Chris Harris in GT Purely Porsche
Discussion
Fellas,
I have just bought the August issue of GTPP. I don't normally buy this mag because I'm not keen on the writing. The detail isn't there at all despite the pics looking good. You tend not to learn anything new about 911s if you already know a bit about them. The mag is fine for BMW owning junior execs needing something to read on the plane. But not for PH's Porschephiles.
Now then, this month (as before) Chris Harris of Autocar did an article for GTPP and it wasn't too bad. He compared the 996 GT3 mk1 and 2, the 993 RS and the 993 GT2 (the author's own car). He drove them all at Croft. I didn't like the fact that YET AGAIN the cars were all borrowed from Specialist Cars of Malton, meaning the article becomes YET ANOTHER stealth ad for that company. I also felt that yet again, the article wasn't anything like long enough. He should have written twice the number of words.
However, Chris Harris is a proper motoring journo and he writes with more sparkle than the chaps who nomally write for the specialist car mags. He comes over as a pro, the article reads more like something you would get in Evo or whatever. I loved the bit he wrote about the 993 GT2:
"Parked in the paddock, blokes swagger around it in primeval fashion, like it was the carcass of a woolly mammoth they'd downed. They grunt and snort, crouch and point, smile and snigger. Then pick fleas out of each other's hair".
Well it made me laugh anyway. It reminded me of the blokes looking at the 3 993 GT2s at Spa earlier this year (of Vic/JC/RG).
Sad post this, I know. But I read loads of mags and crap car journalism gets on my nerves.
I have just bought the August issue of GTPP. I don't normally buy this mag because I'm not keen on the writing. The detail isn't there at all despite the pics looking good. You tend not to learn anything new about 911s if you already know a bit about them. The mag is fine for BMW owning junior execs needing something to read on the plane. But not for PH's Porschephiles.
Now then, this month (as before) Chris Harris of Autocar did an article for GTPP and it wasn't too bad. He compared the 996 GT3 mk1 and 2, the 993 RS and the 993 GT2 (the author's own car). He drove them all at Croft. I didn't like the fact that YET AGAIN the cars were all borrowed from Specialist Cars of Malton, meaning the article becomes YET ANOTHER stealth ad for that company. I also felt that yet again, the article wasn't anything like long enough. He should have written twice the number of words.
However, Chris Harris is a proper motoring journo and he writes with more sparkle than the chaps who nomally write for the specialist car mags. He comes over as a pro, the article reads more like something you would get in Evo or whatever. I loved the bit he wrote about the 993 GT2:
"Parked in the paddock, blokes swagger around it in primeval fashion, like it was the carcass of a woolly mammoth they'd downed. They grunt and snort, crouch and point, smile and snigger. Then pick fleas out of each other's hair".
Well it made me laugh anyway. It reminded me of the blokes looking at the 3 993 GT2s at Spa earlier this year (of Vic/JC/RG).
Sad post this, I know. But I read loads of mags and crap car journalism gets on my nerves.
johnny senna said:
However, Chris Harris is a proper motoring journo and he writes with more sparkle than the chaps who nomally write for the specialist car mags. He comes over as a pro, the article reads more like something you would get in Evo or whatever.:.
and he ain't a bad driver too !
gave me a passnger lap around the ring in a Noble N400 that they were testing for one of the mag's ! pretty damn quick ! so he gets my vote !
although from what I recall he writes for GTPP as a hobby (?)
niche Mag's as GTPP et al, do have to reply on garage's providing car.. that's just how it is, in order to survive...
anonymous said:
[redacted]
so what's the difference between buying a multi owner car that "could" have been thrashed by every one of its owners and a multi owner car that "could" have been thrashed by a motoring journalist????? Equally one might say that buying a car known to have been owned by a journo or a racing driver might not be a good thing - doesn't stop ex Schumacher Ferraris going for well over the odds though does it?
Iirc from his own writing, when Steve Sutcliffe was a road tester for Autocar he got PCGB's arena red Turbo 4 (911 HUL as always) to 60 in 3.8s by dialling in about 5 or 6k and then sidestepping the clutch. Presumably more than once to 'get the launch just right'. I'd never touch a car if I knew it had been in the hands of a hack, clutches or gearboxes can be replaced but even with the obvious attended to it's the sundry other bits they'll add a lifetime's use to in one week that would worry me. There's enough cars out there not to risk it.
it was side step at 5k rpm for a 3.7 second 0-60 Just got GTPP.
More cars from Malton unsurprisingly, including a slant-nose 930 with an alleged 575bhp Ruf engine, which frankly looks like a hideous expression of 80's excesses.
Then noticed it was for sale at £100k in Maltons ad - are they having a giraffe, a modded 930 (which they call a 935 with their usual libery-taking) for that much!
More cars from Malton unsurprisingly, including a slant-nose 930 with an alleged 575bhp Ruf engine, which frankly looks like a hideous expression of 80's excesses.
Then noticed it was for sale at £100k in Maltons ad - are they having a giraffe, a modded 930 (which they call a 935 with their usual libery-taking) for that much!
vic cohen said:
Disappointed by ur comment John, there was no misunderstanding...........thought our off thread email had made that very clear and we were making some sense ........................pity.
Big shame all this. Vic's Porsche is one of the best there is, period. I don't blame him for feeling pissed off about this.
A while ago I got a call from a very knowledgeable chap I know who's been at a senior level in the motoring world for twenty-five years (worked as an engineer and manager for top Formula One teams, for example). He said that he had been asked by a (very) well-known tv motoring programme to contact me and see whether I would loan the show a certain car.
I was about to decline politely, but before I could he added, "I urge you to say 'no' - the last time a friend of mine loaned these guys a special car they had destroyed the clutch by midday."
I was about to decline politely, but before I could he added, "I urge you to say 'no' - the last time a friend of mine loaned these guys a special car they had destroyed the clutch by midday."
I bought a 5 month old yellow 996 Carrera 4 ( very low mileage ) a few years ago from a certain OPC in West London - I initially had a number of engine problems which they sorted !
Ive had a subsription to GT Purely posh since it started and I was going through some old back Issues and guess what my yellow Carrera 4 was on the front cover ! and had a full road test
I was very pi**ed off I was never told about this by the OPC and I should have taken it further
tim
Ive had a subsription to GT Purely posh since it started and I was going through some old back Issues and guess what my yellow Carrera 4 was on the front cover ! and had a full road test
I was very pi**ed off I was never told about this by the OPC and I should have taken it further
tim
There's a big difference between a road test, which is unlikely to be any harder than how an owner would drive it and a performance test, in which they take figures and dump the clutch etc. Or even worse a Top Gear feature where they utterly rag the cars senseless for the cameras and return most of them on trailors......
One of my cars is an Alpina B10 Touring (based on the old E39 BMW 5 series) and it was the actual car tested and photographed in Autocar. They also have full test-data so presumably it was tested at MIRA etc or wherever.
Anyway this car now has 105,000 miles on it and it's on the orginal clutch/gearbox/diff without problems, so don't be too paranoid......
>> Edited by GuyR on Friday 12th August 14:32
flemke said:
A while ago I got a call from a very knowledgeable chap I know who's been at a senior level in the motoring world for twenty-five years (worked as an engineer and manager for top Formula One teams, for example). He said that he had been asked by a (very) well-known tv motoring programme to contact me and see whether I would loan the show a certain car.
I was about to decline politely, but before I could he added, "I urge you to say 'no' - the last time a friend of mine loaned these guys a special car they had destroyed the clutch by midday."
You must trust Evo a little bit more, then - I'm sure I have seen one of your fleet on their pages
They do seem like a good bunch tho', I have met John Hayman a couple of times and he is a top chap and knows how to drive. Both criteria for lending in my book! PS Cheers for advice re centre locks (given at the ring). Looks like 5 studs are an option now as I may have a buyer for the OZ centre lock mags.
We quite often get asked to loan cars for tv / magazine features and generally refuse. Top gear have been in touch on more than one occasion and it goes without saying that we refuse them.
The problem I have is this : When we send a car out for a TV or film job it is fully insured, often not driven or if it is driven used on the public roads and driven in the normal manner. It is cleaned, collected on a truck, delivered back on a truck, and here`s the best bit, we get paid money.
We once let a film company use some of the cars, they even filmed here over two days and having been promised a mention on the programme weren`t even listed in the credits at the end.
I`m not sure why anyone, other than a manufacturer trying to push their product, would want to see their pride and joy being slung sideways round an airfield by some loon who thinks it`s a great laugh to try and drive it to destruction, especially when you`re not getting paid a penny. Forgive me if I`m wrong but don`t television companies get paid to make programmes ? Surely if you provide them with the necessary ingredients (ie the cars), then you sould be rewarded accordingly.
Henry
The problem I have is this : When we send a car out for a TV or film job it is fully insured, often not driven or if it is driven used on the public roads and driven in the normal manner. It is cleaned, collected on a truck, delivered back on a truck, and here`s the best bit, we get paid money.
We once let a film company use some of the cars, they even filmed here over two days and having been promised a mention on the programme weren`t even listed in the credits at the end.
I`m not sure why anyone, other than a manufacturer trying to push their product, would want to see their pride and joy being slung sideways round an airfield by some loon who thinks it`s a great laugh to try and drive it to destruction, especially when you`re not getting paid a penny. Forgive me if I`m wrong but don`t television companies get paid to make programmes ? Surely if you provide them with the necessary ingredients (ie the cars), then you sould be rewarded accordingly.
Henry
I certainly have no issue with owners not wanting other people to drive their car. Some of the cars are unique and very valuable. However, if owners want their cars featured in magazines, its going to be a bit silly if the article is written from the perspective of the passenger! Bear in mind that we aren't performance testing the cars - this data is already known and has been done in great detail by the 'big' magazines. We are also not a tv show, where viewers seem to be impressed by pointless four wheel drifting. We want to get an impression of the driving experience at first hand and take cracking pictures. Its that simple.
Lastly, bear in mind that we aren't spotty 20 years olds who want a spin in your flash motor - we just want to write about unique 911s so our readers can get a sense of what they are like.
Hope that's cleared everything up. If not, any of you are welcome to e-mail me on john@9publilshing.co.ku or call me on 07740 378 539
John
>> Edited by dazren on Saturday 13th August 10:52
Lastly, bear in mind that we aren't spotty 20 years olds who want a spin in your flash motor - we just want to write about unique 911s so our readers can get a sense of what they are like.
Hope that's cleared everything up. If not, any of you are welcome to e-mail me on john@9publilshing.co.ku or call me on 07740 378 539
John
>> Edited by dazren on Saturday 13th August 10:52
I can see the headline now
"Clarkson's cars sold to un-suspecting public"
"It was revealed today that Top Gear, which is known for lunching cars like the Suzuki, borrows them from independant dealers looking for sponsorship only to be handed back a burnt out wreck that is then sold as a "good deal" onto the public."
I actually had no idea how then cars were sourced, i sort of assumed as the BBC is a responsible org, that they had loaned the cars from the manufacturer who would send them back to the beginning of the production line.
I remember the episode involving driving erratically on a beach with various powerful 2 wheel drive cars.
At the time i thought how stupid, now i am thinking what poor sole has ended up with such motor.
"Clarkson's cars sold to un-suspecting public"
"It was revealed today that Top Gear, which is known for lunching cars like the Suzuki, borrows them from independant dealers looking for sponsorship only to be handed back a burnt out wreck that is then sold as a "good deal" onto the public."
I actually had no idea how then cars were sourced, i sort of assumed as the BBC is a responsible org, that they had loaned the cars from the manufacturer who would send them back to the beginning of the production line.
I remember the episode involving driving erratically on a beach with various powerful 2 wheel drive cars.
At the time i thought how stupid, now i am thinking what poor sole has ended up with such motor.
johnfm said:true enough, and if so then...
Some of the cars are unique and very valuable.
johnfm said:...that can't be right as well, since the cars in question here are extensively modified and the stock figures may be way off
this data is already known and has been done in great detail by the 'big' magazines
johnfm said:Would it matter if the driver was Walter R or Michael S? Or real world (and not wishing to name names connected to your not-so-bland magazine) wheelsmiths like John Barker or Richard Meaden? The former put a standard 911 in a ditch.
Lastly, bear in mind that we aren't spotty 20 years olds who want a spin in your flash motor
I'd disagree with your 'essential to drive' thinking. Nobody knows a car's characteristics like its owner, and a passenger is free to soak up the sensations without worrying about nearby hedges. Somebody else finding out a car has non-standard handling can be expensive and upsetting to everyone, no matter if insurance is involved a repair is inconvenient (to say the least) and re-sale value is hit should the whim arrive.
My own recent experiences with the publication have been positive and - at least, I thought - based on a healthy and apt mutual understanding of issues like this. What a shame if some of the nation's most special 911's don't see light of day in T911 because of avoidable stuff like this.
>> Edited by turbobloke on Friday 12th August 21:15
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