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June 2014 Grapevine Newsletter from the Golden Empire Region of the Porsche Club of America
Citation preview
The Grapevine Newsletter Golden Empire Region
Porsche Club of America
June 2014
2
Hear it through the Grapevine
Featured Stories Pages
A Photo review of Autocross at Minter Field 6
Review of 2014 California Mille 14
Spy Photos of the Cayman GT 4 24
Can Porsche’s LM P1 Win Le Mans 24
MIT Builds All Electric Porsche 32
Social Outings & Members Page
Driving Tour to Murphy’s Auto Museum 5
We’ve found Greg Fullmer’s Baby, sorta ... 10
Meet Loren Stumbaugh’s latest Porsche Toy 22
Event Calendars & Schedules
Upcoming GEM Social Events in June 4
Porsche Parade in Monterey is Upon Us 8
Our GEM Event Calendar 18
24 Hour French Le Mans Endurance Race 30
Up-Coming Out of Town Events
San Luis Obispo Concours and Rally 20
Porsche’s Werks Reunion in Monterey 28
Los Angeles PCA Porsche Concours d’ Elegance 34
San Marino Concours de Elegance 35
3
Porsche Club of America
Golden Empire Region
Board Members and Chair Persons
Social Coordinator
Tammy Harris
Webmaster
Anton Khatsanovich
Newsletter Editor
Michael Thomas
Autocross Co-Chairs
Greg Fullmer and
Charles Rook
Safety Chair &
Insurance Coordinator
Mike McGregor
Membership Co-Chairs &
Communication Co-Chairs
Loren Stumbaugh and
Anna Stumbaugh
PCA Membership While our cars are very exclusive, our club is not.
Did you know that you can add a family member
or other interested person as an affiliate member,
at no additional cost? The family or affiliate mem-
ber must also be 18 years of age or older.
For all of the details contact our Membership
Chair:
Loren Stumbaugh
Porsche Club of America
Golden Empire Region
Membership Chairman
(661) 747-4416
Please join us online at our newly remodeled
Website and on our Facebook Group page:
http://gem.pca.org/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/
PCA.GoldenEmpireRegion/
And please send any Newsletter comments
or content contributions to :
Secretary
Spencer Harris
President
Omar Olivas
Vice President
Linn Christopher
Treasurer
Betsy Wadman
Past President
Pat Wadman
Secretary
Spencer Harris
President
Omar Olivas
Vice President
Linn Christopher
4
Upcoming GEM Social Events in June
The Golden Ox, every Saturday Morning at 8:am for Breakfast and Chit Chat , 3400 Wilson Rd.
Our June Social Meeting, Tuesday Evening, 6:30 Pm at 7701 White Lane, Near Gosford and White Lane
Parade is Finally Here !! The “Must See” Porsche Event of the 2014
5
GEM Club Drive to Murphy’s Auto Museum Open House
June 28 in Oxnard, CA
6
7
More Photos from the Spring 2014 Autocross at Minter Field
8
Monterey is the site of our 59th Porsche Parade, to be held this June 15 through 21, 2014. This is PCA’s annual extrava-
ganza of competitive and social events. Only minutes away from the beautiful Pacific Ocean, we’ll be treated to drives on
the famous Pacific Coastal Highway, to some of California’s legendary vineyards, and through the hills and valleys of
northern California. Of course, Parade has a long history of friendly competition and that will continue this year with the
always challenging Concours d’Elegance, TSD rally, autocross, and the tech-quiz.
Porsche Parade is a Couple of Weeks Away !! From June 15th until the 21st Monterey California will be alive with hundreds of Porsches from all
over the US. I hope your reservations have been made by now. I’m sure most events are pretty well
picked over and closed for further registries.
Click on graphic below for full information on details and scheduling. Or review the March issue of
the Grapevine for the complete schedule.
9
I hope these images of previous Porsche Parades across the country will inspire you to
attend the 59th Porsche Parade this year in Monterey California. It may never be closer !
10
FlatSixes Online Magazine had a nice write-up about Greg’s pride and
joy. The rear wing has been removed and apparently a repaint and
very minor body work has been done to remove a “wrinkle” in one
the fenders. It’s currently located on a classic car lot in Marina Del
Rey and it’s sale. Flatsixes had some very nice comments about our
Club’s former showpiece.
Thanks to Mike McGregor for pointing me in the direction of this follow-up story ……...
Hey Greg Fullmer, we found your Baby, and not far from home !
11
Below is a the last couple of paragraphs from the Flatsixes Magazine article describing Greg’s 914/6 Glockler for sale.
To view the entire article click on the following link; One Of One Glockler 914-6 GT For Sale
Excerpts From the Flatsixes article ……… In Mr. Fullmer’s care, the 914 received a very large 935-esque whaletail, and found itself once again sitting on a beautiful set of classic Fuchs wheels. It ap-pears at this point to have received a second re-paint in a shade more equiva-lent to Aqua metallic than the light silver-blue of ‘hellblau’, and at the same time, the fender wrinkle was repaired. As a fair-weather driver in So-Cal, the Porsche was well cared for, and doesn’t look far removed today from the day it was built.
The Glockler 914, now in the care of our friends over at Chequered
Flag (although you won't find it on their web-site) in Marina Del Ray, has been
lovingly cared for, with some light ‘return to glory’ work having been carried
out. The whaletail is now, thankfully, sleeping with the fishes, the bright
work gleams, and the metallic paint glistens. The car is currently for sale, but
no word has been given on price. The only other known remaining Glockler 914
has recently received a full restoration back to standard spec 914-6, making
this car the only one left with Glockler bodywork. If you've ever wanted a tru-
ly unique and historically significant car, now is the time to buy! You can get in
touch with Chequered Flag via email or call them at 310-827-8665.
Flatsixes Online Magazine is a good friend of the PCA. They allows PCA news-
letter editors the use of their Porsche related articles. Please help support
them by visiting the Flatsixes Website.
12
Golden Empire Region Club News
A trip the Central Coast wineries is being organized by Sandy Anderson. The trip
is tentatively scheduled for July 19th. Sorry guys,
this one is just for the ladies only. The idea is to
drive to Paso Robles, have a nice hotel awaiting
their arrival, and take a wine bus to tour the
Central Coast Wineries. More details on this trip
will follow when they become available.
Yes, Greg’s former 914/6 Glocker
has been located, however, I’m afraid that it has
already found a new home. I placed a phone call
to the Chequered Flag classic dealership in Mari-
na Del Rey regarding the Greg’s car. Only to be
told that Greg’s baby has been sold. Chequered
Flag was not very forth coming regarding details
of the sale. I would not be surprised to see it on
a track or in a concours some time in the near
future though.
And finally, Vernell Christopher has been ill for the last couple of months. She
has indicated that she is feeling much better
now. But I still want to send out my sincerest
wishes for her complete recovery. Get well
Vernell, we are all wishing you the very best !
13
I haven't written much lately. So I thought I would take
time and share with you an interesting encounter with
the former owner of my recently purchased 1971 911t
Targa.
A few weeks ago I was fooling around with my ‘71 911t.
I was working inside my garage, connecting an oil pres-
sure testing gauge. The 911t has always shown low oil
pressure on the dash gauge. So I wanted to confirm
adequate oil pressure by means of a second gauge.
A tall, slender man walked up my driveway and asked if I
owned the 911. I replied yes. I assumed he was interest-
ed in purchasing the car from me. He then stated that
he was the former owner of this car and drove it for 25
years. I realized this was certainly not the person I pur-
chased the car from. I stated that I had bought the car
from a man named David Strong. He replied, “David is
my brother”. He then began explaining the history of
ownership of my car.
David Strong, a local attorney at the time bought the
911 Targa new from a Chevrolet Dealership in Fillmore
California in 1971. The Fillmore Dealer had brought
seven 911s into his dealership for a quick flip. David got
word of these 911s being available at a great price from
his friend and local Bakersfield car dealer Remey Ortiz.
David bought the 911t Targa with S-trim new for $7500.
As David’s daughter began to drive a few years later this
little Targa became here car to drive to Garces High
School. For a reason that no one can explain, the 911
was being driven with no oil in the engine. Which
caused the lively little 2.2 liter engine to seize up tight.
The car was taken to Bruce Smith’s Precision Motors in
Oildale. With only 53000 miles on the car, the engine
was being rebuilt. The rebuild cost came to a little over
$2300. David did not want to pay the $2300 and
promptly sold it to his brother Bill Strong. Bill, an engi-
neer working at the China Lake Naval Weapons Center
at the time would continue driving it for the next 25
years. Bill brought up a good point about the $2300 re-
build cost. He said it sounds very inexpensive to us now,
however, it was 1/3 of the original cost of the entire car.
And a healthy amount of money at that time.
Bill Strong was able to provide many stories and a lot of
detail about my car. He had increased the width of the
Fuch wheels and had installed Koni shocks for better
handling. He stated the reason the Fuch spare in the
front compartment is so badly scored is because he got
too close to rather large rock. He said it also tore up the
front, right fender pretty badly. Repairs were made and
the entire car was repainted. I always thought it was
original paint !
He also stated the reason the hood appears out of align-
ment is because his brother David dropped a car battery
on the hood. An attempt to repair the hood was made
but it is far from perfect. He said that the backfire
“popping” that I still experience on engine deceleration
has occurred as far back as he can remember. I’m hop-
ing a trip to Danny Woods’ shop can resolve this noise.
And then he a question that blew me away. “Is the oil
pressure still low?” I replied yes, in fact that’s exactly
what I'm working on now to attempt to determine the
source of the low oil pressure problem. I told him I had
just replaced the oil pressure sender device and was in
the process of installing an oil pressure test gauge. He
stated that since the engine had been rebuilt the oil
pressure had always indicated low oil pressure. He said
that he had taken the car back to Precision Motors who
rebuilt the engine. They checked it out and told him the
gauge may be reading low but the oil pressure is fine.
Further telling him to take it out and drive it hard. If the
engine seized again they said, we will rebuild it free. “I
drove it hard, determined to find any problems as they
suggested, but I never had any problem associated with
oil pressure”, Bill told me.
He stated that he had sold the car back to his brother
before moving to England. I asked what he was doing in
England and he replied that he taught Engineering at
Cambridge University, just outside of London.
That little impromptu visit of his really meant something
special to me. Thx Bill ……..
I offered him some time behind
the wheel for old time sake but he
graciously declined.
14
California Mille 2014 – Report and Photos
Report by Dennis Gray | Photos by author and Bob Ross
The 2014 California Mille was staged April 27th to May 1st on the challenging back roads of Northern California. The four-day, 1,000-mile rally continued its long tradition of spirited driving in historic sports cars on the twisty and picturesque roads for which they were intended. The rally celebrates Italy’s Mille Miglia race that ran from Brescia to Rome to Brescia from 1927-1957. Cars that could have qualified for the original event are eligible for entry in the California Mille.
The California Mille was founded by Martin Swig, who after driving the Mille Miglia from Brescia to Rome to Brescia, decided that northern California “Looked more like Italy than—Italy.” Thus was born, in 1990, The California Mille. The Mille is produced by Amici americani della Mille Miglia (American Friends of the Mille Miglia), which also presents the annual New Year’s Day “Anti-Football Drive”, and will in 2015 re-stage La Carrera Nevada, its version of Mexico’s border-to-border La Carrera Panamericana. David and Howard Swig are co-directors of these events and Dan Radowicz is the organizer.
As always, the 2014 running of the California Mille started with the customary free car show on Sunday, April 27th in front of San Fran-cisco’s Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill. Italian Consul General Mauro Battocchi welcomed fans on behalf of his nation, offering historic insight into the original Mille Miglia. During the opening day festivi-ties, the Swig brothers walked around the show to highlight the many unusual and significant automobiles that ranged from a 1927 Bentley 6.5-Liter Le Mans and 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina Cab-riolet Series I to a great selection of Alfa Romeos, Jaguars, Porsches and other vehicles.
Further notable entrants at this year’s rally included a 1952 Tojeiro Roadster; 1956 Alfa Romeo 1900CSS; 1953 Siata 208S; 1957 AC Ace Bristol Zagato; 1957 and 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de Frances; 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder; 1953 Jaguar C-Type; 1957 Maserati 200si; 1939 Jaguar SS-100; 1951 Allard K2; 1949 Healey Silverstone and 1957 Kurtis Kraft 500KK; among others.
On Monday, April 28, the California Mille headed north to cross the Golden Gate Bridge, then motored east to Lodi for lunch at the Wine and Roses Restaurant. That afternoon, the Mille left the Cen-tral Valley driving to the west shore of Lake Tahoe, with an over-night at the Resort at Squaw Creek in Olympic Valley.
Day 2, April 29, the California Mille headed north into the pictur-esque and little-known Gold Lake region where drivers did their best to avoid the temptation to fish, camp and hike (as normal tourists do), continuing instead to Nevada City for lunch at the his-toric Stonehouse Brewery. The afternoon drive journeyed down the western slope of the Sierra with the Mille spending the night at the Citizen Hotel in Sacramento.
Day 3, April 30, the Mille classics cruised along the banks of the Sacramento River, passing through the 19th century Chinese-designed town of Locke, then driving west to the Napa Valley wine country for lunch. Continuing westward, the Mille ambled through rarely-traveled back roads ending the day at Cavallo Point for the first of two nights at this San Francisco Bay-front resort.
On May 1, the final day, the California Mille climbed 2500 feet to the near top of Mt. Tamalpais, the highest point in Marin County, smiled for a commemorative group photo, then motored north for lunch in the village of Nicasio, wandered along the Pacific Coast to Occidental, then turned south for the run back to Sausalito and the final night’s awards banquet at Cavallo Point.
15
16
This coming Sunday on June 1, the entries for what will be the 82nd running of the legendary 24 hours of Le Mans will be testing at the famous track. It is the final test prior to arguably the toughest mo-tor race in the world. Porsche vehicles have been on the starting grid continuously for 63 years, and the German sports car manufac-turer is the record holder with 16 overall victories and 103 class victories. The most recent class victory was last year with two 911 RSRs one-two in the GTE Pro category. To date, the last overall vic-tory was 16 years ago, as Porsche has not competed in the top class since 1998. Porsche returns there this year and faces the new FIA-efficiency regulations with the innovative 919 Hybrid, which limits the energy consumption per lap. In parallel to this, the GT team is trying to build on the success of the previous year. A gigantic factory involvement. There are also six private Porsche teams starting the event; the most well known driver and team owner is Patrick Demp-sey, racing car driver and American actor. As Member of the Execu-tive Board, Research and Development, at Porsche AG, Wolfgang Hatz is responsible for the Porsche factory involvement.
Mr Hatz, when and why did Porsche decide to return to the top class of the sports car World Endurance Championship (WEC) and Le Mans?
Wolfgang Hatz: "This was in 2011. We were and still are well posi-tioned in the GT category, but it is time for the brand to re-enter at the elite level. The options for this are easily understandable. There is Formula 1, and there is the WEC with Le Mans. An essential crite-ria for the decision was the desire to establish the project at Por-sche itself, so the expertise would be developed and remain in-house. The World Endurance Championship including Le Mans suits us best, it is a real team sport. This is especially true of the team of drivers. But we also needed to create the infrastructure for this first: new buildings, a team of 230 people, every other one of which is an engineer."
Did the historical connection to Le Mans also play a role?
Wolfgang Hatz: "Porsche is part of Le Mans, and Le Mans is part of Porsche. They fit together. Nevertheless, no one makes these kind of investments due to nostalgia; they have to pay off in the future. As far as I can remember, there was never a regulation that gave the engineers so much freedom and required so much innovation. The obligation towards producing a hybrid and the efficiency formu-la represent revolutionary challenges. I am proud that our engineers ventured the furthest of any. Ultimately, Porsche customers will benefit from this."
Can you explain this in laymen’s terms?
Wolfgang Hatz: "Our combustion engine is the finest and most effi-
cient engine ever developed by Porsche. This compact two litre,
four cylinder, turbo engine with direct fuel injection and a perfor-
mance of over 500 PS drives the rear axle. It is the smallest engine
with the least number of cylinders in the top category of the race.
Our engineers also combined a fundamentally new exhaust gas en-
ergy recovery system with this engine. No one else has that. We
store the energy recovered from the otherwise unproductive flow
of escaping exhaust gasses in a battery. We store energy, which we
generate during braking on the front axle in the same battery.
When the driver retrieves energy from this reservoir comprised of
the latest type of battery cells, several hundred horsepower drive
the front axle. During this phase, the driver has a powerful all-wheel
drive at his disposal. Our car is the only one in the field which con-
verts energy that would otherwise simply be wasted and makes it
useable, not only when braking, but also when accelerating. This
represents an immense potential for future road sports cars."
24 hours of Le Mans: interview with Wolfgang Hatz "Porsche is part of Le Mans, and Le Mans is part of Porsche"
17
Are the efficiency regulations not to the detriment of racing itself?
Wolfgang Hatz: "Not at all; the races at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps have demonstrated this. The prototypes have plenty of power available; whether this is from the internal combustion engine or electrical does not matter. They must use all of the energy on each lap, otherwise it is a waste. Nothing can be saved here. These endurance races are sprints over incredible distances."
The World Championships comprises eight races, but the focus is on Le Mans. When would the factory involvement be considered a success?
Wolfgang Hatz: "It would be terrific, if the GT team could build on the success of the previous year. However, that is literally more difficult because we had to add weight in accordance with the regu-lations. Porsche Team Manthey headed by Hartmut Kristen has ex-tensive experience, which may make the decisive difference at Le Mans. The situation is completely different in the case of the Por-sche team headed by Fritz Enzinger in the LMP1 class: We have no experience there at all. 2014 is a year of learning. Not admitting that would mean miscalculating Le Mans. At Spa-Francorchamps, the Porsche 919 Hybrid impressively demonstrated that the necessary speed is there with pole position and the fastest race lap. Our com-petitors know we are a force to be reckoned with. However, the 919 Hybrid has not yet covered the complete Le Mans distance in racing conditions. In this respect, it would be a success if one LMP1 finishes the event. Succeeding with both would be fabulous."
At Silverstone, we saw you emotionally applauding the podium place in the overall standings in the pouring rain. Isn’t that the high demand Porsche imposes on itself?
Wolfgang Hatz: "That was a great moment of joy. But I am not los-ing sight of reality over this. We were not top-notch at Silverstone. We also benefited from the competition’s problems. But we did complete the first six-hour race with this extremely complex car and a team that has never competed before at a circuit. All the process-es, especially under chaotic weather conditions, worked very well for the debut. And everyone worked extremely hard for this. The drivers showed their enormous skills but also a lot of discipline. The podium was a great experience for all of us. And we had a one-two in the GT class. The picture we saw on Sunday in England was ter-rific."
Where will you be watching the 24 hour race from?
Wolfgang Hatz: "I will be on duty and will not be a spectator. Of course, I spend most of the time in the pit. I attend every race and was at the tracks for almost all the tests. Mostly, by the way, by the side of Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Executive Board, and that will also be the case on June 14/15. Come, what may."
Porsche
18
June 2014
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 White Glove
Porsche Concours
in Dana Point
2 3 4 5 6 7 San Luis Obispo
Drivers Ralley
8 San Luis Obispo
Concours d’
Elelgannce
9 10 11 12 13 14 Porsche’s
Return to the 24
Hours of Le Mans
15
Porsche Parade
Monterey Calif
16
Porsche Parade
Monterey Calif
17 Social Meeting
at FireHouse bar
and Grill on White
Lane
18
Porsche Parade
Monterey Calif
19
Porsche Parade
Monterey Calif
20
Porsche Parade
Monterey Calif
21
Porsche Parade
Monterey Calif
22
Porsche Parade
Monterey Calif
23 24 25 26 27 28 Drive to
Murphy’s Auto
Museum
29 30
July 2014
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 Whale Watching in
Santa Barbara
13 14 15 Social Meeting
To Be Announced
16 17 18 19 Paso Robles
Wine Tasting
20 Los Angeles
Porsche Concours
at Museum Flying
in Santa Monica
21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31
Sun
3
10
17 Pebble Beach
Concours de
Elegance
24
31
19
August 2014
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 Monterey
Sports Car Week
13 Monterey
Sports Car Week
14 Monterey
Sports Car Week
15 Porsche Werks
Reunion Monterey
16 Laguna Seca
Motor Sports
Reunion
17 Pebble Beach
Concours de
Elegance
18 19 Social Meeting
To Be Announced
20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
September 2014
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 Social Meeting
To Be Announced
17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30
20
21
Porsche to test new parts after 919 Hybrid's Spa WEC race issue
By Gary Watkins Wednesday, May 7th 2014, 11:22 GMT
Porsche to test new parts after 919 Hybrid's Spa World Endurance
Championship race failure issues
Porsche will test new components next week designed to
address the problems that put Mark Webber's Porsche 919 Hybrid out of contention in the Spa World Endurance
Championship race.
The #20 Porsche, shared by Webber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley, finished 23 laps down on the winning Toyota TS040 HYBRID in 23rd place after the front right driveshaft had
to be replaced on two occasions.
Porsche LMP1 technical director Alex Hitzinger has revealed that the same problem had al-
ready been encountered in pre-season testing and that a stronger driveshaft was already in manufacture ahead of Spa.
The new components will be tested when Porsche undertakes its second and final endurance
simulation before the Le Mans 24 Hours in June at the Aragon circuit in Spain next week.
Hitzinger told AUTOSPORT: "We already have stronger parts in the pipeline and we will have
them when we test next week."
The hybrid system problem that delayed the fourth-placed #14 Porsche 919 driven by Neel Jani, Marc Lieb and Romain Dumas was a result of a false system alarm, according to Hitz-
inger.
"We are very conservative on our alarms and this time we were too conservative," he ex-
plained.
Dumas had to cycle through the car's electronic systems to cure the problem, which lost Porsche any chance of finishing on the podium.
Porsche has so far chosen not to reveal the nature of the driveline failure that put the #14 car out of the WEC opener at Silverstone last month.
Preparing for Porsche’s return to Le Mans
22
Loren Stumbaugh is a Black or White kind of Guy
And his newest 2007 911 Carrera S Coupe proves that
Recently Loren traded in his beloved Black 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet for this new toy. He
says the he didn't realize what a “cruiser” his black Cabriolet was until he got behind the
wheel of this Hot Rod. The difference in performance between the two is very noticeable.
Loren has also switched from a Tiptronic automatic to a 6 speed manual transmission.
This Carrera S is heavily optioned. But the only non-stock items is the suspension and exhaust system.
Loren is number four in the line of ownership. He says one or more of the former owners has spent a
lot of money in modifications.
For starters the GTS look of this car comes
from rear deck spoiler and the low front
air dam under the car’s “chin”.
23
Other things that attracted Loren to this car are not as easily seen. The Sport Exhaust that the car
came from the factory with was upgraded to a FABSPEED Sports Exhaust. FABSPEED builds exotic high
performance systems for many exotic sport marques such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, and of course
Porsche. And I can attest that the car does sound amazing !
The electronically controlled Porsche Active Suspension
Management system, or PASM has also been upgraded
to electronically controlled Bilstein Coil-overs.
Porsche increased the Carrera S to a 3.8 liter engine in
2007. The BHP is rated at 355hp at 6600 RPMs. The
engine accelerates the car from 0-60 in 4.6 seconds.
And comes from the factory with an 11.8 to 1 compres-
sion ration.
And the Sports Chrono Plus package converts this car from a comfort cruiser into a full blown racing
machine. The suspension becomes stiffer and the engine becomes more aggressive and direct.
In Sports Mode Plus the car places it’s full potential into the hands and mind of the driver.
The interior has also been modified. Just to add
that little extra, a previous owner replaced to
black plastic console, door, and air vent trim
with accenting white trim. The black leather
seats look gorgeous wrapped around the white
interior trim pieces.
And speaking of “Wrap”, parts of the exterior
has been wrap with vinyl. The front compart-
ment hood, the roof and the rear spoiler have
all been wrapped in Matte Black Vinyl that
provides for a very unique and sporty look. I’m sure this Carrera S is very
pleased to have Loren as it’s
newest owner, Congrats!!
24
What It Is: A Porsche Cayman prototype wearing an aggressive front fascia and a giant rear wing. A prototype of what, you may ask? It appears to be a GT4, the long-rumored, range-topping ultra-high-performance Cayman variant that will follow in the epic 911 GT3’s footsteps.
Why It Matters: Porsche has long throttled the performance of the Cayman and Boxster twins in or-der to maintain a safe buffer between them and the pedestal on which the 911 sits, but a Cayman GT4 would upset that hierarchy for the first time. Until now, the Cayman’s output figures have been careful-ly clipped to levels below those enjoyed by various 911 models, even though a mid-engine chassis as good as the Cayman’s could easily handle more power. Should the GT4 pictured here come to fruition, it would give us our first look at just how far a factory Cayman can be pushed.
Platform: The Cayman GT4 will share its mid-engine bones with other Cayman models such as the S and GTS, but should see significant stiffening in its structure and suspension. The car pictured here even has a roll bar, just like its 911 GT3 sibling. But unlike its GT3 sibling, which gets carbon-ceramic brakes, the GT4 appears to be equipped merely with the Cayman GTS’s big-brake kit. (In Por-scheland, red brake calipers represent upsized iron rotors, while yellow calipers clamp carbon-ceramic discs; there also are black, silver, and even neon-green units that represent base cars, all-wheel-drive cars, and hybrids.) Given that Porsche’s Ceramic Composite Brake package is available on the Cayman GTS (for a cool $7400), we figure it’ll at least be available on the GT4, if not ultimately standard fare.
2015 Porsche Cayman GT4 Spy Photos:
Expect 350 to 400HP, Plus Glorious Wings and Things
25
These spy photos suggest that Porsche is working on a fixed rear wing similar to the oversized unit it fit-
ted to the 911 GT3. Aero tweaks to the front end include a hefty splitter. The same extractor vent worn by
the 911 GT3 between its front bumper and hood is present on this Cayman tester, as is the GT3’s trio of
gaping front intakes. It isn’t clear whether the GT4 will get the GT3’s red seatbelts, but they’re an option
in regular Caymans. The prototype does, however, have some sweet racing-shell-type seats, though.
Powertrain: This is where the Cayman GT4 is holding its cards close to the vest; these photos provide us not even a hint at what engine lies beneath the pumped-up bodywork. We suspect the GT4 either will use the bigger of the 911’s two naturally aspirated flat-sixes—the 400-hp 3.8-liter from the Carrera S—or a worked-over version of the 3.4-liter unit Cayman S and GTS models share with the base 911 Carrera.
The GTS makes 340 horsepower, and the same engine in the Carrera puts out 350 horsepower, so if the 3.4-liter is used, expect at least 355 ponies. Alternatively, there is speculation about the GT4’s powertrain as being a turbocharged V-4 like the (non-production) one used in Porsche’s 919 endurance racer, but that seems extraordinarily unlikely and costly. Like the GT3, we suspect Porsche will keep the GT4 auto-matic-only. Manual fans can at least take solace in the fact that Porsche’s seven-speed PDK dual-
Competition: Alfa Romeo 4C, Audi TT RS, BMW M4.
Estimated Arrival and Price: Studying this Cayman GT4’s bodywork, it would appear the car is quite far along in the development process—and thus nearly produc-tion-ready. We figure that the GT4 just might hit showrooms in time for the tail end of the 2015 model year, following a full reveal later this year or early next. As for pricing, the PDK-equipped Cayman GTS starts at $80,155, so figure on the top-dog GT4 version commanding at least $100,000. This is a Porsche, after all.
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Can Porsche win at Le Mans?
With 16 overall victories, Porsche is
the winningest marque in the 81-
year history of the 24 Hours of Le
Mans, the world’s most famous auto-
motive endurance race. In 1999, at
the top of its game, the German car-
maker turned its back on the race –
a move widely read as a means of
freeing funds to develop its first
SUV, the Cayenne. Sixteen years
later, to the resounding cheers of the
faithful, Porsche is coming back.
When the brand took its long sabbat-
ical from top-level racing, it passed
the baton to its Volkswagen Group
stable-mate, Audi. And Audi did not
merely carry that baton. Competing
in the premier LMP1 prototype class,
the company conducted symphonies
with it, becoming the second-
winningest marque at Le Mans by
2013, claiming 12 victories in 14
years. Many observers assumed
Porsche's long-awaited return to Le
Mans and the World Endurance
Championship (WEC) would mean
an end to Audi's participation. But
that isn’t the case.
Within the Volkswagen family of
brands (which also includes Bugatti,
Bentley, Lamborghini, SEAT and
Skoda, plus Ducati motorcycles),
each marque finances its own racing
efforts, and both Audi and Porsche
have the resources to compete in
the 2014 WEC, including Le Mans.
So it is that in 2014, the brothers will
face each other for the first time.
The first step for Porsche's return to
Le Mans was to present a business
case to its board of directors. The
company’s own profits would fund
the effort; Porsche sees $23,000 of
upside per vehicle, averaged over its
whole product line. Exactly how
much has it allotted to the Le Mans
effort? Specifics are unknown, but
reliable estimates put the cost of rac-
ing a prototype in the WEC at be-
tween $100m and $200m for the first
year and well beyond $50m for each
subsequent year. That's what Audi
spent, give or take, starting in 2000.
As a comparison, Formula 1 is wide-
ly estimated to cost about $400m
per year, not including engine-
development and maintenance
budgets.
Building the car came next. Because
the goal of Le Mans is to cover the
most laps in 24 hours, and because
pit stops take time away from that
pursuit, prototype engine rules place
great emphasis on efficiency rather
than on outright power. The most
successful approach has been Au-
di's fuel-sipping diesel-engine strate-
gy, first fielded in 2006. Porsche is
taking a rather different tack, and
serious technology watchers and
motorsports fans will be transfixed
by the companies’ diverging ap-
proaches to the rules and the rac-
ing.
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Over the past 15 years, Audi has
elevated the testing of its endurance
racers to an art form. For the Audi
team, preparation for a 24-hour race
now includes running its own test
race for 48 hours. Porsche currently
does not have the same luxury.
Even for a company that built its rep-
utation on heroic engineering
through motorsport, kick-starting a
proper Le Mans operation after well
more than a decade of dormancy is
no small feat. During a feverish two
years spent developing the car that
would become the 919 Hybrid, Por-
sche tested several engines, includ-
ing the 3.4-litre V8 engine from the
older, LMP2-class RS Spyder, but
none performed adequately. So the
engineering team returned to the
drawing board time and again before
settling on a new 2-litre V4 engine in
November 2013. In just five months,
the engine was born, grew up,
learned manners, graduated military
school and went to war. It’s a pro-
cess that normally takes a bare mini-
mum of 18 months.
In addition to the turbocharged four-
cylinder gasoline engine driving the
rear wheels, the 919 Hybrid uses
two energy recovery systems: a gen-
erator driven by exhaust gases and
a brake-energy recuperation system
to convert kinetic energy into elec-
tricity, which is stored in a water-
cooled lithium-ion battery pack. The
batteries feed an electric motor that
sends power to the front wheels un-
der certain conditions.
Audi will continue its diesel plan.
Compared with the turbocharged V6
diesel engine last year's Audi R18,
the engine in the 2014 R18 E-tron
Hybrid is larger (4 litres, up from
3.7), an increase that offsets turbo-
boost restrictions for cars that fea-
ture electric-motor assistance, as
defined by the new LMP1-H class.
With air management a primary fo-
cus of all modern race cars, few of
them would be called pretty. Both
the Porsche 919 and Audi R18 E-
tron carry through on that trend with
upright, blunt front wheel housings,
multiple air inlets to cool mechanical
unmentionables and a markedly
sunken cockpit when viewed in pro-
file. The large stabilisation fin on the
engine cover is obligatory.
There's intrigue beyond pistons,
turbos, flywheels and fuel. As the
first race where Porsche and Audi
will battle it out, how will their corpo-
rate parent lay down the law at Le
Mans? There seems little question
that Audi and Porsche will be able
and encouraged to bring their best
game and win on merit with no cor-
porate orders, aside from one, the
biggest order in auto racing: never
eliminate your stable-mate with a
crash.
In March, during a pair of official four
-hour test sessions at Circuit Paul
Ricard, near Marseille, France, a
Porsche logged the quickest overall
lap times. But Audi was in arrears by
just eight-tenths of a second. And so
it begins.
The 81st running of the 24 Hours of
Le Mans is scheduled for 14-15
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Be sure to register for this event in August at MotorSportReg.Com
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Porsche’s return to Le Mans June 14 - 15 2014
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Demonstrated Success: Porsche 914 BEV
The team's first project began in late 2006, when MIT Professor Yang Shao-Horn and Dr. Quinn Horn of Exponent donated a 1976 Porsche 914, motor, charger, and controller. The
Porsche was converted into a battery electric vehicle (BEV) using 18 U-Charge® XP Lithium Phosphate batteries donated by Valence Technology. From the beginning, EVT students
designed this lithium-ion conversion with two underlying objectives: to establish the vehicle's usefulness for research and to maximize the system's safety. The Porsche 914 BEV has simi-
lar driving performance to the original vehicle, with the added advantage of regenerative
braking. The vehicle is street legal, and EVT team members can often be seen driving around the Boston area on test drives or on the way to local outreach.
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Timeline
November 2006 – Conversion begins based on Electro Automotive Voltsporsche conver-
sion kit
June 2007 – Major hardware components installed; Emmanuel Sin wins mechanical engi-
neering’s Peter Griffith Experimental Thesis Award for his work on the conversion
October 2007 – Vehicle electronic system redesigned (deviating from kit) to improve
safety and account for the Lithium-ion batteries and the AC induction motor
February 2008 – Six additional batteries installed, bringing pack voltage to 230 V
(nominal); motor and battery controllers re-programmed to use 18 batteries
March 2008 – First successful test drive
For more information about the early stages of the conversion, see Manny Sim's 2007 BS
thesis, "Electric Conversion of Porsche 914."
Battery Pack and Battery Management
The battery pack comprises 18 lithium-ion phosphate batteries, produced and donated by Valence Technology. They are arranged in series for a total nominal voltage of 230.4V
and a capacity of 100 Ah (at C/2). Each battery has its own built-in computer that moni-tors the battery's conditions. The battery management system, a separate computer,
communicates with each of the 18 battery computers and can be used to control the high voltage circuit, shutting it off in case any problems occur.
Motor and Motor Controller
The motor is a 3-phase AC induction motor from Azure Dynamics and has a peak power
of roughly 55kW and a maximum speed of 12,000 rpm. The motor controller inverts the DC voltage from the battery to AC voltage for the motor and demands a torque from the
motor based on the input from the accelerator pedal. Unlike an internal combustion en-gine, the motor can provide full torque at zero speed, and it has a much wider speed
range than an engine. For ease of conversion, the team retained the stock manual trans-
mission. The motor and controller are also used for regenerative braking.
Charger
The on-board charger is a Zivan NG3 which converts 230VAC to DC voltage to charge the battery pack. It can be plugged into a standard clothing dryer (230VAC) outlet, but is
current limited by the power rating of a 120VAC outlet, taking roughly 8 hours to charge the battery pack. With the proper charger and power supply, the Valence Li-ion battery
pack could be charged in as little as 2.5 hours.
Data Acquisition and Display
Data buses from both the battery management system and motor controller are logged via an NI CompactRIO that was donated by National Instruments (NI). This provides val-
uable information about the currents, voltages, torques, speeds, and temperatures seen by the vehicle components during driving. In addition, the data acquisition system rec-
ords all fault and limit conditions, warning the driver when motor power is limited and providing a powerful diagnostic tool. The CompactRIO also controls an NI touch screen
which display valuable real-time information about the motor and batteries to the driver.
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