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Shavin’ seconds: Porsche 911 GT3 goes 12s faster on its Nurburgring record

4 May, 2017

The news is rather ironic, considering that Andreas Preuninger, head of Porsche’s GT road car department, was quoted not a month ago claiming that Porsche was not obsessing over Nurburgring lap times … now their new 911 GT3 has managed to lap the ‘Ring with an impressive 12.3 seconds to spare over the previous model.

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Equipped with the standard PDK transmission, rear-axle steering, optional carbon ceramic brakes, and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, the new GT3 was driven by Porsche test pilot, Lars Kern.

Setting a time of  7 minutes 12.7 seconds, it’s among the fastest to ever run the famous German track and represents performance improvement for a car that weighs roughly the same as its outgoing model and makes marginally more power. Significant credit then goes to aero changes between the two that has obviously made a big difference.

However, it’s not the fastest Porsche to tackle the ‘Ring; that is honour is held by the 918 Spyder — cranking out 887hp — which ran a blisteringly 6 minutes 57 seconds to holdthe production car world record up until recently.

But don’t take out word for it, watch as Kern slays the ‘Ring in 7 minutes 12.7 seconds

ROTARY CHIC

6 September, 2024

Kerry Bowman readily describes himself as a dyed-in-the-wool Citroën fan and a keen Citroën Car Club member. His Auckland home holds some of the chic French cars and many parts. He has also owned a number of examples of the marque as daily drivers, but he now drives a Birotor GS. They are rare, even in France, and this is a car which was not supposed to see the light of day outside France’s borders, yet somehow this one escaped the buyback to be one of the few survivors out in the world.
It’s a special car Kerry first saw while overseas in the ’70s, indulging an interest sparked early on by his father’s keenness for Citroëns back home in Tauranga. He was keen to see one ‘in the flesh’.
“I got interested in this Birotor when I bought a GS in Paris in 1972. I got in contact with Citroën Cars in Slough, and they got me an invitation to the Earls Court Motor Show where they had the first Birotor prototype on display. I said to a guy on the stand, ‘I’d like one of these,’ and he said I wouldn’t be allowed to get one. Citroën were building them for their own market to test them, and they were only left-hand drive.”

Tradie’s Choice

30 August, 2024

Clint Wheeler purchased this 1962 Holden FJ Panelvan as an unfinished project, or as he says “a complete basket case”. Collected as nothing more than a bare shell, the rotisserie-mounted and primed shell travelled the length of the country from the Rangiora garage where it had sat dormant for six years to Clint’s Ruakaka workshop. “Mike, the previous owner, was awesome. He stacked the van and parts nicely. I was pretty excited to get the van up north. We cut the locks and got her out to enjoy the northland sun,” says Clint. “The panelvan also came with boxes of assorted parts, some good, some not so good, but they all helped.”