On March 18th of this year I wrote a short post on the upcoming sale of Jerry Seinfeld’s 1997 Porsche 993 Turbo S from TruSpeed Motorcars. That short post chronicled some of the unique features of the Porsche along with a question about celebrity provenance and pricing.

Shortly after posting that article I was contacted by well know Porsche expert, and Seinfeld’s long time fleet manager, Sam Cabiglio. Sam was kind enough to point out a few errors in the provenance of the car, as well as give some additional color commentary on Seinfeld’s 993 Turbo S (along with his thoughts as to its uniqueness and value.) A few weeks after these two posts published the car was sold to a well known collector in Atlanta, Georgia.

Imagine my surprise as I was searching eBay today for my Porsche eBay find of the Month, I was shocked to see the car for sale again so soon. According to the advertisement on eBay, the current owner is “condensing” his collection and this is one of the cars that is being offered for sale. As a reminder, here are some of the unique features of this particular ’97 Porsche Turbo S (besides the fact that it was previously owned by one of Porsche’s best known collectors.)

Jerry Seinfeld’s 1997 Porsche Turbo S Features

• 1st Turbo S built and imported to the US
• The only one produced in Turquoise Blue (the color is slowly growing on me)
• Factory cell phone with special console
• The first of only 175 built in 1997 and one of only 345 total between ’97 and ‘98 (production numbers vary by a few cars depending on source. My numbers are courtesy of (Adrian Streather’s “Porsche 993 The Essential Companion”)

I have an email and a call (from a mutual friend) into the current owner. I’m hoping that later today or tomorrow I can have a more in-depth follow-up, with any additional information, on the car along with how he chose this particular Porsche to sell from his collection. I would also like to know what, if any, additional cars he may be selling.

[Source: Ebay]

How many of you sold a car in the past, Porsche or otherwise, and wish you hadn’t? Whether it was 30 days ago or 30 years ago you would do almost anything to have that car back and more importantly the memories and experiences that car represents. I can think of at least two of my cars that fit into this category. Well, over the past few weeks and months I’ve noticed a number of stories related to long-lost Porsches making their way back to the original owner. Some cars find their way home by luck, some through long searches and others through thoughtful planning.

Porsche 356 Comes Home 40 Years After Being Stolen

The idea for this post first came to me when I read the following article about a Porsche 356, stolen more than 40 years ago, being returned to its original owner. This particular car had been gone for so long, when the police finally tracked down the owner his first response was, “What Porsche, I don’t own a Porsche.” If you’re interested in reading the full article it is available here at the Napa Valley Registry.

More recently, I was talking with a friend, Valerie, about her first experience to the Porsche brand. Having taken her first ride in a Porsche as a new-born (barely a week old) Valerie and her family have a life long affinity to Porsche. During our talk Valerie asked if I knew of any resources that could help her to track down her father’s old 356. Unfortunately, he had sold it years ago (in another country) and had lost track of it over time. I suggested to Valerie that she try posting everything she knew about the car on various Porsche forums and also to try out the Lost Car Registry. If you’re not familiar with the site, I suggest taking a look. It’s a great tool and you never know when you might need it.

Thoughtful Planning can Ensure your Porsche Comes Home

Lastly, I saw an article about another Porsche being returned to its original owner after having sold it 30 + years in the past. Thoughtful planning, and an honest buyer, made it possible for William Flint Sr. to repurchase his 1969 Porsche 912 Targa from the person he sold it to in 1971. You see, as a condition of the sale (and in order to convince Flint to lower the price a hundred dollars) the buyer agreed to a clause in the sales contract that stated Flint would get the right of first refusal in the event the new owner ever sold. True to his word, almost 30 years later, the buyer of Flint’s Porsche called to ask if he wanted to buy it back. Flint did and he happily brought the car home to once again call it his own. I have a question, is this now considered a two, or a three owner car? Seriously, if you want to view the entire story, it’s available online here.

What’s the point of all this you ask? Two things:

1. You never know when you may want a Porsche, you previously owned, back in your garage. I would suggest considering the tactic used by Flint, with his ’69 Porsche 912 Targa, and adding some language to your seller’s contract affording you the right of first refusal if/when the new owner decides to sell.
2. Valerie, who I mentioned above, asked her father to contribute a story about his first Porsche. Specifically, the 356 they are now searching for. Fortunately for us he obliged. That story will publish, in two parts, on Wednesday and Friday of this week. As it turns out, there is now a surprise ending…

As I was doing additional research for my ongoing series on the history of the Porsche 917 I came across the following series of videos. The end of the third video in this series, and most of the fourth, does a better job than I ever could in completing the history/documentation of the 917. The rest of the videos are here for your enjoyment. It’s quite a long series, but definitely worth the watch. You may want to bookmark this page and come back a few times as each video (and there are 10 of them) is nine to ten minutes long. Definitely worth the watch! If you only want to finish up the history of the 917, then the end of the third video and most of the fourth is for you. Otherwise, start at the beginning and enjoy.

I’m surprised at how much is still available to find on the internet. If you like these videos, please let me know. I will continue to scour and search and post up what I find. Thanks for looking and thanks in advance for the feedback.

In the first part of this post I explained how the 917 came into production and how it made Porsche synonymous with endurance racing. This post, Part II on the history of the 917, explores some of the early problems Porsche ran into prior to their win(s) at LeMan and how the fix for those problems turned the 917 into one of the most storied Porsches ever.

When the 917 was first tested in 1969 it was anything but stable. The new “long tail” styling of the car left it very skittish and unsuited for racing. “It used all the road at speed,” according to Brian Redman (winner of the 1970 Targa Florio in a Porsche 908.) At first pass, most felt the problems resulted in an overpowered engine on an under-strengthened frame. However, after repeated modifications the problems remained. Remember, at this time Porsche was used to producing cars with low drag in order to compensate for their underpowered motors. Now, with the new 4.5 litre, 12 cylindar motor, the car was anything but underpowered. It was soon determined that all the extra power was creating additional lift on the straights (the car was 19 mph faster than anything yet raced at Le Mans.) Despite these problems Porsche pushed ahead with their racing schedule.

The 917 was entered into many races in 1969 with little to show for their efforts, expense and appearance. In fact, the instability of the 917 combined with the inexperience of British prviateer John Wolfe, resulted in a deadly first lap crash in the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans. Even though Wolfe was not a “works” or factory driver, his death was a black spot for Porsche that took a long time to get past.

Porsche’s First Win in the 917

Porsche’s first win in the 917 didn’t come until the last race of the 1969 championship season, the 1000 km Zeltweg. Two privateers, Jo Siffert and Kurt Ahrens, succeeded in the privately entered Porsche 917 of German Freiherr von Wendt. The factory, being much more focused on development, left the racing to customer teams.

It wasn’t until 1970 when Porsche officially partnered with John Wyer and the famous Gulf Team that things started looking up for the Porsche 917. Immediate improvements/changes made to the tail of the 917 added much needed downforce, greatly improving stability and Porsche’s chance to capture the checkered flag.

In the next post I’ll explore the various 917 models. Their racing history and what’s become of the 917 today.

Related Posts
Porsche 917 and Making History at LeMans
Porsche 917: The Best Race Car of All Time
Video History of Porsche Racing: History of the Porsche 917 Part III
Porsche 917 Celebrates 40 Years of Racing Victory

Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you always should. Such is the case with designer Veronique Branquinho’s latest industrial creation. Better known for her upscale clothing boutiques, Veronique recently unveiled a Porsche 911 covered completely in tweed (inside and out) as part of an ongoing exhibition combining fashion and industrial design at Antwerp’s Fashion Museum.

Even though I don’t like the idea of a tweed covered Porsche, I understand it as a design statement for an artist. Remember what Plamen Dejanoff did with a Cayenne? However, these next two cars leave me completely puzzled.

A 22 Karat Gold Covered Boxster

This particular story has been around for a few years. I didn’t understand it then, and I don’t really understand it now. What I will say, is that the work on this car, done by the German company Visualis (make sure you have the volume turned down if you click on the Visualis link as their page is loaded with loud annoying music,) seems to have far superior craftsmanship then the next car highlighted below. But then again, what do I know? I’ve never plated anything in gold, let alone a Porsche.

Gold Plated Porsche 996

I only recently saw this story start to circulate and I’m not 100% sure on its accuracy or factualness. Supposedly, this Porsche 996 is covered in almost 40 lbs (18 kilos) of 18 karat gold and calls Russia its home. I personally find it hard to believe that someone would park a car covered in 40 lbs of gold on the street anywhere, let alone Russia. I’m sure you’ve all heard the many, many stories of carjackings and the like of simple stock Porsche vehicles. Imagine how quickly this one would disappear.

As I said at the very beginning, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. What do you think?

Related Porsche Posts
British Artist Uses RC Cars to Create Porsche Artwork
Porsche Made of Wood
Lego Porsche
Porsche Covered in Chocolate

[Source: veroniquebranquinho.com, nextconceptcars.com, gizmag, Antwerp Fashion Musuem]

A few weeks ago I asked the question, “What’s the Price of Gas Doing to Your Driving Habits?” The answer, apparently not that much. More than 100 of you responded and the results were pretty telling. At least 70% of you suggested that you haven’t changed your driving habits at all, while the other 30% now consider yourself gas misers. I truly would thought the results would reflect the exact opposite. Maybe the numbers showing the median income and net-worth of Porsche owners was more accurate than I thought.

Here are the results from the poll:

If you’re interested in learning how I spent more than $600 in gas in one day along with information on how the price of gas is determined, you can take a look at this post over at TheCandidacy.com (another blog I post on from time to time.)

A couple of weeks ago I posted an interview I had with Randy Leffingwell. Randy, as many of you know, is a Porsche author and photographer who has a number of well-received Porsche books to his credit. Shortly after that post, I was contacted directly by Motorbooks (the publisher of Randy’s most recent book) thanking me for my review. In addition to the thank you, Motorbooks was kind enough to send me a group of other Porsche related material they have published.

Motorbooks Publishes Great Books about Porsche

Here’s a list of the books that came packaged from Motorbooks

• Race to Win: How to Become a Complete Champion Driver by Derek Daly
• “Porsche High-Performance Driving Handbook 2nd Edition” by Vic Elford
• “Original Porsche 911: The Guide to All Production Models, 1963-98” by Peter Morgan
• “The Book of the Porsche 356” by Brian Long
• “Porsche 996 The Essential Companion: Supreme Porsche (Essential Companion)” by Adrian Streather

I believe I’ll also be receiving to additional books this coming fall (once they are published). One from Randy Leffingwell entitled “Porsche Sixty Years” and another on Porsche racing history from 1953 to 1975 with the descriptive title of “Porsche Racing Cars.”

Now, I’m not naive. I know why Motorbooks is doing what they are doing. My blog is fairly well read and a positive review will only help to sell more books. I have no problem with this as it obviously benefits me. My only caveat was I told them the same as I have told everyone else with regard to product reviews; my review will be honest and objective. In other words, If I don’t like something I will say so. On the same token, if I think it is a good product (like these Race Ramps or this Fanatec Porsche Wheel) or a well written book I will praise it and recommend it.

Given that I’m receiving all this swag, I would like to give some of it back to you the reader. Are you familiar with any of the books above? If so, here’s my offer. Write a brief review (three to four paragraphs) about any one of the five books listed above and send it to me via the contact page. In your email to me, choose which one of the the other four books you would like in return (make sure you send me your address.) If I use/post your review, I will send you your choice of books as a thank you for the review. Deadline for your entry is two weeks from today or July 16th.

I’m looking forward to reading all these books (especially the 996 Companion book as I’m thinking of an ’02 or ’03 Turbo), it’s just that it will take me some time. I have a number of books that I received for my birthday and for Christmas that I’m still making my way through. More on this later.

If you’ve read any of these books, but don’t feel like participating in the contest, that’s no problem at all. Just leave me a comment and let me know what you thought about the book.