Auto Racing Archives

Canepa Motorsport’s ‘Generation-III’ Porsche 959

Even though the sun light was threatened by intermittent clouds and an early morning rain, it did its best to contribute to the mystique of some of the rarest and most unique Porsches in existence.

What is Luftgekühlt? Picture every historically significant air-cooled car from the German manufacturer, even the ones you don’t know about, in and around a harbor warehouse in southern California. Luftgekühlt is, quite simply, a gathering of the Porsche faithful.

Porsche 914 Surfer — Beautiful Porsche 914, complete with a surfboard.

This past weekend was the fourth event in as many years and Porsche enthusiasts turned out in droves. And, we the devoted, have Patrick Long and Howie Idelson to thank. Their dedication to classic Porsches is obvious and contagious. So much so that Luftgekühlt, in a few short years, has attracted the attention of every Porsche fan on the planet. Even if they weren’t among the many that showed up Sunday morning, they watched their Instagram and Twitter feeds for the latest before, during and after the event. With Luftgekühlt we can be confident in knowing air-cooled Porsches aren’t going anywhere.

Anyone traveling to Southern California the day before like I did was not encouraged by the weather. High winds and rain would have anyone worried. But my Sunday morning, the winds subsided, with a light rain dusting the cars. And as the morning went on, the weather continued to improve with the sun peaking out occasionally to help dry the cars outside and support the reverie going on inside.

And the inside was spectacular. Truly mythical race cars from Porsche’s past were scattered throughout the warehouse, mixed in with a historically significant evolutionary line of 911 RS models. A flat-12 powered 1969 917K in Gulf blue dominated, credited as the first 917 to go a full race distance. Not to be outdone was the green Canepa Motorsports ‘Generation-III’ 959, the model any Porschephile might argue was the cornerstone to launch the brand as a technological leader.

Outside, bright green, blue, orange and red 911’s were dotted among some truly pristine silver and gray 356’s. An added treat was the neighboring air-cooled lot, so named for the exclusive use of Porsche owners to park their prize possessions for visitors to walk among and talk about.

To the Porsche faithful, Luftgekühlt simply represents all the cars powered by air-cooled engines. From a historical perspective, it covers everything from the pre-A series 356 to the 993, where production ended in 1998 and represents the last air-cooled car.

But Luftgekühlt represents far more than the cars. Long and Idelson look for it to be as much about the experience as it is the cars. The car culture, the Porsche culture, is very strong and the Luftgekühlt events feed on it, providing fans a venue to walk among some of the greatest Porsches to ever exist. For those that attended, Luftgekühlt 4 will not be soon forgotten.

Porsche Motorsports developed the car from the ground up for the 2017 racing season

In the minds of Porsche enthusiasts, this is groundbreaking. This is not an evolutionary move but a revolutionary move on the part of the German car manufacturer.

The 911 has always been a rear engine car, with the majority of the engine mass behind the rear axle. With this new RSR, Porsche has reengineered the car, moving their signature flat six-cylinder engine towards the front of the car, in front of the rear axle.

Porsche’s Head of Motorsports, Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, said “While retaining the typical 911 design, this is the biggest evolution in the history of our top GT model.” And that’s putting it lightly.

And a ground up redesign means just that: suspension, body structure, aerodynamics, engine and transmission are all new. In addition, with the change in engine placement, Porsche designers were able to install a larger rear diffuser. With the top-mounted rear wing from Porsche’s LMP1 race car, the 919 Hybrid, the RSR’s downforce and aerodynamics have been improve significantly.

For the 2017 season, two factory 911 RSR’s will be busy. Porsche will compete in 19 outings, including the FIA World Endurance Championship which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team will also take part in the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, where it will debut in Daytona in January.

“We’re very well prepared for this,” says Marco Ujhasi, Head of GT Works Sport. “Since its first rollout in Weissach in March this year, we’ve covered more than 21,000 test miles (35,000 kilometers) on racetracks in Europe and North America – that’s more than in the development of any other previous Porsche GT racer.”

That’s some serious testing. My guess is Porsche is in it to win with their most advanced GT car to date.

Although not all Porsche 911’s are quite as tuned for racing as the RSR, all are among the best sports cars money can buy. Porsche’s precision and performance demands high quality OEM parts for the Porsche 911, more so than any other model.