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Tag: Motorsports Monday

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Theseus’ Flat-six: 1974 Porsche 911S

Theseus’ Flat-six: 1974 Porsche 911S

Published January 2, 2017 by Carter

The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned from Crete had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their places, in so much that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers, for the logical question of things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same, and the other contending that it was not the same.

The best part of 2,000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Plutarch questioned at what point an object began to lose its “originality”. You’ve heard the story many times, probably as the hyperbolic ‘Washington’s Axe’ parable. But though it’s been two millennia since Athenian thought led the world, the question remains applicable today.

Take this Porsche 911S, for example.

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Motorsports Monday: 1971 Porsche 911E

Motorsports Monday: 1971 Porsche 911E

Published November 21, 2016 by Carter

Valuing a Porsche 911E isn’t really that hard, in the grand scheme. The middle child of the 911 lineup, a quick check of Hagerty’s valuation tool has the average value around $78,000 right now, with a high of $144,000 and a low of $52,500 for a “fair” example. While the 911 market has flattened or cooled slightly, they’re still quite valuable cars. Valuing historic race cars can be more difficult, but as vintage racing is currently in vogue right now, they’re many times more expensive than their road-going counterparts if they are properly sorted factory cars. Figures close to a million dollars aren’t unheard of for the right racer. But the most difficult to value are the non-original, modified racers run by privateers. Sometimes they have a very interesting history, such as this ’71 E does:

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Bat Signal: 1976 BMW 3.5CSL

Bat Signal: 1976 BMW 3.5CSL

Published October 24, 2016 by Carter

While there are iconic liveries that permeate motorsports, sometimes there are equally iconic aerodynamic aids. The 1970s and 1980s saw some incredible experiments, from the Brabham BT46 ‘Fan Car’ which sucked all of the air out from underneath the chassis, literally sticking the car to the road to the 935/78 ‘Moby Dick’ car, which somewhere underneath the long tail and stretched front end was actually a 911 (in theory, at least!). For BMW, exploiting the Group 5 FIA rules to suit their E9 chassis and make it competitive with the Porsche 911. That meant the aerodynamics of the 3.0CS had to be altered, and the result was wings, fins, and flares. But if the road going version of the also lightened 3.0CSL looked outrageous, the racing version simply took the recipe and turned it up to 11. Giant boxed flares widened the E9 half again. A huge front air dam looked capable of clearing cattle on the Sante Fe railway. Huge centerlock BBS magnesium wheels sported a footprint that would make most large commercial planes jealous. And if the tires didn’t shock them, the huge cantilevered wing protruding from the back of the trunklid certainly would spoil their plans to go airborn. This was the legendary car which gained the name “Batmobile”, and though they were not ultimately able to defeat Porsche in the Group 5 contest for 1976 (you know that, of course, because of the many Martini Championship Edition Porsches we feature), they are no less memorable than the 935:

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Motorsports Monday: 1986 Volkswagen Scirocco 16V

Motorsports Monday: 1986 Volkswagen Scirocco 16V

Published September 19, 2016 by Carter

Motorsports Monday has become a bit predictable. First, I am apparently the only one interested in it. Second, it probably involves a Porsche or BMW. And lastly, that means that it boils down to generally two models – the 911 or M3. Yet every week I still type “Race Car” into the search function of eBay, resilient in the belief that eventually something new will pop up. Every once in a while I’m rewarded with a GTi or very rarely an Audi that has been set up for track duty, but today’s feature is a pretty unique beast. Apparently raced since new, this Volkswagen Scirocco 16V was constructed to compete in IMSA. Normally the domain of Group C/GTP prototypes in the 1980s, IMSA had support series such as International Sedan (IS) and Radial Sedan (RS) race series, later to become the popular Showroom Stock class populated by more domesticated beasts you generally would see on the road:

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Motorsports Monday: 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport

Motorsports Monday: 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport

Published September 5, 2016 by Carter

The popularity of track days and amateur racing is at perhaps an all-time high, with seeming countless versions of track-prepared options out there. Back in the 1970s, there were basically no track-ready options available. Even when supposed track-derived cars arrived in the 1980s, they wouldn’t hold up to hot-lapping for very long. But today you can pop down to your Porsche, Audi, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and even Bentley dealer and walk out with a full factory prepared race car. The Porsche model which traditionally has carried this flame was the 911, first with the RS models followed by the GT3. But they’ve gotten hugely expensive, and Porsche has another popular track platform in the Cayman. Recently gussied up for track duty in the GT4 model everyone is swooning about, the Cayman is better prepared than ever to take on your favorite track. And by track, for many that means garage, waiting for the model to appreciate. But Porsche also released a full turn-key race version of the Cayman to the public this past year. With a mid-mounted 385 horsepower 3.8 flat-6, motivation wouldn’t be a problem. Porsche ups the track-bias with the 6-speed PDK, a factory roll cage, gutted interior and lightweight aluminum/steel hybrid panels, 15″ 6/4 piston brakes, and a slew of GT3 bits. You could even get a 26 gallon endurance fuel tank. But unlike the normal Porsche factory race cars, this fully-prepped GT4 Clubsport would run out the door at $165,000:

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