Willy's Porsche Blog
All about Porsche, Fans + Ladykillers + The Lady
Porsche’s check fluids
24. Feb
In order to avoid big, expensive problems, you should check
under the hood of your Porsche on a regular basis. By following
these simple monthly checks you will find and solve these potential
problems.
First of all, you should check the oil, but only when the engine is warm.
That’s because it expands when it’s hot and contracts when it’s cold;
different temperatures will give you different readings. And since you’re
already checking the fluids you should also check the
brake fluid. It’s easy to do and only takes a minute.
Radiator fluid, or coolant, is the most important part of your Porsche’s
cooling system, which protects your engine from overheating. Low
coolant can lead to a breakdown and expensive repairs. Before
checking the power steering fluid (which is also easy on most cars)
you should see if you have it. Try to parallel park with one hand and
eat an ice cream cone with the other. If you can do that, then you have it.
If you have an automatic transmission, you’ll want to check the
automatic transmission fluid (ATF) every month. Also, if your Porsche
has a hydraulic clutch that connects the clutch pedal to the
transmission, you should check that fluid too.
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Porsche Panamera – 4-door – 4 seat Coupe
08. Sep
Porsche Panamera
In 2009 is set to be launched a four-door, four-seat coupe,
called Porsche Panamera. The car, powered by a modified
version of the 4.5 L V8 found in the Cayenne, equipped with
the FSI system will be front engined and rear wheel drive.
Although it is extremely unlikely, rumors is that an option
for the Panamera will be the V10 engine from Porsche’s
limited-run Carrera GT supercar.
Porsche Panamera will be produced in the new plant at Leipzig
alongside the Cayenne. It is the first V8-engined sports car built
by Porsche since 1995, when the 928 was discontinued and
some consider it a suitable successor to the two-doored 928.
The company built the new model as a direct competitor to the
Mercedes-Benz CLS 55 AMG and Maserati Quattroporte and
(to a lesser degree) a less expensive alternative to expensive
vehicles such the, Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, Bentley Continental GT
and Aston Martin Rapide.
Like Porsche Carrera`s name, the Panamera`s derives from the
Carrera Panamerican race. Before it, there were other four-door
sedans prototypes, such as the 1991 Porsche 989 prototype
or the even earlier 4 door prototype based on the 911, but they
never went into production.
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Porsche and Formula One
08. Sep
Porsche and Formula One
When Porsche entered into races, Porsche astonished the world
with its performances. But participation in Formula One races
brought mixed results. In the 1961-1962 season, Porsche participated
as a constructor but produced just one win in a championship
race, claimed by Dan Gurney at the 1962 French Grand Prix.
In a non-championship race, one week later Stuttgart’s Solitude
it repeated the success. At the end of the season, Porsche retired
from F1 due to the high costs.
In 1983, Porsche returned to Formula One, supplying engines
badged as TAG units for the McLaren Team. It was a success
as the Porsche-powered cars won two constructor championships
in 1984 and 1985 and three driver crowns in 1984, 1985 and 1986.
Less than ten years later, in 1991, Porsche returned as a engine
supplier, but this time the results were disastrous: Footwork, the
Porsche-powered cars, didn’t score a single point and at over half
of the races it even failed to qualify. Since that year, Porsche has
not participated to Formula One.
Still, lightly-modified Porsches participate in many competitions
around the world, mostly in amateur classes for enthusiasts. The
only professional category is the Porsche Michelin Supercup raced
as a support category for European Formula One rounds.
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Porsche vs Ferrari
09. Aug
Porsche and Ferrari are German and Italian sides of the same
coin, interpretations of the sports car idea. Both founded by a
dominant patriarch, both honed in racing, both more than 50
years old, both with engineering and styling integrity. Whether on
the track of Le Mains or on the streets, the two have always been
put head-to-head and compared. Even the most naive motorist
associates these two names with both performance and style.
We’ve decided to compare the methodical Porsche 911 Carrera
4S and the passionate Ferrari F430 because both of them astonish
with their performance while attempting to maintain a reasonable
amount of practicality but do not pretend to be anything other than
sports cars.
A modern sports car should feature these characteristics: it should be
started easily, maneuvered around town, blasted on a couple of
country roads, it looks and performs the part on a racetrack but at the
same time it is very safe.
The easier way to separate the two cars is by measuring figures since
both of them have mastered the modern sports car requirements and
basically there’s no other way to choose between these two phenomenal
cars.
What initially impresses is Ferrari’s lightning fast 4-second 0-100km/h
acceleration and thrilling exhaust tone. As the occupants are pinned to
the seats, the new generation 4.3-litre V8 pushes out 368 snarling
kilowatts. Porsche’s acceleration also offers that kick in the pants a
super car should deliver, although it is 0.8 seconds slower at the 100 km/k
mark.
With such acceleration performance, it comes natural for both cars to
excel in the braking department. The two cars offer optional ceramic
discs for impressive stopping.
Porsche’s engine gets the upper hand as it is more refined and on
the economy rank leaps ahead Ferrari with a 11.8 liters per 100 km
as opposed to 18.3 liters. Both cars deliver the power through impressive
6-speed gearboxes and offer top rate handling performance.
Both F430 and Carrera4S offer great interior comfort and even if the
space is limited, the occupants don’t feel claustrophobic and flustered.
Although an impressive mix of suede, carbon fiber and aluminum abound
in the Ferrari, the Italians stand no chance when it comes to the high finish
level attained by the Germans.
Speed and silence are key elements for any super car. The look and
appearance is the biggest draw card. The Carrera 4S is a typical Porsche,
despite the new proportions. It is a great looking car, like any other 911 but
somehow the styling no longer creates the jaw dropping reaction that the
Ferrari does. Indeed, traditionalists may say that Porsche pays homage to
its roots, but the truth is that Ferrari F430 simply draws the attention.
However, even if Ferrari F430 takes your breath away with its appearance,
the super car title goes to the Porsche Carrera 4S with a more complete all
round package.
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Porsche Cayman
19. Jun
In comparison of the engine, The Porsche Cayman is positioned
between the Boxster and 911. Still, it has its own different personality.
It is snappier, easier, and not burdened by heavy weight hanging
out the back and the need to manage the effect of that weight.
The Cayman is strictly a two-seater because the engine sits
where the rear seats would otherwise be. This means that the
engine is not quite readily accessible, although there’s a way
into the oil filler via the boot. Under that long tailgate, is revealed
a generous luggage area to supplement the front 911/Boxster-sized
boot. Like all other Porsche, the Cayman is not very big, which makes
it very practical and usable. And for all its obvious Boxster genes,
the Cayman is very much its own car with its curvaceous rear
wings and neat fastback roof. As with other Porsches, there’s a
movable rear spoiler, which deploys above 120km/h.
This Picture of Porsche Cayman is from this Website KFZ.Net where you can look more pictures.
Going back to were we started, the engine, the Cayman has 3.4
litres, a mix of the cylinder barrels of a 911 with the crankshaft of a
Boxster. A 911 engine is of 3.6 or 3.8 liters and a Boxster S has a
3.2-litre engine. It’s a strange thing, but even though today’s Porsche
engines are water-cooled, they still overlay their intake and exhaust
notes with a breathy whine like that of the giant air-cooling fans of old.
Basically, the Cayman is a mix and it doesn’t have a huge number
of new and unique parts. In short, the Cayman is a structure two
and a half times stiffer because it’s just a Boxster with a roof. In turn,
that means that the driving experience becomes much more focused
because its suspension can have tauter, sportier setting.
Porsche Cayman reaches a maximum speed of 275 km/h and gets
from zero to 100 km/h in 5.3 seconds, even if the fuel thirst is low
for such pace. The Cayman is especially good with the optional
Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), but unlike a 911,
it works well enough without it, thanks to a ride that’s firm but seldom
turbulent. PASM makes the Cayman sit 10mm lower, and in its
Sport mode it tautens the damping. And it feels absolutely fantastic
when you have the Chrono option (complete with stopwatch for timing
your hot laps).
Bottom line, Porsche Cayman is a remarkable illustration
of a rigid, solid-roofed bodyshell’s advantages. The Cayman S has
all the positive Porsche attributes you could want, and none of the
snags. It’s not the fastest Porsche, not the fiercest, not the most
breathtaking. It is a pooling of other Porsche parts, which means
that the Cayman is not expensive to develop but it will generate big
profits. The new car, by the way, takes its name not from a tax-haven
archipelago, but from a type of crocodile.
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Benchmark Porsche
19. Jun
Almost a century after its founder started designing automobiles,
Porsche is still going strong and that’s the result of a premier cure
for a mid-life crisis similar to Harley – Davidson. Porsche’s lineup
includes four model lines: the Boxster, the 911 models, the
Cayenne SUV, and the Carrera GT. And if these vehicles are
too expensive, Porsche also offers watches, luggage, and tennis
rackets bearing its name. Descendants of the founding family
still control the company and these days it has enlarged its area
by offering consulting services to other companies involved in
auto and furniture manufacturing, mechanical and electronic
engineering, and construction.
Over the years, Porsche transformed itself from serious
money-loser into one of the most profitable car companies in
the world, all this while other car manufactures toil over cash
incentives, market share and strategies for the Chinese market.
Porsche has constantly rolled out new products and despite
the costs and risks is has quadrupled its annual unit sales in just
under a decade. The most recent debuts are the Boxster and the Cayenne.
And so far, the key of their success seems to be the long
product life cycles and the company intends to maintain this
strategy.
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Porsche 64
19. Jun
Many consider the Porsche 64 (also known as the VW Aerocoupe,
Type 64 and Type 64K10) as being the first automobile by
Porsche. It was built mainly from parts from the Model 64 VW
Beetle and there comes the model number. Its flat-four engine
produced 50 bhp and gave a top speed of 160 km/h.
Porsche Burro designed the body after wind tunnel tests made
for the Type 114, a V10 sports car that was never produced.
Dr. Porsche wanted to enter the car in the 1939 Berlin-Rome
race. The bodywork company Reutter built three cars in
shaped aluminium. Out of the three, one was crashed in the
early World War II by a Kraft durch Freude (Volkswagen)
bureaucrat. The two remaining were used by the Porsche
family. Later on, they put one of them in the storage and used
only one. In May 1945 American troops discovered the one
put in storage, cut the roof off and used it for joyriding for a few
weeks until the engine gave up and it was scrapped. Pinin
Farina restored the remaining Porsche 64 in 1947, as it was
owned and driven by Ferry Porsche. In 1949, the Austrian racer
Otto Matte bought it and won the Alpine Rally in 1950 in it.
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Porsche 968
25. Jan
Porsche 968 is basically the successor of the Porsche 944.
It has a low nose and wide wheel arches that helps accentuating
the beautiful lines of this classic shape that in a Porsche Guards
Red is a real head turner. It has also the classic GT front engine,
rear wheel drive layout with the added advantage of a rear transaxle
giving almost perfect weight distribution.
Instead of the hidden headlights of the 944, the 968 has visible
pop up headlights, similar to the Porsche 928. This brings the
look of the car inline with the new Porsche 997-911. This change
has also a practical advantage: the headlights can be washed
along with the rest of the car instead of having to pop them up to
wash them.
As for the interior, it remains the same as produced in the 944,
keeping the famous “oval dash”. The designers used the same
robust materials which have given all Porsche owners many years
of trouble free motoring.
The exterior has a few differences: the door mirrors have
been streamlined with the tear drop effect and the wheels
have 5 spoke Cup design alloys. The rear bumper is more
blended and with integral rear light clusters, making it almost
indistinguishable from the bodywork. All these bodywork changes
made the 968 look a lot like the 928, and added the engine heritage,
some people have referred to it as “the daughter of 928”.
The engine is a version of the one first used on the 944 S2: it is a
4 cylinder, 3 liter, 16 valve unit. And they added VarioCam for
optimum power throughout the speed range. It has 240 HP
at 6200 rpm and a torque of 305 Nm at 4100 rpm, given by the
improved combustion chamber and inlet manifold design. At the
time of production, it was a remarkable engine, having the highest
displacement per cylinder of any car engine and also the highest
torque output of any unblown 3 liter engine. Clearly, the result of
Porsches investment in this engine paid off.
The rear-mounted gearbox is a 6-speed manual or 4 speed tiptronic.
It is the first ever mounted on a production car. The chassis has
almost perfect weight distribution and very stiff characteristics.
Usually, most cars start to fail when it comes to breaks and the
reason is that it doesn’t matter how fast the car is in a straight
line if you can’t take a bend (turn) at the right safe speed. But Porsche
brakes have always been the envy of most road sports car
manufacturers. You will notice little or no or no discernable fatigue
even under harsh use of Porsche 968. ABS adds even more
safety to the already excellent braking system. Also, what makes
the brakes so effective is that the wheels themselves are designed
to prevent the tire from coming off the rim in the event of a sudden pressure
loss.
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Porsche 911 Turbo
25. Jan
In 2006, Dr. Ing. H.c. Porsche will extend it’s current product
line with the addition of a new 911 Turbo, the sixth generation
of the 911 series. This top-of-the-range model will have its world
premiere at the Geneva Motor Show on February 28, 2006 and
as from June 24, 2006 it will be available in German dealerships.
The 911 Turbo (type 997) has a few improvements. It has an
output of 480 bhp at 6,000 rpm, a 3.6 litre engine, a rated torque
of 620 Nm and a maximum torque available between 1,950 and
5,000 rpm. All these numbers are translated into driving
performance, as the 911 Turbo with six-speed manual transmission
only needs 3.9 seconds to get from zero to 100 km/h. The coupe
reaches 200 km/h in 12.8 seconds. Despite these performance
statistics, Porsche developers succeeded to keep the average
consumption to 12.8 liters per100 km.
For those who need even more speed, the 911 Turbo offers the
optionally Tiptronic S automatic transmission. This way, it can reach
100 km/h from a standing start in just 3.7 seconds and 200 km/h in
a mere 12.2 seconds. Both manual and automatic transmissions
have a top speed of 310 km/k. Available for the first time, the optional
“Sport Chrono Package Turbo” enhances the vehicle’s flexibility even
further.
The Porsche 911 Turbo features a redesigned all-wheel drive with
an electronically controlled multi-disc clutch. The result will be the
transfer of the available power to the road. That’s because, depending
on the driving conditions, this system will determine the optimal torque
distribution to ensure the best-possible drive. Also, Porsche Traction
Management (PTM) ensures variable power distribution to the two
driven axles. This means that on the road the 911Turbo will prove
outstanding traction in the rain or snow, high agility on narrow country
roads and optimal active safety even at high speeds.
The new 911 Turbo’s driving performance is duly tempered by its brake
system, which comprises monobloc fixed-caliper disc brakes with six
pistons at the front axle and four at the rear. The diameter of the internally
ventilated and perforated brake discs at the front and rear wheels is 350
millimeters. An optimized ceramic brake system that Porsche offers is
Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB). This high-tech system
reduces with 17 kilograms the standard brake system and provides an
excellent fading stability.
The major bodywork change of the 911 Turbo is the modified front end with
its distinctive, tautly drawn cooling air inlets. Combined with the standard
oval bi-xenon headlights, it will define the new unmistakable image. From
the rear perspective too, the Turbo will seem more powerful. This is due
first and foremost to its tail end, 22 millimeters wider than that of the previous
model, to which the redesigned wing spoiler element has been aligned.
Secondly, the lateral air inlets behind the doors have been redrawn and now
they offer a more efficient supply of cooling air to the charge-air intercoolers.
The basic price for the 911 Turbo is 115,000 Euros. In the USA, from July
8, 2006, the vehicle will be available at $122,000 (not including taxes).
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Porsche 550 Spyder
25. Jan
In 1953, Porsche needed a race car more powerful than the
356. So they created the 550. This was the first true competition
car from Porsche. It was lightweight, it had two seats, aluminum
body, tubular frame and an open top. They were racing only with
Volkswagen. The initial pair of 550 dominated their class at Le
Mans finishing one-two in the 1500cc division. Then, one of the two
cars won its category in the famed Pan Americana Mexican road race.
Subsequent 550`s carried on what the initial 550`s had started.
They were fitted with the four-cam Carrera flat four cylinders. They
soon became dominant cars world wide. During races, it was fast
and easily maneuvered so no other car stand a chance. But people
loved it purchasing every one of these quick little cars they could find.
In 1956, Porsche started to produce the 550A, a slightly modified
Spyder. It was a hit, shocking the entire world by winning in its first
Appearance in Targa Florio, a brutal road race. It also humbled well-known
and more powerful rivals such as Ferrari, Maseratti and Jaguar.
In the next five years it won almost all the races in which it competed.
It became a car that attracted more attention for its occasional
losses than for the nearly non-stop victories.
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