Tag Archives: 911S

911’s 50th Anniversary – Niello Serrano Concours d’Elegance

I’d like to welcome a new contributor to Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres thanks to Geoffrey Horton who kindly asked Karl Krause to take the photo’s at Niello Serrano Concours d’Elegance which appear in today’s blog.

Karl sent around 200 images and since I’ve been celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Porsche 911 through October I thought I’d give the model one more look in today’s blog.

Porsche 911S , Nielllo Serrano Concours d'Elegance

I can’t be sure of the age of the 911 above but given that the distinctive 5 spoke Fuchs alloy wheels first became an option on the 911S in 1966 I’ll hazard a guess the car above in a 1966 or later 911S.

Porsche 911T , Nielllo Serrano Concours d'Elegance

There is a good chance that any Porsche carrying the distinctive #77 was once driven by Bruce Jennings who clocked up at least 30 victories mostly in Porsche’s between 1952 and 1981. The 911T with the distinctive solid alloy wheels appears to be the car Bruce shared with Bob Tullis in the 1970 Sebring 12 Hours. The pair started 46th and failed to finish.

Porsche 911S, Nielllo Serrano Concours d'Elegance

The #77 Carrera RS bodied Porsche 911S above appears to be the car Bruce shared with Bob Beasley and Bill Bean in the 1979 Six Hour race at Watkins Glen, despite a spin the trio started 40th and finished 18th.

Porsche 911 Carrera RSR, Nielllo Serrano Concours d'Elegance

Above is a 1974 era Carrera RSR bodied Porsche 911, it appears in the colours of the Gelo Racing Team though if it is one of the Gelo team cars I have yet to workout which one. If you know please do not hesitate to chime in below.

Porsche 934, Nielllo Serrano Concours d'Elegance

Bruce Canepa of Canepa Design raced several Porsche’s back early 80’s I believe the single turbo 934 bodied example above was one of them that was originally raced by George Dyer through 1977 prior to Bruce acquiring the car and fitting a 935 flat nose more usually seen on the twin turbo 935 models raced primarily in Europe. If this is the same car then Bruce Canepa, Rick Mears and Monte Sheldon appear to have driven it to a third place finish from 19th on the grid in the 1979 Daytona 24 hours.

Porsche 934/5, Nielllo Serrano Concours d'Elegance

Bruce drove several other 935 bodied Porsche’s notably with Gianpiero Moretti in the Momo team, at the time of writing I am not at all sure what the history of the flat nosed 935 bodied Porsche is, again if you know please chime in below.

Canepa Porsche Speedster 962 Twin Turbo, Nielllo Serrano Concours d'Elegance

Finally filed under outrageous road car is this twin turbocharged Canepa Design built Porsche Speedster which confirms Bruce Canepa’s addiction to fast cars.

My thanks to Karl Krause for sharing today’s photographs and to Geoffrey Horton for his help in procuring them.

Thanks for joining me on this “911’s 50th Anniversary” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at the final incarnation, to date, of the Ford Thunderbird this one driven by none other than Halle Berry. Don’t forget to come back now.

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More Porsche Odds & Ends – GALPOT Automobilia

This weeks GALPOT Automobilia blog features some more Porsche related ads and articles from MotorSport magazine dated 1970 to 1978 which are currently for auction on my lightpress e-bay page.

1970 Monte Carlo Rally, 2 page spread MotorSport Magazine

Bjorn Waldegård and Lars Helmer driving a Porsche 911S won the 1970 Monte Carlo Rally for the second time in a row and Porsche for the third consecutive time. The two page tearout from MotorSport March 1970 above shows the winning Porsche, third placed Alpine Renault, two surviving Lancia Fulvia’s and the 5th place Ford Escort Twin Cam.

1974 East African Safari Rally, 1 page tearout, MotorSport Magazine

Bjorn Waldegård and Hans Thorszelius were on target to win the 1974 East African Safari Rally in their yellow Porsche Carrera bottom, until repairs to their rear suspension dropped them to second behind the Mitsubishi Lancer of Joginder Singh and David Doig seen in the top photo of this single page tearout of the event taken from MotorSport June 1974.

Pirelli P7, Martini Porsche Turbo Ad MotorSport May 1978

The May 1978 edition of MotorSport contained several Porsche related items including this Pirelli P7 tyre ad featuring a Martini striped Porsche 930 Turbo road car.

Porsche 911 SC Targa ad, MotorSport Magazine 1978

In the same issue I found this ad for a 180hp Porsche 911 SC Targa, prices for the Porsche 911 SC range back then started at just £12,600 pounds a number which these days might just get you a Volkswagen.

Porsche 911 SC Sport, article MotorSport Magazine, May 1978

Finally the May 1978 issue of MotorSport Magazine carried this three side Porsche 911 SC Sport road test, one of the pictures show’s the car parked on an unbelievably empty Westminster Bridge in front of Big Ben showing nearly 13:50 and without a single tourist in sight ! The test concluded “Potential customers can make up their own minds, if they are prepared to join the queue !

Thanks to everyone who has spread the GALPOT word and especially those who have made purchases.

Thanks for joining me on this “More Porsche Odds & Ends” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when GALPOT will be welcoming a new photographer who attended last months Niello Serrano Concours d’Elegance. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Monte Hat-trick – Porsche 911S

From 1968 to 1970 Porsche scored three 1-2 victories on the fabled Monte Carlo Rally. In 1968 Vic Elford and David Stone driving a Porsche 911T won the event ahead of the 911S driven by Pauli Toivonen and M Tiukkanen, the following year Bjorn Waldegård and Lars Helmer driving a 911S finished ahead of the similar car driven by Gerárd Larrousse and JC Perramond. In 1970 the Porsche hat-trick of wins came when Waaldegård and Helmer drove today’s featured car to victory over Larrousse and M Gélin in another 911S.

Porsche, 911, Advertisement

The 1970 Monte Carlo had featured a concentration run to the Principality starting from eight European cities and was run in mild conditions. Porsche, Ford Alpine Renault and Lancia all entered significant works teams expected to challenge for top honours. British press interest in the, once, prestigious event was so low that Motor Sport correspondent GP, Geraint “Gerry” Phillips, opined, in March 1970, that what the Monte Carlo Rally needed to reengage Fleet Street was “… a bunch of hippies to entrench themselves on the Turini (rally stage) and spray the spectators with LSD.” !

Porsche 911S, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

Having won on the dry Monte Carlo Waldegård and Lars Helmer proved the versatility of the 911 by winning the Swedish Rally run on snow by 23 mins, after having a clutch replaced that required the engine to be removed in a freezing lay-by.

Porsche 911S, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

The second 911S model introduced in 1969 features a 2 1/4″ longer wheel base than the original, to improve the handling, though there was no increase in the overall length of the car.

Porsche 911S, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

The motor for the 911S was increased in size from 2 litres / 122 cui to 2.3 litres / 134 cui and with fuel injection this competition car produced 230hp, 50 more than the fuel injected road going version of the 911S.

Porsche 911S, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

Swede Bjorn Waldergård was a front line rally driver from 1962 to 1992, the World Rally Championship (WRC) started in 1973 and he won 16 of the 95 WRC events in which he started. His wins included the three toughest events on the WRC Circuit, the Safari, Acroplolis and RAC rallies in 1977 when he was driving for Ford. In 1979 Bjorn won the World Rally Drivers Championship driving for the works Ford and Mercedes Benz rally teams. Winning the Safari Rally for the third time in 1990, with Fred Gallagher, driving a Toyota Bjorn became the oldest person to ever win a World Championship Rally a record he holds to this day.

Porsche 911S, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

In his report on the road going Porsche 911S for Motor Sport in February 1970 Dennis ‘DSJ’ Jenkinson observed that a 911 cost twice as much as the 4.2 E-Type Jaguar he bought in 1966, to replace his Porsche 356, and that by 1970 the 911S had risen in price to become half the cost of a Lamborghini Miura, he concluded “It is all a question of keeping a sense of proportion.”

Thanks for joining me on this “Monte Hat-trick” edition of “Gettin a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a slightly more outrageously flared Porsche 911. Don’t forget to come back now !

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