December 2011 Porsche Club News 1 2 /11
Dear Porschephiles We come to yet another year's end, and hopefully we are wiser and our pockets heavier. Yet milestones are achieved all the time and this year is no exception. 1.0 Porsche Club President's World Convention and launch of the new 991 Carrera S This is yet another episode of Porsche getting the respective national Presidents of the Clubs from around the world in a Convention held in Cape town, South Africa. The last one was held in Germany in 2006, so it is not always that Porsche Ag indulges in something like this. Some brief notes on the Porsche Clubs. The first Porsche Club was formed in May 1952, so that makes 2012 the 60th Anniversary of the formation of Porsche Clubs. There are now 640 officially recognized Porsche Clubs worldwide with 181,000 members. The biggest Club is the Porsche Club of America with 105,000 members. PCA is an umbrella Club where all the official regional clubs are affiliated. These regional clubs have their own program but annually, they do get together for one or two big events. Newcomers in our part of the world include Indonesia, Philippines and South Korea. During the Convention, 75 clubs were represented. Being a small club, we were allowed to bring an exco member to 'assist' the president, a task which was ably carried out by Frankie Yong. It was a learning curve for Frankie, in the way how Porsche organizes drives, with strict discipline, orderliness, clarity and clockwork efficiency. We must learn from it to improve the quality of our own drives. 300 people attended in what was the '9th wave'. The earlier 8 waves were for the dealers, so coping with almost 3,000 guests was really amazing. Great work from the 1,200 personnel required to carry out the task.
The 991 Carrera S launch itself was very impressive. We were driven to an air base, and directed to a hanger where there were rows of seats elevated on a platform seating 500 people. What was strange was that the seats had safety belts on the plastic seats. (hello?). After a series of speeches and videos by the Porsche hierarchy, including Porsche CEO, Matthias Muller, the hanger doors opened and the ENTIRE platform was moved out on to the tarmac, and we were buzzed by three Hawk fighter jets in an aerobatic formation. Then a dozen 991s whizzed in, on a ground level aerobatic mode criss-crossing at high speed right in front of us in what is precision driving. The planes came by as did the Porsches over and over again before it ended and we were allowed to go into the cars to drool. The next day, we had a pick and use of one of the 167 991s there. Frankie looked for one with a ceramic brake. Smart boy. As he has a 997 Carrera, he would be in a good position to evaluate the new car. The drive to the Cape of Good Hope, the southern most part of the African Continent, was awesome as we passed fantastic roads in the country and rocky cliffs before we reached. The car handled beautifully and held the ground much better than a 997. Electric everything, this new car, which has 85% new parts. The 991 does not even have a steering shaft anymore. PDK, and engine management cuts out the engine when stopped. Now the interior it looks like a Panamera. The dynamics have improved as this 3.8 liter S on street Pirellis with 400 bhp does the same time as a 997 GT3 with 435 bhp on semi slicks at Nurburgring (7m 40s). It is also 45 kg lighter than the C2S it replaces with clever use of cojoined aluminum and steel. Testing at the race track at Killarney Raceway proved how different the new car is over the previous model. The handling is superb and can do things the 997 cannot, like braking and turning in round corners.
At this Convention, we had the honor to meet the top people in Porsche, including Dr Wolfgang Porsche, son of Dr Ir Ferdinand, and CEO, Matthias Muller, during the Gala dinner held at the Presidential Palace grounds. This is the place where the Official Presidential Palace is located, which HE President Zuma resides as well as THE Nelson Mandela once stayed. To Sandra Mayr team leader, and the whole team, thank you so much for a job well done.
2.0 Japan Exploratory drives We will be undertaking a 'Doty Plus' next year in 2012 with Japan being the most likely destination. It is time PCM move away from the present and on to the next level of destination and drives. One likely scenario would be a combination of Skylines and Fujiyama. If possible, I would like to include all five Skylines. Now Skylines are private toll paying mountain roads with bends, mountain vistas, dips, forests, cliffs. All on ultra smooth surfaces. Then there is Fujiyama, all 22 km to ascend to the 5th station. Fees? Y2000 for a really great feeling, as we get to hear the Song of Fujiyama, a musical medley generated between the tires and rumble strips on the road surface. Stay will be onsen (hot spring) lodges and dinners, kaiseki complete with yakuta (Japanese robes). The drawback is that we may be limited to about 30 paxes per trip and our Porsches cannot be shipped there. Gourmet dinners will be part of the program. Posted here are some of the 'tastings' that we had.
3.0 Resignation of Chris LC Tan We note that Chris Tan have tendered his immediate resignation to the Exco via email in November from his post as Vice President and Drive Director of Porsche Club Malaysia. The Exco will deliberate on this during the next Exco meeting. Meanwhile we would like to thank him for the tireless contribution to PCM. Drive well and be safe. Happy and prosperous New Year to everyone With best regards Key Soon Yue President