THE USUAL SUSPECTS
Paul Davies has his say
Hauled the Carrera 3.2 out of the garage and pointed the nose towards Birmingham, the National Exhibition Centre and the (to pay respects to the sponsor) Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show. Many Porsches were promised.
Batting along the almost empty M45 that connects the always overcrowded M1 with Coventry the motor was singing away and any possible thoughts I might have entertained about selling seemed to drift away. It doesn’t get used as much as it should nowadays and I sometimes wonder if it should find a more regular-user home, but there really is nothing like an air-cooled flat six on (nearly) full song to bring you back to reality.
The NEC autumn show is always big on motor clubs. Nearly 300 were exhibiting, from AC to Yugo/zastava alongside the more usual collection of restorers, tuning specialists, tech companies and autojumblers. Porsches, as promised, were much in evidence with Porsche GB itself leading the way with a racing Boxster grid, plus promoting the ‘Porsche Classic’ brand, 20 recent model restorations all finished in Liquid Metal silver and the ‘Project 70’ swb 911 race car prepared by four Classic dealers and driven though the year by top names such as Derek Bell and Richard Attwood.
Modest by comparison was the TIPEC (The Independent Porsche Enthusiasts Club) stand where, assumedly in a nod towards Porsche Classic, all the cars were also silver. TIPEC is the smaller of the two Porsche clubs but very friendly and always puts on a good display.
Elsewhere the marque seemed to be the number one choice for many exhibitors wishing to decorate their stand with tasty carcandy. Of particular note, the show sponsors (see above) bagged a 2.7 RSR to illustrate just what was possible insurance-wise whilst Kingstown Shipping showed a lovely 356 Cabriolet presumably straight out of a container from the left hand drive world. I couldn’t work out which I’d prefer to take home!
On a diverse note, the subject of big capacity engines, and the advantages of increased torque, in the December issue of our favourite Porsche magazine had me nodding agreeingly as I passed the Railton Owners’ Club stand. The 1930s brainchild of Noel Macklin (who previously built the Invicta at his Fairmile Works near Brooklands), the Railton married a long-stroke, straight-eight, Hudson engine of 4.2-litres to a lightweight British coachbuilt body. It had a three-speed gearbox, but the torque was such you could start off in top and never thereafter change gear.
‘Ain’t no substitute for cubic inches’ is an old US saying, and Porsche – like Noel Macklin did – has always followed this adage; see how the 911 engine has doubled in size in the quest for performance. However, my old employer, the late Bill Blydenstein, believed (and demonstrated) that increasing capacity by lengthening the stroke rather than increasing cylinder bore was the most effective means to improve torque. His ‘stroked’ 2.6-litre take on the 1979cc Opel Manta engine of the early eighties was a joy to drive.
That’s enough on torque, back to the Classic Motor Show – well worth putting November 8–10 in the diary for next year, and no doubt you’ll see lots of Porsches!