Differences between a Porsche 951 and Porsche 944 Turbo Cup

There are many differences between the 951 and the Porsche Turbo Cup, some say as many as 100. There are factory deletes such as no sun roof, no insulation, no rust protection and no electric motors. Other differences include performance improvements such as larger brakes, larger clutch and modified transmission. While even more was done to lighten the car by as much as 400 lbs (such as a fiberglass engine hood, magnesium intake manifold and special carpets) the Porsche Turbo cup was intentionally designed to look like a 944/951 that you could buy from the dealer on Monday morning, but built as a true race car with factory installed roll cage, race seat, power kill switches, improved turbo unit, stiffened chassis, special magnesium wheels, as well as special Bilstein or Koni shock absorbers. Little modification was done to the engine, except for the turbo unit. The concept was a lighter car with improved handling and braking. If you’re viewing this post via email you may want to click on 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo Cup for Sale for a better viewing experience of the 18 pictures in our gallery.

Interestingly, the Porsche Turbo Cup represents the first “cup” series for Porsche with identical cars racing identical cars.

How Rare is a Porsche 944 Turbo Cup?

In the United States, about seven Porsche 944 Turbo Cups were imported by Al Holbert, Porsche Motorsport North America. They were raced in the Escort series as well as other venues. This example, WPOAA2956HN165111, was then purchased by Wrightwood Racing in California and raced in several enduro events. A decision by that race team was made somewhere around 1991 to race different cars, so this Porsche was put into storage. It was bought by the present owner with less than 4000 miles on the odometer. It has since been used for Porsche Club Driver Education events as well as one Porsche Club race in the current “G” class. It has just over 7000 original mile, has never had major body damage, is 100% correct and just might be the best example of this car in the world.

Pricing for this particular Porsche 944 Turbo Cup might seem high to some, but we think it’s not too far off. These cars rarely come up on the market and at first glance this particular Porsche 944 Turbo Cup seems to be in even better condition then the one that sold recently at the Drendel Family Collection Auction for $79,200.

For more information or details contact Brett or Richard Sloan directly.

If you would like your Porsche featured on PorschePurist.com please use our contact form to get in touch with us. Be sure to provide details such as year, model, mileage, condition, asking prices and location. We’ll be in touch if it is a Porsche we can feature.

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[Source: Drive]

Preliminary Specifications Porsche 918 Spyder

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[Photos via Porsche, Wildspeed and autoevolution]

GT Class Results at Laguna Seca

1. Gavin/Milner (GB/USA), Chevrolet Corvette, 232 laps
2. Magnussen/Garcia (DK/E), Chevrolet Corvette, 232
3. Auberlen/Müller (USA/D), BMW E92 M3, 232
4. Hand/Müller (USA/D), BMW E92 M3, 232
5. Sharp/van Overbeek (USA/USA), Ferrari F458 Italia, 232
6. Bergmeister/Long (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 232
7. Henzler/Sellers (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 232
9. Holzer/Neiman /D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 230
10. Maassen/Miller (D/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 229

GTC Class Results at Laguna Seca

1. Bleekemolen/Di Guida/Curtin (NL/VEN/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 219 laps
2. Sofronas/Welch/Villeneuve (USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 219
3. Vaeta/Avenati/Wagner (USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 219

ALMS GT Class Driver Standings

1. Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, Chevrolet, 59 points
2. Joey Hand, Dirk Müller, BMW, 52
3. Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia, Chevrolet, 48
4. Scott Sharp, Johannes van Overbeek, Ferrari, 29
Bill Auberlen/Jörg Müller, BMW, 29
7. Wolf Henzler, Bryan Sellers, Porsche, 19
8. Sascha Maassen, Bryce Miller, Porsche, 18
9. Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Porsche, 17
10. Seth Neiman, Porsche, 16

ALMS GT Class Manufacturers’ Standings

1. Chevrolet, 62 points
2. BMW, 55
3. Porsche, 45

ALMS GT Class Teams Standings

1. Corvette Racing, Chevrolet, 62 points
2. BMW Team RLL, BMW, 55
3. Extreme Speed Motorsports, Ferrari, 31
4. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche, 22
5. Team Falken Tire, Porsche, 19
6. Paul Miller Racing, Porsche, 18

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Profiles in History, a dealer in “guaranteed-authentic original historical autographs, letters, documents, vintage signed photographs and manuscripts” announced today that more McQueen items from Le Mans will be auctioned this July in their mega Hollywood auction.

Steve McQueen Le Mans Racing Jacket

Among the items up for auction is the jacket shown above worn by McQueen “between scenes and during idle times on the set”. Profiles in History has set the estimate on this Simpson Nomex fire resistant race jacket between $80,000 and $120,000.

Steve McQueen Heuer Monaco Watch

The Heuer Monaco watch above (Heuer didn’t become Tag Heuer until a merger that took place years after these watches were made) is one of four (three blue and one gray) supplied by Heuer for the filming of Le Mans. To date only one other has appeared at auction and it sold in 2009 for $87,600. Estimates for the Monaco presented here range from $200,000 to $300,000; a steep premium over the last sale. I asked the reason for the higher estimate and was told by the auction house’s PR firm that the provenance on this watch is “iron clad” with a notarized letter from the movie’s prop-master testifying to the fact that the watch was worn by McQueen.

Michael Delaney Team Gulf Rain Jacket

This is the original Glenoit & Lillja dark blue insulated rain jacket with gray trim featuring embroidered “Team Gulf Sweden” patch on the left chest and “Gulf ” patch on the left shoulder. Much of Le Mans was shot in the rain and McQueen can be seen wearing this jacket both on screen and between takes on the set in numerous publicity photos. It was obtained from the costume supervisor on the film who kept the jacket for the past 40 years and comes with a signed letter of authenticity from him. It is estimated to fetch $80,000 – $120,000.

Heuer “Twin Set” Stopwatches

This pair of Heuer stopwatches—Auto-Rallye and Monte Carlo models—are mounted side-by-side on a Heuer chrome backplate and were used by Steve McQueen during the making of the Le Mansto time racecars on the track. The watches come with a notarized letter of authenticity and are expected to fetch between $40,000 and $60,000

Even More McQeen/Le Mans Items to be Added

While the date for the auction has yet to be set, the press release today did allude to more items to come. When pressed for more information we were told, “There will be more McQueen items at the auction. This is what we’ve announced right now. There will be an official catalog available for download from the profiles in history website shortly.” So, keep your eyes and ears tuned, as this is one auction we can’t wait to see the results from.

Special thanks to Steven Leed of Royal Jewelers for the heads up on the auction.

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If you can’t see the video above in your email simply click on Patrick Long’s Morning Commute in a Porsche GT3 RS 4.0 to view it directly on our site.

Does a GT3 RS 4.0 really have a cup holder??

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At least for this upcoming weekend that is. Most Porsche racing fans know that to compete at a professional level within the various Porsche motorsport series takes serious skill and dedication. However, this weekend at Laguna Seca, Lawson Aschenbach will redefine the concept of dedication as he pulls double duty with two different teams on two different coasts in two different series.

At this weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge race in Laguna Seca TruSpeed will field four cars for the event. Drivers include Jeff Courtney (#99 Kenda Tires Porsche), Tomy Drissi (#47 Ice Age: Continental Drift Porsche), Justin Marks (#46 GoPro/MMX Porsche) and Lawson Aschenbach (#1 PrivacyStar / Entrust Porsche). Aschenbach returns to the team after missing the last round at Miller Motorsports Park (Patrick Long filled in for him) due to a scheduling conflict, but faces a tough race due to yet another scheduling problem.

Aschenbach will test with TruSpeed on Wednesday in California before catching a flight east in order to practice at the New Jersey Mortorsports Park on Thursday in his Grand-Am Chevy Camaro. After practicing in New Jersey on Thursday Lawson will jet back to California for Friday’s World Challenge race. Once the checkered flag drops on the World Challenge event Lawson will fly back to New Jersey for Saturday’s Grand-Am race. If you’re jet lagged just thinking about it, you’re not alone. Thank God he’s young!

For more on Lawson check out his web site and for more on TruSpeed’s escapades in motorsport check out their dedicated racing site.

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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]

“With our Style Porsche design process, we ensure that a Porsche 911 evolves in terms of its appearance, while remaining recognizably a 911. At Porsche we use two concepts to achieve this: brand identity and product identity. Brand identity means that a Porsche has to be recognizable as a Porsche at first glance and product identity means that it is immediately apparent which Porsche it is. The design DNA of our products is our most important asset – which is precisely why we are constantly questioning and developing it.”

Integral to the Porsche design DNA in the case of the 911 are elements like the steeply rear-sloping roof line, the flat, stretched silhouette, exciting surfaces, the air intake instead of a radiator grille, a downward tapering rear window, pronounced shoulders, the visible tailpipes, and of course the ignition, which has always been on the left of the steering wheel in a Porsche. What Porsche is demonstrating yet again with the 911 Carrera is that outstanding design quality is more than just look and feel and functionality – the design’s unmistakable identity makes it the ambassador of the sports car brand.

Additionally, this prize pays tribute to the life’s work and achievements of Professor Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, who died in Salzburg on 5 April 2012 at the age of 76. As the creator of the Porsche 911, he established a design culture at Porsche that has shaped the Stuttgart sports cars to this very day. His philosophy of good design is an important legacy that the company will continue to honor for all time. His credo was: “A coherently designed product needs no adornment; it should be enhanced by its form alone. Good design should be honest.” Porsche designers profess this conviction to this very day.

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“Behind these extremely gratifying figures is a clearly defined line: we focus systematically on solid, sustainable and high-quality growth,” said Matthias Müller, President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche AG. “The youngest and most efficient model range of all time gives us an outstanding platform on which to sustain this course throughout 2012,” Müller said.

It should come as no surprise that sales of the new 911 increased by 37.6% considering the 997 model was on the way out and folks were waiting for the 991.

Porsche’s Ambitious Goals for 2018

Porsche has set itself ambitious business targets with “Strategy 2018”: with an operating return on sales of at least 15 per cent and a return on capital of at least 21 per cent the aim is for the company to remain one of the world’s most profitable car manufacturers. Porsche thrills its customers with unique products and an outstanding purchase and ownership experience. Moreover, the sports car manufacturer is a much sought-after international employer and a fair and reliable partner for all stakeholders. The intention is to boost sales to approximately 200,000 vehicles by 2018. To that end, Porsche is investing in rejuvenating and expanding the entire model range. In 2011, the new edition of the Porsche 911 got the process underway. This will be followed in 2012 with the all-new Boxster and by the new Cayman. The introduction of the Macan urban SUV, to be built in the Leipzig plant, is to provide additional impetus from 2014 onwards.

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