Racing / Auto Blog – Page 20 – WHERE CLASSIC CARS, NATURE, TRAVEL, VINYL & PHOTOS MEET

DRIVE MY CAR

Here’s a look back at The Beatles’ catchy ’60s pop tune “Drive My Car” recorded October 13, 1965.

Paul McCartney (bass, piano, and some lead), George Harrison (lead guitar), Ringo Starr (drums, cowbell) and John Lennon (tambourine, rhythm guitar) were on to some good stuff! Paul and John share lead vocals and George backs them up. Continue reading “”

EXCELLENCE RSR

The May 2011 issue of Excellence: The Magazine About Porsche is hitting the newsstands now. It features an article of mine titled “The Forgotten One,” which covers a 911 tribute car built by Sam Gassel.

Congratulations to Sam on his amazing recreation of the #6 Penske Sunoco Porsche Carrera RSR. He is one of those guys who makes my job a dream, and he’s deserving of every accolade for a job well done. I wish everyone could see this car in the flesh. It is mind-boggling good. Thanks also to Excellence for continuing to publish my photos and writings on these homages to historic 911s. Continue reading “”

PORSCHE RENNSPORT REUNION IV

Just back from two weeks on the road – photographing, writing, and playing with cars in LA. Thanks to my good friend Curtis Autenrieth for his generous hospitality and camaraderie. It was great to see all my other Porsche buddies as well.

There is an event coming up that any Porsche enthusiast will not want to miss. Continue reading “”

FASTER

George Harrison was born in Liverpool, England on this day in 1943 and passed away nearly ten years ago. His late ’70’s music video titled “Faster” was dedicated to the memory of Formula One racing driver Ronnie Peterson and includes a cameo appearance by British F1 champion Jackie Stewart.

Inspirational and reflective, George had a deep interest in travel, photography, film making, motorsports, and of course music. As The Beatles lead guitarist, his riffs and songwriting are legendary. He owned a vintage Porsche 911, Mini Cooper, Dino 246, Aston Martin DB5 and was one of the first to purchase a McLaren F1 road car. He was also an avid gardener and introduced many to Eastern thought and music. Continue reading “”

NüRBURGRING NORDSCHLEIFE

Here’s the best instructional video I’ve seen on how to drive the Nürburgring’s north loop or Nordschleife. Watch how Porsche works driver Sascha Maassen gives a guided tour for one lap around this legendary track.

Chasing a gaggle of a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Cars in his own matching race car, Sascha provides insightful commentary and shows how “The Green Hell” got its name. With 73 corners undulating over nearly 13 miles, it’s easy to see why this is considered the toughest, most dangerous and demanding circuit in the world.

Located between Cologne and Frankfurt, the Nordschleife is accessible to the public as a one-way toll road. There are no intersections and there’s no general speed limit. I drove it in an Audi rental car, and even that was an unforgettable experience.

Continue reading “”

THAT’S RACING

Sometimes race team owners are better off leaving the driving to the pros. That’s what happened when Chip Ganassi’s Dinan-BMW team finished 1-2 picking up its fourth victory in the prestigious Rolex 24 hour race. Scott Pruett held off teammate Scott Dixon for the win today in a final-lap shootout at Daytona International Speedway. Continue reading “”

Randy-Wells-Auto-Transportation-Porsche-Ford-Ferrari-Classic-Cars-Photographer-Writer-Filmmaker

Randy has the good fortune to photograph, write about, and film cars and transportation for the best manufacturers, advertising agencies, collectors, auction houses, and magazines full-time for over 30 years. His work has appeared in more than 20,000 publications worldwide, including National Geographic.

Here’s Randy’s Client List
His award-winning Instagram page is at @cars.randywells

See Randy’s secure archive for licensing, screensavers, prints and products where over 5,000 of his searchable images can be downloaded here:
WELLS IMAGERY

THE MAKING OF A PORSCHE COMMERCIAL

This commercial TV spot directed by Jeff Zwart is fascinating and inspiring to me. There are some very ingenious techniques used, including post-production where all the concrete was turned to sand with dust blowing off the backs and sides of the cars. Here’s the final result:

Continue reading “”

PORSCHE 918 PROJECT

Asserting that super cars will still be around in the future despite rampant restrictions, Porsche developed a cost no-object hybrid concept car. It was unveiled in Monterey last week. Here’s one example of meeting automotive regulation and still succeeding in creating a high performance vehicle (even if it’s only a V-8). Kudos to Porsche for not going quietly. Think Steve McQueen in the 21st century. Continue reading “”

PIKES PEAK IN A PORSCHE GT3 “RS”

Fellow Porsche photographer and film maker, Jeff Zwart, placed sixth overall and first in the Time Attack class beating the previous record at Pikes Peak, Colorado by 38 seconds in a GT3 updated to 2010 RS specs. Continue reading “”

PORSCHE WINS GT2 CLASS AT LE MANS

After a three year absence from the podium at Le Mans, Porsche returned with a GT3RSR winning its class at the worlds greatest 24 hour endurance race. Factory drivers Marc Lieb (Germany), Richard Lietz (Austria) and Wolf Henzler (Germany) piloted their German Felbermayr-Proton Porsche to a two-lap GT2 win over the second-place Ferrari. With this victory Porsche bested some very strong opponents, including BMW, Chevrolet Corvette, Jaguar and Spyker. The latest GT3RSR currently holds the championship lead for both the European and American Le Mans Series, and was the most successful GT race car of 2009. Continue reading “”

PORSCHE 911 GT3 R HYBRID

The Porsche GT3 R Hybrid race car debuted at the Geneva Motor Show today. This unveiling occurs 110 years after Ferdinand Porsche developed the world’s first hybrid automobile, the Lohner-Porsche. Porsche engineers decided to expand on previous designs by creating a very modern high-tech hybrid. Instead of batteries, braking energy is stored in a flywheel generator that can spin up to 40,000 rpm. Power from the generator is available for six to eight seconds following each charge, much like last year’s Formula One race cars. Continue reading “”

DRIVING AND 911 DYNAMICS

If you are a Porsche 911 fan and own one of these cars, you may be itching to make some mods or have already done so. The usual intent is to make the car go or look faster. If it’s go faster you are after, money may be better spent on learning from a professional in a safe environment. As a nationally certified Porsche Club of America driving instructor, I’m lucky to have the opportunity to learn from some of the best drivers in the business, and I continue to do so.

One of the key basic lessons taught is that traction is dependent on weight of the car, where that weight is located, center of gravity, grip (tire size, type and stagger) and the smooth application of steering, throttle and brakes. Being smooth is key and takes seat time to perfect. Continue reading “”

DRAMATIC AMERICA’S CUP COVERAGE

If you are a sailing fan, or even if you are just into technical innovation and design, be sure and check out the full race coverage and live streaming at the link below. Two groundbreaking 90 ft. racing sailboats – a catamaran from Switzerland with a traditional mainsail and jib v.s. a revolutionary USA trimaran with Star Wars technology and an enormous wing sail – duke it out on the high seas near Valencia, Spain. Continue reading “”

RACING : NOT POSING

Here’s a short Porsche Ad that’s encouraging to see. I hope this is an indication of more factory involvement in racing. It would be wonderful to see a Porsche in the top tier LeMans class again. Maybe with Volkswagen’s Ferdinand Piech running the ship, we will see a return to the glory days of the 1970 season and others like it. Continue reading “”

CHAD MCQUEEN, HIS DAD, AND A CAR CLUB NAMED “R GRUPPE”

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Chad McQueen, son of the late movie actor Steve McQueen. Chad is a very gracious man and was willing to talk with me at length about his famous father. For Porsche enthusiasts, Steve McQueen is best known for the 911S and 917K he’s seen driving in the epic racing movie Le Mans.

Unlike many actors today, he not only talked the talk, he walked it, and he did it with a strong sense of who he was. Steve (with a broken foot) and Peter Revson (heir to Revson cosmetics) led the 1970 12 Hours of Sebring in a Solar Productions Porsche 908 until the last hour. They officially finished second overall, although some feel they actually completed the winning number of laps first. At a minimum they won their class. Continue reading “”