Japan’s Motorhead Magazine visited the Porsche museum and they’ve let us tag along.
Now I know you’re going to be tempted to read these subtitles. I understand how difficult it is to try overcome the urge. It just compels the viewer to glance down at that text; wrestling with your brain and your eyes.
It’s ok. Don’t fight it. Go ahead and read along. Then start the video over and lose yourself in those slow, luxurious pans over these breathtaking machines.
The auction catalog isn’t complete yet, but RM is starting to tease the headliners for their upcoming auction at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. Among the lots is this Porsche 908/3 chassis 004. Unlike her more famous sisters that dominated the 1970 and 1971 sportscar season, chassis 4 doesn’t have an exhaustive race history. Would I rather have Redman and Siffert’s Targa winning #12 in my garage? Sure. (Call me, Jerry). Am I going to quibble about it when this one looks so heartstoppingly gorgeous in the Gulf colors and looking ready for the Targa? Hell no.
I’m sure that this is one lot I’ll be revisiting as the auction approaches. I’ve been flabbergasted by the prices that the racing Porsches are bringing in lately and this little sex machine is likely to continue that trend.
More photos on RM’s Lot Detail page. Hat tip to Swiss Stash for pointing this one out.
Update: This beauty commanded a high bid of $1,300,000 but didn’t sell.
It was supposed to be the Porsche 908s and 907s vs the new Ferrari 312P. But what are Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver doing with that old Ford?
This was the year of The Flying Finn’s 33 minute 36 second lap. There’s something equally magical and heartbreaking about a record that cannot be broken—Leo Kinnunen’s 79.89 mph average lap of the Targa will never be beaten.
Andrew Frankel drives, let’s all ride shotgun!
What could be better than a spirited drive in the mountains and a picnic lunch with friends? Ask “Quick” Vic Elford, seen here doing just that. Pausing to relax during his own spirited drive in the mountains, indeed.
Of course, the mountains in this case are those surrounding Palermo, Sicily. The lunch is served on the short tail of a Martini International Racing Porsche 908/3. And his fellow diners are the team and competitors of the 1971 Targa Florio. Perhaps this was to celebrate his fastest lap of that year’s race-rounding the 72km course in 33:45.6, an average over 127km/h.
This is how I’ll be taking my meals from now on.
Ok. Ok. Wipe the drool off your keyboard.
I know she’s a beauty. The 908 Spyders seem to have the iconic Targa Florio glory, but this coupé example, in her original factory orange & white Shell sponsored livery, proves that the hardtop can look every bit as good as Number 12. Well… almost, anyway.
This example, chassis 908.018, has a short but successful racing history at the hands of Hans Herrmann and Kurt Ahrens. She debuted at the ’68 Austrian Grand Prix at Zeltweg, where she qualified 3rd and finished 2nd behind Siffert’s 908 sister car. This World Championship event was 908.018’s only major event attended for the car. I guess Porsche was at a place where they didn’t think a 1st and 2nd finish in a debut race was good enough anymore and set about re-bodying the 908. Of course, the various body configurations of the 908 would be strong finishers for quite some time, the long-tailed version nearly winning the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1969. It wasn’t until well into the 917’s development that the drivers were willing to abandon the reliable 908 for the terrifying 917.
After the factory stopped running 908.018, the car was entered, but didn’t run in the 1973 LeMans by Reinhold Jöst, Mario Casoni, and Paul Blancpain. The car then fell out of competition and into museum display. She re-emerged in the 90s, and with a freshen up from the Porsche factory in 1994, the car looks ready to compete.
Amazingly, the car is offered with British road registration and can legally be used on the road! Not that I’d trust my €1.1Million car to the hopped-up Civic pulling up behind me at a stop light.
More at seller Kidston’s detail page and pdf catalog.
More home movies of classic races keep bubbling up on YouTube and I couldn’t be happier.
This time, we’ll see some 8mm film of the 1969 Nurburgring 1000km. 1969 was the 2nd of 4 straight years of Porsche 908 victories at the Ring. Brian Redman and Jo Siffert led a contingent of 908s to a 1-2-3-4-5 Porsche victory. Crazy! Ford GT40 #1081 piloted by Helmut Kelleners and Reinhold Jöst was the top non-Porsche at 3 laps behind the leader.
We so often associate the 908 with the Targa Florio that it’s easy to forget the dominant victories it had on other tracks. There’s a new book coming out on the 908, Porsche 908: The Long Distance Runner, that Amazon is taking pre-orders on, but I can’t seem to find a release date for the book. Scratch that, it looks like the book is due out on March 15, 2009.
Know anything more about it? Let’s hear it in the comments.