The first time I saw a Porsche 911 was in 1966 when I was seven on an Autobahn, just inside Germany, on trip from Athens to London. I was sitting in the back of my folks Austin A40 Countryman, it was white with green bonnet, door and boot panels.
It had huge blue lights on the roof and the legend POLIZEI in smart white letters on the green panels, what I remember about it above all else is the audible harsh rasping noise coming from the boot/trunk. That noise was the first engine sound I fell in love with.
The 1966 911 S featured iconic Fuchs five spoke alloy wheels which saved 5 lbs pounds per wheel, though in 1966 they still carried the same size tyres as a regular 911 so there was no great improvement in handling with break away oversteer / loose a problem at the limits of adhesion.
Despite the 1966 'D' licence plate suffix, the Fuchs alloy wheels and the lovely extra set of lights on the front, the 911 badge on the engine cover indicates this might actually be a regular 1965 911 with a 130 hp 1991 cc / 121 cui 6 cylinder boxer engine probably identical to the one I fell in love with in the back of that police car when I was seven.
Hope you have enjoyed this aircooled edition, thanks for dropping by, hope you'll join me for another exciting Ferrari Friday tomorrow, don't forget to come back now !
I do enjoy Porsches (a two syllable word)! We don't have police cars with that mark!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Porsches have always been the 928s. Of course, my daddy has a Caymen so I'm reserving the right to change my opinion...
I miss your Dad's 912.
ReplyDeleteI miss racing against Dick's and Bob's and Andrew's 956s.
Porsche! There is no substitute!
That Caymen could win your hear Chief ! :-)
ReplyDeleteThe Daimler was pitted against a couple of 956's Racer ?
How come you never mentioned that before ?
How many years do you have to spare, Art? Racer's racing stories would take that long to tell all!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm all ears Chief :-)
ReplyDeleteI think all dads should have a Porsche 911! The children would have a much better understanding of the world(imo).
ReplyDeleteI have a Andial twin turbo story that involves beer, rain, and night time driving.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first joined the VSCCA and went to the drivers' school, I met a man with a 356 (sorry for the typo above, I had 900 series Porsches on the brain... can't think why). Dick Rowley and I went to drivers' school together and spent our first two seasons in the "Preservation" class, finishing 1-2 in just about every race until the club finally kicked us out... me into the Over-2L class, and him into the Under-2L class. Somedays he would finish first, some days I would. In more recent times, the faster 356s run with the Over-2L group and I got to racing with Bob and Andrew. Great guys... Man! can those 356s handle!
ReplyDeleteAh! The glory days of racing with Dick! He eventually got a Healey 100/4 and joined me and several other A-H friends in the Over-2L class. The Aston Martins and the XK140 of Tivvy Shenton dominate that class, but there's a gaggle of 356s, AH100/4s, XK120s and a Daimler dicing it up for 4th.
In the 1980s, my dad went through a Porsche phase. First, he had a 924 (I think). It had turbo that problems finally caused him to get rid of it after owning it only a short while. Then, he got a 911 Targa, and kept it for several years. More than any other car, Dad still lusts after Porsches.
ReplyDeleteI thought that would have been a bit of a mis match Racer, but glad to hear your 356 story :-)
ReplyDeleteJC 956 & 962's are in the pipe line, I'll get back to you about the Andial Story :-)
924 Turbo sounds tight Steve, that whole series was originally conceived as an Audi project until Porsche realised it needed to diversify from Flat 6 air cooled sports cars.