A touch of racing livery

The F1 cars raced this weekend in Hockenheim which is about a one hour drive away from the Porsche headquarters in Stuttgart. So I thought I'd show you the Porsche which was next to the Porsche 356 Speedster replica at the Porsche gathering.

Porsche 911 with Gulf inspired livery

It was this glorious Porsche 911 in classic Gulf inspired livery. Now, I'm no Porsche enthusiast so I really don't know which year it is from. The only clue of the year I have is from the "whale tail" spoiler. It was fitted to different 911 models from 1973-1991. They were at first fitted to race spec 911's and later to sport spec Carreras and SC's. This and the single tailpipe has lead me to believe that this uniquely coloured 911 is either a 3.0 SC or a 3.2 Carrera. 

The redesigned front lip

The classic fixed spoiler called the whale tail

The mandatory Gulf Oil sticker

The Gulf livery is not official obviously but does make it stand out around all the other 911's from that period. It also has great looking black and orange wheels to round out the look. Also, I'm not so sure that bumper is an original to that car. The classic front lip is sort of missing which I think makes the car look more modern.



 
Much money has been invested to this 911 I'm sure. The Gulf colours are naturally attention seeking and rightly so. They were used on the legendary Porsche 917 that won Le Mans 24 hours in 1970 and 1971. Which means the classic colours are tightly woven to the Porsche racing history.

Porsche 356 Speedster: An iconic shape

There have been many shapes and sizes in the automotive history but only a few serve as an inspiration for future car design. But just a handful of those are so legendary that they are even replicated to the extent where the phrase 'copyright infringement' is under serious interpretation.

Porsche 356 Speedster Replica, some call this the Super Wide-Body.

We have seen the company Eagle leap into the car enthusiasts world when their Jaguar E-type inspired bespoke Eagle Speedster and Low Drag GT where featured in the - no introduction needed - TV show Top Gear. But there are many other companies that build cars which almost copies the shape of, usually, an iconic sports car. And to that note, I spotted a very beautiful Porsche 356 replica at a Porsche meet. I'm not a Porsche enthusiast and I don't mind a replica as long as it's exquisitely done, but I just can't help but wonder what the Porsche drivers in that meet thought about it. Maybe they turned their noses up at it, I don't know.

You could park a big block V8 in that rear end.

This one as you can see is not a straight up replica of the 356 Speedster. It has a much wider body, flared wheel arches, chrome bits missing in places and some chrome bits added. It is a much more track focused aggressive look compared to the original 1954 design 356A Speedster. Also I think it looks much more rounded and, dare I say, cuter than the original. Okay, there's quite a lot of bling going on as well. Even moles in their tunnels could see those wheels and the grills in front of the headlamps makes it look like a hamster going into battle. But somehow it works and adds character to the design. The elegant design from the 50's has been converted to something that could be described as childish. I like it.

The interior looks fantastic. Notice the driving gloves.

As for the performance, well, the original 356 produced between 1948 and 1965 had a power out put between 40 and 130 horsepower from engines ranging from a small 1.1 to a 2.0 litre four cylinder. As for the replica the engine can technically be whatever fits in the boot, but usually it is of the same size and out put as the original. Iets be honest it's more about looking good than going fast in this thing anyway.

A good Porsche 356 replica as this is quite expensive, nearly as expensive as an original in... ahem, not show room condition. So as a toy to show off a couple of times a year it is pricey. And then there's the problem of answering to a person who asks what it is. You have to say 'It's a Porsche 356 Speedster... Replica'. And I don't think I could live with that.

And finally, this is what an original Porsche 356 Speedster 1600 Super looks like.

More is better (sometimes)

In the recent events or happenings - what ever you want to call them - I have spotted that even a "normal" super car isn't enough anymore for the filthy rich.

It has been a trend for a while now where tuning companies have taken an unbelievably expensive and powerful car and then fiddled around with it. Giving it even more power and a higher price tag. I don't understand this kind of tuning. I thought that just by buying a high performance car like an M-powered BMW or a Porsche was enough. But apparently I stand corrected. The filthy rich are actually buying these tuned super cars to make an impression on they're "average super car buying" friends. It seems a little tacky. I don't mean a little tacky do I, I mean a lot tacky.The cars are so vulgar, flashy and loud that I'd hate to be in the same room with the owner of the car. But the cars are also very impressive to look at. Even though I don't like what they represent. 

I'll give you an example. A Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has 570 horsepower goes well over and beyond

300 kph and from 0-100 kph in 3.8 seconds. When it was new in 2010 the price was around 170 000€ (200 000$) without taxes. So not exactly a normal car if you'd say so. But obviously a tuning company said; 'Yes, very good. But we need something more.' So FAB Design - a Swiss tuning company - took hold of the SLS and created a bigger, louder, more powerful and a more expensive version of a car that already is big, loud, powerful and expensive. 

Here is the normal Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
Guess what car the driver is taking  a photo of.

Yes, this. The Mercede-Benz SLS AMG FAB Design.
That's a lot of capital letters.

FAB Design designing them air vents.

So there. The FAB SLS just has and is more than the normal SLS. I guess there's no point in searching for another reason for these cars than that it just has more of everything. In good and bad ways.

This - I guess - Mansory tuned beast made its appearance at the Gumball 3000  

As well as this Porsche Panamera. I'm not sure from which tuning house.
Maybe you fine people could tell me.