The Grapevine Newsletter Golden Empire Region

Porsche Club of America

June 2014

2

Hear it through the Grapevine

Featured Stories Pages

A Photo review of Autocross at Minter Field 6

Review of 2014 California Mille 14

Spy Photos of the Cayman GT 4 24

Can Porsche’s LM P1 Win Le Mans 24

MIT Builds All Electric Porsche 32

Social Outings & Members Page

Driving Tour to Murphy’s Auto Museum 5

We’ve found Greg Fullmer’s Baby, sorta ... 10

Meet Loren Stumbaugh’s latest Porsche Toy 22

Event Calendars & Schedules

Upcoming GEM Social Events in June 4

Porsche Parade in Monterey is Upon Us 8

Our GEM Event Calendar 18

24 Hour French Le Mans Endurance Race 30

Up-Coming Out of Town Events

San Luis Obispo Concours and Rally 20

Porsche’s Werks Reunion in Monterey 28

Los Angeles PCA Porsche Concours d’ Elegance 34

San Marino Concours de Elegance 35

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Porsche Club of America

Golden Empire Region

Board Members and Chair Persons

Social Coordinator

Tammy Harris

Webmaster

Anton Khatsanovich

Newsletter Editor

Michael Thomas

gemgrapevine@gmail.com

Autocross Co-Chairs

Greg Fullmer and

Charles Rook

Safety Chair &

Insurance Coordinator

Mike McGregor

Membership Co-Chairs &

Communication Co-Chairs

Loren Stumbaugh and

Anna Stumbaugh

PCA Membership While our cars are very exclusive, our club is not.

Did you know that you can add a family member

or other interested person as an affiliate member,

at no additional cost? The family or affiliate mem-

ber must also be 18 years of age or older.

For all of the details contact our Membership

Chair:

Loren Stumbaugh

Porsche Club of America

Golden Empire Region

Membership Chairman

Loren7025@gmail.com

(661) 747-4416

Please join us online at our newly remodeled

Website and on our Facebook Group page:

http://gem.pca.org/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/

PCA.GoldenEmpireRegion/

And please send any Newsletter comments

or content contributions to :

gemgrapevine@gmail.com

Secretary

Spencer Harris

President

Omar Olivas

Vice President

Linn Christopher

Treasurer

Betsy Wadman

Past President

Pat Wadman

Secretary

Spencer Harris

President

Omar Olivas

Vice President

Linn Christopher

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Upcoming GEM Social Events in June

The Golden Ox, every Saturday Morning at 8:am for Breakfast and Chit Chat , 3400 Wilson Rd.

Our June Social Meeting, Tuesday Evening, 6:30 Pm at 7701 White Lane, Near Gosford and White Lane

Parade is Finally Here !! The “Must See” Porsche Event of the 2014

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GEM Club Drive to Murphy’s Auto Museum Open House

June 28 in Oxnard, CA

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More Photos from the Spring 2014 Autocross at Minter Field

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Monterey is the site of our 59th Porsche Parade, to be held this June 15 through 21, 2014. This is PCA’s annual extrava-

ganza of competitive and social events. Only minutes away from the beautiful Pacific Ocean, we’ll be treated to drives on

the famous Pacific Coastal Highway, to some of California’s legendary vineyards, and through the hills and valleys of

northern California. Of course, Parade has a long history of friendly competition and that will continue this year with the

always challenging Concours d’Elegance, TSD rally, autocross, and the tech-quiz.

Porsche Parade is a Couple of Weeks Away !! From June 15th until the 21st Monterey California will be alive with hundreds of Porsches from all

over the US. I hope your reservations have been made by now. I’m sure most events are pretty well

picked over and closed for further registries.

Click on graphic below for full information on details and scheduling. Or review the March issue of

the Grapevine for the complete schedule.

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I hope these images of previous Porsche Parades across the country will inspire you to

attend the 59th Porsche Parade this year in Monterey California. It may never be closer !

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FlatSixes Online Magazine had a nice write-up about Greg’s pride and

joy. The rear wing has been removed and apparently a repaint and

very minor body work has been done to remove a “wrinkle” in one

the fenders. It’s currently located on a classic car lot in Marina Del

Rey and it’s sale. Flatsixes had some very nice comments about our

Club’s former showpiece.

Thanks to Mike McGregor for pointing me in the direction of this follow-up story ……...

Hey Greg Fullmer, we found your Baby, and not far from home !

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Below is a the last couple of paragraphs from the Flatsixes Magazine article describing Greg’s 914/6 Glockler for sale.

To view the entire article click on the following link; One Of One Glockler 914-6 GT For Sale

Excerpts From the Flatsixes article ……… In Mr. Fullmer’s care, the 914 received a very large 935-esque whaletail, and found itself once again sitting on a beautiful set of classic Fuchs wheels. It ap-pears at this point to have received a second re-paint in a shade more equiva-lent to Aqua metallic than the light silver-blue of ‘hellblau’, and at the same time, the fender wrinkle was repaired. As a fair-weather driver in So-Cal, the Porsche was well cared for, and doesn’t look far removed today from the day it was built.

The Glockler 914, now in the care of our friends over at Chequered

Flag (although you won't find it on their web-site) in Marina Del Ray, has been

lovingly cared for, with some light ‘return to glory’ work having been carried

out. The whaletail is now, thankfully, sleeping with the fishes, the bright

work gleams, and the metallic paint glistens. The car is currently for sale, but

no word has been given on price. The only other known remaining Glockler 914

has recently received a full restoration back to standard spec 914-6, making

this car the only one left with Glockler bodywork. If you've ever wanted a tru-

ly unique and historically significant car, now is the time to buy! You can get in

touch with Chequered Flag via email or call them at 310-827-8665.

Flatsixes Online Magazine is a good friend of the PCA. They allows PCA news-

letter editors the use of their Porsche related articles. Please help support

them by visiting the Flatsixes Website.

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Golden Empire Region Club News

A trip the Central Coast wineries is being organized by Sandy Anderson. The trip

is tentatively scheduled for July 19th. Sorry guys,

this one is just for the ladies only. The idea is to

drive to Paso Robles, have a nice hotel awaiting

their arrival, and take a wine bus to tour the

Central Coast Wineries. More details on this trip

will follow when they become available.

Yes, Greg’s former 914/6 Glocker

has been located, however, I’m afraid that it has

already found a new home. I placed a phone call

to the Chequered Flag classic dealership in Mari-

na Del Rey regarding the Greg’s car. Only to be

told that Greg’s baby has been sold. Chequered

Flag was not very forth coming regarding details

of the sale. I would not be surprised to see it on

a track or in a concours some time in the near

future though.

And finally, Vernell Christopher has been ill for the last couple of months. She

has indicated that she is feeling much better

now. But I still want to send out my sincerest

wishes for her complete recovery. Get well

Vernell, we are all wishing you the very best !

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I haven't written much lately. So I thought I would take

time and share with you an interesting encounter with

the former owner of my recently purchased 1971 911t

Targa.

A few weeks ago I was fooling around with my ‘71 911t.

I was working inside my garage, connecting an oil pres-

sure testing gauge. The 911t has always shown low oil

pressure on the dash gauge. So I wanted to confirm

adequate oil pressure by means of a second gauge.

A tall, slender man walked up my driveway and asked if I

owned the 911. I replied yes. I assumed he was interest-

ed in purchasing the car from me. He then stated that

he was the former owner of this car and drove it for 25

years. I realized this was certainly not the person I pur-

chased the car from. I stated that I had bought the car

from a man named David Strong. He replied, “David is

my brother”. He then began explaining the history of

ownership of my car.

David Strong, a local attorney at the time bought the

911 Targa new from a Chevrolet Dealership in Fillmore

California in 1971. The Fillmore Dealer had brought

seven 911s into his dealership for a quick flip. David got

word of these 911s being available at a great price from

his friend and local Bakersfield car dealer Remey Ortiz.

David bought the 911t Targa with S-trim new for $7500.

As David’s daughter began to drive a few years later this

little Targa became here car to drive to Garces High

School. For a reason that no one can explain, the 911

was being driven with no oil in the engine. Which

caused the lively little 2.2 liter engine to seize up tight.

The car was taken to Bruce Smith’s Precision Motors in

Oildale. With only 53000 miles on the car, the engine

was being rebuilt. The rebuild cost came to a little over

$2300. David did not want to pay the $2300 and

promptly sold it to his brother Bill Strong. Bill, an engi-

neer working at the China Lake Naval Weapons Center

at the time would continue driving it for the next 25

years. Bill brought up a good point about the $2300 re-

build cost. He said it sounds very inexpensive to us now,

however, it was 1/3 of the original cost of the entire car.

And a healthy amount of money at that time.

Bill Strong was able to provide many stories and a lot of

detail about my car. He had increased the width of the

Fuch wheels and had installed Koni shocks for better

handling. He stated the reason the Fuch spare in the

front compartment is so badly scored is because he got

too close to rather large rock. He said it also tore up the

front, right fender pretty badly. Repairs were made and

the entire car was repainted. I always thought it was

original paint !

He also stated the reason the hood appears out of align-

ment is because his brother David dropped a car battery

on the hood. An attempt to repair the hood was made

but it is far from perfect. He said that the backfire

“popping” that I still experience on engine deceleration

has occurred as far back as he can remember. I’m hop-

ing a trip to Danny Woods’ shop can resolve this noise.

And then he a question that blew me away. “Is the oil

pressure still low?” I replied yes, in fact that’s exactly

what I'm working on now to attempt to determine the

source of the low oil pressure problem. I told him I had

just replaced the oil pressure sender device and was in

the process of installing an oil pressure test gauge. He

stated that since the engine had been rebuilt the oil

pressure had always indicated low oil pressure. He said

that he had taken the car back to Precision Motors who

rebuilt the engine. They checked it out and told him the

gauge may be reading low but the oil pressure is fine.

Further telling him to take it out and drive it hard. If the

engine seized again they said, we will rebuild it free. “I

drove it hard, determined to find any problems as they

suggested, but I never had any problem associated with

oil pressure”, Bill told me.

He stated that he had sold the car back to his brother

before moving to England. I asked what he was doing in

England and he replied that he taught Engineering at

Cambridge University, just outside of London.

That little impromptu visit of his really meant something

special to me. Thx Bill ……..

I offered him some time behind

the wheel for old time sake but he

graciously declined.

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California Mille 2014 – Report and Photos

Report by Dennis Gray | Photos by author and Bob Ross

The 2014 California Mille was staged April 27th to May 1st on the challenging back roads of Northern California. The four-day, 1,000-mile rally continued its long tradition of spirited driving in historic sports cars on the twisty and picturesque roads for which they were intended. The rally celebrates Italy’s Mille Miglia race that ran from Brescia to Rome to Brescia from 1927-1957. Cars that could have qualified for the original event are eligible for entry in the California Mille.

The California Mille was founded by Martin Swig, who after driving the Mille Miglia from Brescia to Rome to Brescia, decided that northern California “Looked more like Italy than—Italy.” Thus was born, in 1990, The California Mille. The Mille is produced by Amici americani della Mille Miglia (American Friends of the Mille Miglia), which also presents the annual New Year’s Day “Anti-Football Drive”, and will in 2015 re-stage La Carrera Nevada, its version of Mexico’s border-to-border La Carrera Panamericana. David and Howard Swig are co-directors of these events and Dan Radowicz is the organizer.

As always, the 2014 running of the California Mille started with the customary free car show on Sunday, April 27th in front of San Fran-cisco’s Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill. Italian Consul General Mauro Battocchi welcomed fans on behalf of his nation, offering historic insight into the original Mille Miglia. During the opening day festivi-ties, the Swig brothers walked around the show to highlight the many unusual and significant automobiles that ranged from a 1927 Bentley 6.5-Liter Le Mans and 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina Cab-riolet Series I to a great selection of Alfa Romeos, Jaguars, Porsches and other vehicles.

Further notable entrants at this year’s rally included a 1952 Tojeiro Roadster; 1956 Alfa Romeo 1900CSS; 1953 Siata 208S; 1957 AC Ace Bristol Zagato; 1957 and 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de Frances; 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder; 1953 Jaguar C-Type; 1957 Maserati 200si; 1939 Jaguar SS-100; 1951 Allard K2; 1949 Healey Silverstone and 1957 Kurtis Kraft 500KK; among others.

On Monday, April 28, the California Mille headed north to cross the Golden Gate Bridge, then motored east to Lodi for lunch at the Wine and Roses Restaurant. That afternoon, the Mille left the Cen-tral Valley driving to the west shore of Lake Tahoe, with an over-night at the Resort at Squaw Creek in Olympic Valley.

Day 2, April 29, the California Mille headed north into the pictur-esque and little-known Gold Lake region where drivers did their best to avoid the temptation to fish, camp and hike (as normal tourists do), continuing instead to Nevada City for lunch at the his-toric Stonehouse Brewery. The afternoon drive journeyed down the western slope of the Sierra with the Mille spending the night at the Citizen Hotel in Sacramento.

Day 3, April 30, the Mille classics cruised along the banks of the Sacramento River, passing through the 19th century Chinese-designed town of Locke, then driving west to the Napa Valley wine country for lunch. Continuing westward, the Mille ambled through rarely-traveled back roads ending the day at Cavallo Point for the first of two nights at this San Francisco Bay-front resort.

On May 1, the final day, the California Mille climbed 2500 feet to the near top of Mt. Tamalpais, the highest point in Marin County, smiled for a commemorative group photo, then motored north for lunch in the village of Nicasio, wandered along the Pacific Coast to Occidental, then turned south for the run back to Sausalito and the final night’s awards banquet at Cavallo Point.

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This coming Sunday on June 1, the entries for what will be the 82nd running of the legendary 24 hours of Le Mans will be testing at the famous track. It is the final test prior to arguably the toughest mo-tor race in the world. Porsche vehicles have been on the starting grid continuously for 63 years, and the German sports car manufac-turer is the record holder with 16 overall victories and 103 class victories. The most recent class victory was last year with two 911 RSRs one-two in the GTE Pro category. To date, the last overall vic-tory was 16 years ago, as Porsche has not competed in the top class since 1998. Porsche returns there this year and faces the new FIA-efficiency regulations with the innovative 919 Hybrid, which limits the energy consumption per lap. In parallel to this, the GT team is trying to build on the success of the previous year. A gigantic factory involvement. There are also six private Porsche teams starting the event; the most well known driver and team owner is Patrick Demp-sey, racing car driver and American actor. As Member of the Execu-tive Board, Research and Development, at Porsche AG, Wolfgang Hatz is responsible for the Porsche factory involvement.

Mr Hatz, when and why did Porsche decide to return to the top class of the sports car World Endurance Championship (WEC) and Le Mans?

Wolfgang Hatz: "This was in 2011. We were and still are well posi-tioned in the GT category, but it is time for the brand to re-enter at the elite level. The options for this are easily understandable. There is Formula 1, and there is the WEC with Le Mans. An essential crite-ria for the decision was the desire to establish the project at Por-sche itself, so the expertise would be developed and remain in-house. The World Endurance Championship including Le Mans suits us best, it is a real team sport. This is especially true of the team of drivers. But we also needed to create the infrastructure for this first: new buildings, a team of 230 people, every other one of which is an engineer."

Did the historical connection to Le Mans also play a role?

Wolfgang Hatz: "Porsche is part of Le Mans, and Le Mans is part of Porsche. They fit together. Nevertheless, no one makes these kind of investments due to nostalgia; they have to pay off in the future. As far as I can remember, there was never a regulation that gave the engineers so much freedom and required so much innovation. The obligation towards producing a hybrid and the efficiency formu-la represent revolutionary challenges. I am proud that our engineers ventured the furthest of any. Ultimately, Porsche customers will benefit from this."

Can you explain this in laymen’s terms?

Wolfgang Hatz: "Our combustion engine is the finest and most effi-

cient engine ever developed by Porsche. This compact two litre,

four cylinder, turbo engine with direct fuel injection and a perfor-

mance of over 500 PS drives the rear axle. It is the smallest engine

with the least number of cylinders in the top category of the race.

Our engineers also combined a fundamentally new exhaust gas en-

ergy recovery system with this engine. No one else has that. We

store the energy recovered from the otherwise unproductive flow

of escaping exhaust gasses in a battery. We store energy, which we

generate during braking on the front axle in the same battery.

When the driver retrieves energy from this reservoir comprised of

the latest type of battery cells, several hundred horsepower drive

the front axle. During this phase, the driver has a powerful all-wheel

drive at his disposal. Our car is the only one in the field which con-

verts energy that would otherwise simply be wasted and makes it

useable, not only when braking, but also when accelerating. This

represents an immense potential for future road sports cars."

24 hours of Le Mans: interview with Wolfgang Hatz "Porsche is part of Le Mans, and Le Mans is part of Porsche"

17

Are the efficiency regulations not to the detriment of racing itself?

Wolfgang Hatz: "Not at all; the races at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps have demonstrated this. The prototypes have plenty of power available; whether this is from the internal combustion engine or electrical does not matter. They must use all of the energy on each lap, otherwise it is a waste. Nothing can be saved here. These endurance races are sprints over incredible distances."

The World Championships comprises eight races, but the focus is on Le Mans. When would the factory involvement be considered a success?

Wolfgang Hatz: "It would be terrific, if the GT team could build on the success of the previous year. However, that is literally more difficult because we had to add weight in accordance with the regu-lations. Porsche Team Manthey headed by Hartmut Kristen has ex-tensive experience, which may make the decisive difference at Le Mans. The situation is completely different in the case of the Por-sche team headed by Fritz Enzinger in the LMP1 class: We have no experience there at all. 2014 is a year of learning. Not admitting that would mean miscalculating Le Mans. At Spa-Francorchamps, the Porsche 919 Hybrid impressively demonstrated that the necessary speed is there with pole position and the fastest race lap. Our com-petitors know we are a force to be reckoned with. However, the 919 Hybrid has not yet covered the complete Le Mans distance in racing conditions. In this respect, it would be a success if one LMP1 finishes the event. Succeeding with both would be fabulous."

At Silverstone, we saw you emotionally applauding the podium place in the overall standings in the pouring rain. Isn’t that the high demand Porsche imposes on itself?

Wolfgang Hatz: "That was a great moment of joy. But I am not los-ing sight of reality over this. We were not top-notch at Silverstone. We also benefited from the competition’s problems. But we did complete the first six-hour race with this extremely complex car and a team that has never competed before at a circuit. All the process-es, especially under chaotic weather conditions, worked very well for the debut. And everyone worked extremely hard for this. The drivers showed their enormous skills but also a lot of discipline. The podium was a great experience for all of us. And we had a one-two in the GT class. The picture we saw on Sunday in England was ter-rific."

Where will you be watching the 24 hour race from?

Wolfgang Hatz: "I will be on duty and will not be a spectator. Of course, I spend most of the time in the pit. I attend every race and was at the tracks for almost all the tests. Mostly, by the way, by the side of Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Executive Board, and that will also be the case on June 14/15. Come, what may."

Porsche

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June 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 White Glove

Porsche Concours

in Dana Point

2 3 4 5 6 7 San Luis Obispo

Drivers Ralley

8 San Luis Obispo

Concours d’

Elelgannce

9 10 11 12 13 14 Porsche’s

Return to the 24

Hours of Le Mans

15

Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

16

Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

17 Social Meeting

at FireHouse bar

and Grill on White

Lane

18

Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

19

Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

20

Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

21

Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

22

Porsche Parade

Monterey Calif

23 24 25 26 27 28 Drive to

Murphy’s Auto

Museum

29 30

July 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 Whale Watching in

Santa Barbara

13 14 15 Social Meeting

To Be Announced

16 17 18 19 Paso Robles

Wine Tasting

20 Los Angeles

Porsche Concours

at Museum Flying

in Santa Monica

21 22 23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30 31

Sun

3

10

17 Pebble Beach

Concours de

Elegance

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31

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August 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 Monterey

Sports Car Week

13 Monterey

Sports Car Week

14 Monterey

Sports Car Week

15 Porsche Werks

Reunion Monterey

16 Laguna Seca

Motor Sports

Reunion

17 Pebble Beach

Concours de

Elegance

18 19 Social Meeting

To Be Announced

20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

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September 2014

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 Social Meeting

To Be Announced

17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30

20

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Porsche to test new parts after 919 Hybrid's Spa WEC race issue

By Gary Watkins Wednesday, May 7th 2014, 11:22 GMT

Porsche to test new parts after 919 Hybrid's Spa World Endurance

Championship race failure issues

Porsche will test new components next week designed to

address the problems that put Mark Webber's Porsche 919 Hybrid out of contention in the Spa World Endurance

Championship race.

The #20 Porsche, shared by Webber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley, finished 23 laps down on the winning Toyota TS040 HYBRID in 23rd place after the front right driveshaft had

to be replaced on two occasions.

Porsche LMP1 technical director Alex Hitzinger has revealed that the same problem had al-

ready been encountered in pre-season testing and that a stronger driveshaft was already in manufacture ahead of Spa.

The new components will be tested when Porsche undertakes its second and final endurance

simulation before the Le Mans 24 Hours in June at the Aragon circuit in Spain next week.

Hitzinger told AUTOSPORT: "We already have stronger parts in the pipeline and we will have

them when we test next week."

The hybrid system problem that delayed the fourth-placed #14 Porsche 919 driven by Neel Jani, Marc Lieb and Romain Dumas was a result of a false system alarm, according to Hitz-

inger.

"We are very conservative on our alarms and this time we were too conservative," he ex-

plained.

Dumas had to cycle through the car's electronic systems to cure the problem, which lost Porsche any chance of finishing on the podium.

Porsche has so far chosen not to reveal the nature of the driveline failure that put the #14 car out of the WEC opener at Silverstone last month.

Preparing for Porsche’s return to Le Mans

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Loren Stumbaugh is a Black or White kind of Guy

And his newest 2007 911 Carrera S Coupe proves that

Recently Loren traded in his beloved Black 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet for this new toy. He

says the he didn't realize what a “cruiser” his black Cabriolet was until he got behind the

wheel of this Hot Rod. The difference in performance between the two is very noticeable.

Loren has also switched from a Tiptronic automatic to a 6 speed manual transmission.

This Carrera S is heavily optioned. But the only non-stock items is the suspension and exhaust system.

Loren is number four in the line of ownership. He says one or more of the former owners has spent a

lot of money in modifications.

For starters the GTS look of this car comes

from rear deck spoiler and the low front

air dam under the car’s “chin”.

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Other things that attracted Loren to this car are not as easily seen. The Sport Exhaust that the car

came from the factory with was upgraded to a FABSPEED Sports Exhaust. FABSPEED builds exotic high

performance systems for many exotic sport marques such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, and of course

Porsche. And I can attest that the car does sound amazing !

The electronically controlled Porsche Active Suspension

Management system, or PASM has also been upgraded

to electronically controlled Bilstein Coil-overs.

Porsche increased the Carrera S to a 3.8 liter engine in

2007. The BHP is rated at 355hp at 6600 RPMs. The

engine accelerates the car from 0-60 in 4.6 seconds.

And comes from the factory with an 11.8 to 1 compres-

sion ration.

And the Sports Chrono Plus package converts this car from a comfort cruiser into a full blown racing

machine. The suspension becomes stiffer and the engine becomes more aggressive and direct.

In Sports Mode Plus the car places it’s full potential into the hands and mind of the driver.

The interior has also been modified. Just to add

that little extra, a previous owner replaced to

black plastic console, door, and air vent trim

with accenting white trim. The black leather

seats look gorgeous wrapped around the white

interior trim pieces.

And speaking of “Wrap”, parts of the exterior

has been wrap with vinyl. The front compart-

ment hood, the roof and the rear spoiler have

all been wrapped in Matte Black Vinyl that

provides for a very unique and sporty look. I’m sure this Carrera S is very

pleased to have Loren as it’s

newest owner, Congrats!!

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What It Is: A Porsche Cayman prototype wearing an aggressive front fascia and a giant rear wing. A prototype of what, you may ask? It appears to be a GT4, the long-rumored, range-topping ultra-high-performance Cayman variant that will follow in the epic 911 GT3’s footsteps.

Why It Matters: Porsche has long throttled the performance of the Cayman and Boxster twins in or-der to maintain a safe buffer between them and the pedestal on which the 911 sits, but a Cayman GT4 would upset that hierarchy for the first time. Until now, the Cayman’s output figures have been careful-ly clipped to levels below those enjoyed by various 911 models, even though a mid-engine chassis as good as the Cayman’s could easily handle more power. Should the GT4 pictured here come to fruition, it would give us our first look at just how far a factory Cayman can be pushed.

Platform: The Cayman GT4 will share its mid-engine bones with other Cayman models such as the S and GTS, but should see significant stiffening in its structure and suspension. The car pictured here even has a roll bar, just like its 911 GT3 sibling. But unlike its GT3 sibling, which gets carbon-ceramic brakes, the GT4 appears to be equipped merely with the Cayman GTS’s big-brake kit. (In Por-scheland, red brake calipers represent upsized iron rotors, while yellow calipers clamp carbon-ceramic discs; there also are black, silver, and even neon-green units that represent base cars, all-wheel-drive cars, and hybrids.) Given that Porsche’s Ceramic Composite Brake package is available on the Cayman GTS (for a cool $7400), we figure it’ll at least be available on the GT4, if not ultimately standard fare.

2015 Porsche Cayman GT4 Spy Photos:

Expect 350 to 400HP, Plus Glorious Wings and Things

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These spy photos suggest that Porsche is working on a fixed rear wing similar to the oversized unit it fit-

ted to the 911 GT3. Aero tweaks to the front end include a hefty splitter. The same extractor vent worn by

the 911 GT3 between its front bumper and hood is present on this Cayman tester, as is the GT3’s trio of

gaping front intakes. It isn’t clear whether the GT4 will get the GT3’s red seatbelts, but they’re an option

in regular Caymans. The prototype does, however, have some sweet racing-shell-type seats, though.

Powertrain: This is where the Cayman GT4 is holding its cards close to the vest; these photos provide us not even a hint at what engine lies beneath the pumped-up bodywork. We suspect the GT4 either will use the bigger of the 911’s two naturally aspirated flat-sixes—the 400-hp 3.8-liter from the Carrera S—or a worked-over version of the 3.4-liter unit Cayman S and GTS models share with the base 911 Carrera.

The GTS makes 340 horsepower, and the same engine in the Carrera puts out 350 horsepower, so if the 3.4-liter is used, expect at least 355 ponies. Alternatively, there is speculation about the GT4’s powertrain as being a turbocharged V-4 like the (non-production) one used in Porsche’s 919 endurance racer, but that seems extraordinarily unlikely and costly. Like the GT3, we suspect Porsche will keep the GT4 auto-matic-only. Manual fans can at least take solace in the fact that Porsche’s seven-speed PDK dual-

Competition: Alfa Romeo 4C, Audi TT RS, BMW M4.

Estimated Arrival and Price: Studying this Cayman GT4’s bodywork, it would appear the car is quite far along in the development process—and thus nearly produc-tion-ready. We figure that the GT4 just might hit showrooms in time for the tail end of the 2015 model year, following a full reveal later this year or early next. As for pricing, the PDK-equipped Cayman GTS starts at $80,155, so figure on the top-dog GT4 version commanding at least $100,000. This is a Porsche, after all.

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Can Porsche win at Le Mans?

With 16 overall victories, Porsche is

the winningest marque in the 81-

year history of the 24 Hours of Le

Mans, the world’s most famous auto-

motive endurance race. In 1999, at

the top of its game, the German car-

maker turned its back on the race –

a move widely read as a means of

freeing funds to develop its first

SUV, the Cayenne. Sixteen years

later, to the resounding cheers of the

faithful, Porsche is coming back.

When the brand took its long sabbat-

ical from top-level racing, it passed

the baton to its Volkswagen Group

stable-mate, Audi. And Audi did not

merely carry that baton. Competing

in the premier LMP1 prototype class,

the company conducted symphonies

with it, becoming the second-

winningest marque at Le Mans by

2013, claiming 12 victories in 14

years. Many observers assumed

Porsche's long-awaited return to Le

Mans and the World Endurance

Championship (WEC) would mean

an end to Audi's participation. But

that isn’t the case.

Within the Volkswagen family of

brands (which also includes Bugatti,

Bentley, Lamborghini, SEAT and

Skoda, plus Ducati motorcycles),

each marque finances its own racing

efforts, and both Audi and Porsche

have the resources to compete in

the 2014 WEC, including Le Mans.

So it is that in 2014, the brothers will

face each other for the first time.

The first step for Porsche's return to

Le Mans was to present a business

case to its board of directors. The

company’s own profits would fund

the effort; Porsche sees $23,000 of

upside per vehicle, averaged over its

whole product line. Exactly how

much has it allotted to the Le Mans

effort? Specifics are unknown, but

reliable estimates put the cost of rac-

ing a prototype in the WEC at be-

tween $100m and $200m for the first

year and well beyond $50m for each

subsequent year. That's what Audi

spent, give or take, starting in 2000.

As a comparison, Formula 1 is wide-

ly estimated to cost about $400m

per year, not including engine-

development and maintenance

budgets.

Building the car came next. Because

the goal of Le Mans is to cover the

most laps in 24 hours, and because

pit stops take time away from that

pursuit, prototype engine rules place

great emphasis on efficiency rather

than on outright power. The most

successful approach has been Au-

di's fuel-sipping diesel-engine strate-

gy, first fielded in 2006. Porsche is

taking a rather different tack, and

serious technology watchers and

motorsports fans will be transfixed

by the companies’ diverging ap-

proaches to the rules and the rac-

ing.

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Over the past 15 years, Audi has

elevated the testing of its endurance

racers to an art form. For the Audi

team, preparation for a 24-hour race

now includes running its own test

race for 48 hours. Porsche currently

does not have the same luxury.

Even for a company that built its rep-

utation on heroic engineering

through motorsport, kick-starting a

proper Le Mans operation after well

more than a decade of dormancy is

no small feat. During a feverish two

years spent developing the car that

would become the 919 Hybrid, Por-

sche tested several engines, includ-

ing the 3.4-litre V8 engine from the

older, LMP2-class RS Spyder, but

none performed adequately. So the

engineering team returned to the

drawing board time and again before

settling on a new 2-litre V4 engine in

November 2013. In just five months,

the engine was born, grew up,

learned manners, graduated military

school and went to war. It’s a pro-

cess that normally takes a bare mini-

mum of 18 months.

In addition to the turbocharged four-

cylinder gasoline engine driving the

rear wheels, the 919 Hybrid uses

two energy recovery systems: a gen-

erator driven by exhaust gases and

a brake-energy recuperation system

to convert kinetic energy into elec-

tricity, which is stored in a water-

cooled lithium-ion battery pack. The

batteries feed an electric motor that

sends power to the front wheels un-

der certain conditions.

Audi will continue its diesel plan.

Compared with the turbocharged V6

diesel engine last year's Audi R18,

the engine in the 2014 R18 E-tron

Hybrid is larger (4 litres, up from

3.7), an increase that offsets turbo-

boost restrictions for cars that fea-

ture electric-motor assistance, as

defined by the new LMP1-H class.

With air management a primary fo-

cus of all modern race cars, few of

them would be called pretty. Both

the Porsche 919 and Audi R18 E-

tron carry through on that trend with

upright, blunt front wheel housings,

multiple air inlets to cool mechanical

unmentionables and a markedly

sunken cockpit when viewed in pro-

file. The large stabilisation fin on the

engine cover is obligatory.

There's intrigue beyond pistons,

turbos, flywheels and fuel. As the

first race where Porsche and Audi

will battle it out, how will their corpo-

rate parent lay down the law at Le

Mans? There seems little question

that Audi and Porsche will be able

and encouraged to bring their best

game and win on merit with no cor-

porate orders, aside from one, the

biggest order in auto racing: never

eliminate your stable-mate with a

crash.

In March, during a pair of official four

-hour test sessions at Circuit Paul

Ricard, near Marseille, France, a

Porsche logged the quickest overall

lap times. But Audi was in arrears by

just eight-tenths of a second. And so

it begins.

The 81st running of the 24 Hours of

Le Mans is scheduled for 14-15

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Be sure to register for this event in August at MotorSportReg.Com

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Porsche’s return to Le Mans June 14 - 15 2014

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Demonstrated Success: Porsche 914 BEV

The team's first project began in late 2006, when MIT Professor Yang Shao-Horn and Dr. Quinn Horn of Exponent donated a 1976 Porsche 914, motor, charger, and controller. The

Porsche was converted into a battery electric vehicle (BEV) using 18 U-Charge® XP Lithium Phosphate batteries donated by Valence Technology. From the beginning, EVT students

designed this lithium-ion conversion with two underlying objectives: to establish the vehicle's usefulness for research and to maximize the system's safety. The Porsche 914 BEV has simi-

lar driving performance to the original vehicle, with the added advantage of regenerative

braking. The vehicle is street legal, and EVT team members can often be seen driving around the Boston area on test drives or on the way to local outreach.

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Timeline

November 2006 – Conversion begins based on Electro Automotive Voltsporsche conver-

sion kit

June 2007 – Major hardware components installed; Emmanuel Sin wins mechanical engi-

neering’s Peter Griffith Experimental Thesis Award for his work on the conversion

October 2007 – Vehicle electronic system redesigned (deviating from kit) to improve

safety and account for the Lithium-ion batteries and the AC induction motor

February 2008 – Six additional batteries installed, bringing pack voltage to 230 V

(nominal); motor and battery controllers re-programmed to use 18 batteries

March 2008 – First successful test drive

For more information about the early stages of the conversion, see Manny Sim's 2007 BS

thesis, "Electric Conversion of Porsche 914."

Battery Pack and Battery Management

The battery pack comprises 18 lithium-ion phosphate batteries, produced and donated by Valence Technology. They are arranged in series for a total nominal voltage of 230.4V

and a capacity of 100 Ah (at C/2). Each battery has its own built-in computer that moni-tors the battery's conditions. The battery management system, a separate computer,

communicates with each of the 18 battery computers and can be used to control the high voltage circuit, shutting it off in case any problems occur.

Motor and Motor Controller

The motor is a 3-phase AC induction motor from Azure Dynamics and has a peak power

of roughly 55kW and a maximum speed of 12,000 rpm. The motor controller inverts the DC voltage from the battery to AC voltage for the motor and demands a torque from the

motor based on the input from the accelerator pedal. Unlike an internal combustion en-gine, the motor can provide full torque at zero speed, and it has a much wider speed

range than an engine. For ease of conversion, the team retained the stock manual trans-

mission. The motor and controller are also used for regenerative braking.

Charger

The on-board charger is a Zivan NG3 which converts 230VAC to DC voltage to charge the battery pack. It can be plugged into a standard clothing dryer (230VAC) outlet, but is

current limited by the power rating of a 120VAC outlet, taking roughly 8 hours to charge the battery pack. With the proper charger and power supply, the Valence Li-ion battery

pack could be charged in as little as 2.5 hours.

Data Acquisition and Display

Data buses from both the battery management system and motor controller are logged via an NI CompactRIO that was donated by National Instruments (NI). This provides val-

uable information about the currents, voltages, torques, speeds, and temperatures seen by the vehicle components during driving. In addition, the data acquisition system rec-

ords all fault and limit conditions, warning the driver when motor power is limited and providing a powerful diagnostic tool. The CompactRIO also controls an NI touch screen

which display valuable real-time information about the motor and batteries to the driver.

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