The Local Petrolhead - Porsche Sportscar Together Day 2019
Porsches, a whole lot o’ em.
It’s not every day you see a traffic jam’s worth Porsches, but last Saturday afternoon (3rd of August of the year 2019 for anyone pedantic) this very loud and very expensive traffic jam formed on the main straight of the Sepang International Circuit (SIC).
The traffic jam you see here was the main event of the Porsche Sportscar Together Day organised by Sime Darby Auto Performance (SDAP) in conjunction with the 22nd anniversary of the Porsche Club Malaysia.
Based on the marketing blurb, the Porsche Sportscar Together Day is: A day fans and customers come together creating unforgettable moments that unite people together. But essentially it was a day where the who’s who of the Porsche world in Malaysia come to have a big party and show off their rides while the non-Porsche owning plebs wear Porsche shirts and gawk at the all the really really cool Porsches on display.
Editor’s note: The Porsche Sportscar Together Day is actually an official Porsche event with the most notable one being held last year in Bangkok in conjunction with 70 years of Porsche.
The Porsche Sportscar Together Day (a handful of a name if you write it too many times) started at 10 am but in typical Malaysian fashion the main event only begins at 3.30pm, that is the Porsche Parade.
Arriving at just after lunch, there was already a healthy number of Porsches sitting pretty at the Porsche specific carpark. Some gleaming like they are being prepped from the concourse while others showing sign of the drivers having enjoyed the drive up to SIC.
Being a non-porsche owning pleb, the entrance fee was RM50 (about $10 or £10 depending on when you read this article) but it did include a RM40 worth of food vouchers to be used at the food trucks around the paddock.
Side note: Yes, non-Porsche owning plebs eat at the food trucks but if you are a Porsche owner there is better food that has been catered.
Akin to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, walking around the carpark would have been enough to satiate even the most critical of petrolheads with the variety of delectable Porsches on display, but it was what was in the paddock that really catches your eye.
There were 911s as far as the eye can see. From every generation, and with every modification you can think of.
And there tucked away in the corner was the only front engined representative of the Porsche sports car clan — a Porsche 944.
Yes, there were Panameras and Cayennes and Macans but you know what I mean when I said sports car. And yes it is disappointing that there was only one representative for the front engined Porsche sports car. I mean come on where are the 928s, the 964s, the 924s…
The Porsche 944 wasn’t really deserving the attention it ought to deserve partly because of what was parked in front of it, a Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS. One of the halo Porsches. Built as a homologation special that went on to define what a Porsche is. This particular example on that day was the few cars everyone stopped and stared as everyone there, and I mean literally everyone knew this was something special.
There were also modern halo Porsches being displayed in the Paddock. There was a 991 997 GT3 RS 4.0. The swan song of the 997 range with its distinctive decal over the bonnet and sides.
Then there was a rather tastily modified 964. A personal favourite on the day because of those turbofans. And look at how wide the arches are behind. Words can’t describe how perfect this particular car looks.
Want, badly.
However on the subject of significant halo Porsches, SDAP probably stole the show by displaying the 911 991 GT3 Cup with the iconic Pink Pig livery.
It also included deckchairs so you can reenact the Alonso meme if you so choose.
Apart from looking at all the Porsche’s in the paddock and in the carpark. There were more Porsches to look at in the exhibition hall where there was a display of the 911 chronology. Seeing how the 911 got faster (and predictably fatter) over the years.
There was also the new Porsche 911 992 on display, which surprisingly didn’t garner much interest from anyone around.
Interestingly also, hidden away at the corner there was also a scale model of the Mission-E concept, which has since evolved to the upcoming (supposedly game-changing, Tesla-crushing) Porsche Taycan. Strangely not much fan-fare around it either.
Perhaps because opposite of the next to those two things was a 918 spyder, one of the holy trinity of modern supercars…
… and the LeMans winning Porsche 919 Hybrid surrounded by LeMans paraphernalia.
Of course this being an official Porsche event, some official Porsche branded merchandise was being flogged to the masses. Mostly the usual T-shirts, watches, mugs…
… and a 911 991 GT3 RS.
Parents of fledgling Porsche owners never fret too, as there was a Porsche themed play area, named Porsche Junior Experience Program (basically a glorified daycare) for the future generation of Porsche owners and drivers.
But enough of the static displays and exhibitions. You can’t really fully appreciate a static Porsche when you hear this every few minutes.
That, ladies and gentleman was a Porsche 911 991 GT3 Cup (same as the one with the Pink Pig livery) screaming its naturally aspirated lungs out on track. It might already sound loud on video, but in real life its WAY louder (with the added bonus of you climax-ing every time it goes past where you are standing gawping at it).
Apart from the GT3 cup, there were also other (comparatively slow and sedate) Porsches on track, including the new 911 992, as part of the Porsche Experience program whereby a select few lucky participants were taken for a quick spin around the circuit to fully appreciate what the Porsches can do.
The Porsche Experience program also extended to an opportunity (for a select few) to pilot either a Macan or a Cayman around a specially designed autocross circuit, which looked fun.
But I digress, and on to the main event — the Porsche Parade. Whereby 320 Porsches were marshalled on to the main straight of the SIC, apparently the largest Porsche gathering in Malaysian history.
So there they were, lining up four-abreast on the main straight. It took nearly an hour between the first (and most significant) 911s to arrange themselves at the front of the queue and for the last stragglers (the Macans, Cayennes and Panameras) to arrive on track. And in that time, being Porsche owners, sporadic bursts of revving flat sixes erupted up and down the parade of idling cars as a result of the drivers being bored of waiting. Filling the track with a cacophony of soulful baritone burbles with the occasional braaap from an over-enthusiastic 911.
With the photoshoot taken care of at the front of the parade, the convoy set-of for a victory lap around the circuit, but as these were all Porsche drivers. It was a rather fast victory lap, as even with a massive queue of cars up and down the circuit all the drivers just couldn’t resist letting their machines loose on track.
With the Porsche Parade done and dusted, it is thought there was not much else to see. Unless you went down to the pit-lane that is. Whereby greeting you there is another row of exquisite race-prepped Porsche 911 GT3 Cups. A nice accompaniment to the Porsche owners who have now took to the track for a mini track day.
There were also murmurs of a track day after dark, but we’ll let the serious enthusiasts have some fun without the prying eyes of the camera.