SO YOU FINALLY GOT THAT PORSCHE

When Spring arrives in the Bay Area, there's no better way to celebrate the fresh air but in a Porsche.
Consider this blog as a depository for awesome Porsche drives/tours in and around the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California.

Draw an imaginary line across the center of California. Anchor one end off the Monterey Area/Santa Cruz mountains, on the Pacific coast. Run the line east over the Coast Range, through the Central Valley, and over the Sierra Nevada mountains. Tether the other end of the line at the Nevada border, on the fringe of the Great Basin Desert.

"Backroads of Northern California" covers the incomparable natural beauty, the myths and the history of the Golden State on the northern side of that line, while "Backroads of Southern California" does the honors for the lower half, from the San Joaquin Valley to the border with Mexico.


TOURS are what they sound like - someone leads a bunch of Porschephiles hither-and-yon for the express purpose of having them follow onto great Porsche roads, go interesting places and generally have a wonderful time driving their cars.

"Email-a-Ride" - called short notice drive/tour

"Email-a-Ride

Sunday, September 26, 2010

“Porsche Kids Driving School” - “My First License – I Know My Road Rules”

Is the Dad out on the track with the new 911, while you are at home watching the kids? How about a Porsche Driving School just for your kids? ...

A track where young children could get their first taste of driving, albeit
in small Porsche pedal cars and learn about basic traffic rules and road signs.

Organized by Porsche Middle East and Africa, this was the second year running that the
company had set up the “Porsche Kids Driving School” to educate
children about road safety and was a great hit with more than 400 kids aged
between 3 and 10 lining up to drive 15 Porsche 911 pedal cars.

Deesch Papke, Managing Director of Porsche Middle East and Africa,
underlined how this event complements Porsche’s comprehensive approach to
safety: “Our mission in Porsche is not only automotive, but also social and
humane. The safety features implemented in our cars justify this notion to the
fullest. Since safety is also an educational affair, it is very important to
teach it to the public, especially the young audience. The fruit of our highly
ambitious event will be appreciated to a great extent in the present as well as
in the long-term future.” 

A small road-track was set up, complete with road signs, zebra crossings and traffic
signals. After a short briefing by a qualified instructor on traffic signs and
rules, children drove on the track while adhering to basic road safety rules.
The aim of the educational activity was to create awareness about road safety
amongst children, and provide an exciting ‘Porsche experience’ for children.

 

 

All children,many of whom even carried their license with them from last year’s
program, received an easy-to-understand booklet on road safety rules. Upon
completion of the session, they also received a ‘Porsche Driving License’ stating
“My First License – I Know My Road Rules”. The plastic license card carries all
details of the child such as name, age and photograph, and although it does not
permit the child to drive, it does indicate that the card holder has
participated in a road safety program.

Furthermore, each child received an “Information Pack” including a “Porsche Safe Driving
Handbook” for his parents, to promote awareness of traffic rules and explain
what we can do to make the roads safer for us and our children. At the end,
there were lots of happy and proud little faces!

 

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

PORSCHE CLASSY - Porsche Classic Challenge 2010

Porsche Classic Challenge, a three-day trip from Castle Ophemert to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart

A brilliant mix of great social atmosphere throughout the 3 days of events.

 Porsche Classic Challenge 2010

Those hot, early model Porsche 911s are pretty special too.

 

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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Porsche Design unveils the $1 million Advent calendar

Porsche Design’s $1 Million Advent Calendar

Porsche Design has just unveiled their latest Advent Calendar which will be sold for $1 Million. This brilliant showpiece, which stands approximately 1.75 meters high and is made of brushed aluminum with double-coat finish surfaces, reveals, each day up to December 24, a new surprise from the world of Porsche Design.

For all you luxury loving people who have set their designs on Porsche Design’s offerings for this Christmas, you had better pay attention to this. The famed design group has unveiled its best yet offering for the holiday season, the Advent calendar. The 1.75-meters high calendar, made of brushed aluminum with double-coat finish surfaces is one unique way to begin your countdown to Christmas. Priced at a cool $1 million, this calendar is truly one of a kind. What is more, the calendar is so exclusive that only one piece is available per continent.

porsche-design-advent-calendar_1.jpg

Some of the surprises that this calendar will offer its very lucky owners each day include a Porsche Design P’6910 Indicator in rosé gold, an individually customizable Porsche Design Kitchen P’7340 and a RFF28 motor yacht, eight and a half meters long designed by Porsche Design Studio! 

The P’6910 Indicator chronograph consists of approximately 800 individual components, hiding a 6036 movement from Eterna while the exclusive P’7340 Kitchen boasts of an innovative frame construction and is a beautiful creation made from a combination of aluminum, wood and glass.

The powerful RFF28 motor yacht has a 525 hp Mercury engine and reaches top speeds of up to 92 mph (148 km/h). The luxurious cockpit interior features custom-made teak sole and adjustable upholstered sporting bucket seats. A luxurious motor yacht, it will truly appeal to all.

Besides these exclusive offerings, the 24 windows in this unique calendar have many other surprise goodies. These include 18 carat yellow gold sunglasses, fine writing tools, timeless cufflinks and the premium running shoe Bounce:S, the limited edition leather blouson made from hand-woven lambskin nappa, as well as a travel assortment from the French Classic luggage series. While some products are hidden inside the window, the rest are represented symbolically on aluminum plates.

Sure to make for the most awesome Christmas gift for your man, this exclusive Porsche Design Advent Calendar, strictly limited to five in number, is available worldwide on request via the Porsche Design Stores.

Porsche Design's $1 Million Advent Calendar
Porsche Design’s $1 Million Advent Calendar

Porsche Design's $1 Million Advent Calendar
Porsche Design’s $1 Million Advent Calendar

Porsche Design's $1 Million Advent Calendar
Porsche Design’s $1 Million Advent Calendar

Source Via

 

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Saturday, September 18, 2010

Porsche 917 Sofa - INSPIRED DESIGN - VIDEO

Front View

Rear View
Front view of Porsche 917 seat 
Rear view of Porsche 917 seat 

The Porsche 917 inspired the design of this unique piece of creative art. The early 70’s at Le Mans fastest and distinctive cars of this era. A functional two seater sofa which encapsulates not only the style of car but a moment in time.

Click to Enlarge

The Porsche 917 sofa is offered in a range of the original body colours and livery. The body is manufactured in an original glass fibre format and painted with nine coats of two pack automotive paint. The chassis frame is manufactured in 16 gauge tubular mild steel and powder coated for a hard non corrosive finish. Having five alloy legs and four genuine automotive lights (a functional option) which are sealed under a Perspex lens.

INSPIRED DESIGN

There are a lot of hours in making this sofa.

Is that a 550 spyder in the workshop there at 9:45?

Porsche Martini 917 Sofa

Back in 1957, Trevers and Ivor Walklett were the two original founders of Ginetta Cars LTD. Their desire to create and passion for cars started the life long quest that was to create some of the most desirable and exhilarating designs of the last few decades.
Mark Walklett, son of Trevers who grew up in this environment with sketches on scraps of paper, sketch books to drawing boards was taught to always have an open mind when it comes to design.

Having helped to create in a hands on way some of the models from the mid 80’s. Mark served his apprenticeship well in the early 90’s, with one of his personal concepts granted the car of the show when launched at the 1991 motor show.

In 1992, Mark together with his father Trevers and Ivor Walklett, co-founded a new company DARE UK LTD (Design And Research Engineering), manufacturing many of their classics models and created several new designs including the DARE DZ concept that was launched at the 1998 Motor Show.

Dare DZ
Dare DZ concept car

Original Sketch by Mark Walklett

In 2000, a new design the TG sport was launched and named in memory of Trevers Walklett. And, with expectations running high, in 2006-2007, DARE’s latest new mid-engined super-car, is coming to fruition.

Other non Ginetta /Dare automotive and none automotive designs had been undertaken over the last decade. In recent years, they have varied to include a 14-ft high copper tree-fountain to Porsche classic recreation body panels and other automotive furniture, which leads us to Mark’s first commercially offered item under his inspired designed name.

Other concepts will surely follow from these evocative periods of time.

GALLERY

Inspired Design Inspired Design Inspired Design Inspired Design Inspired Design Inspired Design Inspired Design

New Products

  Representation of a Porsche 917 rear wing Representation of a Porsche 917 rear wing Representation of a Porsche 917 rear wing

Events

NEC Classic & Sports Car Show NEC Classic & Sports Car Show
The seat was on display at the Birmingham NEC Classic & Sports Car Show, courtesy of F1 Shop www.theformula1shop.co.uk and Grand Prix Images shop www.grandpriximages.com

Porsche Festival Porsche Festival
At Eynsham Hall, the seat had its public debut on the 911 & Porsche World Magazine stand at the Porsche Festival, which was organize by the Porsche Club of Great Britain. Many thanks to the Editor Steve Bennett and all of his team.
THE FIRST ORDER WAS TAKEN.

 

Tel: +44(0)1206 735 610 | email: info@inspired-design-uk.com

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Friday, September 17, 2010

The Ultimate Turbo 911 - Ex-Steve McQueen 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo

1976 Porsche Turbo Carrera Steve McQueen Picture

1976 Porsche Turbo Carrera Steve McQueen

 

1976 Porsche Turbo Carrera. | September 16, 2010Photos by

These days lots of people claim to know Steve McQueen. In fact a little niche of celebrity journalism about the late actor has sprung up, and naturally there are plenty of references to the cars he owned, many of which have crossed the auction block.

But the truth is, it all happened a long time ago. McQueen died in 1980 at age 50, and his cool, laconic style on the screen is the antithesis of the well-meaning but smarmy things that are written about him today.

The one thing that can safely be said about Steve McQueen is he liked machines — things that clattered, rattled and zoomed. He owned airplanes, motorcycles and especially cars.

Like this 1976 Porsche Turbo Carrera.

The Porsche Thing
McQueen's first-ever new car was a black 1958 Porsche 356A 1600 S Speedster that is still owned by the McQueen family. When the actor took his new car to the Santa Barbara road races in May 1959, he received a lukewarm reception until he won the novice event. Soon he bought the 1956 Jaguar XKSS that had been owned by James E. Peterson, the architect of Riverside International Raceway. And he went on to race a variety of cars while filming movies, including a Mini Cooper S, an Austin-Healey Sprite and a Cooper T56 Formula Junior.

He quickly became known as a car enthusiast, and Sports Illustrated even collared him for one of those celebrity automotive stories (some things never change) in the edition of August 8, 1966, in which he drove eight cars at Riverside, including his first-ever Porsche 911. Of this newly introduced Porsche, McQueen said, "The old Porsches had that violent oversteer tendency, and they would get out of whack with no warning. Now the problem has been corrected. The 911 was a very neutral-handling car, very docile, very pleasant to drive, and the five-speed gearbox sure was easy to use."

Finding the McQueen Ferrari
But Mike Regalia found Steve McQueen because of a Ferrari, not a Porsche. A longtime specialist in custom cars and now the owner of Regalia Concours Restorations in Sun Valley, California, Regalia had just sold his own Ferrari Testarossa in 1997. Prices in the classic car market had ebbed after the recession of the early 1990s and he thought it might be his last chance to personally own a collectible Ferrari. Regalia went looking for a Ferrari 250 GTL "Lusso" Berlinetta, perhaps the most beautiful of the early Ferrari GT cars. Then a friend called him with news about a Lusso locked away in an industrial space in San Francisco.

Regalia went to see the car and met Tom Sherwood, who had owned the Lusso since 1972. Regalia recalls, "The seller claimed Steve McQueen was the original owner, but he had nothing to confirm it. He was asking $135,000 when Lussos were selling for $85,000. I made a fair offer and kept in touch. It took two years to do the deal."

Eventually the car was sold for cash (plus a custom handgun previously owned by McQueen that Regalia had acquired). Later the Lusso's original sales document was uncovered and it transpired that the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTL Berlinetta had been purchased for McQueen's 34th birthday by his wife, Neile. Specially painted Morrane, a metallic dark brown, the car was a favorite of McQueen's until the engine started smoking under acceleration in 1967 and he sold it.

Regalia was slowly restoring the Lusso when the organizers of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance asked him to complete the car in time for their 2005 event, which would honor Pininfarina, the design house that did the Lusso's bodywork. And after some 4,000 hours of restoration, the McQueen Lusso finally appeared in public.

In August 2007, the McQueen Ferrari Lusso became the centerpiece of Christie's last-ever car auction, selling for a stunning $2.31 million. But letting the Lusso go left a hole in Mike Regalia's life. What could ever replace such a precious possession?

The Widowmaker
Steve McQueen's connection with Porsche during the production process of Le Mans (1971) had been quite well documented by 2008. During preparation for the film, he drove a Slate Gray 1969 Porsche 911S. In the months before filming began in 1970, he owned and raced a Porsche 908 racing car. For his personal use during filming in France, he purchased a Slate Gray 1970 Porsche 911S in Europe. The '69 911S is still owned by the McQueen family, while the '70 911S is in private hands and is driven weekly.

 Barbara Minty, the actor's third wife, remembers the Porsche as a handful when she rode with McQueen. 

Yet McQueen apparently wasn't yet done with Porsche after Le Mans. The introduction of the 1976 Porsche Turbo Carrera in the U.S. caused quite a stir, as it represented Porsche's first real supercar, a monster 911 with the then-impressive output of 234 horsepower at 5,500 rpm in U.S. trim, with torque rated at 246 pound-feet at 4,000 rpm. The actor immediately ordered one ($25,880) from Pete Smith at Bob Smith Porsche in Hollywood. He asked for three special options: a sunroof ($675), a limited-slip differential ($345) and Slate Gray paint ($250).

When the Turbo Carrera arrived some months later, McQueen was in no great rush to pay for it and pick it up. Pete Smith put 100 miles on the car to break it in. Finally Smith and his wife Becky arrived in the Porsche 930 for a dinner with McQueen and Ali McGraw, McQueen's second wife. Seeing the car in the metal sealed the deal and McQueen finally took delivery of his third 911.

The Turbo didn't stay stock for long. The first change was a switch on the dash to knock out the taillights and brake lights in case of hot pursuit by law enforcement personnel. Later the standard 15-by-7-inch front and 15-by-8-inch rear Fuchs wheels were replaced by 15-by-8-inch front and 15-by-9-inch rear Fuchs wheels.

By 1978, McQueen's divorce from McGraw was in the cards. Barbara Minty, the model who became the actor's third wife, still remembers the Porsche Turbo as quite a handful when she rode at McQueen's side. In the midst of his domestic mayhem, McQueen happened to be talking to Pete Smith about the 3.3-liter version of the Turbo that had just been announced, and he offered to sell his Slate Gray Turbo back to Smith,

For this Porsche 930, the McQueen years were over.

Discovering the Gray Ghost
After McQueen, the Porsche's ownership can be traced to car dealer Pete Smith, film director Floyd Mutrux, and then to Dean Paul Martin, the son of singer Dean Martin and an actor in his own right who was killed in 1987 in a jet fighter while serving in the Air National Guard. Enthusiast Craig Barrett next owned the McQueen Porsche.

In 2008, a year after the sale of the Lusso at Christie's, the McQueen Porsche Turbo found itself in a Gooding & Company auction at Monterey. It was one of the last cars added to the catalog and not much was being made of the McQueen connection. Still mourning the sale of his McQueen Lusso, Mike Regalia went along to see the Porsche.

Since a pair of McQueen's sunglasses had recently sold for $70,000, Regalia didn't expect his budget would stretch far enough to purchase the car, which the auction house estimated to be worth between $125,000 and $175,000. But as the bidding began to stall just past the $100,000 mark, Regalia's hand went up. He bought the car for $137,500.

The Ghost Drives Again
Since picking up the McQueen Turbo in 2008, Regalia has done nothing but drive it, although he's installed 16-inch Fuchs wheels with low-profile Michelin tires. It shows evidence of a restoration completed in 1995 and has 152,000 miles on the odometer.

The auction spiel at the time of sale said this car was in perfect mechanical condition, but the clutch cable is unhappy, the shift lever is looser than you'd like and there's a curious sound from the left front. A box of air-conditioning parts is also awaiting installation. But today we get to photograph the car at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, so it feels just fine to us.

As we leave the track, we narrowly escape a speeding ticket from a ranger patrolling the state park that surrounds the motorsports facility. "Steve would have loved that," notes Regalia. "A speeding ticket at Laguna Seca!"

Once you put your foot down, this turbocharged 3.0-liter flat-6 spools up delightfully, though it's not as almighty as we're expecting. The 1976 Porsche Turbo didn't feature a boost gauge and probably the single turbocharger's 11.5-psi output wouldn't impress us anyway, since we're only talking about 234 hp here. The 930 was really only a monster because it made 77 hp more than a standard 911 of the time.

As we rumble back to the parking lot at the end of our drive, Chad McQueen — Steve's son — is on hand to say hello. "When I was 15, I got caught borrowing this car for a ride around the neighborhood," recalls Chad. "I got my ass kicked for that one, but it was worth it!"

Mike Regalia might say the same thing. Though he made some money from his sale of the McQueen Ferrari, he remains simply a McQueen fan at heart. He has the freedom to drive the hell out of the Porsche and apologize to no one, and that's about as close as you can come to the real Steve McQueen.

 

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Bergmeister, Long To Drive Porsche Hybrid In China

American Le Mans Series stars trade their GT2-spec 911 GT3 RSR for Porsche's innovative GT3 R Hybrid for the Six-Hour ILMC contest
Media Release | Posted September 17, 2010 Atlanta, GA

Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long will tackle the 1,000 kilometer race in Zhuhai,China on November 7 with the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid.

This marks the first event in China for the innovative sports car from Weissach, which features two electric motors at the front axle each developing 60 kilowatts to supplement the 480 horsepower combustion rear-engine. The race on the Zhuhai International Circuit, in which the 911 GT3 R Hybrid is not eligible for points, is the third and final round of the newly-inaugurated Intercontinental Le Mans Cup after Silverstone and Road Atlanta.

"It's a fantastic conclusion to the season to drive this car in China after the race debut on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife," says Joerg Bergmeister. The Porsche factory pilot was part of the driver crew at the wheel of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid when it demonstrated the potential of its leading edge technology at the 24 hour race on the Eifel circuit and was on course to victory until shortly before the flag. In the American Le Mans Series, Bergmeister and Long are on the brink of successfully defending their GT class title with the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

With a 22-point lead in the drivers championship, but only a single point lead for Porsche in the manufacturers points, the pair will drive the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR at the Petit Le Mans event at Road Atlanta on October 2.

Long has tested the Hybrid in Germany, but the China event will be his first racing experience in the unique race car. The race in Zhuhai is a great chance for Porsche to showcase its "rolling race lab" 911 GT3 R Hybrid - which perfectly embodies the philosophy of 'Porsche Intelligent Performance' - to its important market of China. At the same time, Porsche is lending its support the new Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, organized by the Automobil Club de l'Ouest (ACO).

 

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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Laguna Seca 2010: Porsche Motorsports - Video - Jay Leno's Garage

Jay Leno at Laguna Seca for a visit with selected members of Porsche's motorsports team.

This new Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid review video has been released by Jay Leno on his web-based auto show - Jay Leno's Garage. Mr. Leno got up close and personal with the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car at this year's Pebble Beach on the Laguna Seca race track. Technical Director Nick Lester, factory driver Patrick Long and driver Jeff Zwart all take turns and present their "side" of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid. If you're not yet familiar with the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid, it has a two electric motors on the front axle that develop 60 kW each and a 4.0-liter flat-six rear engine with 480 bhp.

Watch Jay Leno's Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid review video after the jump.

 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 3 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 1  

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 7 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 5     

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 10

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 9Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 12

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We Drive California

I have added great information on specific drives on Facebook.
Access the library on "Posted Items" of assorted drives/tours for the ideal trip best suited for the occasion.
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For Vistors to Northern California
Northern California Road Trip - Muir Woods, Redwood, Lassen and more!
Northern California Visitor Information

Start and end in San Francisco. Mileage does not include sightseeing. Take a journey that explores National Parks, Monuments, National Seashores and more! This road trip also includes Lake Tahoe and a beautiful drive along the coast. You may want to extend the time to visit the numerous state parks and tourist areas.

Approximate Mileage/Time: 1300 miles, 12 days

More Porsche destinations will follow. Stay Tuned!




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