Want.....

And here's a little more....

Pure Driving Pleasure

Enjoy....

Normal service will now be resumed

I (rightly) got a bit of grief off my kid brother yesterday for my fascination/obsession with The Hills, and he wasn't having none of my explanation of "I just happen to be in the living room when the wife watches it". So, I'm resuming normal service with the Porsche promotional video of the new GT3, and Walter Rohl taking it nice and smooth around a track. This car consumed a decent part of the conversation last week, and lets face it, apart from Ross's ability to injure himself on a regular (pre-track day) basis, cars were the main topic of conversation. Needless to say, I want one - better remember to buy the lottery ticket tonight I guess.

Porsche 911 - 998 Spy Photos

It looks like the next version of the 911 is under full development already. What's interesting is it looks like the next version might have a bit of a new backside - it reminds me of the 959 from way back when.

Source - autoblog.it

2010 911 GT3 - it's pretty

Moving very quickly to (at least very new) the top of my list of dream cars, Porsche announced details of the new GT3 that everyone knew was coming. Lots of cool stuff included in the new version, including special engine mounts, and a hydraulic something or other that allows the front end to be raised by a couple of inches to get it in your driveway without taking out the splitter. And it's more powerful and faster as well, so there's not much not to like.

Of course, at $112k before you've ticked a single option box (and I'm sure there's going to be a few you're really going to "need"), you could always buy yourself an apartment instead.....

Porsche Panamera - Undecided

So official pictures are now out of the upcoming 4 door Porsche, and although the final product looks sooo much better than the spy shots floating around for the last couple of years, I'm still undecided as to whether or not I like it. There's a few more pics here, but I think it's going to be one of those cars you need to see in the flesh before you finally decide.

Friday Post for self

I realize I've been a bit of a slacker for posting not much on here in recent weeks. I will try harder, but the will to jump on the computer when I get home at night has somehow left me, and I've been doing other stuff (like reading, you know, books and stuff).

Anyway, this is purely for self gratification, and to remind me at some point in the future that one of these things might be fun ;-)


Drifting the GT3 from EmilGH on Vimeo.

New 911 (or 997 and a half) Promo

My eternal indecisiveness is further elevated whenever I watch a new Porsche video (about what my next car might be). The choice is still at least a year and a half away, but current front runners are (not in any order) 911 (s or GT3), Elise or Exige supercharged, Caterham R500, Nissan GTR and the Audi R8. And of course, replacing the M3 in my garage with the newer version.

I have a feeling that cars as we know them won't be around for too long, so I'm seriously tempted to get a back to basics pure driving experience car, and then a daily driver (or see if I can keep the M), which further complicates my decision. I normally have an ordered list in my head of what's next at all times, but the whole GTR vs GT3 vs Caterham are all so different cars, that I'm in a confused state. I guess it's a nice confused state to be in though, and I'll probably end up getting none of them if/when the time comes. You never know, maybe I'll get rich and just put the deposit down on the F430 Scuderia - the lottery is up to $75 million at the minute.

Anyway, enough rambling, here's the video

RMCBMWCCA Spring Driving School

IMG_1384.JPG, originally uploaded by Aaron in Denver.

So the day finally arrived, and I got to spend the whole day (well, a lot of it) driving pretty fast around the track in Pueblo. George came along with his Porsche, and was grinning nearly as much as I was.

Technically I guess it was spring, but it certainly felt like summer, and my face is red enough to prove it. Rumor was that Sunday was going to be even hotter, so I'm glad I hadn't picked that day in the end (although doing both days is always tempting).

We had a few visitors come down to watch, and luckily they also took control of the camera for the day, so there's a small subset of the photos they took here. There were about 600 in total, so loading them all up on Flickr didn't seem like a practical approach. If you were in Group C or D, I've probably got a shot or two of your car, so let me know if you want me to take a look and send them direct.

BMW Car Club - Car Control Clinic

IMG_0501.JPG, originally uploaded by Aaron in Denver.

So this year I wasn't driving, but Wee Dod was, so I went up for an hour to take some pics and offer a bit of moral support.

Judging from the smile, I think George liked it (a lot), so the real driving school down in Pueblo in a couple of weeks should be a blast.

Managed to take way too many pics of course (and thanks to Cliff who provided a few photography pointers - "hold the camera like this", "don't keep pressing" etc etc), but I loaded a selection up on Flickr here if you wanna check them out.

Porsche 928 - The Nightmare Version

When I was growing up, the 928 was high on my wish list of cars. It stayed on there for a very long time, in part coz despite it being so old by the time it finally ceased production it still looked pretty modern, and in part due to it being available for purchase second hand at a price I could almost grasp affording (think 5000 pounds or so). Now, of course, I would never have been able to afford the insurance, or the petrol (gas), and if anything ever went wrong, it would completely bankrupt me for the rest of my life. So, I didn't buy one, although one of the guys who used to go surfing did get one and ran it successfully for about 18 months before the expensive repairs kicked in.

Anyway, this is all leading up to this following video, in which someone has completely massacred one of my childhood dreams. I've asked myself why a few times, and apart from the obvious "I need a fast truck" I'm at a loss for words - I thought that's why they had the high performance Dodge and Ford trucks (if you ever see someone trying to drive one of these 500 hp things in the snow in Denver, give them a wide berth - it's funny to watch, but not when you're in the lane next to them). And Porsche apparently helped him get approval to take it on the road...

911 Gemballa

It seems like ages since I posted a pic of a fast car, so here's the new Avalanche GT2 650 EVO R by Gemballa (who names these things?). 650 BHP and the so pretty it hurts the eyes. No doubt way to expensive for me to afford, but if that lottery ticket comes through this week, it's on the list....

Porsche 911 (997) GT2 Details

The last version of this was known as the widow maker, but loved by people who could actually drive very well (as in the race driver type, not the "I can change from 1st to 2nd pretty smoothly" type).

The GT2 tends to have loads of power, rear wheel drive, and the wildest body kit of any of the factory 911's, and this one doesn't disappoint. 530 bhp this time, and the usual GT spec weight saving program, meaning the Porsche acceleration figures (which are routinely beaten by the mags) are 3.6 secs for the 0-60 and a mind blowing 7.2 secs for the 0-100 dash. This also happens to be the first road production car that officially tops 200mph, with 204 being what the brochure said (that's what the Top Gear site is saying anyway, but didn't the Carrera GT get over 200???).

The price for one of these is never going to be pretty (the UK price, which is the only one that's been leaked so far as I can tell is over 130k (pounds, so that translates to around $250k over here), but it does include some high performance driving course (definitely will be needed unless you're already a Porsche factory driver), and Porsche's version of Tracker/LoJack (depending on your country), which hopefully you won't need.

Obviously, I want one, but having been addicted to reading about one of my other favorite cars recently (post to come sometime soon) the price (and snow over here in Winter ;-) might be a little prohibitive. I'm definitely getting a little too sensible in my old age.

911 GT3 RS

It's nice ;-)

Friday's Fast Video

Especially for both George and Graham, an R1 and a 911 GT3 hitting the ring. Watch out for the traffic and crash(es) and they still make it in under 9 minutes.....

New 911 (997) GT2 Video

I've been holding out mentioning the latest (and possibly) best 911 until there was some pix to go along with the specs (2 wheel drive, 530bhp, 0-60 in the mid 3 second range). Well, now there's this vid courtesy of AutoExpress back home, shot during testing at the only place it seems testing is done these days. It's not cheap, and it's not for the inexperienced, so that rules out me as a buyer, but I can still dream.....

Porsche Panamera in the Flesh

Looks like they were doing some cold weather testing in Sweden. I definitely hope this thing looks prettier when it finally gets an official release (although the way the Cayenne didn't means I'm not holding my breath).

Spectaculat Porsche Crash - Driver Walks Away!

Some tight bar-steward didn't make the video embedable, so you'll have to follow the link, but this crash is pretty amazing. And the fact he missed the spectators as well.

It sort of makes me wish for the old days when Sunday afternoons (and some Saturdays when Newcastle was playing away) were spent watching Grandstand on the BBC for the weekly installment of the Touring Car Championships - all those old Sierra Cosworth 500's flying around the track at ridiculous speeds, and not afraid to have the occasional nudge with their competitors (and there were right turns thrown in there as well, Nascar - it makes for much better racing, in case you were wondering.....).

Best Looking Cayenne?

Everyone knows the Porsche Cayenne isn't the prettiest car/suv/anything on 4 wheels (and some go as far as saying it's the ugliest, but having seen some shockers over here, I'd have to disagree, although a little).

Anyway, this one looks better than any of the others I've seen - it's a pretty classy upgrade from a company called Top Car. And can you believe these lot are Russian? I thought the only car companies they had were Lada's, and those scary big old secret service cars they used on Rocky 4. More pics here if you want to see some more views.

997 911 GT3 at the Ring

How could I resist, even if the commentary is all in German?

TechArt Porsche GTStreet

Ok - 630 bhp, 604 lb-ft torque, 0-62 in 3.2 secs and a reputed top speed of around 214 mph. Do I need to continue?

Thursday Roundup

Coz I'm likely to be stuck in an airport tomorrow afternoon/evening, I thought I better get this one in a little early.

First up is the new spy shots of next years 911 - very subtle changes, so if you can tell me what they are, you win a gold star. Hopefully the engines are getting direct injection, but that's yet to be confirmed. More details here

Take a look at Mashable, the blog that concentrates on social networks.

Super Tonio hits the headlines, having been born a the grand old weight of 14 and a half pounds. His mother obviously deserves a medal, either for bravery, or Strongwoman of the Year, after carrying him around for all that time. News report is here, and the pic over there is showing jsut how he compares to a "normal" baby.

Big news in the car world was the news that the fancy handbag makers Louis Vuitton splashed out on Aston Martin. I'm still in shock at this one - I think it almost breaks my heart, but maybe I'm just getting emotional at the end of a (very) long week.

It's good to see that sense finally prevaled back home, although it took a little too long to get there.

And finally, Blidgets is the new made up word. I need to make up one of these (words), get famous, get on Digg, get 1000 million hits and retire from my Adsense dollars. It's never going to happen though, so I've given up trying to think of one.

Bird, Porsche and 155mph

This is what happens when you combine all three......