Visual experiences of a petrolhead
When good friend and fellow car enthusiast Erik Langerak mentioned something about making a trip to photograph a private collection not too far from Madison, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. The Midwest has a way of turning up some automotive gems when least expected, so I cast aside any preconceived notions before we went.
Continue reading “Rock Lake Motors – A Midwestern ‘mancave’ that does so much more.”
We visited Accumoto during their Open House recently and came away mighty impressed.
By and large, the car scene in Wisconsin can be divided into two categories. The first is the younger crowd, who modify their cars, hang out with their friends from the scene at least once a week and attend shows like WCEC’s season opener. The other half consists mostly of a number of middle-aged and older enthusiasts -usually well heeled – who are more discreet about their activities.
Continue reading “The Accumoto Open House – Where Porsches are built to be driven.”
As an automotive brand, Porsche is best known for being a sportscar manufacturer, while going against some of the basic rules of automotive engineering. What they have become is a global brand that builds performance cars that have a 50-year-old ethos embedded in them. Even the Cayenne and the Panamera are imbued with large traces of the firm’s core principles. The fact that they draw on their motorsport heritage and the presence of an active fanbase that still drives and covets classic aircooled machines necessitated that the brand itself do something to support and encourage this movement. After all, a Porsche owner has their car to derive happiness from the driving experience, if we ignore all the other stereotypes associated with the brand.
Continue reading “Los Angeles – The Porsche Experience Center.”
The second in our series of stories about our trip to Los Angeles.
Few people would doubt that Los Angeles and the state of California in general form one of the largest bases for car culture worldwide. An abundance of good weather, creativity, passion and motoring heritage make this city one of the world’s greatest automotive hubs.
A quick morning drive in a 1965 911 gives us some insight into why the 911 is such a success.
The Porsche 911 needs no introduction whatsoever. Starting life as a series of sketches on Butzi Porsche’s drawing board in 1959, the little German sportscar has undergone numerous changes in size, shape and engine displacement along with a host of variants that trace their roots back to the original 911s that were internally named ‘901’. The car has been very successful on track too, which is why a mid-engined 911 racecar recently took 2nd position at the 24 Hours of Daytona, during its debut! So why the history lesson?
Our first track experience at the Dubai Autodrome goes way better than expected. Read on to find out why.
The motoring season in Dubai usually blooms between the months of November and March. With lower temperatures, people bring their classics and supercars out of storage and can actually exercise them in whichever form they see fit. Convoy mountain drives, solo blasts and long distance cruises all form part of the activities.
Continue reading “Track Day at the Autodrome – A high speed laughter session.”
We get a lesson in the ways of the holy grail of 911s, the RS models.
RS. These two letters, which stand for Rennsport, have come to symbolise cars that have been endowed with the best equipment that the Porsche motorsport division can come up with. The fact that these two letters are usually found on 911s only makes things better, since the iconic rear engined flat six sportscar is already so good.
Continue reading “An evening with two RSs – A worthy introduction to the Rennsport philosophy.”
A motorsport shop that also services street cars, with a heavy specialization in Porsche. Intrigued? Read on!
I had mentioned in my ‘Introduction to Wisconsin’ that the state benefits from a healthy ‘Euro’ scene. BMWs, Benzes, Audis and Porsches are equally loved when compared with the average muscle car. With the trees shedding leaves and the temperature dropping, most folk decide to tuck their prized automobiles away for the winter around this time. Unfortunately that translates into a scarcity of meets and other car-related activity.
Continue reading “Kelly Moss Road and Race – A visit to the Porsche candy store.”
Oktoberfest at 311 RS = Lots of beer, hammers and nails, not to mention a few Porsches….
The Uber driver laughed as we arrived at our destination. My excitement had been palpable all through our short journey and I was akin to a child on the way to a toy shop on his birthday. Why did I feel this way?
A quick stop to see an early Porsche 911 about to go in for a year-long surgery and eventually appear younger than ever.
Automobile restoration has become an increasingly scrutinised art in the past decade or so. As classic car values rise, restorers are under increasing pressure to get the paint colour, the engine parts and the interior and exterior trim exactly right. The quality of the restoration directly determines the car’s value the next time it changes hands. These days, restorations lasting months and even years are not unheard of. Continue reading “1965 Porsche 911 – A new lease of life.”