In reference to the Sue Jeffery & Barry Stewart 911, the car was purchased at a very reasonable price minus the twin turbo 600+hp engine and was rebuilt to an exceedingly cheap budget running a standard 3.2litre engine with a 'superchip' producing all of 260hp weighing in at 1230kg!!!!
Turboing wasn't feasible due to engine capacity weight limits at the time which meant the car would have to carry the equivilent of 10 bags of cement amounting to 250kg!
It is hard to compete with cars with exceedingly large budgets & bhp's - as the budget for the Porsche that year was less than some Supercars spent in a meeting! When sharing a garage with another Supercar on a very wet Croft meeting - they were playing with 3 laptops on their car - we were discussing tyre pressures as that was our only means of change!
The car went down to 2wd adding throttle bodies and fast road cams as these were donated to the team - this produced an engine of 300bhp still weighing 1230kg - wow and increase of 40bhp!!!!!!
As for Corsa's and Nova's - with engines costing in excess of £10k producing 280bhp and weighing approx 600kg - puts the Porsche at a disadvantage before the start.
The transmission in it's Supercar format had a standard ration 4 speed 930 gearbox with a standard H pattern, a one way agricultural drive coupling and a Volvo front diff into Saab uprights - but this lead the way for the other 4x4 Porsche that followed as it was the first one! It was competing against full WRC spec 6speed sequential with active diff's.
Surprising enough budget wouldn't allow change, even when it went to 2wd format, which yet again was up against sequential gearboxes and lighter cars - oh and still larger budget that the Porsche team.
Even with all the above problems, in its first year in the Supercars - it came 3rd in the championship and in 2wd had a class win at Lydden.
It is not the best car to Rallycross - anyone who has ever driven one will tell you that - ask Dermot Carnegie! - but it was a talking point and good fun to drive.
It will return at some point when budget and time allow, hopefully a little slimmer (it will be put on a diet along with the driver!) and it will still be as much fun - for a little money!
