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For our third and final day of meetings Holger took us to see Kremer Racing in Cologne (KOLN) we had already had a taster of what was to come seeing a K3R Turbo being built at Holger’s HQ, but we hadn't seen a fully built car.

  • Kremer Racing HQ Cologne
  • Kremer Racing HQ Cologne

On our arrival the owner Eberhard was in a meeting, so we had a chance to have a look around the workshop and get to see the K3R up close and personal in both road and race form, and they are super wide, and so radical, and what was extra special you get to compare to the original 935 k3 chassis as they have two original and immaculate cars sitting in the workshop, we have said it before and we will say it again, Holger absolute nailed the design, on some angles you would think the bigger 997 clad K3 is the older traditional model, especially from the rear and the rear three quarter view, incredible that these cars are some 35 + years apart yet the DNA is visible, its only the front of the car that has taken on a newer fresher look, it’s a perfect mixture of new and old, and extremely clever, I guess it helps that Holger has the original K3 imprinted, he has been around the brand all his life, and his was his dream to create a modern homage to the original creation and I tip my hat to Eberhard gave it his blessing, the cars and plenty of cash to get the programme going, Holger must be the ultimate salesman, considering Eberhard only ever saw a very rough drawing of the concept idea Holger had in his head, so credit to them both for bringing us an absolute beauty of a modern day K3.

  • Kremer 935 K3
  • Kremer 935 K3
  • Kremer 935 K3
  • Kremer 935 K3

We had the privilege to see a racing K3 and also the road going K3R that had just passed TUV certification, which means yes it can be driven on German roads, which is no easy feat.

Both of the 997 k3’s are based on cup cars, the racer has the Turbo style exhaust exiting either side of the bumper, with no front fender lights, this is a racer so they aren't needed, and it’s true to form with the original 935 K3, the road car has to have the lights, as the bumper lights don’t cover enough light in front of the car when its dark, but to be honest we prefer the double lights as well as the bumper lights, it gives the car a real super-car appearance, with our preferred centre exit exhaust and it just looks so much better, we also prefer the 997 rear lights exposed on the racer over the blacked out ones on the road car, I guess it’s all down to personal choice.

  • Kremer K3R Road car
  • Kremer k3 997 Race car

The plan is to launch the car globally, and we are hoping to build one for the UK market, as well as offer them as a build to our current customers around the world, but its early days and there is still a lot to do, like a reworking on some of the parts, like the rear quarter moulds being redone so the panel sits a little better over the wheel and tyre combination, you can rest assured that we will shout it from the roof tops once we know the plan of building the cars, what we do know is we will be involved.

Kremer K3R 997 Porsche road car

I couldn't help but think to myself sitting in the Kremer show room what Erwin and Manfred Kremer would of thought about the modern take on the old classic, and although Erwin has passed, were told Manfred frequently visits for a coffee and a catch up, what a legend.

 

So our second day in Germany and we get to go visit Holger’s father and brother, Ekkehard and Patrick Zimmerman of DP Motorsport who just happen to be one of the most famous after market tuner companies for the Porsche brand, if the name doesn't ring a bell, then I strongly suggest you Google them as they basically helped put the original Kremer 935 K3 on the map, and are still very active in aero manufacturing, our visit we were greeted by so many cars either finished or under construction, it was difficult to absorb everything in, so we will start in the showroom, and boy oh boy what a showroom.

  • DP Motorsport Germany
  • DP Motorsport Germany

The first car obviously that caught our attention was Ekkehard own red 911 light weight RS, I cannot begin to explain how good this 911 is, let’s look at the statistics, 1000 kg weight, 375 BHP from its bored out 3.5 engine, this car is just the very pinnacle of light weight, it has a 915 5 speed gearbox, which DP has modified with its own quick shift kit and it sits on a very special set of 9x15 front and 13x15 rear Fuchs wheels, this car is all manufactured with carbon fibre and carbon Kevlar, we also love the little trick bits like the lollipop seats which date back to the Kremer 935 race cars, also the rear light clusters now being housed in the rear bumper rather than the rear quarter panel … it’s all the little touches that make this car so special, and the noise is something else.

  • DP Motorsport 911 RS 3.5
  • DP Motorsport 911 RS 3.5
  • DP Motorsport 911 RS 3.5
  • DP Motorsport 911 RS 3.5
  • DP Motorsport 911 RS 3.5
  • DP Motorsport 911 RS 3.5

Sitting next to the RS was the DP 944 Cargo, which is pretty awesome, it’s basically an estate version of the 944 coupe and DP nailed the styling, considering it was built back in the 80’s it still looks fresh today, so ahead of its time.

DP Motorsport 944 Cargo

Another 964 RS in Grey also adorned the show room, light weight and for sale at €120,000 euro and as we have come to expect the quality was breath taking.

DP Motorsport 911 Carrera

My favorite cars personally that DP have built over the years apart from the 935 K3 are the DP3 based on the 964 chassis, this was basically a car built for the track which H&R made very famous around the world back in the day, on our visit they had two cars, one a green track monster in for repair and sowing some battle scars, the second was a road car, that has a story attached.

  • DP Motorsport DP3 Racer
  • DP Motorsport DP3 Racer
  • DP Motorsport DP3 Racer

They had a customer call in and see them from the USA who was visiting the Essen Tuning show, and he wanted a build exactly like the blue H&R race car but in road form, DP duly obliged, and was complete apart from so small details, the quality and paint finish were just impeccable, they really reach the boundaries of perfection, at VAD we are very quality conscious, we don’t associate ourselves with anything that would tarnish what we do, but they have left a very big impression it really is German engineering and quality at its finest as you come to expect.

  • DP Motorsport DP3 Road Car
  • DP Motorsport DP3 Road Car

They saved one of the best cars until we due to leave for lunch, we hadn't even absorbed what we have already seen and Ekkehard hit us with another little project he is working on for the boys over at Kremer racing, an tube chassis old school 935 K4, it was in the very early stages and there is still a long way to go, but the body was just a class act, if this can reach the standards of the other DP cars sitting around the show rooms and the workshop, then this is going to be one very special K4, and a very rare beast, its one we long to see when it is completed.

  • DP Motorsport Kremer k4
  • DP Motorsport Kremer k4
  • DP Motorsport Kremer k4
  • DP Motorsport Kremer k4
  • DP Motorsport Kremer k4
  • DP Motorsport Kremer k4

Next stop, were heading to Kremer Racing, we just need to reset the heart rate.

 

We start our German trip with a visit to our good friend Holger Zimmerman which was the main purpose of our visit, we have been dealing with Holger and his team at ZimSpeed for so long it’s great to finally put faces to names and see the operation up close and personal, the company that makes so many parts for us and the set up didn't disappoint, such a skillful bunch of people that all have the craft of producing aero parts in all composite materials from Kevlar to full dry carbon, I'm extremely happy knowing our parts are in the hands of such fantastic composite partners, they are mould makers of the finest caliber, with such a huge list of companies they have manufactured parts for, with Kremer racing and Zakspeed among their business associates.

  • Kremer 935 K3
  • Porsche Cayman GT4
  • Porsche 991 GT Cup
  • Porsche 996 GT2 Evo

In the ZimSpeed headquarters there were a couple of cars that caught my attention, the first was a Porsche 911 993 GT2 RS EVO, a full on track weapon that was in for repairs and rear fender widening, something the team are renown for, it seems wider is better and this 993 was certainly that, you could tell this was a serious track car and one I would have loved to of took home, it was one very special car, with all the right bits, it just looked fast parked up in the workshop.

Another build that was under construction was the third member of the all new Kremer Racing K3R 997 and to see it at the beginning stages was just fantastic, we timed this trip to perfection as we could see what has gone into making this car what it is, and we must say Holger has done a stellar job designing this K3 for a modern day Porsche chassis, it just works so well and when you see it close up alongside a genuine 935 k3, you realise he absolutely nailed the design, I guess it helped the fact that his father who owns DP Motorsport designed all of the original Kremer 935 K3 race cars, but credit where its due, the guy is a complete genius, you only have to look at this creation to see it will certainly be his legacy, and one I'm proud to hopefully be involved with in some capacity.

  • Rinaldi Racing
  • Rinaldi Racing
  • Rinaldi Racing
  • Rinaldi Racing

Another highlight of our first day in Mendig was a visit to Holger's good friend Michele Rinaldi, owner of Rinaldi Racing, which is the unit opposite, and that was a visit we will not forget in a hurry, not only was Michele a wonderful host but the toys he had in his workshop were mind blowing, with a new 991 GT3 RS, 964-RS and Carrera GT the first thing that i was greeted by, the best was to yet to follow, walking into the second part of the workshop where a Porsche 991 Cup car casually sat next to a Ferrari 458 GT3, further enhanced by a pair of Ferrari 488 GT3 race cars, one complete stripped down undergoing various checks for the new race season ahead, as Rinaldi Racing compete in the Blancpain GT series and seeing their set up, we now understand why they do so well, with their own engineering room fully kitted out with no expense spared, and we are glad to see they are still heavily involved with the after-market Porsche scene, servicing and tuning still very much a part of their business, so if anyone requires a full gearbox build or a 4.3 engine upgrade for their 997 then get in touch as we will be working with them on all aspects of road going tuning for the Porsche market.

Our next stop was the Legends at DP Motorsport, that’s a read you want to miss, catch it with our next blog post.

 
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Rose Hill Industrial Estate
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Market Drayton
 
Shropshire
TF9 2JU


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