Exactly 110 years after Ferdinand Porsche developed the world’s first car with hybrid drive, the Lohner Porsche Semper Vivus, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is once again taking up this visionary drive concept in production-based GT racing: During the Geneva Motor Show, a Porsche 911 GT3 R with innovative hybrid drive is making its debut, opening up a new chapter in the history of Porsche with more than 20,000 wins in 45 years scored by the extremely successful Porsche 911 in racing trim.

The innovative hybrid technology featured in the car has been developed especially for racing, standing out significantly in its configuration and components from conventional hybrid systems. In this case, electrical front axle drive with two electric motors developing 60 kW each supplements the 480-bhp four-litre flat-six at the rear of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid. A further significant point is that instead of the usual batteries in a hybrid road car, an electrical flywheel power generator fitted in the interior next to the driver delivers energy to the electric motors.

Recently J.D. Power & Associates released the results of its Vehicle Dependability Study for 3 year old cars and the public opinion survey of 52,000 original owners ranked Porsche # 1. A great result no doubt but one years in the making. In the premium car segment, Porsche has long had a reputation for build quality but the recent move to the head of the quality standings had its modern roots almost two decades ago. In 1991, Wendelin Wedeking, an engineer by training, was named to replace Arno Bohn as Porsche Managing Director. Wedeking immediately began planning the complete reorganization of Porsche’s production methods. His goal was not only to achieve higher productivity (necessary for Porsche’s survival) but also to improve build quality for every car. In this he looked to Japan’s Kaizen Institute to help implement the concept of continuous improvement.

Dean Watt's historic "901" vintage race car in the paddock at last year's Coronado Speed Festival.2010 is upon us and that means opportunities for the performance minded—drivers and spectators. Here’s an early season overview.

Autocross (AX) is primarily a lower speed event which gives you an opportunity to learn car control skills, improve your performance driving and experience the limits of your Porsche in a safe environment. It’s a fun, low cost way to get a “rush” without abusing your baby. Locally, Reno Region SCCA will have its annual Autocross School on Saturday, April 17th at the Stead Airport. Signups start @ 8AM and the school lasts all day so bring a lunch and plenty to drink. The first “points” event will be the following day and AX events run through October (www.renoscca.com for details). Helmets are required but you may be able to use a “loaner”.

PCA related AX events are out of area with Sacramento Valley (SVR) having 5 events scheduled starting March 24th. Zone 7 has several AX events planned with the first hosted by Redwood Region (RR) at the Charles Schultz Airport in Santa Rosa on April 17th /18th. The SVR events are usually in Stockton but on May 29th the paddock at Infineon Raceway will host a Zone 7 event (and it’s near the wine country). See the links from our website (www.snr-pca.org) to RR, SVR and Zone 7 sites for additional information.

Pam & Roberto Crawford with co-host Jafar Sepahpour enjoy a little Porsche camaraderie time before the Cioppino Feed. (Photo C Kugler)A mild and beautiful mid-winter weekend visited northern Nevada just in time for President’s Day, Valentine’s Day and most importantly SNR’s Cioppino Feed. This years version, the 6th annual, was held again at the Coney Island Restaurant and Bar, a local’s favorite. While the warm temperatures enticed us to pull our little blue two seater out of its winter cocoon, we made our journey in our trusty SUV which allowed us to bring a guest, Kathy Peltier. Kathy is a northern Nevada native, who couldn’t turn down May Lou’s invite to the Coney Island.

Sue Kemper and Cam Warren join Jackie & Dan Aynesworth for a pre-dinner beverage at the Coney Island. (Photo C Kugler)As always we arrived early to make sure we could maximize our pre-dinner social time. We were greeted enthusiastically by event hosts Jafar and Sheri Sepahpour. Sheri looked like she was walking a little gingerly and she told us she had just had arthroscopic knee surgery earlier in the week. For a just a few days post op she was doing great!

Jacob & Stacy Caldwell and Curtis Fong anticipate the start of the Planning Party. (Photo by C Kugler)No brakes will be applied for SNR members as we race into 2010. Forty five Porsche enthusiasts came together to eat, drink, and plan a year filled with non stop events. Some old favorites will return and a number of new events have been added to this year’s calendar. By the time you read this the always popular Cioppino feed will have already settled in your stomach and you should be ready for a bit of the Irish in March.

Bob & Kathy McLaughlin, Sue Kemper and Cam Warren look ready to present event ideas at the Planning Party. (Photo by C Kugler)With spring arriving we will be ready to dust off our cars from their winter slumber with a Tech Session followed by the “Dust Off Tour” in April. Gilbert Dayao of Gilson Autobody will host a tech session on suspension systems. Afterwards Curtis Fong will lead the drive tour while Dan Aynesworth will have a special tour stop planned for us. Brian Lowder and Leslie Castle of Reno Rennsport have agreed to sponsor a Porsche swap meet at their shop in May, so start looking around your garage for things to swap or sell. In May and July we have two different weekend tours hosted by Sue Kemper and Cam Warren: one at a local Sierra Nevada Dude Ranch and the other a scenic trip to the California North Coast.

The head line didn’t exactly scream it but there it was: A modified Porsche Cayenne Engined Riley wins the 24 Hours of Daytona! Wow! I mean I watched the race on Speed Channel and saw it with my own, digitally enhanced eyes but come on—a Cayenne engine? Yes friends, let there be no mistake. One of the top endurance races in the world was won by a modified SUV motor. To be fair, even Porsche isn’t pushing this accomplishment as much as expected because the motor in question was prepared by Lozano Brother Porting in Texas who have been working on a derivative engine for another Grand Am DP class car (Spirit of Daytona) for the last two years. The key is that a race modified, 4.8L, Cayenne motor won the most prestigious endurance race in America.

Many Porsche purists were aghast when Porsche announced that it would bring to market a performance SUV but the Cayenne broke the mold in its class from a performance standpoint. Like the earlier 928 motor of the late 70’s, the Cayenne M48 motor came in initially at 4.5 liters with dual overhead cams, 4 valves per cylinder and Vario Cam valve timing, all of which were being incorporated into 996 and later into Boxster and Cayman (987) motors.

Dave & Linda Delbridge celebrate in their colorful Christmas sweaters. (Photo by A Strom)With a “Ho, Ho, Ho” the Sierra Nevada Region kicked off its annual Christmas Party in one of the beautiful, multi-level suites on the 17th floor of the Peppermill Resort Spa Casino. The December 5th event hosted by Debbie Dell was the grand finale for Sierra Nevada Region’s 2009 event season.

Kelly & Bob Jordan enjoy the festivities and smile for the camera at the Christmas Party. (Photo by C Kugler)The 56 attendees who took part in the festivities came from far and near to enjoy an hour of social time in a beautiful setting with night time city views of the Truckee Meadows. Afterwards a wonderful meal of roast prime rib, stuffed chicken breast or the vegetarian selection with all the trimmings was served, followed by the obligatory desert. Yum! Festive holiday and contemporary music was provided during the evening by Mark Luperini and Chris Hanson which had numerous couples out of their chairs and on the dance floor.

Cindy Wyett & Judy Costin enjoy their dinner but stop to flash those pretty smiles. (Photo C Kugler)“It’s not just the cars, it’s the people” has become the catch phrase for the Sierra Nevada Region. On November 6th fifty-one SNR members gathered at LaVecchia Ristorante to celebrate those that helped make the 2009 year a success. The Volunteer Appreciation Dinner brought out old and new members for an evening of Porsche camaraderie, delicious food and a wonderful presentation of club events from 2009.

Kathy & Bob McLaughlin before dinner at La Vecchia. (Photo C Kugler)Before the retrospective began, President Ken Hollman thanked the event hosts for their efforts and support on behalf of the club and presented each with a small token of appreciation. Craig Kugler put together the 135 picture slide show, which featured key images from all our events. As the pictures flashed onto the screen you could hear laughter and voices acknowledging an event they had attended or hosted. Craig identified each event and the event host(s) and pointed out interesting tidbits about some of the pictures.