After what seems like years of waiting and speculation, Porsche presented the Panamera to the world public today at the 13th Auto Shanghai. Porsche’s decision to debut the Panamera in China says volumes about the importance of the Asian market to the future growth of Porsche and the success of the Panamera. While we’ve seen spy photos and even official photos from Porsche, it’s nice to see the Panamera finally out in the open
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Joining the 911, the Cayenne, and the Boxster/Cayman, this new four-door Gran Turismo is Porsche’s fourth model series, with three variants entering the market in Germany on 12 September 2009. The Panamera is making its debut as an eight-cylinder delivering 400 and, respectively, 500 horsepower and with both rear-wheel and all-wheel drive, a six-cylinder gasoline model and a hybrid version following later.
Klaus Berning, Executive Vice-President Sales and Marketing of Porsche AG, expressed a clear view at the world debut of the Panamera: ”Introducing the Panamera, we are entering a market segment completely new for our customers and we are once again consistently expanding our model portfolio.“
Through its design and looks alone, the Panamera clearly stands out from the competition at very first sight. Like no other car in its class, it offers a truly unique combination of sporting performance and luxurious comfort. Despite its low and sleek silhouette so typical of Porsche, the Panamera, measuring 4.97 metres (195.7”) in length but only 1.42 metres (55.9”) in height, ensures a generous feeling of space on all four seats.
Wolfgang Dürheimer, Porsche’s Executive Vice-President Research and Development, added an equally clear statement: “Our engineers, technicians, and designers have invested all their know-how, years of experience, a wealth of ideas, and their full passion for sports cars in this four-seater Gran Turismo.“
Panamera Technology
The Panamera is introducing no less than five outstanding innovations in technology as world premieres to be admired for the first time in the luxury performance class – among them the first Start-Stop system in conjunction with automatic transmission, air suspension with additional air volume available on demand in each spring, as well as active aerodynamics with an adjustable, multi-dimensional, extendable rear spoiler on the Panamera Turbo.
Porsche’s Gran Turismo sets new standards in its market segment in terms of performance, driving dynamics and efficiency, benefiting from Porsche’s traditional core competences and years of experience in motorsport, since efficient and powerful engines, lightweight technologies, and optimized aerodynamics are crucial to success also on the race track. All models in the Panamera range come with Porsche Direct Fuel Injection, low-friction drive systems, and weight-optimized lightweight bodies.
Moving on to the suspension, the customer can choose among steel suspension or adaptive air suspension with a fully-controlled damper system. And thanks to its intelligent chassis concept, the Panamera combines the driving comfort of a luxurious grand touring saloon with the driving dynamics of a thoroughbred Porsche sports car. Depending on his individual style of motoring or current traffic conditions, the driver can choose either a particularly comfortable or an especially sporting set-up most conveniently at the touch of a button.
With its center console extending back from the dashboard all the way to the rear seats, Porsche’s new Gran Turismo offers an unprecedented feeling of space and motoring pleasure on all four seats, highlighting the personal ambiance and style of each individual passenger. The driver’s seat and cockpit offers optimum ergonomics all round, a low seating position providing that direct contact to the road again so typical of Porsche. The passengers, in turn, all enjoy highly comfortable single seats. The luxuriously appointed interior, finally, already offering a supreme standard on the regular series models, may naturally be upgraded on request by a wide range of optional extras and special equipment.
The US street circuits seem to be good turf for Porsche: At round three of the American Le Mans Series in Long Beach/California, Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) celebrated their second win of the season. Driving a Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR they won the GT2 class – repeating their success in St. Petersburg/Florida a fortnight ago – and further increased their points’ lead in the championship.
At the 100-minute race, the shortest of the season, in the harbor of Long Beach, Patrick Long took over the lead position just before taking his single pit stop. He profited from the bad luck of his Porsche colleague Wolf Henzler (Germany), who had led with FarnbacherLoles Racing’s 911 GT3 RSR, before falling back with suspension problems after about an hour. “I couldn’t overtake Wolf on this narrow track,” said Patrick Long. “So that’s why I tried to put him under as much pressure as possible and I waited for my chance.”
His team mate, Joerg Bergmeister, quickly regained the lead they had lost through the pit stop and kept his rivals safely at bay. At the finish line he held an almost 30 second advantage. “We had to work harder for this victory than we did in St. Petersburg where we had a two lap lead at the end,” said Joerg Bergmeister. “But there was so much action on the track here that I simply couldn’t get away, particularly as this race was very short. With this victory, we’ve only now just managed to grab a little breathing space in the fight for the title.”
FarnbacherLoles wrestles with bad luck but still salvages a point
The German duo Wolf Henzler and Dirk Werner experienced a race weekend full of ups and downs with their 911 GT3 RSR fielded by FarnbacherLoles Racing. After an accident in practice on Thursday, the mechanics had to put in an unintended nightshift – and the overtime hours paid off: In qualifying on Friday, Wolf Henzler snatched his second GT2 pole position this season after Sebring with the sports car from Weissach. But in the race bad luck again plagued the Porsche works driver: After leading the field for quite some time, he was relegated to the back of the pack due to suspension problems. Putting in a spirited chase, his team mate Dirk Werner ploughed his way to rank tenth and with this managed to salvage one championship point.
“Above all I’m sorry for the boys who worked 36 hours straight to put a perfect car on the track for qualifying,” said Wolf Henzler. “So far this season we somehow seem to be attracting bad luck. But we mustn’t let this get us down. Even here in Long Beach we saw that we are good for a win at any time. We just have to reach the finish without problems.”
Rounding off the strong performance of Porsche, Richard Westbrook (Great Britain) and Johannes Stuck (Austria) secured fourth in the 911 GT3 RSR run by T-Mobile VICI Racing, with Darren Law (USA) and Seth Neiman (USA) claiming fifth in the second Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3 RSR.
Statistics: 3rd of 10 races in the American Le Mans Series in Long Beach, CA
A yacht designed a built by Ferdinand Porsche in 1947, the Sia, was destroyed in a fire that swept through an exclusive Austrian marina last Friday night. Hans-Peter, Porsche’s grandson had the boat fully restored in 2006.
A total of 14 Yachts were lost in Friday’s fire
Porsche confirmed the loss in a statement to Germanany’s Bild am Sontag. Hans-Peter noted the family was very upset and that many personal memories belonged with the sailboat that could not be replaced.
In addition to the Sia, a 14 meter yacht belonging to Hans-Peter Porsche’s cousin, Ferdinand Piech (chairman of the VW board) was consumed in the fire as well. Surprisingly, Piech was on board just hours before the fire celebrating his 72nd birthday. Fortunately no one was hurt.
Dousing the fire required the work of 160 firefighters. After early investigations the fire appears to have been caused by a faulty electrical cable or circuit. Arson is not suspected at this point.
This month’s Porsche Factoid came to me in a round about sort of way. Even better and as an added benefit is inclusive of a book review. Henry Carraro, a PorschePurist.com subscriber and retired business executive living in Central Arkansas is interested in all facets of Porsche, past and present. Henry was nice enough to copy me on an email in his quest to find more information on Porsche’s early racing endeavors in the US. What he subsequently discovered was news to me and provides an interesting read below.
Porsche Raced in NASCAR
Did you know that Porsche raced in the NASCAR series as far back as the 1950s? That’s right, as Henry discovered in the July/August 2007 issue of “Vintage Motorsport Magazine, The Journal of Motor Racing History”, in an article entitled “Them Foreign Jobs” Henry was stunned to find that several Porsche 356 coupes as well as other sports car makes, raced against the likes of Hudson Hornets, Oldsmobile 88s, Ford V8s and the like in sanctioned NASCAR dirt track events in the 50’s, principally in the Northeast.
The post below and book review is courtesy of Henry. If any of you have an interesting factoid about Porsche or would like to guest post, please feel free to contact me to discuss your ideas.
Edgar Otto Sr. puts Porsche into Nascar
I apologize in advance to the author of the article mentioned above. I have misplaced the magazine, and don’t know the author’s name, so I can not provide credit. I remembered reading in the article that Edgar Otto Sr. promoted the first Foreign against American car race of its kind at Langhorne Speedway, in Langhorne, Pennsylvania in 1951.
And as I recall from the article, he personally purchased the Porsches, Jaguars, Aston Martins, and others sport cars from local dealerships in the Northeast and then hired highly qualified drivers to race these cars against the powerful American lead sleds of the day at various race tracks through 1954.
For a little bit of historical trivia, at the Linden airport in Linden, New Jersey in 1954 A.J. Keller in a Jaguar XK120 coupe became the first foreign car to win a sanctioned NASCAR race event in America. The June 13th event was open to both American stock cars and foreign sports cars. Nearly half of the entries in the 43 car starting grid were foreign cars.
Book Review: Nascar’s Silent Partner
Being an admitted Porschephile and wanting to know more about these diminutive Porsche 356 coupes racing in NASCAR, I Googled Edgar Otto Sr. and among other things, I found that this book, Ed Otto: Nascar’s Silent Partner, had been published in 2008. I ordered the book to see if I could find information and perhaps photographs of the Porsche 356 coupes in action.
Although I didn’t find the Porsche 356 photographs I was looking for nor did I find much useful information on the subject, I did find the book to be a very interesting read nevertheless.
The book is part biography and part oral-history of Edgar Otto Sr. and his unique involvement with promoting motorsport events from motorcycles, midget racers, and jalopies to the introduction of stock car racing throughout the Northeast parts of the U.S.A. and abroad. Beginning in the 1920’s his career spans nearly 60 years in motorsports.
The first part of the book is primarily focused on Mr. Otto Sr.’s formative years and introduces many of his “firsts” in motorsport racing history. Using his public relations savvy and vision for promotion, Mr. Otto saw a way of extending the reach of the midget car racing sport with the first live television broadcasts of an automobile race in America. In the world today of multi-billion dollar deals for televised events such as Le Mans, ALMS, NASCAR, NHRA and other racing venues, this first television broadcast by Mr. Otto ushered in a new era for the sport.
The second part of the book describes from an oral-history standpoint how Mr. Otto’s genius in successfully promoting the sport in the Northeast and beyond, caught the attention of the dirt track boys in the Southeast. One chapter of the book describes an organizational meeting held December 1947 to discuss the possibility of solidifying a fragmented and confusing group of auto racing sanctioning bodies at the time, which ultimately lead directly to the formation of NASCAR with Mr. Otto becoming a Vice President and a 40% owner of the organization.
Ed Otto Molds Nascar
The authors takes the reader through the leadership and involvement of Mr. Otto during formative years of NASCAR and how this imaginative marketing genius help mold NASCAR into the phenomenon it has become today and sadly, only to be forced out of the organization as a result of greed and avarice of a few.
This is not to say that what is known today of the historical origin of NASCAR and its pioneers is untrue, but rather that it is widely incomplete, edited and tightly controlled-information releases to humanize and enhance the public image of NASCAR to the benefit of a few.
This book is a rollicking ride of never before told stories through the early days of racing, in particular NASCAR through the eyes of Edgar Otto Sr., sewn together with inputs from dozens of other people who have contributed greatly to the sport of auto racing in America.
I found the book to be entertaining and enlightening. If any of you have more information on the whereabouts of these NASCAR participating Porsches (or any of the other cars mentioned) we would love to know more. Please feel free to contact me or comment on this post below.
The American Le Mans Series visit to the famous street circuit in Long Beach/California is one of the highlights of the season. At the time-honored race with the postcard-perfect backdrop of sun, sea and palms, the Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) aim to clinch their second win of the season in the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.
The toughest rivals for the current points’ leaders of the championship (GT2 class) come from the same stable: Wolf Henzler and Dirk Werner from Germany, who share driving duties for the shortest race of the season (100 minutes) in the 911 GT3 RSR of Farnbacher Loles Racing, took up the races in both Sebring and in St. Petersburg from the first row, but were not able to turn their excellent starting positions into a top result in the race. This situation should now change. “We race to win the title,” says Wolf Henzler, who is reigning champion with Joerg Bergmeister. “Even if we’ve experienced bad luck twice now, we’re not about to give up. We will keep fighting.”
The street circuit at the harbor of Long Beach, where the pits are just a stone’s throw away from where the docked ocean-liner giant “Queen Mary” lies anchored, is also a very special challenge for Wolf Henzler. “You can only win this race if you don’t make one mistake and the pit stop runs perfectly,” says the Porsche factory driver. “As refueling takes a very short time, we have to change drivers very quickly. If our tight schedule allows it we’ll put in some more practice at Long Beach.”
On the narrow track edged by walls and fences overtaking is very difficult – making a good grid position essential. Still, in the fight for pole position, where cautiousness is needed with the tires, clever tactics are also important. “We have to wait to see how the track is,” says Joerg Bergmeister. “When there’s a lot of rubber on the track we can drive somewhat more aggressively. With little grip we have more tire wear and therefore must be a bit more careful.”
For their victory in St. Petersberg, Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long chose harder tires compared to most of their opponents and as a result could hold off coming in to the pits until the Safety Car Phase. The subsequent time saving was a key to their success. Still, in Long Beach, believes Patrick Long, everyone will be driving with relatively soft tires. “We won’t manage all the laps without a tire change. And even the softest tires can withstand two short stints.”
The customer team Flying Lizard Motorsports races a second 911 GT3 RSR in Long Beach with pilots Darren Law (USA) and Seth Neiman (USA). VICI Racing also enters a 911 GT3 RSR.
The race starts on Saturday, 18th April, at 16.15 PST and runs over 100 minutes.
Stay tuned for the latest additions to PorschePurist.com’s Great Driver Series including interviews with Wolf Henzler and Patrick Long
Yes, you read that correctly. A one owner 1994 Porsche 928 GTS with 6k original miles sold for almost $7,000 more than the original MSRP of $85,706.00. This particular Porsche was one of only 44 built in 1994 with a 5 speed transmission and was as close to new as possible. If you’ve been thinking that current market conditions have softened prices, well it depends on the type and quality of car you’re talking about. The good cars are still posting high selling prices, and in this case, possibly record ones too.
Have you heard of any record sales lately? What about the other end of the spectrum? Any amazing deals?
A lot can happen in a month’s time. If you’re not able to keep up with each Porsche Motorsport post here on PorschePurist.com and would prefer a brief synopsis of what’s happening in the world of Porsche Motorsport, there is no better way to stay in touch than by reviewing the monthly Porsche Motorsport Newsletter. Filled with interesting facts and figures about past and upcoming races, along with changes to team and crew, the Porsche Motorsport Newsletter is an easy way to keep up-to-date on this year’s racing activities.
BF Goodrich Long Distance: First five places to Porsche on the Nürburgring
Flawless season-opener for Porsche customer teams at the first round of the BF Goodrich Long Distance Championship Nürburgring (4 April): With a 911 GT3 RSR run by Manthey Racing, works driver Timo Bernhard and Manthey’s regular pilot Marcel Tiemann won the four hour race on the 24.4 kilometre long combination of the Nordschleife and the Grand Prix circuit. After 27 laps (almost 659 kilometres), the winning team finished 1:03 minutes ahead of Mamerow Racing’s 911 GT3 Cup S with Christian Mamerow and Lance David Arnold. Porsche 911 sports cars also occupied positions three to five at the flag. Porsche juniors Marco Holzer and Martin Ragginger ranked seventh overall and, together with Australia’s Rodney Forbes, won the category for Porsche Cup race cars.
Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo: Two works drivers for Autorlando Sport
Two Porsche factory drivers support the Autorlando Sport team and its Portuguese driver Francisco Cruz Martins in the top category of the Italian GT Championship in its hunt for the title. Wolf Henzler contests the first races with the Portuguese pilot in the ca. 450 hp 911 GT3 RSR, with Sascha Maassen taking over for the rest of the races. Season-opener: 29 May, Vallelunga.
American Le Mans Series: Clear victory for Flying Lizard
With a two-lap advantage over the fastest rival, Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long won the second round of the ALMS in St. Petersburg, Florida (4 April) for the Flying Lizard Motorsports squad piloting 911 GT3 RSR. Bad luck for Wolf Henzler/Dirk Werner in the GT3 RSR of Farnbacher Loles Racing: After taking up the race from the first row, the duo fell back to seventh place due to a brake line defect.
Le Mans Series: Felbermayr-Proton 911 wins 1,000 kilometre sprint
After a spectacular chase through the field, works drivers Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz secured the GT2 class victory at the first round of the Le Mans Series on the Circuit de Catalunya (5 April) near Barcelona. With a GT3 RSR fielded by Felbermayr-Proton, Lieb/Lietz had initially opted for tyres that proved to be too hard and fell back, only to emerge victorious after 1,000 kilometres.
SCCA Pro Racing Speed GT: Win for newcomer Tony Rivera
He came, saw and won: Tony Rivera from Texas won the Gold Cup at last year’s GT3 Cup Challenge in America, moved out of the amateur series into the fiercely-contested “Speed GT”, and promptly won at his first race, the opening round to the season in Sebring on 20th March.
Race notes
Two Porsche aces for Audi: Porsche works drivers Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas will pilot an Audi R15 TDI at the Le Mans 24 hour race (13/14 June). As reigning ALMS champions in the Prototype Class 2 and as multiple 24 hour race winners, both have a wealth of experience +++ Return of a winner: Two Porsche RS Spyder sports prototypes race at the second round of the Le Mans Series on 10 May in Belgium’s Spa. The Danish Essex team and the Navi Goh squad from Japan use the 1,000 kilometre race as preparation for Le Mans.
Spirited chase in Sebring: Works pilots Joerg Bergmeister/Marc Lieb/Patrick Long were clearly the fastest in their class at the wheel of a 911 GT3 RSR run by Flying Lizard Motorsports at the Sebring 12 hour race (21 March). Two nudges from opponents prevented a better result than fourth, despite a spectacular catch up race through the field +++ Even stronger Porsche presence in the ALMS: at five races, the “Challenge Class” has been added as the fifth vehicle category exclusively for the 911 GT3 Cup from the Patrón GT3 Challenge +++ Tenth for Haruki Kurosawa and Tsubasa Abe in the Taisan team’s GT3 RS at a rain-drenched first round of the Japanese Super GT Series in Okayama (22 March).
One Make Race Series
Patrón GT3 Challenge by Yokohama: Masterly start for Faieta and Snow Bob Faieta took off into the new season of the American Patrón GT3 Challenge like he finished the old one. The reigning champion of the Platinum Class for 911 GT3 Cup cars from 2008 and 2009 model years won both races from pole position in Sebring on the last weekend in March. Melanie Snow clinched victory in both Gold Cup races for 911 GT3 Cup cars from the 2005 to 2007 model years. The reigning Gold Cup champion finished every race since Sebring 2008 in the top three, but last year was unable to claim one victory.
Carrera Cup Great Britain: Bridgman’s weekend double at season-opener
A perfect start to the season for Tim Bridgman in the 911 GT3 Cup fielded by Team Parker Racing in Brands Hatch (4/5 April). With flag-to-flag victories at both championship rounds, the professional race driver planted himself at the head of the points table. Tim Harvey (Red Line Racing), as reigning champion, finished second twice ahead of Michael Caine (Motorbase Performance) who secured the last remaining podium step at both races.
Porsche Race Schedule for April
18-19 April: ALMS, Long Beach; Intl. GT Open, Imola; Jap. Super GT, Suzuka; SCCA Speed GT, Long Beach; BF Goodrich Long Distance, DMV 4 Hours; PCC Asia, Shanghai, PCC Italia, Imola; GT3 CC Brasil, Interlagos 25-26 April: Grand-Am, Alton, Belgian GT, Zolder; British GT, Donington; Porsche Mobil1 Supercup, Bahrain, PCC Great Britain, Thruxton; GT3 CC Deutschland, Nürburgring; PCC Japan, Okayama
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, had been published in 2008. I ordered the book to see if I could find information and perhaps photographs of the Porsche 356 coupes in action.
