Written on May 17th, 2009 at 9:52pm by 993C4S 

Stop-and-Go Penalty Costly to Porsche in Rolex Grand-Am

MONTEREY, CA (May 17) – A stop-and-go penalty for jumping a restart was very costly to Porsche works driver Timo Bernhard (Germany) and his Penske Porsche Riley teammate Romain Dumas (France) Sunday during the Verizon Wireless Festival of Speed, the fourth race of the 2009 Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16.

Running a strong third, Bernhard was penalized for jumping the restart on lap 77. He was just 0.819 seconds behind leader Scott Pruett at the time, and after making his penalty pit stop, he fell to seventh place, 14 seconds behind with just 33 minutes left in the 2 hour, 45 minute race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The Penske team wound up finishing sixth, 13.3 seconds behind the winning Pontiac Riley of Jon Fogarty (Bend, OR) and Alex Gurney (Irvine, CA). The #58 Brumos Porsche Riley entry of Darren Law (Phoenix, AZ) and David Donohue (Malvern, PA) finished eighth, the last car on the lead lap, and lost their Daytona Prototype driver’s championship points lead. The #59 Brumos Porsche Riley of JC France (Ormond Beach, FL) and Joao Barbosa (Portugal) lost 10 laps making repairs to a broken suspension and finished 25th overall and 14th in DP.

While the Daytona Prototype teams were disappointed, the Rolex GT entry of Leh Keen (Charleston, SC) and Dirk Werner (Germany) recorded the 245th podium finish for Porsche in Rolex Grand-Am GT competition. They drove their #87 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entry to a third-place GT finish. Porsche has earned nearly three times as many GT podium finishes of any other manufacturer. Spencer Pumpelly/Ted Ballou finished fourth in their TRG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, enabling Pumpelly to retain the GT championship lead by a single point over Keen/Werner.

But the tale of the day was in Daytona Prototype competition.

“We definitely had the car to win today,” Bernhard said. “On the restart I accelerated with everybody else, and then the guy ahead of me braked again. When I saw the green flag, I went to the left and everybody was braking – ‘Oh, what happened?’. I was afraid to hit my brakes because everybody went with me and they would have hit me. In the end it was a problem (penalty) so I came in for the stop-and- go. Afterwards, I made up two positions, but the 60 car blocked me big time, which is not nice when you are racing so hard to win.”

Indeed, it was a disappointing end to such a promising race. Dumas had qualified fifth, and a clean start earned him a position on the first lap. He ran strong with lead pack, and then made his mandatory first pit stop on lap 5 (all teams are required to pit within the first 45 minutes). Dumas got a splash of fuel and rejoined the in 12th place.

The race’s first of only four cautions on lap 9 allowed Dumas to move closer to the leaders and when the green flag waved again, Dumas was one of the fastest cars on the 2.238-mile road course. By lap 21, he was third and moved into second on lap 27.

Dumas ran second from lap 27 to lap 61, passing the halfway point of the race. When the leading Lexus Riley of Memo Rojas (Mexico) pitted, Dumas lead, but only for one lap, lap 62.

Dumas immediately pitted, turning the car over to Bernhard, who rejoined in third, 11 seconds back. A few laps later, the yellow flag came out, and the ensuing penalty proved too costly for the Penske team to overcome. They will have to wait three weeks for another chance at their first Rolex Grand-Am victory, the Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen, June 4-6 at Watkins Glen, NY.

“I had a good long stint to start the race, and the car was working very good,” Dumas said. “But with the rule changes, I was losing a lot on the straights. The (100) RPM loss (rule change) hurt us more than the (reinstatement) of sixth gear helped us. When I turned the car over to Timo, we were hopeful of a podium, maybe a win. The penalty ended our hopes.”

Rolex 24 at Daytona winners Donohue and Law lost their Daytona Prototype driver’s championship points lead, falling eight points behind race winners Fogarty and Gurney after four races.

“We are very disappointed,” Donohue said. “We can’t get the set-up right. We gotta get to work. We spent a lot of time testing at Daytona, which is a unique place. It seems what we learned at Daytona doesn’t apply to other tracks. We have two weeks before the next race to think, research and work on solutions that will make our Porsche more competitive.”

Rolex Grand-Am Daytona Prototype Driver’s Points (Unofficial)

  1. 119 – Jon Fogarty, Alex Gurney
  2. 111—David Donohue, Darren Law
  3. 108 – Burt Fisselle, Angelelli
  4. 105 – Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas
  5. 104 – Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard

Rolex Grand-Am GT Driver’s Points (Unofficial)

  1. 117 – Spencer Pumpelly
  2. 116 – Leh Keen, Dirk Werner

Related Posts
Porsche Motorsport Results at the Verizon Wireless 250 Rolex Grand-Am
Porsche Leads Rolex Grand-Am after Two Races
Porsche’s Recipe for Success in Grand-Am
Daytona Diary, Behind the Scenes at Rolex 24

[Source: PCNA]

Written on May 17th, 2009 at 6:30am by 993C4S 

7 Porsche Gift Ideas for Father’s Day

With Father’s day little more than a month away (it’s June 21st this year) I thought I would take a minute and pass along some gift ideas for those of you whose Dad has the Porsche bug as bad as I do. While the ultimate gift might be a Porsche itself, they can be quite difficult to wrap (not to mention expensive). For those of you looking for something a little less pricey take a look at the following Porsche gift ideas ranging in price from $15 to $10,000

Porsche Books

I absorb as much as I can about Porsche. My information comes from online sources, magazines and the numerous Porsche Books in my office library. In fact, my favorite gift is getting a new Porsche related book I have not yet read. The list below is but a short sampling of my favorites:

The list above is but a small example of the many Porsche books available. For a more comprehensive list, check out the compilation of Porsche books for sale in our Amazon Store.

Porsche Clothing and Apparel

I show off my affinity for the Porsche marque whenever I can. At 6’3″ and 260 lbs, I could probably charge Porsche rent as a walking billboard for showcasing the crest as much as I do. :-) If you’re looking for something that dad can wear to show off his passion for Porsche you have a number of different options.

  • Porsche Design Driver’s Selection. Inspired by the official equipment of the Porsche works drivers, Porsche Design Driver’s Selection is launching a new Motorsport Collection to mark the start of the new season. This is the same clothing, that until very recently, was only available to Porsche employees and Motorsport insiders.
  • Porsche Shirts and Porsche Hats. Amazon.com has a large selection of Porsche clothing and hats from a number of different sellers.

Porsche Watches


“In the pantheon of automotive inspired timepieces, there stand only a few. One of those is the Monaco Automatic Chronograph. In honor of its 40th anniversary, TAG Heuer has released a 1,000 count limited-edition replica (right down to the nine o’clock crown and the diamonded red lines on the hour and minute hands). – Autoweek

Rumor has it that only a very small number, of the already limited production run, will make it to the US. If your dad is a watch nut, and this is something he might enjoy, you need to move quick. These particular Tag Heuer watches are hard to find. However, I know you can find them at Royal Jewelers in Andover, MA. Not only are they an authorized reseller of Tag Heuer products, they are one of the Top 25 Jewelers in the country. I was just there the other day, having my own Tag Monaco Gulf serviced, and Steven Leed (co-owner) was on the phone selling the new limited edition Monaco to an out of state customer as I waited.

Here’s the good news! Steve is a Porsche nut himself. So, if you give him a call (978-475-3330) and let him know you’re buying it as a gift for the Porsche lover in your life, you might just get a better deal… Besides, if you tell him you heard me talking about it on PorschePurist.com maybe I can get a discount on my next watch (I’m not yet a dad so I have to buy my own). :-)

Porsche Movies

At times, if seems as if Porsche and Hollywood go hand in hand. I wrote posts about the most famous Porsche movie, the most famous Porsche (as a character in a movie) and even reported on the speculation of Brad Pitt starring as Steve McQueen in and upcoming movie about the actors life and his affinity to racing and Porsche. If you’re looking for a quick, easy, inexpensive Porsche gift that dad can enjoy over and over, a DVD of any of the following Porsche related movies might be just the thing (some are just great car movies).

There are plenty of other car and Porsche movies available, but the list above seems to be the most popular. Prices range from $1.99 to $25.99

Porsche Driving School

Our Porsches are meant to perform and do so at a level that’s not safe to experience on the street (at least not for any length of time). The great thing about a gift likes this is that not only will your dad get to drive his Porsche the way it was meant to be driven, he’ll come out of it a safer and more confident Porsche pilot. While there are many options when it comes to driver education, the top three (in my opinion) are as follows:

  • Porsche Club of America Driver Education. Dad can learn to drive his very own Porsche in a relaxed in friendly environment by a PCA certified instructor familiar with his model Porsche. Prices vary by region but the typical cost is under $200 for a day of instruction and track time.
  • Porsche Sport Driving School. According to the web-site, PSDS isn’t just for novices, and it isn’t just for veteran drivers either; it’s for anyone with a love of performance vehicles and a desire to learn something new and exciting. At PSDS, your dad will enjoy more track time than at any other school, and is sure to leave with a smile cemented on his face. He will also leave with a newly found addiction to performance driving. The thing to remember about the Porsche Sport Driving School is that Dad won’t be driving his own Porsche, but rather one of many different models supplied by the school itself. Prices range from $1795 all the way to $9,995 depending on the course and length of instruction.
  • Skip Barber’s High Performance Driving School. If you want dad to learn and practice advanced car-control skills – and then apply those skills almost immediately to the race track, driving high-end, world class sports cars and sedans, this is the class to get. Prices range from $1800 for a one day course to $3200 fro the two day course.

Porsche Club of America Membership

  • The Porsche Club of America is the largest single marque club in the world with more than 100,000 members in over 139 regions. However, the fact is, there are 100s of thousands of Porsches on the road today so there must be quite a few Porsche drivers out there who are not yet receiving the benefits of membership in the PCA. I won’t go over everything your dad will get, you can read about it on the PCA web-site or in my post about the ways to enhance your Porsche ownership. I will say, that of all the gifts on this list, membership in the Porsche Club of America provides the biggest bang for the buck. $42 dollars gives dad a 12 month membership and the chance to make life-long friends.

Porsche Design P’9120 by Eton

  • I wrote a review of the P’9120 by Eton in September of last year. Since then, my affinity for this stereo has only grown stronger. Rather than go through all the details again, you can read my original review or check it out directly on Amazon. Last time I looked, Amazon only had a few left in stock. Price $599.

Porsche Radio Controlled Car

I know, I already mentioned seven (7) ideas. Consider this one a bonus for those of you who would love to get dad a real Porsche to play with, but just can’t swing the financial commitment right now.

Personally, I’m a little kid at heart. In fact, if you ask my wife, she’ll tell you I’m a 12 year old child trapped inside a man’s body (hmmm, not sure she means that as a compliment). Anyway, as much as I like my real Porsche(s), I really enjoy playing with radio controlled Porsches too. Don’t laugh, some of the newer models available are so realistic it’s hard to tell them apart. Look at the photo below and see for yourself.

Porsche Radio Controlled Car

I reviewed the Tamiya Porsche GT3 Cup VIP last year and a number of you were fooled into thinking I had the real thing at my disposal (at least until you read the rest of that post). In addition to the 911 GT3 Cup car, I’ll be posting a review and video on the Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia in the next few weeks. Either one of these two would make any Porsche fan smile like me a little kid again.

Good luck and happy shopping. If you have other items that you think I should add to the list, be sure to let me know.

Related Posts
Gift Ideas for the Porsche Lover
Porsche Artwork
Porsche 934 Turbo RSR by Tamiya

[Source: 993C4S; Amazon.com]

Written on May 15th, 2009 at 6:30am by 993C4S 

944Fest 2009 at Nelson Ledges

At the time of this writing, it is early April of 2009, and I am still floored from my experience from the August 2008 944Fest – but I’m even MORE excited for the upcoming ‘Fest June 5th-7th, and you should be too! Never heard of the 944Fest? I’ll elaborate on it a bit.

History of the 944Fest

For the past few years, the 944Fest has been a great congregation of water-cooled, front-engine Porsches and their owners, which means the name ‘944Fest’ isn’t completely accurate. While the event is dominated by various iterations of the 944, 924s, 928s and 968s in any of their iterations are also welcome to join in on the fun.

Porsche 944 Pink Stripes

A shot of some of the vehicles I caravanned up to last year’s 944Fest with. Yes, that is a black turbo cab with pink race stripes. Yes, he’s a bit…. Different.

944Fest at Nelson Ledges

This year, the ‘Fest is being held at Nelson Ledges Road Course, in Garrettsville, Ohio, which sort of makes the whole event a Midwest Mecca for 944 owners. You see, Nelson Ledges was where Porsche first introduced the 944Turbo stateside. You can almost call it a religious experience as you relive the first corners taken on US soil!

A High Performance Driver’s Education (HPDE) event starts Friday morning, and those who sign up get five 30-minute sessions on the track! There are many drivers like me that actually show up Thursday night; it saves you from a long morning drive before a grueling track day and it also allows you to pick out some of the better locations to set up camp. First time to Nelson Ledges? First time on ANY road course? Not to worry, you’ll be paired up with an instructor so you can learn the ropes without fear of damaging your car.


Here, I’m trying to shrug off a fellow NA on turn 13 of Nelson Ledges Road Course. Unfortunately, he was a bit better than me!

In addition to the track time, there’s also a dyno on site for the turbo guys to put their money where their mouth is; there have been some powerhouse 951s to make it to the ‘Fest, so this is always a fun event as well.

This year’s 944Fest has some great timing because Friday the 944Fest attendees have the track, but Saturday PCA has a Driver’s Education event; many PCA members attending the ‘Fest are getting more than one day of performance driving in this weekend! But for those of us outside the PCA (or those of us with shallow pockets…) can look forward to other activities on Saturday.

The biggest event Saturday will probably be the car show, where track hounds and daily drivers alike are cleaned up for a review from their peers. There’s a lot of prizes available, from the coveted, “Grand Champion” trophy to the “Highest Mileage” award for the 944 present with the most miles on the clock or the “Long Distance” award, for the car and driver that covered the most distance to get to the ‘Fest. A word of caution, though; don’t expect to win the Mileage Award if your 944 has less than 400,000 miles on it – you’ve just got to trust me on that one!

944 Fest Trophies

At the 944Fest, trophies are powder coated pistons from our beloved cars that are no longer with us. And yes, that center piston is the “That Guy” award. And yes, the gentleman with the pink racing stripes in the first picture was the proud recipient of this …unique award.

The whole 944Fest crew is also encouraged to go on the group cruise on some fun old Ohio back roads to meet up for a catered lunch and some other goodies. Saturday night at the 944Fest has traditionally been capped off with a couple drinks by the bonfire., though there is an infamous poker tournament that starts in the early evening, too.

porsche-944Fest-Mid-Ohio

I’ve attended the past four 944Fests, and I have to say, if you own a 924, 944, 928 or 968, you really should consider attending. I’ve made some great friends over the past four years and learned a lot about performance driving. You can find more information about the 944Fest here.

Porsche 944Fest

Tent – check; car wash and detailing supplies – check; bag of clothes – check; cooler with provisions – check! I’m ready for the 944Fest – are you?

Again, I cannot recommend it highly enough; the weekend of June 5th will be one with friends and fast, fun four bangers (or eight, if you bring a 928..). While those who can’t make it out feel a little bad for missing a great event, never fear – I’ll post again (with ‘Fest ’09 pics!) to try and cover all the highs and lows. See you on the track!

Today’s post was written by frequent contributor Andrew Granieri. Andrew is graduating from Miami University in August with a degree in Technical & Scientific Communications and Entrepreneurship. He is eagerly searching for a job that will allow him to keep his performance driving hobby going.

Related Posts
Porsche 944. 100% Porsche experience on a budget
How to Wash, Polish and Wax your Porsche 944
How to Change the oil in a Porsche 944
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[Source: Andrew G and 944Fest.com]

Written on May 13th, 2009 at 3:26pm by 993C4S 

Free Tour of the Porsche Panamera and Cayenne Production Lines

Plan on traveling to Germany soon? With production starting in the newly remodeled Leipzig plant of Porsche AG, the facility is once again open to the public for tours. Visitors now have the opportunity to see the all new Panamera rolling off the assembly line prior to the official launch this coming September.

Porsche Panamera

Experience the new Porsche Panamera up close and personal

Porsche is manufacturing the four-door Gran Turismo together with the successful sporty Cayenne SUV on one product line. For this, the Leipzig plant received a 22,000 square meter expansion over the course of two years. The state-of the-art production and logistics concept was also refined further during this time. No plant tours were possible during the past eight months due to the construction.

Porsche Cayenne and Panamera

Here’s the best part. The approximately two-hour tours are free of charge, they can also be booked in connection with pilot and co-pilot offers, where participants have the chance to experience the Porsche driving features with a sporty Cayenne SUV on the racetrack or on the off-road premises.

Further information, all key dates and the possibility to book online are provided around the clock under the internet address www.porsche-leipzig.com.

Related Posts
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[Source: PCNA]

Written on May 13th, 2009 at 1:01pm by 993C4S 

Porsche Motorsport Newsletter 2009: Volume 4

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.

FIA GT Championship Silverstone: Win for Collard and Westbrook

Porsche Motorsport FIA GT
Richard Westbrook and Emmanuel Collard turned their seventh place in qualifying into a clear victory at the first round of the FIA GT Championship in Silverstone (GB, 3 May) at the wheel of a 911 GT3 RSR of Prospeed Competition. The former Por-sche juniors Marco Holzer and Martin Ragginger gave an impressive debut in the FIA GT: Sixth for Holzer in the second Prospeed Porsche, and eighth for Ragginger after posting the second quickest time in qualifying with his BMS Scuderia Italia GT3 RSR.

BF Goodrich Long Distance Championship: Two more Porsche victories

BF Goodrich Porsche Motorsport
With an advantage of less than a second after four hours of racing, Marc Lieb and Marcel Tiemann won round three of the BF Goodrich Long Distance Championship Nürburgring (2nd May) in Manthey Racing’s 911 GT3 RSR. Thanks to this success, Tiemann now leads the driver’s championship. A Porsche team had already cele-brated success at race two on 18 April. Lance David Arnold and Christian Mamerow claimed the first overall win for a GT3 class homologated race vehicle with a 911 GT3 Cup S of Mamerow Racing. Marcel Tiemann and Romain Dumas took the flag in third.

International GT Open: Richard Lietz in hot pursuit

With 27 competitors, the International GT Open roared into the new season on 18 April in Imola (I). Raymond Narac and works driver Patrick Pilet claimed second in an IMSA Performance Matmut GT3 RSR ahead of Gianluca Roda and works driver Richard Lietz in third. For the spectators, Lietz was the hero of the day: The Austrian lost 35 seconds when his car didn’t restart after refueling, but with a series of record laps he secured the last podium spot.

German Rally Championship: First Porsche win in 26 years

Porsche Motorsport Rally Konig
Olaf Dobberkau and co-driver Alexandra Koenig won the Rally of Saxony, the fourth round of the German Rally Championship, with their Porsche 911 GT3. This was the first Porsche victory after 26 years in the German Rally Championship, which is usu-ally dominated by four-wheel-drive cars.

Japanese Super GT: Win for Hankook-Porsche in Suzuka

First Porsche victory for 2009 in the Japanese Super GT Championship: Mitsuhiro Kinoshita and Masami Kageyama took off into the second round in Suzuka (19 April) from pole position with their Hankook 911 GT3 RS and crossed the finish line after 300 kilometres three seconds ahead of the second place-getters. At round three – a 400 kilometre race in Fuji (4 May) – last year’s winning team, UP Start Taisan, ranked fourth as the best Porsche with pilots Haruki Kurosawa and Tsubasa Abe.

Belgian GT Championship: Second place for Verbist and Longin

Francois Verbist and Bert Longin concluded the first round of the Belgian GT Cham-pionship in Zolder in second place with their 911 GT3 Cup S run by First Motorsport. However, at the second 60-minute race of the weekend (25/26 April) the Belgian duo experienced bad luck: Eighth after a drive-through penalty.

SCCA Pro Racing Speed GT: Second race, second Porsche win

James Sofronas from Newport Beach won the second of ten races of the SCCA Pro Racing Speed GT in Long Beach (USA, 18 April) with the 911 GT3 of the Global Mo-torsports Group. After two wins from two races, Porsche leads the manufacturers’ classification.

Porsche race notes

Porsche Motorsports Grand-Am
+++ Porsche leads in the Grand-Am: After third place on the Virginia International Raceway (25 April) and fourth at the race in Millville, New Jersey (3 May), Brumos Racing pilots David Donohue and Darren Law lead the drivers’ classification for Daytona Prototypes. In the GT class, Dirk Werner and Leh Keen lead in Farnbacher Loles Racing’s 911 GT3 Cup Grand-Am.

+++ In Long Beach/California, Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long extended their GT2 class lead in a 911 GT3 RSR of Flying Lizard Motorsports after clinching their second win at the third round of the American Le Mans Series (18 April).

+++ In preparation for the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Japanese NAVI Team Goh con-ducted tests in Fuji in the third week of April with a 440 hp Porsche RS Spyder pi-loted by Seiji Ara, Keisuke Kunimoto and works pilot Sascha Maassen.

One-make race series

The season took off for eight Porsche brand trophy series on three continents:

+++ The Porsche Mobil1 Supercup raced as support to Formula 1 in Bahrain, where reigning champ Jeroen Bleekemolen celebrated light-to-flag wins after both races (25/26 April). At the third round in Barcelona (10 May) Richard Westbrook beat Bleekemolen, who still retains a clear points’ lead.

+++ Season kick-off for the Carrera Cup Asia at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Shanghai. Tim Sugden won race one (18 April) in a Gruppe M Motorsport Porsche ahead of Christian Menzel. In the second race (19 April) Menzel dominated in the GT3 Cup of the Star Chase team in front of Sugden. Rodolfo Avila from Macau turned heads when he set pole position and claimed third place twice at his first ever Porsche races.

+++ Kevin Estre (Graff Racing), the reigning junior champion, won round one of the Carrera Cup France in Nogaro on 12 April. Renaud Derlot dominated the second race in his 911 GT3 Cup run by IMSA Performance Matmut. Derlot travels to the next round in Dijon as points’ leader.

+++ For races three and four (26 April), the Carrera Cup Great Britain travelled to Thruxton. On the fastest track of the year, Tim Harvey narrowly beat Michael Caine and Tim Bridgman. Michael Caine joined the winners’ ranks after the fourth race, with Harvey and Bridgman finishing second and third.

+++ Imola hosted the first two races (18/19 April) of the Carrera Cup Italia, where Alessandro Balzan (Ebimotors) won the opening round. Round two went to Stefano Comandini with a light-to-flag win.

+++ A gripping opening round of the Carrera Cup Japan in Okayama (25/26 April). In the final lap of qualifying, Y. Shimuzu secured pole position and used it to claim wins at both races.

+++ Points’ leader Constantino Júnior won rounds three and four of the GT3 Cup Challenge Brazil
on 18 and 19 April on the Interlagos Grand Prix track near Sao Paulo.

+++ The Nürburgring hosted the inaugural round of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Deutschland on the last weekend in April. From second on the grid, Swen Dolenc outpaced pole-sitter Stefan Wendt and defended his position until the flag.

Related Posts
Porsche Motorsport Newsletter 2009: Volume 3
Porsche Motorsport Newsletter 2009: Volume 2
Porsche Motorsport Newsletter 2009: Volume 1

[Source: Porsche]

Written on May 11th, 2009 at 10:50am by 993C4S 

Porsche HollyWood Gossip

For a while now I was trying to figure out how to work Steve McQueen and Le Mans into another post. Now all of a sudden I have two great reasons.

First, in a recent article on Examiner.com Jim Cherry reports that Brad Pitt is about to sign on to play Steve McQueen in the upcoming biopic picture based on Steve McQueen: Portrait of an American Rebel. According to the article, producers Michael Cerenzie and Christine Peters purchased the rights to Marshal Terral’s tell all and plan to begin shooting this fall. I’m not sure if there is any truth to the rumor, but I like the casting and I like the idea of a movie about McQueen even more (especially if it means lots of great racing footage). If you haven’t watched Le Mans in a while, here’s a trailer from the movie to get the fuel racing through your veins.

French Kiss of Death

Second, I just heard from Bentley publishers that they’re sending me a copy of French Kiss of Death with a copy of Making of Le Mans DVD. As this has been around for a while, have any of you read this? What did you think? How was the DVD? I can’t wait to get it. Once I’ve gone through it and watched the DVD I’ll write a review for you.

Related Posts
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[Source: Examiner.com]

Written on May 10th, 2009 at 5:24pm by 993C4S 

Hard Rock Repeat. Kirk Hammett’s (of Metallica fame) Porsche for sale on eBay again!

I don’t know what it is about certain Porsches, but they seem to keep turning up like the proverbial bad penny. In this instance, just a little over a year since this particular Porsche was last listed for sale on eBay it returns again for another round of ridicule bidding, but with a slightly reduced price. Back in February of 2008 when I first saw the listing for Kirk Hammett’s Porsche 911 C4 on eBay it had a starting bid of $34,000 and a BuyitNow price of $40,000. This time around the Porsche is listed with a much more realistic still crazy beginning bid of $32,500.

Kirk Hammett's Used Porsche 911 For Sale

Let’s face it, while I’m a Metallica fan (I grew up listening to them) they just aren’t the same super group they used to be. This car (in my opinion) isn’t special enough or in good enough shape to bring the kind of money the current owner is looking for.

The story of Kirk losing the Porsche in a bet is interesting but even considering the “Kirk Hammett signed gas receipt and original warranty application with Kirk’s extremely rare full business signature” thrown in for good measure the price still seems extremely aggressive. Here’s a nice 1990 Porsche C4 for sale with a few more miles for $17k less.

Come on now, if the “Beaver’s” Porsche didn’t sell, I don’t know that Kirk’s old car will fare much better. At the very least, the seller could have changed up the description a bit from the last time it was listed. At this point, I’m thinking that $20k in 1990 stereo equipment is a liability in unsprung weight. :-)

Should Celebrity Ownership Increase the Value of a Porsche?

I believe that for the right person and the right celebrity there may be some additional value to past celebrity ownership (Jerry Seinfeld, James Dean, Steve McQueen, Hurley Haywood, etc.). What say you? Would you pay more for a car that has proven celebrity provenance?

Related Posts
Leave it to Beaver’s Porsche for sale on eBay
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Used Porsche 964s for Sale

[Source: eBay]

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