RSR Rendez-vous November 1999
My New Race Car:
I’ve taken the plunge. Budget be damned! I bought a race car. Not
just any race car mind you, a Porsche GT1 in Le Mans trim. As this
is written it sits in my garage. It needs some work. Some vital
organs are sitting in boxes and have to be installed. The alignment
is totally shot and I’ve never seen so many suspension adjustments
on a car in my life. I’ll have it together by spring though,
probably before.
The car is awesome. Can you believe a power to weight ratio of one
horsepower for every two and a half pounds? The engine is a marvel
with a specific output of 300 HP per liter!! Power is through all
four wheels with limited slip differentials front and rear, a little
like the C4. It runs on exotic fuel which costs fifteen bucks a
gallon. I thought 83.9 a litre for 92 Octane was bad!
The attention to detail is extraordinary. Can you believe stainless
steel brake rotors? An all alloy chassis? Titanium tie rods? One
piece plastic wheels?
OK that was a giveaway. I bought a 1/10th scale gas powered radio
control car. The figures and features are accurate though. It’s
amazing what you can buy in a Hobby shop for less than the price of
one 18 inch Bridgestone S02 tire (front).
With a two speed transmission this car will hit a legit 90
kilometers per hour and the 0 to 50 time is 2.7 seconds with top
speed coming about 2 seconds later. The car weighs about 2.5 pounds
and is about a foot long.
Why you ask? Easy, I intend to win the autocross next year. I figure
with a car this size I can ace any race course without raising a
sweat. The timing lights will have to be lowered to make sure this
car breaks the beam mind you, but that’s a detail. Expect to read
more about scale race cars, Steve Noel and Patrick Tan are trying to
organize scale racing for club members. What better place than the
skid pad at Tremblant?
Frankfurt Auto Show:
John Raymond just returned from the show in Germany. All the new
toys from Porsche were there and lent me his copy of the press kit.
The 996 TT is awesome. Much better looking than the advance photos
we’ve seen. It’s a lot more muscular than the 996, with additional
curves flares and scoops. Prices will be in the same ball park as
the original 993 TT. Not that the 993TT was cheap mind you, but as
supercars go it was and is a bargain.
My 2000 Boxster ‘S’
I had the pleasure of ordering my Boxster S. For the enthusiast there
are very few options to worry about. The sports chassis and 18 inch
wheels are the only performance options on a very long list of
comfort and convenience stuff. I think you could drive yourself mad
with the various color and material choices for the interior I think
I counted no less than 32 different choices in leather part leather,
different wood grain finishes, and so on. Porsche seems to have gone
all out on the decor of the car.
There is an Aero Kit available but at over $8,100 I’m passing it by.
Speed Yellow is now a standard color if you want to really stand out.
Last year it was a <gasp> $5,000 option! I can’t tell you what color
I’ll end up with, I’ll have to discuss it with Louise. I know it
won’t be red and tan. She hates the combo in my C4S for some reason.
One sour note, the sports seat are part of a package and come in any
color you want as long as it’s black. Same goes for the three spoke
“sport” steering wheel. On the other hand, you can even order, at no
cost, (now that’s a change for Porsche!) deletion of the “S”
identification. I guess that’s so you can claim it’s a regular 201
HP Boxster for Autocross and hope that nobody will notice the extra
air intake and different exhaust.
Speculation and Rumors:
The Weissach folks are once again a divided camp. Back in the days of
the 944-951-968 cars, the front engine guys had all sorts of skunk
work projects to make their models competitive or even faster than
the 911. With the cancellation of the 968 in 1992, that ended.
With the Boxster the camps have once again divided and according to
John there is serious competition between them. Rumors of a Boxster
GT and Boxster RS are flying. It seems that the 911 engines and
transmissions are a straight drop in for the Boxster chassis. The
“S” uses the 911 engine and transmission in fact.
Now imagine what a Boxster GT might be? Perhaps the 300 HP engine of
the 911? The RS would easily accept the 3.6 litre 360 HP engine from
the amazing GT3. Why stop there? why not go all the way and lift
the 3.6 litre twin turbo and produce a 450 HP Boxster? This will be
fun to watch!
The SUV:
I’ve been skeptical about Porsche’s venture into SUV land from the
start. Still, if anyone can make an SUV that can steer out of harm’s
way (as opposed to simply crashing) I figure that Porsche is the one.
There’s lots of speculation about the powerplant. How about the SUV
using the 911 engine? A light boxer engine low in the chassis would
go a long way toward lowering the center of gravity of the vehicle.
Disguised test vehicles are driving around various parts of North
America right now. If something that looks like a Blazer, Durango,
etc. blasts by, take a close look, it may be the new Porsche
SUV.
All Wheel Smoke Show:
John tossed me the keys to his Audi S4. Holy burnout, Batman. What a
ride! With 250 HP and huge torque from idle on up, this car is a
hoot. The engine is great, very smooth (smoother than my A6!) and the
rush of power is intoxicating.
John’s car has the trick suspension, 18 inch wheels and a six speed
tranny. You owe it to yourself to try this car. The exhaust note is
delicious, and, for once an Audi with Porsche-poweful brakes.
It took a traffic snarl and a 30 minute delay to wipe the smile off
my face.
So what’s the Audi S4 got to do with Porsches? I’m glad you asked.
Did you know that all of the VW-Audi cars have interchangeable
engines? Yes, the 300 HP V8 does fit in a Jetta (can you believe?)
and absolutely yes, the 2.7 litre twin turbo of the Audi S4 fits
right into the TT coupe and convertible. For Porsche to maintain its
performance “edge” they’ll have to up performance of the Boxster
to 300 HP or so. Remember, you read it here first.
New Members!
John Raymond is giving every buyer of a Porsche Automobile sold
by Auto Strasse a free membership to Rennsport and PCA. By the time
we get the paperwork sorted out, we’ll have over 100 new members
thanks to his generosity. If some of you (new members) are reading
this, expect to receive an invitation to a free Drivers Education
weekend from Rennsport for the 2000 season. John has been a huge
help to our membership drive and I think we have a shot at winning
the fastest growing region award from PCA.
Bob
..Porsche, imagine the family feud at Le Mans next year!