Part 3: The 991RS big adventure

[RDMcG]

Arriving in Nürburg the weather was again awful and would remain so for most of the visit,. On the first afternoon the weather was so bad that the track closed. However, my instructor ( and buddy) noticed that the F1 track was open. Only the Nordschleife was closed,.

Off we went in the gloom. Of course the F1 track has all sort of safety features including massive runoffs. I had a chance to try the car is much safer conditions. I was amazed by the grip so decide to do all the wrong things; too early entrance, liftoff on the curve and so on. Sure, it would lose traction in the rain but suddenly the nannies would grab it.
Very impressive.

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[RDMcG]

On the damp Nordschliefe it was clearly more competent than the 997s but as always the driver is more important than the car. There are a lot of very experienced people here and I do not go often enough to have the track memory they have from being here all the time.

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[RDMcG]

After the NS it was time to come back to reality and I dropped the car back to Porsche unmarked apart from the predictable scuff under the front lip.

Since then the car has been rallied and tracked, has been 100% reliable and will have a permanent place in my garage , and when I open the hood, the signature of Wolfgang Porsche reminds me of its heritage and the unforgettable days of its early life.

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[RDMcG]

this year it got a new brother, here in delivery day.

[blueline]

More amazing stories and one-of-a-kind pics. Another huge "thank you".

What was the date (issue) of the Panorama article??

[RDMcG]

I will check..will have to dig it out but early 2017 I think.

[blueline]

Excellent. I can start looking back too as I'd really enjoy reading the article. Do you remember the article's title? That would help.

[RDMcG]

Feb 2016..dug it out

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[blueline]

Just read your Panorama article. Magnificent! Great read, fascinating photos, and intriguing back stories that I realize were only touched on due to publication restraints. In reading your piece, I'm struck by how difficult the early years really were and by the glaring fact that so much was lost. I imagine the history and associated stories would easily fill a book.

Thank you again for sharing your wealth of knowledge of the marque, the photos, the people you met, and some of the special history that is often so difficult, if not impossible, to find.

[RDMcG]

What seems to be a little obscure was the Porsche got a 1% royalty from VW on all sales for quite a while into the fifties which certainly financed the very rapid transition from a sawmill in Gmund to a manufacturing facility in Stuttgart and of course used a lot of VW tech . (Evidently Ferdinand Porsche had overseen the development in the first place).....