If you’ve never had a chance to drive a Porsche 550, 959, RS Spyder, Sports Classic 911, etc then Forza Motorsport 4 might just be as close as you’re going to get. Watch the trailer above to see the Porsches in action (if you can’t see the video above, simply visit our site to watch or use our lightbox to view the gallery of pictures below) or check out Forza’s site for complete details on all 30 of the Porsches featured. If you don’t yet have an Xbox 360 or your own copy of Forza, pick ‘em up on Amazon and be prepared to deal with a new addiction.

Porsches Found in Forza Motorsport 4

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Porsche Related Gifts for Dads and Grads

The Complete Book of Porsche 911: Every Model since 1964
The Complete Book of Porsche 911 provides a model-by-model overview for each year of the 911’s production, from the original 901 prototype to the current models. In addition to production cars, the book includes all of the factory’s racing, prototype, and special-production cars illustrated with both current and archival photography. This book is the ultimate single-volume resource for the 911 aficionado.

Porsche Red 3′ x 5′ Premium Flag
A 3 x 5 foot flag made from durable, yet lightweight polyester. 2 Brass grommets attached to a canvas side strip allow for easy flying in the lightest of breezes. This flag will look great on the garage wall or flying loud and proud on your flag pole.

Porsche Design Executive Genuine Swiss Army Knife
This Wenger Porsche Design Executive Genuine Swiss Army knife boasts a distinctive design with smooth Ruthenium handles (a rare transition metal found in the Platinum group that is inert to most chemicals. In other words, it should last a long, long time). It offers 12 convenient functions with a pen blade, a micro screwdriver, springless scissors with a serrated, self-sharpening design, a screwdriver, a cap lifter, a wire crimper, and more.

We’re big fans of most any thing from site sponsor Porsche Design Driver’s Selection. However we really fell in love with the Martini Racing Collection. Not only do these product look great, resplendent in their famous livery, they make up some of the more affordable and functional gifts in the entire PDDS collection. As of today, we have the Martini Racing Belt, Aviator Sunglasses, Beach Chair, Swim Trunks and Beach Towel. In fact, over the summer I think John wears the belt almost daily.

Membership in the Porsche Club of America. I’m always amazed when I meet a fellow Porsche owner who has yet to join the PCA. The benefits are great and at $46 a year it’s very inexpensive. For those who don’t yet own a Porsche, but aspire too (think recent grads) the PCA Quest program is worth a look. If for nothing else, the low cost of membership (Quest or regular) gets you a subscription to Panorama Magazine, one of the best Porsche Magazines available today.

Last, but definitely not least, how about a subscription to one of the many great Porsche Magazines available? In the US you have Excellence: The Magazine About Porsche and 9Magazine. From Porsche themselves you can get Christophorus. And, if you feel like spending the money, you can get a subscription to one of the more popular UK Porsche magazines like 911 & Porsche World.

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In case you’re wondering, “Influencers” are people in the performance car-building and tuning industry, car-forum moderators, car club leaders like PCA’s Vu Nguyen and racers from all disciplines such as drag, drift, off-road and road. There are 60 Michelin influencers nation-wide and 14 of us were invited to the first Tire School for Influencers in order to learn more than we already knew about their product.

As the motorsport editor for PorschePurist.com, track chairman and chief instructor for the Rally Sport Region of the PCA, and amateur championship winning Porsche racer I have spent my fair share of time around tires. I like Michelins enough to have them on all our vehicles (Porsche and otherwise), and apparently I am not alone; Michelin reportedly has the highest loyalty in the Original Equipment first time replace market.

What is the Michelin Tire School?

This was the first Michelin Tire School for Influencers (a shortened version of the 11 week school that many Michelin execs attend prior to their time in the office and in the field). The curriculum covered the building and construction of their tires, techniques unique to Michelin and their commitment to standing behind their product. In my opinion, the fact that Michelin let a group of vocal and passionate enthusiasts into the heart of their operations (the Training Center, Factory and on their test track) shows the level of confidence they have in their products.

Our visit started with a tour of US-1 in Greenville, SC (one of 29 worldwide production facilities). Our tour guide, “Tater,” was very knowledgeable about the belts, cords and tire compounds as well as every little detail about the factory and what it takes to run it. At the US-1 factory, Michelin produces between 24,000 to 26,000 tires a day. Despite the production volume, the racks, lifts and machines do not look cluttered or overburdened. Everything and everyone moves at a steady and focused pace. The machinery is almost all unique to Michelin.

While I would love to have posted pictures of what we saw on our tour, photographs were strictly forbidden in the plant as were cell phones and other personal items like jewelery and watches (quality control restrictions). As part of the Michelin quality process all visitors are required to suit up in special Michelin made work booth with Michelin rubber soles.

Michelin C3M Technology

One reason for all this security is perhaps Michelin’s biggest technical advantage, “C3M”. This secret manufacturing process gives tires “an innovative edge.” Today more than 20% of the Michelin Pilot line is made using the C3M process including all of the high performance tires a Porsche owners would consider. Rather than trying to explain what little is known about this super secretive technology we’ll give you a link to The Tire Rack who does a great job of explaining what they can. C3M allows Michelin to have a tremendous amount of structural consistency throughout the tire making it lighter and more stable; it also allows Michelin to weave different tread compounds onto one tire.

Sample Tread from the Michelin Tire School

The Michelin Pilot Super Sport Uses C3M

The Michelin Pilot Super Sport is another C3M tire with carbon black (an additive that increases tear resistance and abrasion strength on rubber derived from the Le Mans winning slick racing tires) on the outer tread. The tire has incredible wet traction and high speed stability. In the picture above, you can see how Michelin can control the rubber that, as part of the tire, affects turning and straight-line stability. The 2D and 3D sipes (found on some Michelin tire models) lock in under load to provide better handling in wet weather and snowy conditions.

Track Time at Michelin’s Tire School

Now it was time to put Michelin’s impressive technology to the test. I was looking forward to learning even more about the Pilot Super Sport and testing its strengths on the track. However, when we were told that there would be a portion of the test with timed laps, I perked up even more (I’ve been known to be a bit competitive…)

PCA Executive Director Vu Nguyen and PorschePurist.com's Christian Maloof

Porsche Club of America’s Executive Director, and fellow PCA member, Vu Nguyen and I jumped into our test rig, a 3 Series BMW (the local facilities were the same used by the BMW school) and prepared to turn a few quick and smooth laps. Once in the test car our conversation quickly turned to the subject of traction control and how it just seems to take some of the fun out of track driving.

Regardless of the platform (Porsche or BMW, traction control or not) the key to a fast lap is a drama-less smooth approach where you maintain the highest minimum speed into the corner. I was very pleased with the solid corner grip and high speed stability provided by the Michelin Pilot Super Sports through the very fast “esses” on this track.

Now, what’s a little testing without competition? Team PorschePurist.com had the fastest lap of the day, beating a fellow Porsche guy (and 2-time national autocross champion) and an engineer from the esteemed Skip Barber Race School.

Side to Side Comparisons

The only side to side comparison that we participated in was a blind test on identical BMW 330i’s. Some were equipped with Michelin Pilot All Season (PAS) while the rest were shod in the Pilot Super Sport (PSS). This opportunity marked the second time I was able to put the Pilot Super Sport to the test since attending the launch in Dubai nearly two years ago, but the first time I’ve done so in a blind test. Driving the PSS against the extremely highly rated All Season Pilot, without know what car you were in, was a very telling experience.

The first car was great in the wet, very predictable and fairly confident. On the extremely wet oval skid pad, I experienced initial under-steer (as was to be expected), especially if I was carrying too much speed. The uphill hairpin section of the track was not as bad as the downhill, as the grade helped make the contact patch of the front tires larger (whereas the downhill required me to slow down a good deal to keep the line tight). This seemed about right, the way I expected the tire to perform (I’m assuming I’m on PSS’s at this point).

The second car made me throw all assumptions out the window. From the very first corner the car turned in dramatically better that the previous test vehicle. While the first car had mild over-steer under throttle, in car two I had to get silly in order to get sideways. Even when I did get it sideways, it was very controllable. Once I got back for a driver debrief and found out that car two wore Pilot Super Sports, I decided I wanted these tires on my daily driver (and for those of you who are wondering: yes, I pay full price too).

Tires are paramount in importance when comes to braking, handling and performance, not to mention overall safety. While I’ve had personal experiences with Michelin that have convinced me of their commitment to quality, attending their Tire School give me even more confidence in their products.

Confidently Recommending Michelin

Shortly after this event, I was sharing a cup of coffee with my Dad and he mentioned he needed new tires for his BMW X5. I had no reservations in recommending the Michelin Latitude Tour, which I had tested on X5s in the off-road course of the school. He mentioned the Michelins seemed to get noisy after only a few months. I asked if he had a 4-wheel alignment and had rotated and maintained proper tire pressures consistently (which was funny to ask, since Dad taught me about cars). I further suggested he call the Michelin Consumer Care number. He did and the next day reported that Michelin had given him $300 off a replacement set of tires. Not only are Michelins superior tires, but their post-purchase customer support is impressive.

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[Picture of Michelin 997 GT3 via Wikipedia]

Published by earBooks and available on Amazon or David Bull Publishing Porsche Sounds combines over 200 exquisitely designed and produced pages of information, pictures and stories from the Porsche archives with three CDs.

Porsche Sounds CD1 Technology

Two of the CDs contain compilations of driving music featuring everything from Deep Purple’s “Rapture of the Deep” to Mozart’s “Flötenkonzert”. However it’s the other disk, CD1 Technology that will interest most Porsche fans. Featuring exhaust notes from 30 different Porsches, these high quality recordings will transport you track-side as these Porsches roar past you in your living room (the video above is just one of the tracks you’ll find in Porsche Sounds). Turn up the volume and enjoy!

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The word “iconic” is often overused. In this instance it fits to describe both the man and his designs. F.A Porsche’s design of the 911 is both uniquely recognizable and coveted the world over. His memory will lives on in my 911 and those of others all over the world. Rest in Peace.

Full details and the official Porsche press release are below.

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April 5, 2012 – Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is mourning Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche. The Honorary President of the Supervisory Board died on April 5, 2012 in Salzburg, aged 76.

Matthias Müller, President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche AG, paid tribute to Ferdinand Alexander Porsche’s services to the sports car manufacturer: “We mourn the death of our partner, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche. As the creator of the Porsche 911, he established a design culture in our company that has shaped our sports cars to this very day. His philosophy of good design is a legacy to us that we will honor for all time.”

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche was born in Stuttgart on 11 December 1935, the oldest son of Dorothea and Ferry Porsche. Even his childhood was shaped by cars, and he spent much of his time in the engineering offices and development workshops of his grandfather Ferdinand Porsche. In 1943 the family accompanied the Porsche company’s move to Austria, where he went to school in Zell am See. After returning to Stuttgart in 1950, he attended the private Waldorf school. After leaving school, he enrolled at the prestigious Ulm School of Design.

In 1958, F.A. Porsche, as he was known by his colleagues, joined the engineering office of what was then Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche KG. He soon proved his great talent for design by sculpting the first model of a successor to the 356 model line out of plastic. In 1962 he took over as head of the Porsche design studio, creating a worldwide furor one year later with the Porsche 901 (or 911). With the Porsche 911, F.A. Porsche created a sports car icon whose timeless and classical form survives to this very day in what is now the seventh 911 generation. However, in addition to passenger cars, F.A. Porsche also concerned himself with designing the sports cars of the 1960s. His best-known designs include the Type 804 Formula One racing car or the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS, now considered to be one of the most beautiful racing cars ever.

In the course of the conversion of Porsche KG into a joint-stock corporation in 1971/72, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, along with all the other family members, stood down from the company’s front-line business operations. In 1972 he founded the “Porsche Design Studio” in Stuttgart, the head office of which was relocated to Zell am See in Austria in 1974.

In the decades that followed, he designed numerous classic accessories such as watches, spectacles and writing implements that achieved global recognition under the “Porsche Design” brand. In parallel, with his team, he designed a plethora of industrial products, household appliances and consumer durables for internationally renowned clients under the brand “Design by F.A. Porsche”. A strong and clear design concept typifies all product designs created in his design studio to date. The credo of his design work was: “Design must be functional and functionality has to be translated visually into aesthetics, without gags that have to be explained first.” F.A. Porsche: “A coherently designed product requires no adornment; it should be enhanced by its form alone.” The design’s appearance should be readily comprehensible and not detract from the product and its function. His conviction was: “Good design should be honest.”

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche received numerous honors and awards both for his work as a designer as well as for individual designs. For example, in 1968 the “Comité Internationale de Promotion et de Prestige” honored him for the outstanding aesthetic design of the Porsche 911 while the Industrial Forum Design Hannover (iF) voted him “Prizewinner of the Year” in 1992. In 1999, the President of Austria bestowed on him the title of Professor.

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche retained a close lifelong association with Porsche AG as a partner and member of the Supervisory Board. For example, even after stepping down from front-line business operations, he contributed to the design of Porsche’s sports cars over many decades and repeatedly steered the company in the right direction. This was especially the case for the difficult period Porsche experienced at the beginning of the 1990s. From 1990 to 1993, F.A. Porsche served as President of the company’s Supervisory Board, thus playing a major role in Porsche A.G’s economic turnaround. In 2005, he stood down from his Supervisory Board role in favor of his son Oliver and assumed the mantle of Honorary President of the Supervisory Board.

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche will be buried in the family grave at Schüttgut in Zell am See, attended by his immediate family. An official funeral service will be held in Stuttgart at a later date.

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Exploring Porsche Calendar Coins

Porsche first produced their calendar in 1954, but the coins didn’t appear until 1962. Now, half a century later, there’s a coin for each of the last 50 years and some of them are in high demand by collectors. All but a few of the earlier coins (’62, ’63, ’67 and ’75) and one of the modern coins (2001) showcase a particular Porsche model on one side and the year or some other Porsche related engraving on the opposite side. It should come as no surprise that the earlier the coin the higher the demand.

Porsche Coin Pricing

In 2012, the official Porsche Calendar retails for $59.99 (they’re sold out online, but you might be able to find one at your local dealer). I haven’t yet seen just the coin for sale, but I’m sure you’ll see them soon on ebay.

• Coins from 2000 through today look like they can be purchased from $5 to $15 depending on condition and seller’s expectations.
• Coins from the mid ’80s to the late ’90s are currently selling in the $10 to $25 range and can sometimes be found at the low end of this if you buy a set of multiple years.
• Coins from ’62 to the early ’80s vary greatly in pricing. We’ve seen asking prices as high as $550 for a ’62 all the way down to $30 for coins in the late ’70s and early ’80s.

We haven’t seen a ton of coverage on these coins in the past. However, threads on various Porsche forums indicate that interest might be increasing and we’re working on rounding out our collection. If you’re thinking of collecting or recently started, be sure to shop around. Ebay seems to have a good supply from various sellers and a search through some of the more popular Porsche forums will usually pay off. Lastly, you can usually find some, if not all, of these coins at the larger Porsche swap meets. Happy Collecting! We’ll be posting an album Porsche calendar coins from each year on our Facebook page in the coming days and weeks.

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[Picture Source: ebay]

UPDATE: The calendars sold out within a few hours of our posting. Stay tuned for our next offering. PorschePurist.com’s newest sponsor, SuncoastParts.com, is offering our readers over 40% off the list price of the official 2012 Porsche Calendars (complete with a highly prized and collectible coin). Only 5000 of the 2012 Porsche Calendars were produced and most have already been sold. The few remaining calendars, located at various dealers across the country, normally sell for $60. However, if you’re seeing this email or reading this post, SuncoastParts.com is offering you the calendar for only $35 plus shipping.

We receive one of these calendars each year and love looking at it on our wall. Much larger than most other calendars, it’s a whopping 23.25 inches x 21.75 inches, it makes a great addition to your office or garage. The hyper-realist images seem to jump off the page and the print quality is incredible. It’s as is if you’re getting a new Porsche poster each month!

The Not So Fine Print

This special Porsche calendar pricing is available on the remaining in stock items (at publishing time there were less than 20) and it is only available via their web-site so act fast! Don’t forget, shipping for this item is a little higher than normal due to its large dimensions (23.25″ x 21.75″). If you miss out on this offer from SuncoastParts.com or don’t want to pay/wait for shipping, you can check with your local dealer to see if they have any left in stock. No coupon code or anything else is needed. Just click on the exclusive PorschePurist.com linkand you’ll be taken directly to the SuncoastParts.com Porsche Purist page.

We plan on having other offers in the future from Suncoast Parts so if there’s anything special you would like to see a savings opportunity on, please let us know by commenting below!

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Originally constructed for the Craz’s Steirischer Herbst Festival in 2008, the pair created the wooden Cayennes using images from Porsche catalogs as their models.

While my German is a bit elementary, if I read the description of the installation properly, it seems like the artist were trying to say that the Cayenne is a beautiful mode of transportation and the only true way to value or appreciate beauty is to see it in a destroyed state. Hence the two smashed up wooden Cayennes.

Anyone have better German than me? Here’s a link to the explanation.

Not surprisingly, the Cayennes weren’t the only Porsches in the exhibit. Noted concrete artist Gottfired Bechtold’s “Crash” (2001) was on display as well.

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[Source: Fastcodesign.com - Pictures: zkm.de]

Photos of Lego Porsche Liveries

Malte’s work isn’t limited to Porsche. He’s made Lego creations representing Audi, Mercedes, Peugeot, Toyota and Corvette. There’s even an Ariel Atom. If you have a minute check out his full gallery and see the work for yourself.

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