Ever since Carl Benz strapped a
three-quarter-horsepower four-stroke to his Big Wheel, man has been fascinated
by the top speed of an automobile: How fast does it go? And more important, can
I make it go faster?
Nardo >
Test facility in the heel of
Italy; features a 7.8-mile banked ring that simulates driving in a straight
line at 149 mph. Built by fiat in 1975, now owned by Porsche.
Thomsen’s done this event before in one of his
Porsche-engined monsters, but this time he’s teamed up with aftermarket firm
Space- Camper to do it in one of the latter’s VW RVs. Technical issues plague
their time at Nardò, but with the van’s 572-hp, twin-turbo
flat-six finally running, the pop-up roof latched, and all cushions stowed, it
manages 168 mph. Not the magic 300‘km/h mark (186 mph) they wanted, but this had
made a vehicle with a fully functional beer tap.
Swiss
tuning house, Sportec, are going head-to-head with rival 9ff. A short while ago
we brought you news of 9ff’s 384 km/h Porsche 911 GT2 but now
Sportec have replied.
The winning 229-mph run by 9ff’s turbo Porsche:
boost, boost, boost. Tent full of German oance music: oonce, oonce, oonce. Vw
van at 168 mph: cool, cool, cool.
I had wandered if there would be rivalry between the teams,
but the camaraderie is clear, when GSC returns from a run complaining of dàiìgemus hood lift» GAD lends the hood from its stricken CLS to
help its opponent gain 6 mph. Paddock activity makes it obvious that this IS a
learning process for many. Body kits that sexy brochure shots probably suggest
were sculpted by Formula i engineers deariy weren't and there are some comedically
Uftsdefttiifc Attempts to reduce drag. By thề end of the
event, people are pulling off side mirpôrs, taping up
panel gaps, and doing anything they can to eke out those last few miles per
hour.
Not that any of them have a chance of ranching 9fPs 997Pormer
Brabus engineer Jan Fatthauer set up ftirsche tuner 9ff ill 2001, but lately
he’s had a tough time. His 254-mph, mitl‘ engine, 9ll--feascd GĨ9
fleedvdi rave reviews, but when the recession bit, the buyers who had been
falling all over themselves to slap down A
deposit on the $800,000 car disappeared, taking the company with it
Patthauer Is now back in business, with a much clearer focus on where his firm should
be headed.
Newly
programmed engine electronics ensure that all new components work together
flawlessly. They also contribute to maximum power yield and to meeting current
exhaust emission limits.
“We put a lot of effort into the GT9 and were caught out by
the crisis ” he says, "We've realized that this is where the business lies,*
he adds, patting the roof of his 91L Okay, but why bring an older 997 instead of
the new 991?
Love
it or hate it, everybody respects it. The benchmark of all sports car
performance, the Porsche 911 celebrates its 50th birthday with a bang!
“People driving the newer cars either don’t want to change
them because they’re leasing them, or if they own them, they’re scared of
invalidating the warranty,” he says. “But 996 and 997 Turbos are quite
affordable now. You can bring one to us and we can tune it 10 850 hp, and you’ll have so much more fun
for a fraction of the cost of buying a new Turbo ”
There’s another point to be made here: Manufacturers are
going out of their way to make it harder for the tuners to do their job. Forty
years ago, a cylinder-head skim, some careful chamber massaging, and a rejetted
carburetor was work any reasonably gifted mechanic could do, and the rewards
were rich. Now the fruit hangs higher, and complicated computer encryption
makes scaling the orchard wall a serious challenge. Porsche makes life hard for
people like Fatthauer.
