Porsche 911 Archives

Rare Porsche heads for Silverstone auction

A rare and unassuming 1992 Porsche 911 (964) RS Touring will be one of the first cars to grace the Silverstone Auctions Porsche Sale taking place at the Wing, Silverstone on 21st October. Only 11 such cars have ever been made, fewer still that are in right-hand-drive.

Porsche started selling the car to customers as a way to homologate the model for the Porsche Carrera Cup race series. Customers could choose between two different variants, namely the Sport and Touring. Though lighter and more bare-bones than the Touring, the Sport wasn’t as appealing to many customers.

It’s punishing ride quality and stripped out interior wasn’t to everyone’s tastes. Rather, the Touring variant with its more refined equipment, sound proofing and creature comforts similar to that in the Carrera, made it the favoured choice.

Compared to the standard 964, the RS Touring had a blueprinted 3600cc air-cooled engine, lowered and stiffened suspension, ‘Uniball’ top strut mounts, strengthened engine and gearbox mounts, and uprated brakes.

Though fewer weight saving measures were carried out on the RS Touring compared to the Sport, the former still managed to be lighter than the standard 964. Porsche worked on the engine by re-chipping the engine management system and fitting a lighter, single mass flywheel.

Though the improvements only added 10bhp to the overall performance, the engine’s torque was significantly higher than that found in the standard car. As such, it’s a nimble sports car that is able to hold its own on racetracks.

The RS Touring that is up for sale sports a black body colour, black interior, sports leather seats with triple colour inlays, tinted windscreen and a sunroof, as well as unique magnesium 17-inch wheels rims and low-profile Michelin N3 tyres.

Earlier on, certain performance upgrades were carried out on the car by JZ in King’s Langley, which included a “de-cat system and Supply and fit performance chip.” As a result, power is now rated at 279 bhp at 5909 rpm.

“This is a very special Porsche, the rarest of the rare,” declares Guy Lees-Milne, general manager of Silverstone Auctions. “These cars are actively sought after by serious Porsche collectors all over the world, and this is a truly superb example.”

Current estimates peg the asking price for this particular 964 RS Touring at £185,000 (RM1,048,211) – £210,000 (RM1,189,861), which is a significant amount of money for that has not isn’t really a classic Porsche. If you would like to know more about this or the auction, please visit www.silverstoneauctions.com

Porsche gets top honours in J.D. Powers survey

Porsche’s 911 and Macan models have achieved top ratings in their respective segments of J.D. Power’s Initial Quality Study. The results are based on surveys taken by more than 77,000 private individuals who rated 243 models and 33 manufacturers.

This is the sixth consecutive time that the 911 has retained the top spot but is only the Macan’s third time. Since 2012, Porsche’s stalwart 911 has between its rivals to retain the top spot in the “Midsize Premium sporty Car” category. And according to the data collected, many US customers have high regard for Porsche branded vehicles and can attest to the high quality of the Macan.

J.D. power is a US based global marketing information service that conducts customer satisfaction surveys to determine the quality and reliability of products, especially when it comes to vehicles.

“Quality is the essence of the Porsche brand, we do not compromise”, said Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG. “Over more than five decades, we have continued to significantly enhance, refine and perfect the 911, in order to offer our customers the highest possible level of quality.”

For the Initial Quality Study, J.D. Powers surveys new car owners once a year, about 90 days after they have taken delivery of their vehicles. This year, owners were asked questions spanning 233 different criteria in various categories between February and May.

Apparently, owners’ evaluations covered topics including “driving experience” as well as experience with the performance and reliability of the engine and transmission of their respective vehicles.

Porsche produces one millionth 911

The one millionth Porsche 911 has rolled off the production line in Zuffenhausen, Germany. This is an incredible milestone for the company, which has improved on the 911 with each new iteration for the past 53 years, turning it into the most practical supercar on the market today.

The car, was of the Carrera S variant painted in a special Irish Green bodycolour. It is still owned by Porsche and will be placed in the automaker’s museum, after it embarks on an epic road trip across the globe, gracing places like the Scottish Highlands, the Nurburgring, as well as certain locations in the USA, China and other parts of the globe.

Speaking of the car that has made history for the nameplate, Dr Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Porsche AG said, “54 years ago, I was able to take my first trips over the Grossglockner High Alpine Road with my father. The feeling of being in a 911 is just as enjoyable now as it was then. That’s because the 911 has ensured that the core values of our brand are as visionary today as they were in the first Porsche 356/1 from 1948.”

The 911 is still an important model for the German automaker. Its signature rear engine, rear-wheel-drive platform has proven to be favoured by customers and enthusiasts all around the world. According to Porsche, more than 70% of all 911 cars built to date are still in driveable condition, which is a testament to their appeal.

On the track, over half of all 30,000 race wins that Porsche accumulated in its Motorsports history can be accredited to the 911, it is considered a favourite of racing drivers and teams of numerous racing series around the world.

In 2016 alone, Porsche produced 32,365 cars of the 911 model. And the reason Porsche has been able to cope with market demand is due to its facility in Zuffenhausen. This is where the German manufacutrer builds all of its two-door cars. It also happens to be where the new Mission E car will be built too. The assembly workers are skilled at handling 200 different tasks on the production line. Their knowledge, skills, work ethic and attention to detail are the reason why Porsche is able to produce a sizable volume of vehicles while ensuring that quality control does not suffer.