Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2023 i Classic Porsche

NEW SPEEDSTER CHAIR AND NOS WISI ANTENNA FOR 356/912/EARLY 911 In recent weeks, independent Porsche parts retailer, Stoddard, has added many exciting new products to its online store. Standout offerings include a surprise batch of Wisi antennas for the 356/912 and early 911. Manufactured in Germany in the 1960s, these original NOS parts come complete in their original packaging. Unsurprisingly, stock is limited — when they’re gone, they’re gone! In plentiful supply is the Dansk 356 Speedster conference chair listed on the Stoddard website. Bringing the exact seating position of the Speedster onto a chair rack, these quirky pews feature the original angle of the famous Speedster bucket. A unique seating experience for your workplace is guaranteed. Price: Antenna $250, Speedster chair $900 stoddard.comor call +1 440 869 9890 CARBONE…

Walk into the workshop of Bedfordshire-based classic Porsche restoration specialist, Export 56, and you’re immediately transported to decades past. From the plethora of vintage Porsche memorabilia and rare motorsport posters adorning the walls, to the sweet aroma of air-cooled engines and period interiors filling your nostrils, it’s immediately apparent this place is different. In fact, you can easily be oblivious to the gleaming, chrome-embellished sports cars in various stages of build and still be mesmerised by your surroundings — everything within these four walls is dripping in Porsche heritage. You won’t find modern machinery or Singer-inspired backdates on display, though. Export 56 prides itself on finding, restoring and maintaining the rarest and most original air-cooled Porsche models. THE CAR WAS USED AS AN AFN DEMONSTRATOR UNTIL 1957, WHEN IT WAS…

Believe it or not (ahem!), I’m old enough to remember horror stories about early 911s and wet weather handling. Though these concerns remained for many years, I believe they were largely unfounded. I’m glad to say, however, vehicle dynamics, modern suspension, tyres and electronics have quashed those reports once and for all. Yes, there was a feeling of little weight on the front and, combined with light steering and narrow tyres, this sensation was magnified, but rarely did it result in a visit to a ditch, as was so often suggested by those keen to throw around the ‘Widowmaker’ moniker. Interestingly, two high-profile motoring magazines have just held their respective ‘best handling car of the year’ tests. The fact these titles came to totally different conclusions when reviewing the same…

Having emerged from the defeated end of a gruelling world war, German’s motorsport enthusiasts were eager to put the conflict behind them and resume racing on two wheels and four. They faced only two problems. One was the imposed ban on racing outside of Germany until 1952. The other was lack of materials. The cars of the big rivals, Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz, were scattered across Europe in appalling condition. In any case, they would only be available to their makers and factory drivers. Racing-mad Germans set to it with a will, making use of the best they had, chiefly the BMW Type 328 (with a great two-litre six) and the Volkswagen. What the latter offered was simplicity and ubiquity. Anyone could get their hands on a Beetle, be it…

It’s Tuesday 9th May and the wheels of industry turn once again following the extended weekend commemorating the new King’s coronation. Despite the logistical challenges a shorter working week can bring to a busy company, Williams Crawford’s Managing Director and co-founder, Adrian Crawford, and the company’s Head of Business, Anthony Ainslie, gave up a generous chunk of their time to accommodate a visit from Classic Porsche. With introductions complete, we start our journey at the very beginning. Adrian was born into the world of automotive sales, a consequence of his father owning a Suzuki dealership. The obsession with Stuttgart-crested cars started early — Crawford the Younger fondly remembers his dad owning several air-cooled Porsches, a family favourite being a 2.4-litre 911 Targa. In 1991, following time spent racing in Formula…

Designed by Benjamin Dimson in early 1986, the 964 featured significant styling revisions over previous 911 models. This was also the first Porsche to be volunteered with the manufacturer’s then new Tiptronic semi-automatic transmission. Rather more well received was the availability of all-wheel drive. Thanks to this development, which could trace its roots back to the mighty 959, the base 911 was offered in two distinct flavours: the Carrera 2 and the Carrera 4, the numerical suffix representing the host 911’s quota of driven wheels. As a result of the recession of the late 1980s, yuppies (previously a rich source of Guards Red 911 sales) were losing money and, consequently, their interest in sports cars. With this market dwindling, the Carrera 3.2 suddenly seemed past its sell-by date, falling somewhat…

Herbert Linge’s amazingly varied career at Porsche would be unimaginable today. From wartime apprentice spanner man to manager of the Weissach research centre via workshop, vehicle development and works racing driver roles, as well as positions of responsibility for Porsche in North America and the manufacturer’s time in Formula One, his is a story inextricably intertwined with the origins and evolution of the company itself. THE AGILE GERMAN COUPÉ WAS QUICKLY PRESSED INTO COMPETITION BY THE USA’S CLUBSPORT ENTHUSIASTS Born in Weissach, where he has lived all his life, Linge was a bright boy and would like to have continued in school, but his father, Karl, worked in a foundry in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and could not afford to pay for his son’s further education. Reluctantly, at fourteen years of age, Linge…

Helmut Schmid is a quiet, self-effacing fellow who has never been interviewed before, largely because as a middle-ranking cog, he never imagined his Porsche career was significant enough to merit interest. While his was a fairly typical career at our favourite sports car manufacturer, however, it represents an epoque, now very much in the past, where success was achieved with few resources and sustained by the exceptional commitment the company so often inspired in its employees. Like legendary Porsche personality, Herbert Linge (profiled elsewhere in this issue of Classic Porsche), Schmid is a Weissach boy. He joined Porsche at Zuffenhausen’s Werk 2 plant in 1968. A seventeen-year-old apprentice, he underwent the well-established route of practical work and formal study, a system established by Helmuth Bott in the 1950s. Schmid recalls…