I never watched Speed Racer as a kid. I don’t think it made much sense to me since I think I expected more of a real race and less… weird stuff…

But, a lot of people like it so, as Hollywood does, they make a movie out of it. But… Instead of making it “normal”, it’s pretty baked. In fact, it’s completely baked and I might even watch it in spite of the terribly weird trailer. You have to watch it, it’s, um, odd.

I’m a huge car nerd. Not a nerd for huge cars, you know, I like cars a lot and could (and would) bore you to tears with the minutia of car details. To be clear, I like particular cars and particular kinds of cars and to go into detail would be boring (see above) but suffice it to say, I like interesting performance cars.

“Ah” you say, I like sports cars. Well, yes and no. What I consider a sports car has more to do with actual performance than pure horsepower, torque, 0-60 times or lateral Gs. I’m about aesthetic and dynamics. Two cars that you might not think go together are the Miata and the Elise. Both cars with a decent set of tires will tear up a track* (road course, not those silly ovals) better than your off-the-shelf fakers like the Mustang GT. Sure, it sounds like a fast car, and at a red light it will make smoke and noise, but it’s not a sports car. In fact, it’s name gives you a hint about what it’s actually about, it’s a GT (Grand Tourer) but without any of the Grand or Touring part. A real GT would be an Audi S5, Mercedes CLK63 and possibly an M6. And yes I do like those although the M6 has lost the plot between the silly BMW design language and it’s massive weight.

When it comes down to what I think a real sports car is, I’ll always point to the 911 with some love for the M3, Ferrari F430 as well as the VW R32 which is fast as stink. So, yes, I’m a bit all over the place and I could go on and on.

But, since this is a passion of mine, I’ll go into the weeds even more. When it comes to owning a sports car you can fall into a number of areas. Most people just buy the car for status or that they actually know a little about the car but that’s it. They just drive it around. Groceries and all* (I lug groceries in my car…). Then there are the enthusiasts who will modify the car a bit and get a little sideways on the weekends. Moving into more serious territory you get people who actually race their cars and attend track days and DE events. These people know off hand their tire pressures (for each tire) as well as treadwear ratings, spring rates, sway bar thickness and surely, wheel horsepower since they just dyno’d the car.

That’s me and I got there like most people do, a little at a time. You do get to a point where your daily driver starts to complain a bit and you feel bad beating up on it over a good season of autocrosses, DEs and track days. You also have to drive this car to work so your eyes wander a bit “I should have a car just for this stuff”. See, you can’t call it a race car because then you have to be that guy (or girl) who wants their own race car which could come off as silly. But it’s not.

The rub is, you tend to want a race car that is of the marque you like so in my case, a Porsche 911 race car, and yes, I feel silly saying to people that I want to keep my car in good nick so I’m getting another one to play with. But it’s true. I do need another one. And a trailer to carry it. And a truck to pull it. Oh lord, this is starting to sound expensive. Oh, wait, it is.

Still, I can dream, and plan, and dream some more. But I will, in the not too too too distant future have a 911 race car. That doesn’t stop me from shopping. The problem is, I love all race cars* (road race cars, not that silly NASCAR stuff) so I get all misty when i see one on sale. But every once in a while someone has one for sale that when you see it, it’s lust. A scary, maniacal, tortured lust that is the most depraved of coveting. Today I felt that.

This particular 963 is a Carrera 4, built in Weissach as an RS. Porsche does not use the RS name lightly. If it’s an RS, it’s a proper track car and this is a special, rare, proper race car in stunning condition and pretty much ready to drop off trackside. I think it needs a set of R-compounds…

Some people dream of Lamborghini Gallardos, Bentleys, even Ferraris. I dream of 15 year old 911s with stripped interiors. The funny thing is, I couldn’t leave this in the garage and only take it out for track time. I’d throw some street tires on it and take it grocery shopping.

Lovers of P-cars know that the GT-x versions of their beloved 911 are the pure embodiment of what a performance car is. Well, to be perfectly clear, the RS and RSR Cup Cars are even more so, but most of them never see a license plate. So, we’ll live out our fantasies of Rolex Series victories (or just not being flat last) in a street legal version. While the GT (or GT1) was a true exotic and ended up as a 400K+ garage queen for the billionaire set, the GT2 and GT3 (more so the GT3) have always been the “real” track and street cars. People who baby their GT3′s should be beaten with a stick, it’s MEANT to wear Hoosiers on Sunday.

It’s been a while since the last 996 version of the GT2 has been on the radar, freaking us out with it’s scary HP numbers and scarier price tag. But recently there was a grumble and then, like that, it’s here. Or, at least the brochure which is as close as most of us will get to a GT2. At an estimated street price of $200K, these may not fly out of the showrooms by pre-sale like the Mercedes CLK Black Edition or the 997 GT3-RS which sells on eBay for 50K more than sticker.

Is it worth it? These cars are for 2 kinds of people, Porsche fools (like me but with money) and race teams and I think most teams will work directly with Weissach to get their race cars.

This will be the first true 911 sold to the public that is set up to go, in the right conditions, over the 200 mph mark. I guess the Veryon made 200 boring so now Porsche doesn’t feel like it’s trying to compete since 250 is the new 200…

When it comes down to it, 911′s aren’t intended for flat-out speed records, that’s not the purpose of the vehicle. They were meant to be sports cars that perform well on road courses and twisty country roads. Is the 204 number impressive? Yes, but, it’s not actually important in any way. Although it might sound like blasphemy, going 200 is kind of dumb. It’s a simple way to push a car to the limit while going fast enough that there is zero chance you’d survive if something went wrong and the car went out of control. There is plenty of fun to be had under 120 and the GT2 will be far more impressive doing it’s thing at those speeds rather than fighting the wind at the top of 6th gear.

There has always been a facination with Lombard street in San Francisco. It’s steep winding route is pretty unique among roads in the US and many people have performed “stunts” on it but I dont believe I remember hearing of any actual race being held there.

UNTIL NOW! It takes a real genius to look at that road and come up with “this is where we will hold a grand big wheel rally”. That’s big stuff.

Had I run, I may have gone with some Kart tires in back and a 20″ BMX vert-ramp slick up front although with the moisture on the track street, a bit of tread depth might be good… I wonder if my local bike shop has a tire shaver… Hey, its is a race after all…

Enough from me, the clip speaks for itself.

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