Author: Randy Wells

OUT OF AFRICA

100 years ago Karen Blixen asked her lover’s brother to marry her and travel from Denmark to Kenya to start a farm. Seventy years later Sydney Pollack made a film about the story starring Robert Redford (who played Denys George Finch Hatton) and Merryl Streep (who played Baroness Karen Blixen).

Critic Roger Ebert described the resulting 1985 Acadamy award-winning film this way, “Out of Africa is a great movie to look at, breathtakingly filmed on location. It is a movie with the courage to be about complex, sweeping emotions, and to use the star power of its actors without apology.” I agree. Continue reading “”

HURLEY HAYWOOD REUNITES WITH HIS 1973 SEBRING WINNING PORSCHE 911 RSR

Hurley Haywood is reunited with his ’73 Porsche RSR on the 40th Anniversary of his first 12 Hours of Sebring win. Haywood, considered the world’s most successful endurance driver, discusses what makes this race so special, his back-to-back endurance wins at Daytona and Sebring, and what a difference forty years can make to the racing scene. Continue reading “”

FEAST OF FRIENDS

I’m lucky to have Bob Tilton as a friend, along with all my other early Porsche chums. Here’s a photo he posted recently from the 2011 Rennsport Reunion IV in Monterey. Bob was there making some amazing images, and happened to choose me as a subject. For more on his photgraphy and lfe experiences, please see his WerkCrew blog, plus a cool video with a couple of Tilton blog images: Continue reading “”

LUCKY TO BE ALIVE

Yesterday it was raining hard (yes, I live near Seattle). My wife and I were traveling to the city to see our accountant. While driving at 60+ mph on a rural highway in a VW Jetta, a deer came out of nowhere and was suddenly looking at me a few inches away from my driver’s side window. He was trying to avoid me with his head jerked back. I responded by swerving the car. Together we narrowly averted catastrophe. Continue reading “”

PORSCHE 911: 50 YEARS AGO – NEXT STEP

By this time in 1963, Butzi Porsche’s design/styling studio team had developed models for the 901 coupe. Erwin Komenda contributed much inspration. In this team worked Heinrich Klie, Gerhard Schröder, Ernst Bolt, Heinz Unger, and Graf Goertz.

Who knew it would be the preferred sports car for rock stars like David Crosby, Jim Morrison, and George Harrison? Continue reading “”

WHAT’S ANOTHER 50 BUCKS?

Is a modified 1989-1994 964 really the ‘90s R Gruppe 911? All the Internet chat on these last of the classic shaped Porsches might actually have you believing it. Driving one would probably seal the deal. Well, having done so, I’m pretty sure Geoff Newman’s 1993 RS America 911 hot rod would do the convincing. Continue reading “”

THE BEATLES FIRST ALBUM

Fifty years ago, the album Please Please Me was released in the U.K. A pop music phenomenon, this debut stayed at number 1 for 30 weeks until it was replaced by the band’s second LP, With The Beatles. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr at the beginning. Continue reading “”

TORSION BAR TRIO

Congrats to Stacy Schulman on his Excellence magazine feature in the May #209 issue. A very well-deserved account of a great guy and his fantastic car collection. What a fun day it was canyon carving on Mulholland in these three Porsches: 1965 356SC Cab, 1973 Carrera RS, and 1989 930S. Special thanks to Stacy, Curtis Autenrieith, and editor Greg Brown for making it easy to photograph and write this story. Continue reading “”

JUST BACK FROM TWO WEEKS IN CALIFORNIA

Thanks to everyone I saw on this special trip. Photographed five Porsches for future articles, met with three of my editors, and chatted briefly with Prescott Kelly, Jerry Seinfeld and Chad McQueen. Special thanks go to Curt Autenreith, Cris Huergas, Terry English, Scott Longballa, and Rod & Gary Emory for their valued companionship. Continue reading “”

GET AWAY IN MARCH?

Here’s my pick for this year. Caribbean or Hawaii, depending on where you live. My fave island in the West Indies is St. Barts. Second, if you want more variety, would be St. Martin. Both will provide French cuisine and beautiful white sandy beaches. For Hawaii, my choice is Kauai. It’s off the beaten path, especially Hanalei Bay, and offers lots of exciting possibilities like aerial photographs of Na Pali at sunset. Continue reading “”

THANK YOU TO PETE STOUT AND PANORAMA

There have been a few times in my career as a photographer where a publication has used my images in exactly the way I would have layed them out. This is one of those times. The February issue of the Porsche Club of America’s magazine Panorama just arrived and I’m over the moon. Both of the features I was involved in look amazing. One documents a remarkable 32,800 mile all original ’58 Speedster and the other portrays a newly restored 1972 911 in ST Signal Yellow paint. Continue reading “”