» Trackday Cars

Every Nut & Bolt

DO YOU HAVE the perfect Porsche for your chosen use? You may want your car to be faster, to handle better, and even to sound louder. You may not be particularly interested in its ability to cross continents but you do want to drive your Porsche to a track and have the best time of your life when you get there. Fortunately there are specialists around, such as XS Racing, who can deliver the car of your dreams at a fairly modest price.

Many who want track day toys look to racing for clues. A race car is obviously quick on a circuit, but achieves its speed through compromise. Hard and unyielding suspension makes a car handle well on a smooth circuit, but it can be very 'engaging' on a real road where such suspension could see a pebble throw you into the nearest ditch. Worse than this, a stiff racing set-up cannot absorb shock energy. You don't get shock energy on a racetrack, unless you crash, and then you replace the affected parts, but you do get plenty of it on roads. Race suspension will transfer shocks and jolts, which can then cause breakage elsewhere and, together with slick tyres, can even damage the shell of your car, causing fatigue far in excess of the manufacturer's design criteria. This doesn't matter on a top-line race car as components are replaced frequently – even the shell may only need to last one season – but in the real world you wouldn't look to replace parts of your car after an enthusiastic trip to the shops. Compared to racing, rally car preparation focuses on making the car go fast in the real world and holding together when driven at speed on surfaces most Cayennes never see.

It is no good putting super-hard, trick suspension on a rally car if it shatters the monocoque and the back of the driver at the first pothole. Likewise, you don't win rally championships by fitting the suspension from a 2CV. A tarmac rally car is, by design, going to be the quickest thing on real roads and, perhaps better than that, it will last.

So what of the featured car? Originally, NKY 911R was a 3.2 when it left Zuffenhausen, but decades later much has changed. When it reached XS Racing it was stripped to a bare shell and dipped to remove all paint, sound deadening and any other detritus. The shell was then de-rusted. "We endeavour to secure the best-condition cars as the basis for our projects," said XS Racing Director Jon Cropper, "so very little rust had to be addressed." As the photographs show, the shell was then prepared to the very highest standard with a roll cage and various subtle modifications deemed appropriate from XS Racing's rally experience. The most obvious is the retro-style front. Every component nut and bolt was either new or significantly refurbished before finding its way onto the car.

"A SUBTLE YET PURPOSEFUL- LOOKING TOY THAT CAN BE DRIVEN TO AND FROM A TRACK AND DELIVER FUN IN SPADES"

When I first saw NKY 911R it looked brand-new. The car was actually put together two years ago, but being fresh from its pre-track day season preparation you couldn't tell that it was not a new build.

The car is purely a track day toy with the focus on lightness, handling and power. Despite its pretension of being from a more gentle time, and breathing through carburettors, everything has been chosen to achieve the stated objective – a subtle yet purposeful- looking toy that can be driven to and from a track and deliver fun in spades while there.

The look, and fuelling, may be old- school but everything else has been chosen as the best option for the job in hand. MSD ignition, Stack rev counter with inset digital speedo, and prolific use of Goodridge hoses all demonstrate the standards to which this car has been prepared. There is a bespoke zip-bag compartment in the boot for those inevitable track day oddments that you don't want thrashing around in the car; neat locks for the lightweight bonnet, backed up with a custom-made safety catch. Even the tow points have received attention. There are no nasty, projecting, screw-in rings designed to shatter your shins; these are neat, fabricated items that you don't have to remove when you leave the track.

So what of its performance? Well, I was offered the opportunity to drive the car at a Club Track Day but I turned the offer down. Never having driven any 911 in anger I felt I was completely unqualified to comment, so I secured the services of 964 RS Register Secretary Mel Spear. Some say that his head is exactly the same shape as his helmet and he always wears Nomex in bed. All we know is that he was less likely to crash the car than a number of other people I can think of.

While obviously getting the hang of the car, and scrubbing in the tyres, the car never seemed slow from the trackside. Indeed, as the evening progressed, it was noticeably the quickest on the circuit.

Clearways showed it to be light on its feet with an ability to adapt its stance with power and, while obviously compliant and quite high on its suspension, the car never looked anything but composed. Mel noted that he could cut and ride the kerbs with it while his 964 RS would be bounced sideways by such antics.

The sound was proper Porsche – a real growl, almost 917-like, though not offensively loud. Obviously ear plugs are far lighter than sound deadening. I seem to recall Richard Attwood saying similar of the 917. So is this a car for a novice? As Mel says, probably not. XS Racing Director Alistair Sutherland describes the car as '911 steak tartare' and this is very apt. Both are raw and both should be visited once you learn to appreciate the better things in life. The car's adjustable brake balance immediately points to a tool that can be best wielded with the backing of skill and experience. Such attributes will allow the driver to engage with it in such a way that real satisfaction can be found. The car is cheaper than a GT3, newer than a lot of second-hand GT3s will be, cheaper to service, less demanding on brakes and tyres and, should you get it wrong, would be cheaper and easier to repair than a GT3. Do you want the burger or would Sir like the steak tartare?

Above From the shell onwards, this is a car constructed with competition experience

INTO THE BLUE

I cast my eyes over the little blue car for the first time and the photos didn't do it justice. It was immaculate and, from my experience, well-prepared vehicles usually go well. However, I was a little bit concerned when I saw the stickers on the tyres... not only was I being let loose in someone's pride and joy that I'd never driven before, in which they and XS Racing had invested a lot of time and money, I was also having to break in a new set of tyres. Thanks guys! Despite the offset pedals, the car being right-hand drive, I instantly felt at home and completely forgot about the offset. I noted the neat clutch footrest angled to the left, a nice touch. I found the set-up fairly easy to heel-and-toe but, from personal preference, would have liked some extension on the brake pedal to get it nearer to the accelerator.

Firing up was more than just a turn of a key and made driving NKY 911R a real event: a swipe of the immobiliser, after switching on the ignition and then the fuel pump, a small depression of the throttle, a press of the starter button and... nice noise! It seemed to idle quite happily. The tight G50 'box with a long, precise lever was a joy to use, although I slipped into first and went straight backwards... Oops! Reverse is very close to first. And Melvin, don't forget to take the handbrake off! A nice, firm clutch and we were off trickling down Brands pit lane to drive 900kg of stripped-out 3.2, now 3.4 litres, with about 270bhp and a 7,500rpm rev limit.

Paddock was a wobbly course as I tried the tyres for grip and found there was not a lot. However, with everything cold except the engine, I gently started to lean on the tyres and brakes in much the way I do when warming up my Cup car, and was rewarded with more grip as each lap went by – although after the first session, I don't think XS was impressed that there were still mould 'bobbles' on the tyres! For the second session I built up the speed and started to really use the brakes. Used to the fabulous feel and servo assistance of my Cup car brakes, I initially struggled with these, locking up the front right on the turn into Druids a couple of times. There was a brake bias switch, but I left it alone. I soon found a good firm prod in a straight line nicely loaded-up the front before turn-in and sent one poor chap behind me almost scurrying into the gravel at Druids, not realising how late I was braking. The last I saw was a GT3 going right to left in my mirror, but thankfully no harm was done. For me there was one issue; at 6,500rpm it hurt my ears (having being partially deafened some years ago) and I didn't have any ear plugs. Nevertheless, changing up at 6-6,500 the car had plenty of get-up-and-go and rapidly caught up ostensibly faster cars on the straight and out of the corners.

"I COULD PLAY WITH THE THROTTLE AROUND CLEARWAYS"

It was nice of John Sims to suggest I drive this car on a 'novice' evening, if only to make me look quicker! The torque was a joy, seemingly right through the rev range, and as an experiment I drove one lap in third and the next in fourth. Despite a slight hesitation in fourth around Druids, to be expected, the acceleration was excellent. It is a real gentleman's car and there is almost no need to use second at Druids, but it did sound good! With all this power in such a light shell, the pick-up was superb and certainly made it a little tail-happy to the point where I could play with the throttle around Clearways and, as my confidence grew, control some of the faster corners with it. The car certainly wasn't skittish and felt well-planted, although I thought a little overexuberance with the loud pedal could easily see me facing the wrong way! After the second session I was pleased to see a satisfactory build-up of rubber on the tyres; at least I'd been working them a bit.

I didn't have a chance to drive it on the roads but I was assured by XS's Director Jon Cropper that it wasn't extreme in the set-up department and would probably be a nice drive at low revs with plenty of pliability in the suspension. I noted that it sits quite high and I guess that while lowering the suspension would make it look better (in my eyes) it would lose something in the comfort department, as would increasing the camber.

All in all, it is a sweet little car, no beast or monster, and I love the idea of a '60s- looking Porsche with the power-to-weight ratio of a Mk1 GT3, but at two thirds the price. It's probably not a track day beginner's car, but it rewarded smooth driving and weight transfer. It's a lot more physical to drive than I'm used to, and while some like noise, I'd have to quieten it down – although Jon did say it was usually driven with fully sound-proofed helmets and a rally-type intercom system. Maybe I need to try it again...

My thanks to John Sims for asking me to be a track tester for a day, to Steve Kevlin for the glowing reference, and to Ernie the owner and XS for trusting me with their baby.

IN XS

Paul Lawrence has followed the fortunes of XS Racing for many years, covering historic rallying for the British press. He talked to Jon Cropper about the firm and its philosophy.

WITH THREE CHAMPIONSHIP titles in six years in the British Historic Rally Championship, it is clear that XS Racing knows its way around a historic rallying 911. But that's only part of the story behind this operation that is now bringing its wide competition expertise to the track day market. XS Racing boss Jon Cropper comes from a mechanical engineering background in the steel industry. "I've always been involved in engineering, and then the restoration of many classic cars," said Jon. He worked for a specialist restoration company on vintage Rolls- Royces, Bentleys and Bugattis – at the same time running his own rally car, a Ford Escort Mk2 – and then got into the more modern stuff with Escorts, Lotus Cortinas and Porsches, building historic Porsches for rallying.

Before setting up XS Racing, Jon had chalked up 20 years in the industry, and tended many cars at historic events like Goodwood, Tour Auto and the Monaco Historic GP. In fact, he has been around in the sport since the mid-'70s. The jump to creating his own company was not a big one and in 2002 he took two units on a Chesterfield industrial estate. Now, eight years on, that has grown to Left Jon Cropper (right) and Alistair Sutherland, the men behind XS Racing, with their team four units with around 8,000 square feet; space for up to 20 cars as well as several service barges, banks of rally tyres, a machine shop and offices.

As the size of the operation has increased, so has the workforce. "It's grown from me and one other guy to five guys full time, plus me and Al." The whole crew make up an experienced and dedicated team with many years of motor sport experience. Al is Alistair Sutherland, who goes back a long way with Jon, right to their time as youths competing in road rallies in the lanes of their native Derbyshire. Back in the late 1970s, Steve Perez co- drove for Alistair early in his rallying career and Alistair was tempted back into rallying when Perez started campaigning his historic 911 in 2002. Alistair was the 1986 National Rally Champion in an MG Metro 6R4, and has run rally teams during his career, so he readily slotted into a role with XS. The Perez connection led to the first build project as XS was commissioned to put together a short-wheelbase, pre- '68 2-litre 911 for him. He duly won the 2003 MSA British Historic Rally Championship title in the car, before moving on to campaign a state-of-the art Ford Focus World Rally Car with considerable success, winning the British title. "Then we got into the 3-litre cars with a new build for James Sutherland," said Jon. And another new build took Steven Smith to the 2008 British title. Before that, Smith borrowed the XS-prepared 2-litre car from Perez to win the 2005 crown for the team. Other 3-litre cars have been built for Peter Egerton, and one now in the hands of hill climb ace Roger Moran, while the most recent, fresh 3-litre is being campaigned by Peter Smith.

This car, built with the experience gained during Steven Smith's 2008 title campaign, is being used for a full 2010 campaign by Peter (father of 16 Porschepost november 2010 www.porscheclubgb.com Le Mans winner Guy) who returned to rallying in 2008 after three decades out of the sport.

The creation of a championship- winning Porsche rally car starts with a suitable donor shell, as Jon explained. "You need to source a good donor car that doesn't need major restoration. Most galvanised Porsches don't corrode, so we look for those models. If you can find a galvanised shell, the only bits you usually have to repair are at the bottom of the B posts. "It is stripped to a bare shell, and sometimes dipped. Then we start seam welding the bodyshell and strengthening it so that it is strong enough to go through the forests. Any holes that are not used are filled in and we put in all the brackets for things like seats, roll cages, fuel pump and fuel tank mounts. The key is to not do any drilling or welding once the car is painted. Everything is done in-house except engines and painting."

One of the Achilles heels of the production Porsche is the throttle linkage, which is a rod that runs down the centre of the tunnel. "It runs through some rubber bushes and that leads to a horrible feel for the throttle. If there are any problems, you can't get at it, so we run a twin-cable system," he said.

Once the car is stripped and the fabrication is going on, they will be busy refurbishing the front suspension cradle and the rear arms. That means the suspension is ready to go on when the car returns from painting, and it can quickly become a rolling shell.

"Depending upon the customer's specification, you've got up to 250 man- hours in the bodyshell and a week or 10 days to paint the shell. Then to put it all together can be up to about 450 man- hours, but again that depends on the exact specification. About three months is a realistic timescale."

Out on events, XS provides the service crew to keep the car running and they have come to know the areas that can give trouble as the cars are pushed to the limit on gravel forest tracks or closed public roads on events like the Isle of Man Historic Rally and the Tour of Flanders. XS Racing fielded 38 entries across eight rallies in the 2009 British Championship, and accumulated a total of 35 finishes. The three non- finishes were all down to cars going off the road, so the team was proud to record zero retirements due to mechanical problems.

"With the earlier cars, the gearbox is fragile," said Jon. "First gear is very fragile on the 901 gearbox. The 915 gearbox on the 3-litre cars is a lot more robust. But a lot of it is down to the driver and you can easily go three or four rallies without inspecting the clutch. It's not a major job to remove the 'box and take a look at the clutch. We overhaul the driveshafts after every tarmac rally and every two gravel rallies. We're looking for cracks in the cages."

The 3-litre engine is not under too much stress in competition, providing the driver doesn't over-rev it, and so it will usually go a full season without any problem. At the end of the year it is common practice to do a leak-down test and a compression test. Rev limits are in the hands of the driver, but ideally no more than 7,000rpm is used on the 3-litre engine. "It's better to run to 6,500 and use the torque," said Alistair. "I try to encourage people to change up a gear rather than keep revving." Compared to a car like the Ford Escort, far and away the most common car in historic rallying, a surprisingly high percentage of production parts are used for competition cars. "The components on a Porsche are more durable than on an Escort," said Jon. "Those you put on a Porsche are Porsche parts. On an Escort you use bespoke items, but on a Porsche you reuse all the original items. You use standard front arms, standard rear arms, standard driveshafts; all the suspension, Below The company's competition experience with 911s is extensive the gearbox and the engine. A Porsche engine is already race-developed and so you are starting at a good level. There is no problem with supply and most of the items come with the donor car. With an Escort, the only bits you use from the donor car are the shell, the window winding mechanism and the heater."

"A PORSCHE ENGINE IS ALREADY RACE- DEVELOPED AND SO YOU ARE STARTING AT A GOOD LEVEL"

But historic rallying is only part of the XS story. Maintenance and servicing of road-going Porsches is a speciality and the company's track day take on the classic 911 has already received rave reviews. "There is a growing market for bespoke track day cars," said Jon. "It's a Savile Row car; we can build it to individual customer specifications. These are cars that are built for the job, not converted road cars." As well as car builds, the team's expertise is available to anyone wanting input into car set-up, corner-weighting, geometry and development for track day use.

While Porsches are clearly at the heart and soul of this company, that's not the full story. "We've got a lot of experience in a lot of cars. We're not scared of anything," said Jon with a smile.