Rolf Sprenger was a versatile engineer whose Porsche career was founded almost entirely on customer service. “If I want a trailer (caravan) with a swimming pool, Herr Sprenger will build it for me,” so said Peter Schutz to a potential client, while Sprenger looking on, would groan inwardly: yet another customer whose expectations had been over-excited would have to be brought … [Read more...]
Yesteryear
Pulling the Rabbit out of the hat – 1980 IMSA Portland
By the time the Dick Barbour Racing team arrived in Portland for the Rose Cup IMSA race in August of 1980, we were in good spirits. The week before at the Sears Point IMSA event, the team had finished 1-2 with two 935s driven by John Fitzpatrick and Bobby Rahal. The Portland race was of the 100-mile sprint variety, just as it had been the prior week at Sears Point in … [Read more...]
Grossmutter 718 W-RS Spyder – one of a kind
The word unique is a much-overused word today, as it is applied, it seems, to just about anything that is produced in small numbers, or even just to enhance a claim about something unusual. In fact, the word unique should really only be applied to something when it is: the only one of its kind; unlike anything else; existing as the only one or as the sole example. So, when we … [Read more...]
The rise of the Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo
The year 1974 will be remembered for many different reasons, depending on where you were living in the world at the time and what caught your eye. For instance, Richard Nixon became the first US president forced to resign, following the Watergate Scandal in August that year. George Foreman and Muhammad Ali faced each other for the highly anticipated ‘rumble in the jungle.’ Eric … [Read more...]
1978 Porsche 935 T-Bird Swap Shop
The Porsche 935 was the Stuttgart manufacturer’s answer to the FIA’s Group 5 class regulations, making it eligible for the World Championship of Makes. The first Porsche car in this so-called ‘Silhouette’ series, was introduced for the start of the 1976 season. The factory entered 935s in both the World Championship of Makes and the World Sportscar Championship, winning both … [Read more...]
Dauer Porsche 962 LM GT #001
As the Dauer Porsche 962 LM GT celebrates its 25th anniversary (1994-2019), PORSCHE ROAD & RACE looks back at how this car came to exist at all. It wasn’t built in the spirit of the regulations ACO race director Alain Bertaut argued, as they tried everything in their power to get the car outlawed. But the Dauer Porsche 962 LM GT was built to the letter of the law. … [Read more...]
The Porsche Transaxle Family
It is a fact that most of us with an interest in roadgoing or race cars, will have a favourite model that holds a special place in our memory for some reason. That reason might be something significant that happened in your life where a certain car left an indelible mark in your memory, or might just be slow warming to a certain model that has built up over the years. In the … [Read more...]
Finding the ‘Ratt’
When I’m not helping to sell the occasional old race car, or visiting old race car meetings, I’ve usually got my head down, researching various projects for clients, usually to do with Porsches, although Lola T70s and such like often pass my way too. Probably the most interesting project that I’ve had in a long while recently came my way. It concerns a Porsche Carrera RSR, … [Read more...]
A decade and a half of 911 racing in Europe Part 1
Over the years, we have attended many motor races and seen first-hand how the performance of the evergreen Porsche 911 has improved. This feature, the first in our four-part mini-series, starts with the 2005 season where the iconic 996 GT3 RSR was a potent force on the GT racing scene, and rolls through to 2008. The story of 911 racing in Europe is like no other, because the … [Read more...]
New 3.8-litre 911 GT3 RSR triumphs at Le Mans 2007
Porsche introduced their new 3.8-litre 911 GT3 RSR (Type 997) for the 2007 season, replacing the 3.6-litre 996 GT3 RSR. In many ways, this new model was a better all-round race car, being more predictable and stable thanks to an increase in body stiffness of ten percent and an improvement in aero efficiency of seven percent. The race car had to satisfy the requirements of races … [Read more...]
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