I’ve always thought myself to have a decent vocabulary, but never felt the need to wave it around attracting attention. Besides, what I didn’t know I could fake, right? In other words, it usually requires a long and lengthy lexicon to find me reaching for my well worn Webster’s. So imagine my surprise when I read about a Porsche GT2 described as “lairy*”. That’s a bit of a stretch, isn’t it?
I don’t think it’s any great secret that Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson is no fan of the Porsche marque (the 911 in particular). In fact, it seems he can’t resist the urge to throw jabs whenever the opportunity presents itself. He’s done everything from destroying a 911 to deriding the agility and appearance of the 997 GT2 and GT3 (let’s not forget the above mentioned “lairy” comment). Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, my only question is why?
Here’s Clarkson disrespecting the 911 GT2
As I started looking for an answer, I found the following in a Clarkson review of the Porsche GT3:
The GT3 was wrong in every way. And to compound the issue, it is, of course, a 911 – a car I’ve never liked. My relationship with this brainchild of Hitler is curious. I’ve always enjoyed driving them, apart from the 1992 RS which was horrid – and purple, if memory serves – and I’ve always admired the quality. But they’ve all failed to put their hands down my trousers and give me a squeeze. I find them as emotionless as limestone and as a result, I would never even think of buying one.
Okay, he finds them “emotionless as limestone” and maybe he’s a bit sexually frustrated. Outside of that why the continued contempt? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge Clarkson fan. I just don’t understand the hate. Was he somehow snubbed by Porsche? Did his size 14, seemingly lead filled foot, get run over by a 911 on the track somewhere. If you know the reason or story behind the odium* (how’s that for a vocab word?) please let me know.
*lairy : vulgar and flashy
*odium : hatred and condemnation accompanied by loathing or contempt
The video is a bit old, but I’m just seeing it for the first time so I thought I would share. I’m all for expressing yourself, but why ruin a perfectly good 997 in the process?? Admittedly, the view from inside while the crusher is operating is eye popping (bad pun intended).
If the artist really wanted to express himself, it would have been a lot easier using Photoshop. He could have simply made a Smorsche!
Last year Porsche was named the Top Prestigious Luxury Automobile Brand amongst a sampling of 1600 average very wealthy Americans. These well healed Porsche fans have an “average income of $349,000 per year and average net worth or $3.7 million.” Average? There’s nothing average about those numbers. If you were part of the sampling conducted by the Luxury Institute (you lucky bastard) then this post may not be for you. If however, you’re like me and simply want to save a buck when you can, then by all means read on, as I’m here to help.
Used Porsche Parts vs. New Porsche Parts
I know a lot of you like to turn wrenches and do some of the basic maintenance on your cars for both enjoyment and for cost savings. Changing your own oil or spark plugs can give you a great sense of accomplishment (so I’m told) not to mention save a few bucks over the cost of having the work done at a dealer on independent Porsche specialists. What about when it’s a bigger job and you need more than just oil, filters or plugs? There is an alternative to purchasing brand new Porsche parts.
Used Porsche Parts
Ever wonder where Porsches go when they die? What happens to those Porsches we see on wreckedexotics.com and other news stories? They end up at places like LA Dismantler, one of the largest Porsche only salvage yards with acres and acres of neatly cataloged and arranged Porsche parts (parts you might not even be able to get from a dealer). What’s even better is that because these parts are coming out of a car that was damaged cosmetically, they are in “as new” condition, mechanically sound and can be purchased up to 75% less than buying from the local dealer.
5% Discount on Used Porsche Parts
I’m sure by now you’ve noticed the LA Dismantler advertisement over to the right. Full disclosure coming (as if you couldn’t already tell) LA Dismantler is a paid sponsor of PorschePurist.com. But, and this is a big but, that’s not the reason for this post. As part of their sponsorship (and part of my economic stimulus plan for Porsche owners) LA Dismantler is offering a 5% discount on all part purchases (up to $1000) by simply mentioning that you saw this post and saw their advertisement here on PorschePurist.com. So for your next planned project or unplanned maintenance needs, simply call Sara at LA Dismantler for a quote and get an extra 5% off by mentioning this site. If, like me, you would prefer to write a check to have your work done, then feel free to pass this along to anyone else you know that does their own maintenance and repairs. Someone should benefit from their generosity!!
Race Ramps Discount Code
Do your own maintenance, but don’t have a lift? If so, take a look at this review I wrote about Brute Industries Race Ramps. I won’t re-post it all here (you can read the original review) but I did want to point out the Rich Heinz, owner of Brute Industries, is still offering a 10% discount to all subscriber and readers of my site. If you’ve done your own research and/or like my review and decide you want to purchase any of Brute Industries products be sure to use the following Coupon Code “993c4s8” when entering your order. This coupon code entitles you to a 10% discount off your entire order of any Brute Industry product (not just the Race Ramps) and you can use it and share it as many times as you like.
Time out from the normal Porsche posts to promote a cause close to home. My talented and thoughtful OLDER (she’s going to so kill me) sister is holding a fundraiser of sorts this coming Thursday at her store in Boston, MA. Seeing how it benefits me and others like me, I thought the least I could do was help her to promote it. Take a look at the message below that went sent out by Kristine to her mailing list.
Kristine and John
My sister calls herself a designer yet she let me walk around in clothing like this?
Sip. Shop. Save (lives)
We know, the economy is terrible BUT since life goes on (your best friend still celebrates a birthday, people still get married and mother’s day IS right around the corner) we thought we’d give you good reason to shop for the gifts you really can’t cut out of the budget…
On Thursday March 26th 2009 we (Koo de Kir) will donate 20% of our day’s sales to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The LLS is a cause close to our hearts. Owner Kristine Irving’s younger brother John (aka 993C4S), along with over 130,000 others, is currently fighting blood cancer.
No retail store we know of can claim jaw-dropping sales figures in this climate, but we’d like to think that our loyal friends and customers will take us up on this opportunity to give twice.
The Irving Family Fund for Research
Was established in 2006 (in conjunction with the LLS) by the Irving Family as a research restricted fund (100% of the money donated goes to SCIENCE not to administration, not to expenses). Since its inception, The IFF at LLS has funded over $100,000 for research!
Rumors run rampant on the internet and for the past few months talk of a new entry level Porsche, one most likely to be mid-engined, have made the rounds on all the usual suspects. Today, AutoZeitung decided to up the ante and render their own speculative version of what a Porsche mid-engine, entry level cabriolet model might look like.
While I like what they’ve done, it makes me think of an expression I heard as a child growing up, “Believe nothing that you hear and only half of what you see.” I wonder if way back then such cynicism was foreshadowing the blogosphere?
I recently announced that PorschePurist.com’s own Christian Maloof was going Pro. In fact, Christian, made the jump from the NASA GT racing circuit to the Grand-Am Koni Challenge Street Tuners division a week ago at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Christian Maloof and Mark White signing autographs during Fan Appreciation Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway
What I covered up failed to mention is the fact that he’s driving a Mazda vs. a Porsche. Oh well, we can’t have it all now, can we? In all seriousness, this is a great opportunity for Christian, regardless of the marque. I’m happy to say that after an exciting weekend with team Freedom Autosport, Christian’s dream of driving professionally is realized. Now we just need to get him in a Porsche.
What’s a Porsche doing on a Mazda??
During practice, Christian’s car, #147, was oddly stricken with various small issues including ABS sensor issues, problems with the differential cooling pump, and even a power steering leak. “We kept our car chief, Ugo, very very busy,” said Christian, adding “in the meantime, Mark and I tried our best to assess setup and balance of the car, making 3 spring rate changes and an alteration to the rake angle.”
“When I went out to qualify, the car was still plagued by a lack of ABS (which would make the car give a majority of brake bias to the rear), and a sudden dash glitch: I had no RPM reading, no way to see my sector times or predictive lap times.” Still, Christian managed to qualify 26th out of 30.
Christian started the race in the 26th position. As he became more comfortable with the car, his lap times improved steadily, climbing up 1:36:26 and he moving the car up several places. “I was able to move up to 18th before the pit stops and I was within striking distance of 12-17. My car chief and I were monitoring the pace. He told me I was running .5 seconds faster than the cars ahead of me and I could clearly see I was reeling them in, getting to where we were all coming onto the back straight together.”
Surprising to me was that even watching from the pits, I could see Christian was getting faster. With each lap, you could see the distance closing between his car and the one in front. More importantly, Christian was getting faster in the more technical sections vs. the straights where it is more a test of power vs. driving performance.
The race proceeded smoothly, although it was not without incident. Says Christian, “at one point I lost the rear end and held a ‘Fast and Most Furious’ slide that lasted from turn 2 all the way to the entry of turn 3.” After a nice recovery, he got back to work and continued to improve. “I had to mentally reset and get it right back.”
Christian enjoyed the new track immensely. “Homestead is a beautiful facility. The combination of the high speed banking and the low grip infield makes for complex challenges for a driver and for our engineers to set up the car. One of the most exciting elements was taking turn 1 without braking, lifting a little at the 3 cone, turning at the 2 and going back to throttle to settle her as you transition off the NASCAR track onto the infield. Apex speeds are around 137mph. Other interesting elements of the Homestead track include a great switchback in 3-4 that leads onto a short straight, and rather odd astro turf at some track out points…it has very little grip as you might imagine.” As for highlights, he tells us, “I made a pass in the race into turn 1, one of the more exciting to date!”
About an hour and fifteen minutes into the race, the course went to yellow, but the Freedom pits were full, so car #147 was instructed to stay out one more lap. Christian brought the car in 18th place, but by the time the pit stop was complete, the course had returned to green and a little time was lost. Christian, however, had full confidence in his co-driver, Mark White’s ability. Says Christian, “I was confident Mark would get us within the top 10.”
Christian and Mark swapping driving positions
Mark White put in solid driving of his own, in spite of problems with the muffler and an overheating differential (which eventually forced him to bring the car in early).
As for the other Freedom entries, #146 (Carbonell/O’Doski) also experienced mechanical issues, coming in 23rd. It was a lucky day for #145 (Long and Whitis), which came in a close second, battling Randy Pobst until the very last lap for one of the closest finishes in Koni Challenge history.
Freedom’s Long and Whitis on the Podium
Good things are in store for the Freedom Autosport team and for Christian as they head out to Thunderbolt Raceway in New Jersey on May 1st. Stay tuned, and thanks for your support!
The two Porsche 911 GT3 RSR race teams started the 57th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in the top two positions on the GT2 grid, but, by the ten minute mark, two cars of the three cars were already in the pits with unscheduled stops, and the pole-sitter and lead car spent one hour, 45-minutes in the pits in the second hour, effectively ruining Porsche’s chance for a victory.
But both the #45 Flying Lizard Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and the #87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – after falling many laps behind – clawed their way back from last in the field to score valuable points at the American Le Mans Series season opener.
“For sure, I would have been happy if our teams repeated our victory from last year, but luck was definitely not on our side today,” said Hartmut Kristen, head of Porsche Motorsport.
“I am very satisfied with the new Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, which performed well under all conditions. We had the top qualifying position and the fastest race lap. This puts our Porsche teams in a good position for what I think will be a very competitive season,” said Kristen.
#87 Back at the Farnbacher Loles Garage for Repairs
The No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche of Dirk Werner/Wolf Henzler/Richard Lietz started on the GT2 pole and led the class for the first hour, but – in hour two – the car lost its differential, and was wheeled back to the garage area for more than one and a half hours worth of work. By the time the diagnosis and repair work was completed, the team had lost more than 45 laps to the leaders. Later in the race, the car was back in the pits, this time with a broken upright and tie-rod. The drivers pushed hard and made up dozens of laps over the length of the race, so the team can score valuable points by making sure it completed at least 70 percent of the number of laps of the overall leader – the International Motor Sports Association rule on such things. Finishing ninth, with the bonus points for the Sebring long-distance race, gave the drivers and team eight points – eight more points than the zero points for which they were headed.
The No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche of Joerg Bergmeister/Patrick Long/Marc Lieb also fell to the back of the pack early after Joerg Bergmesiter was hit by the No. 40 Robertson Racing Ford as the No. 40 attempted to pass on lap two. The impact damaged the left rear suspension of the No. 45, sending Joerg back to the pits. The crew replaced the left rear toe link in the pits but the 12-minute unplanned pit stop also sent Joerg to the back of the GT2 pack. The No. 44 Flying Lizard Porsche of Darren
Law/Johannes van Overbeek/Seth Neiman, which spun on track early in the race, narrowly avoiding contact with the tire wall, also came in for an unplanned pit stop for tires.
Joerg Bergmeister Suiting up for the Final Hour of Hard and Fast Driving
But, like the Farnbacher Loles car, the Lizards cars made a furious run towards the top of the class, with the Bergmeister/Long/Lieb car making up five laps to close in on the No. 21 Panoz Esperante, nosing past their rival with a little more than an hour to go and seemingly headed for third place and a podium. But Lieb, who had made up 20 seconds in 12 laps, thought he was clear on the Panoz as he made the pass only to discover the Panoz hadn’t given him enough room, and the cars touched. The Lizard Porsche went into the wall, and had to limp into the pits, losing its chance for a podium.
“I thought I had cleared him, and thought he had given me the proper amount of room, but he didn’t, so we touched. The Lizard crew put in such a good effort that we deserved a better result,” said Lieb, a Porsche factory driver who had won Sebring with the Lizards in 2008. The No. 45 car ended up fourth in class – still an accomplishment from the back of the pack early in the race, and Lieb turned the fastest race lap.
The Melo/Kaffer/Salo Ferrari won the GT2 class, and the Companc/Russo/Bruni Ferrari was second. The Panoz of James/Farnbacher finished third.
The No. 44 Lizard Porsche, with Seth Neiman/Darren Law/Johannes van Overbeek, finishing fifth after their auspicious start. They also finished third in the GT division (including GT1 and GT2) of the Michelin Green X Challenge, which uses a system ranking all the cars in the race according to average speed and distance covered, along with the amount of energy used, greenhouse gases emitted and petroleum displaced.
Email
Take a look at the message below that went sent out by Kristine to her mailing list.
