spanners at Gareth’s workshop (weather permitting) March 8th (Friday) Oulton Park RS day March 19th (Tuesday) Club night at The Kilton Inn March 22nd–24th NEC classic car & restoration show

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S HROPSHIRE & MID WALES

RO Richard Simmons • 07972 811 221 richardjjs@yahoo.co.uk ARO Deana Simmons Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month from 7pm at the Corbet Arms, Uffington, SY4 4SN.

Porsche Centre Bolton at Christmas

Dave Watson receiving his honorary membership

Had a great meeting at the Corbet arms in December and a Meal at The Old hall Dorrington later in the Month. The Corbet arms will be a great venue in the Spring and Summer as we can sit outside overlooking the River Severn. We can discuss other venues and a run out around Lake Vernwy and Lake Bala later in February.

February 5th (Tuesday) Club night at the Corbet Arms, Uffington March 5th (Tuesday) Club night at the Corbet Arms, Uffington

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PETERBOROUGH

peterborough@tipec.net RO Stuart Wand • 07725 328 183 ARO Michael Walter • 07975 542 981 facebook.com/groups/PeterboroughTipec Monthly meetings are held second Wednesday of every month from 7pm at The Golden Pheasant, 1 Main Street, Etton, Peterborough PE6 7DA.

On the Christmas drive through the Peak District AT 133

We arranged a Saturday morning visit to DSJ Detailing in Stamford. Daniel and his team welcomed us on a rather cold morning with great barista coffee. Daniel runs a rather nice detailing and car storage facility close to Stamford. A good collection of cars were assembled ranging from a beautiful 911 T, a Vauxhall Grey 993 Turbo (I kid

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S OUTH YORKSHIRE & NORTH NOTTS.

RO & ARO wanted urgently Meetings are held first Sunday of every month at 7pm for 7:30pm start at Ye Olde Bell Hotel, Barnby Moor, Retford, Notts, DN22 8QS Keep up to date at www.synn.org.uk or look for us on Facebook as ‘Porsche Enthusiasts Club - South Yorkshire & North Notts (TIPEC)’ R19

EAST MIDLANDS

east.mids@tipec.net RO Jim Stevens • 07879 885 260 ARO George Acquah • 07958 057 582 ARO Jack Littlemore • 07759 775 705 Boxsters parked up together at the DSJ Detailing day

do for your Porsche and a stunning Porsche cup car will also be in attendance. It’s always a very enjoyable event and gold accredited Porsche specialist Kev Waterhouse will be available to answer any questions you have about maintenance and all things Porsche.

912E at the detailing day

you not), right through to a very new and shiny 911 GT3 RS. It was also good to meet up with Nick Papé and his posse from South Central – we do like inter-regional events.

Another of our inter-regional meets was a run out to the Caffeine & Machine establishment near Stratford-upon-Avon. This not only involved TIPEC regions but also members of the Cayman Owners Club. Our group met at the usual service station on the A605. We proceeded at pace to our chosen muster points on the A43 at Brackley where we joined other enthusiasts ready for a run out. It felt like Porsches were coming out of every turn as the convoy grew massively the closer we got.

Let’s just say that the venue is rather unique; an old coaching inn which has been transformed into a petrolhead Mecca, complete with yellow 993 in the lounge! Having only been open a few weeks there were some teething problems, but once they get the food and drink service sorted it will be a very popular place.

So now to 2019 where we are planning our first European tour to the Spa Classic which we’re greatly looking forward to. We have lots of great trips out, the usual shows and some new ones for 2019 being planned. Watch this space!

February 10th (Sunday) Breakfast trip to the Super Sausage Café near Towcester February 13th (Wednesday) Club night at the Golden Pheasant February 23rd (Saturday) Center Gravity visit We’ve arranged a visit to the Mecca of all things suspension-related for your Porsche.

Numbers will be limited.

March 13th (Wednesday) Club night at the Golden Pheasant March 24th (Sunday) Open day at Barkston Refinishing www.barkstonrefinishing.co.uk

Our annual Christmas dinner was held at the Golden Pheasant. The food was good, the company was even better and ever yone enjoyed themselves.

Barkston Refinishing have invited us to an open morning at their premises in Grantham.

They are a small family run bodyshop who have built an enviable local reputation for quality and service. They have a number of interesting restoration projects on at the moment including a complete restoration of a 911 SC.

DW Performance will be hosting their popular cars and coffee morning on 30th March. This time Millers Oils will be presenting what their oils can

March 30th (Saturday) DW Performance, Cars & Coffee at their workshop in Wellingborough

Meetings are held first Wednesday of every month 7pm at The Packe Arms, Rempstone Road, Hoton, Loughborough LE12 5SJ. Happy New year to all East Midlands members!

We’ve been fairly quiet for the last couple of months although many members have been out and about visiting various car meets throughout November and December.

By the time you read this we’ll have had our New Year meal at the Packe Arms and will also have had a number of our members joining up with the Peterborough, South Central and Thames Valley regions at the Bicester Sunday Scramble on January 6th.

Plans are starting to come together for club events in early 2019 – please see the current plans below and look out for email / Facebook updates as more plans are added.

February 6th (Wednesday) Club meeting at The Packe Arms February 10th (Sunday) Breakfast at the Super Sausage Café (Potterspury, NN12 7QD) Meet at the café for 8am for a get together with Peterborough / South Central regions.

March 6th (Wednesday) Club meeting at The Packe Arms March 24th (Sunday) Cars & Coffee open morning at Barkston Refinishing. (Sharman’s Yard, Turnpike Close, Swingbridge Road, Grantham, NG31 7XU).

Barkston refinishers are a classic car restorer who have generously offered to host a cars and coffee morning at their premises (along with the Peterborough Region).

You’ll also see some of their recent work (including our former ROs car). Should be a great morning!

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Donington have been holding breakfast meetings on a Sunday morning. The first had about 300 cars turn up on a lovely sunny morning, the second only about 100, but the weather wasn’t great and I’m led to believe these meets will continue in 2019. I’ll confirm dates when they are announced.

The Bull’s Head hosted our Christmas meal, and I’m pleased to say the food has massively improved with the new Landlord, who is happy for us to continue meeting here in 2019.

In fact the pub is getting a major refurb later in 2019, including the addition of a conservatory.

Our improvement in the pub quiz has been halted due to its cancellation, bad news as we had reached the final twice.

We have a good number of events arranged for 2019, hopefully something to suit everyone, but if anyone would like to add anything to the listing please contact one of us and we can add it to the events listing.

944 looking enormous next to a Bond Bug!

February 26th (Tuesday) Club night at The Woolpack March 26th (Tuesday) Club night at The Woolpack April 7th (Sunday) TIPEC AGM

Anglia & North Essex cars parked up

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A NGLIA & NORTH ESSEX

Ian Jones • izzy.spyder@sky.com John Briggs • john.briggs@charcoal.uk.com Yvonne King • yvonneking@hotmail.com Adam Jiggins • adamjiggins69@gmail.com facebook.com/groups/618348854957396 Meetings are held fourth Tuesday of each month from 7pm at The Woolpack, Fornham St Martin, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP31 1SW. 01284 753 380 www.thewoolpackfornham.co.uk Wishing everyone a Happy New Year in this first edition of 2019. With the Christmas break well and truly done and dusted, planning is afoot for yet another busy year ahead!

There is not a lot to report as our December club night fell on the big day itself. A few ventured out over the last few weeks mostly for services and some other nondescript outings, to keep everything well oiled and running smoothly for the forthcoming year. Our post-Christmas shindig is occurring after writing this, so a full update of all happenings will be coming in the next issue.

Roll on 2019 – Chinese Year of the Pig, so get those piggies out for some fun.

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April 23rd (Tuesday) Club night at The Woolpack May 3rd–5th (Friday–Sunday) Donington Historic Festival R7

CENTRAL

tipeccentral@outlook.com RO Lindsay Brown • 07768 442 050 ARO Steve Jones • 07775 581 044 ARO Neil Smith • 07899 961 429 Meetings are held second Monday of every month 7:30pm onwards at The Bull’s Head, Birmingham Road, Shenstone WS14 0JR. www.vintageinn.co.uk/thebullsheadshenstone

We have booked our rooms for the overnight at The Northern-ish Gathering where there was a great turnout last year, so fingers crossed that the numbers increase again.

Central will once again be visiting Laon in 2019, if anyone fancies this please contact Neil as he has more info.

It won’t be long before the lighter nights are here and we can see your Porsches in The Bull’s Head car park.

February 11th (Monday) Club night at The Bull’s Head February 24th (Sunday) Breakfast meet, venue tbc March 11th (Monday) Club night at The Bull’s Head March 17th (Sunday) Breakfast meet, venue TBC March 22nd–24th (Friday–Sunday) Resto show at the NEC.

In November Central were the host region at the Classic and Sportscar show at the NEC, arguably the largest show of the year. This year being TIPEC’s 25th anniversary we went for a silver theme with the cars, and they looked fantastic.

April 7th (Sunday) MMM at Middleton Hall

This is a great weekend and a big thanks to all who not only polished their cars to within an inch of their life, but also everyone who turned up and helped on the stand, it really always is a great weekend.

April 13–14th (Saturday–Sunday) Northern-ish Gathering, Leeds

Central were invited to Sutton Coldfield OPC for a Christmas fayre and carol service. Over 20 of us turned up and I hope this will lead to them hosting events for us in 2019, hopefully including an open day in April.

April 8th (Monday) Club night at The Bull’s Head

April 20th (Saturday) Curry night at The Lodge April 21st (Sunday) Breakfast meet, venue TBC April TBC OPC visit, date TBC

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N ORTH LONDON, HERTS & SOUTH ESSEX

NLHSE@tipec.net RO Vince Dallimore • 07798 630 649 ARO Peter Musk • 07734 769 953 facebook.com/groups/1217447545000223 Douglas with his new 944

Red GT3 at Caffeine and Machine

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SOUTH CENTRAL

south.central@tipec.net RO Nick Papé • 07801 881 170 ARO Gary Howard • 07856 723 196 Instagram: @tipecsouthcentral Facebook.com/groups/southcentraltipec Meetings are held first Thursday of the month from 7:30pm at The Green Man, Lavendon MK46 4HA. Happy New Year from all at South Central and hope you enjoyed the holiday season. Welcome to our new members.

In November, we swapped pub grub for finest Indian and held our club night at The Grange in Milton Keynes. A good night was had by all and I’m sure we will all be cumin back. It was a bit too jalfreezing to look at the cars afterwards, but they all looked naan too shabby in the car park!

November also saw the NEC Classic Car show and Rog the 944 from South Central was one of the lovely cars on show. Many thanks to Paul, Lindsay and the team at Central for hosting such a fantastic stand.

South Central met with Peterborough for a trip to DSJ detailing on a bright November morning to learn about the finer details of detailing and the crucial yet confusing differences between all the potions and lotions that can be used on a car.

Tea was drunk and wax was bought which made for a terrific morning out.

We met up with Central, Peterborough and East Mids in November to head over to the new venue of Caffeine & Machine. Our convoy of 15 to 20 cars was impressive and the car park was brimming with Porsches by 10am as more and more kept coming. This car park overflowed with all sorts of cars and a good time was had by all.

Old and new at Colmworth Cars

Rog at the NEC Classic

December kicked off with Colmworth Cars, one of the most eclectic car meets about. Here you will find everything from a £2m Bugatti type 35A and cars owned by Cambell and Moss to ’60s and ’70s classics, hot hatches, modern supercars and even two of the 207 Citroen Bijous ever made! All proceeds from the meet go to support the local church and this year saw a cheque for £5,500 which is not only a huge amount but also up over £1,000 from last year. On behalf of the organisers, thank you to all who attend and thank you for your support.

944 fever continues in South Central with another two fabulous cars joining the ranks. Colin bagged himself a minty barn find and Douglas a stealthy little black number. A special mention to Margaret and Rog who made it into the 944 Spares Calendar this year. Yes, we all name our 944s in South Central!

Our December club meet was beset with illness from Nick and Gary but a hardy contingent met up along with the Aston Martin owners club as they were having their Christmas dinner.

Amusingly, one of the Aston Owners brought their Panamera Sport Turismo along so Porsches were well represented in the car park.

Our club nights at the Green Man in Lavendon are very informal. Please do come along on the first Thursday of the month from 19:00 for some top Porsche chat, food and drink.

Two informal monthly meetings: first Sunday 10:30am (open marque) at The Goat Inn, Vicarage Causeway, Hertford Heath, SG13 7RT. Last Monday 6pm (Porsches only) at The Ace Café, Ace Corner, off the A406, Stonebridge, London NW10 7UD. A new year has dawned and hopefully you all had a good 2018. Peter and I would like to engage more with our regional membership, to freshen up events and meetings to entice more of you out with the club. Whilst we use Facebook as our primary instant contact media, we’ll try emailing you directly to kick off the year; by the time you read this note we will have been in touch.

Our North London, Herts & South Essex Facebook group now has 43 members registered, albeit not many of our actual members. Forthcoming events are posted there for your convenience, as well as being noted in All Torque, where events will be posted to aid communication with you all. Find and ask to join the Facebook group for our region at: facebook.com/groups/1217447545000223 Since our last update, we’ve had two Goat meetings, 2nd December and 6th January.

Both meetings were dry and a good selection of cars turned out. In January there was a good turnout of our members, but also a lot of ‘American muscle’ and various other classics. It was chilly, but dry and windless, so chatting went on for some time before I departed around 2pm, having arrived at 10am!

The ACE Café meetings in November and December were dry and well attended. The December meeting was on New Year’s Eve, so an 11am start time instead of the usual 6pm.

Peter and I arrived at 10:45, to be confronted by a full car park! The marshals rearranged the already parked cars to reflect the bigger than expected turnout and with a rotation of leavers, most cars were accommodated. A very nice, recently imported 356 was on display, having undergone some tidying up before registration and a new set of plates; a very nice original car and restoration.

For more up to date news and to join in the discussion, please join us on Facebook or keep an eye out for our emails. We are finalising out 2019 program which we will be publishing soon.

The next Breakfast meet with be on the 10th of February at the Super Sausage Café in Pottersbury from 09:00. Hope to see you there.

February 3rd (Sunday) Club night at the Green Man, Lavendon

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K ENT & SOUTH EAST LONDON

kent.sel@tipec.net RO Paul Greer • 07799 412 870 ARO Stuart Watson Meetings are held first Monday of the month from 7:30pm at The Carpenters Arms, Three Elm Lane, Hadlow, Tonbridge TN11 0AD. www.carpentersarms.net We had another excellent morning with Porsche Tonbridge for our bi-annual car health check; it was fantastic to see some new members amongst the crowd. We were lucky enough to be invited back for our December club night, which was our best turnout of the year with 50+ members and guests enjoying the kind hospitality. There were bargains to be had from the shop too, when Dan greatly reduced the prices on some lines.

We held our Christmas party at Brands Hatch at their ‘Fire and Ice’ event. 22 of us had a wonderful dinner, entertainment – including burlesque dancers (!) and singers – and danced the night away. We were especially pleased to welcome Bob & Christine from Surrey & Sussex region.

We are looking forward to a great 2019 and hope to see many of you at our club nights and events.

February 4th (Monday) Club night at The Carpenter’s Arms February 14–17th (Thursday–Sunday) London Classic Car Show February 23rd (Saturday) Breakfast club Please check our Facebook page for the calendar and also keep an eye out for email updates.

Christmas meal at Brands Hatch

Mr Bond, we presume?

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THAMES VALLEY

thames.valley@tipec.net RO Andrew Harris • 07812 146 999 ARO Graham Driver • 07799 625 279 Meetings are held second Tuesday of every month 7:00pm at The Bell & Bottle, Bath Rd, Littlewick Green, Maidenhead, SL6 3RX. With 20+ people for our November meeting at the Bell & Bottle, you would have thought it was a summer meeting! Great to see so many of you.

We also welcome our new members, Dennis & Eileen and Julian Preedy, we hope you enjoy your membership and look forward to you joining us on some of our little outings throughout 2019.

November also saw the return of our long awaited curry run. We have been having to postpone it for one reason or another however, with plenty of sunshine, Sunday 18th was the day!

Leaving the Bell & Bottle for just after 9:30am, we headed off to the Akeman Inn near Aylesbury, a very enjoyable 48 miles and just over an hour of ‘spirited but careful’ driving.

We had a 45 minute stop here for a coffee and a natter before heading back south for our curry stop at the Spice Lounge in Warfield. 104 miles in total, a fabulous day out with 20 or so of us in attendance having had a lively drive out, where conditions allowed, around the countryside and a good curry lunch.

The Thames Valley Christmas party never disappoints with 14 of us enjoying a lovely three course meal along with a live Motown band and a little boogie afterwards. Some of us were wearing our best dancing shoes, it looked a little like Strictly Come Dancing out there … Kat was dancing the paso doble, Sharon was dancing the rumba and …

I am not sure what Graham was dancing but he was making some great shapes! ... SeeVEN! A fabulous evening had, thank you to everyone for coming along and making it so enjoyable.

Our December meeting was the last of the year, – where did 2018 go? We had to keep the Christmas theme going and what better way than with a table full of mince pies and a Christmas quiz? Lots of fun, a wonderful night to end the year with. Graham & I thank you all for joining us on our little drive outs and club nights, without you it would be … just Graham & I! We hope you have enjoyed 2018 and we look forward to a busy and fun-filled 2019.

Thames Valley Christmas party

February 10th (Sunday) Inter-regional meet-up and drive out to the Super Sausage Café February 12th (Tuesday) Club night at the Bell & Bottle March 12th (Tuesday) Club night at the Bell & Bottle April 9th (Tuesday) Club night at the Bell & Bottle April 7th (Sunday) TIPEC AGM Throughout the year we put on a number of outings along with our summer ‘themed’ meetings at the Bell & Bottle. Please keep an eye on our diary page of our website at: www.tipec. net/regions/thames-valley or our Facebook page, Thames Valley Region – Porsche Enthusiasts Club.

If you are unable to attend any of the events, please feel free to pop along to our monthly meeting at the Bell & Bottle, it is always enjoyable with lots of friendly people and good food.

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SURREY & SUSSEX

surrey.sussex@tipec.net RO Bob Stephens • 07548 306 803 ARO Terry Rockall • 07771 511 433 facebook.com/groups/ tipecsurreyandsussex Meetings are held second Wednesday of every month from 7:00pm at The Bolney Stage, London Road, Bolney RH17 5RL, 10 miles south of Crawley off the A23.

Christian at Invisible Touch Detailing welcomed us to a detailing demo on the 24th November at the Renaissance showroom in Ripley. The demo included tips on basic car washing: always use a jet washer and two buckets, soap on and soap off with mitts or cloths (not sponges) and dry with cloths not leathers, all cloths being washed at the end of the day.

One very modern touch was when Christian demonstrated self-healing wrap, the plastic film that can protect vulnerable areas or even change the colour of a car. With this product small scratches can be corrected by simply applying a small amount of heat to the plastic film.

Again a good turnout for this event and the promise of another event in 2019 to be more hands-on.

Our regional Christmas dinner took place at Wickwoods Country Club in Albourne on the 7th December and all those able to attend enjoyed a splendid dinner dance. Terry & Jackie unfortunately had to call off at the last minute due to Terry feeling under the weather. The staff handled the ‘mass’ catering very well and the DJ was not too loud, compared to some I have been to in the past. Certainly, a venue to consider for next year.

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HAMPSHIRE

hampshire@tipec.net RO William Batchelor • 07941 034 422 ARO Andrew Morle • 07450 435 347 Meetings are held first Wednesday of every month from 7pm at The Links Tavern, Portsmouth Road, Liphook, Hampshire GU30 7EF. A big thank you to all members who have attended our monthly meetings and events organised last year. Some of the highlights enjoyed were the Porsche 70 years celebration at Goodwood and also having the experience myself of attending Porsche in Germany, Beaulieu with the amazing turnout of over 1,500 Porsches and other organised events.

Christian at Invisible Touch demonstrating self-healing scratches thanks to plastic film

Christine & I were invited guests at the Kent region dinner dance. Thanks to everyone there, especially Paul & Rachel, we were made most welcome. The cabaret was very entertaining and we managed to get in a quick twirl round the dancefloor. The evening gave us the opportunity to talk about closer links between the regions.

February 13th (Wednesday) Club night at The Bolney Stage February 20th (Wednesday) Fairmile Porsche Meet March 13th (Wednesday) Club night at The Bolney Stage March 20th (Wednesday) Fairmile Porsche Meet All details of our regional events can be found on our regional section of the TIPEC.net website.

R23

SOUTHERN

RO urgently wanted ARO Jim Tarrant • 0120 260 1886 jim.tarrant@consequia.com Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month from 7:30pm at The Old Thatch, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 7NW.

Another enormous thank you to Becs & Jamie for all their help making such a great night, which they sadly missed.

Sadly, due to family circumstances, Gordon has stepped down as RO, so we are once again looking for someone to fill the role. Please do get it touch if you’d like to have a go – my email and phone number are at the top of this column.

There’s not much in the calendar at present.

If anyone has a good idea for an event, please let me know so I can share it with to the region’s membership and gauge interest.

Please note that monthly meetings will resume at the Old Thatch from February.

February 5th (Tuesday) Club Night at the Old Thatch, Ferndown March 5th (Tuesday) Club Night at the Old Thatch, Ferndown April 2nd (Tuesday) Club Night at the Old Thatch, Ferndown Please visit our region’s part of the website at www.tipec.net/regions/southern as we are continuously updating our events page.

Members will also receive email notifications of upcoming items.

Also of course, our favourite meal get togethers to discuss our cars and eat wonderful food, the breakfast runs at the Departure Lounge, curry and steak evenings.

A special thank you to all who attended our first Christmas entertainment evening and enjoyed the meal and atmosphere of the wonderful Creative Covers band. We will be organising all these events again, details will be given nearer the time.

There have been a few free car inspections around the counties that all members have been able to attend.

I discovered a few repairs that may be needed on my Porsche 996 Carrera 4 – not knowing the priority of these I sought advice from fellow members, who helped in suggesting another inspection locally to compare and this revealed a similar report and the urgency of dealing with the RMS/IMS bearing. I am following up on this work with Analogue Automotive in Petersfield and will let you know the outcome.

Some of you may be putting your Porsche under cover for the winter. I won’t and have swapped over my soft top to the hard top to be able to make use of it through this time.

Our Assistant RO Andy Morle will be on hand at February’s monthly meeting and I will be back for the meeting on March 6th.

Your Porsche stories and experiences, and any ideas for events, are very welcome.

Thanks all for coming to the Christmas Dinner at the Three Legged Cross and making it such a great night. My wife & I certainly had a good time and it was a novelty to be chauffeured home by number one son.

Congratulations to Graham & Paula who were the lucky winners of the raffle which raised £150 for the Trussell Trust, and a big thank you to Neil & Gail for organizing the raffle and generously donating the prize.

Southern region Christmas dinner

Hampshire’s Christmal meal 37

R22

B RISTOL, SOUTH WEST & SOUTH WALES

RO Sue Simmons • 07530 312 700 sue.simmons1@gmail.com ARO Debs Bradshaw • 07423 436 503 debbradshaw@sytner.co.uk ARO Sarah Hughes William’s Carrera 4

We have had a reccommendation from our members Beverley and Steve about Hilliers Summers End Picnic, which they attended last year – a real family day out with workshops, stalls and live music, to which you can take your own picnic. Make a note in your diary for August 31st.

Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month from 6:30pm at The Plough, Pilning, Nr Bristol BS35 4JJ. www.theploughpilning.co.uk

Christmas lunch at The Orangery

Happy New Year! 2018 has been and gone and furnished us with even more memories of good times on club events and outings, new friends made and new places discovered.

I look forward to seeing you in the future months.

February 6th (Wednesday) Monthly Meeting at the Links Tavern, Liphook March 6th (Wednesday) Monthly Meeting at the Links Tavern, Liphook March 13th (Wednesday) Steak night April 3rd (Wednesday) Monthly Meeting at the Links Tavern, Liphook April 12th (Friday) Curry night May 1st (Wednesday) Monthly meeting at the Links Tavern May 5th (Sunday) Lunch run & classic cars at Departure Lounge Further updates can be viewed online at: www.tipec.net/regions/Hampshire

The highlights for me were our early year drive to the Big Pit and Blaenavon Ironworks, and then our few days in mid-Wales staying at the Metropole and our days out at Donington Park, Castle Combe, Sherborne Classics at the Castle, Weymouth Porsche on the Prom and the fabulous Gloucestershire/Wiltshire Rotary Club charity Rally.

We topped off the year with a fabulous Christmas Lunch for 60 of us at The Orangery at Tortworth Court and as part of this held our charity raffle which raised £505 for the Great Western Air Ambulance – well done to all the winners and all those who contributed.

Great Western Air Ambulance have offered me the chance to take a small group along to see their new base near Almondsbury so I’ll sort that at our next meeting.

If you are a relatively new member I hope that this whets your appetite to get involved. Just come along to the monthly meetings and make new friends, find out what’s happening, join in with our

Santa helped with the charity raffle …

whole range of events, and be part of the fun in whatever car you have – we have the newest to the oldest, the shiniest to the neediest – all welcome.

If anyone wants to put dates in the diary you can see our planned events on our regional page at tipec.net/regions/bristolsouthwales June 2nd (Sunday) Simply Porsche 2019 at Beaulieu in Hampshire, our very own annual show July 21st (Sunday) Classics at the Castle, Sherbourne Castle July 26–28th (Friday–Sunday) Silverstone Classic August 18th (Sunday) Thornfalcon Classic Car Show This will be the first year we have a club stand at this show … and its FREE September 18th–23rd (Wednesday–Monday) Holiday in Southern Ireland I hope 2019 will prove to be another successful and enjoyable year for everyone involved in The Independent Porsche Enthusiasts Club.

Please contact me for any info you need on sue.simmons@tipec.net or 07530 312 700.

See our regional page on tipec.net and see our Facebook page for details of more things to do.

R15

CORNWALL & DEVON

RO & ARO urgently wanted For now, c/o Sue Simmons • 07530 312 700 sue.simmons1@gmail.com Bristol, South West and South Wales cars parked up at The Orangery AT 133

Merged with Bristol, South West & South Wales until a local RO is found.

JOIN THE CLUB at www.tipec.net TIPEC membership is £40 for one year or £60 for two years * £45 per year in Europe and £50 per year Rest of World

0121 248 9343

Gmund qs

30/6/08

16:49

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