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Porsche

McQueen on 911

Speaking of early 911s, let’s hear what Sports Illustrated’s guest sportscar reviewer, Steve McQueen, thought of the 911 in 1966. This is excerpted from a larger article in which Steve drove the latest sportscars from Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Alfa, Mercedes, Jaguar, and the latest Cobra and Corvette.

“Like the 230SL, the other German car, the Porsche 911, was a six. The Mercedes straight-six is in the front. The Porsche flat-six, with horizontally opposed cylinders—an engine developed from the Grand Prix car of a few seasons ago—is in the rear. I was curious to see how much the Porsche had changed since I raced my Super, which had the four-cylinder engine. Boy, it’s changed. Road noise used to be a problem with that rear-engine location, but on the 911 I got very little noise. The old Porsches had that violent oversteer tendency, and they would get out of whack with no warning. You’d be hung out and locked in your steering with nowhere to go. We used to decamber the rear wheels 2½° to 3½°, so they kind of looked like somebody had sat on them, and toe them in half a degree to get a certain amount of stability. Now the problem has been corrected. The 911 was a very neutral-handling car, very docile, very pleasant to drive, and the five-speed gearbox sure was easy to use. The brakes were just fine. Once a gust of wind caught me on the back straight and slid me over a few feet, but the car didn’t get radical in its handling.

There is a four-cylinder Porsche—the less expensive 912—and I imagine it has a little more snap at low RPM than the 911 but not as much top speed. With that six the 911 honks right along.”

Steve McQueen

There you have it, the cooler king’s impressions reacquainting himself with Porsche, which of course worked out splendidly for the next few years. After all, like the poster says, McQueen drives Porsche. All that and a bonus handling modification tip for 356 drivers.

Thanks, Steve.

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Porsche Video

Porsche Factory Tour from the Early 60s

Here’s an even earlier glimpse at the Porsche factory, this time from the 356 era. When did TV announcers stop having that voice?

Categories
Porsche

The Porsche Factory: 1972

Porsche’s 70s colors were fantastic. Not a Guards Red in sight.

One of my favorite eras of the 911, and seeing this many together is a real treat. I love that the Porsche factory still has a bit of grime to it, not like the current photography you see of the facility with the line workers in white lab coats and the highly polished floors. This is no operating room, this is a sportscar shop.

See the complete set, it’s wonderful.

Found via A Continuous Lean.

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Classic Cycle Video

In Praise of 50cc Motorcycle Racing

The barchetta equation (small displacement + light weight = good fun) works for motorcycles too.

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Racing Ephemera Vintage Racing Advertising

Vintage Racing Ad: Dunlop

Vintage Dunlop Racing Ad

What I think I like most about this ad for Dunlop R5 Racing tires is the photograph of a formula car wheel. No tire manufacturer today would have anything less than the very top-end wheels showcasing their products. They would be highly polished, and the photo retouched to absolutely scream “shiny and expensive”.

For this racing tire ad though, it’s just a simple stamped wheel with dull, dirty paint — looks like a Lotus “wobbly web” to me. Fantastic.