2017 Porsche 911 R Goes Rallying with "Amateur" Drivers at Col d'Aspin

While back then we only brought you the four lessons, we're now back with more details. As explained, this was all a marketing stunt, but the implications go a bit deeper than we expected, as revealed by the details behind one of the two "amateurs."

The two drivers who appear to be in dire need of car manhandling advice have actually been playing with Neunelfers at the limit for years. One of them is called Elvan (you'll find him at the bottom of the page, in the pic on the right) and, as the official 911 R microsite explains, he has a rallying background.

However, we want to focus on the other man who got seat time in the 911 R at Porsche's Weissach testing ground, namely Jack. Porsche doesn't mention the driver's full name, and there's a reason for that.

This is Jack Olsen, the guy whose story went viral back in 2014 (not the first time his Porsche adventures made it in the news) after we all learned he had turned lapping Willow Springs in his 1972 911 into a life goal. The man has been hitting Willow Springs in his daily-driven Neunelfer for 16 years now, constantly modding his car and working to improve his lap time.

Nevertheless, we want to return to the end of the adventure mentioned above for now, but not before we give credit to the Pelican Parts forum for providing a space for Jack to tell his tale.

As Porsche mentioned from the first episode, the aim of the stunt, other than the obvious marketing point, was to see the 911 R entering a rally stage. Well, the carmaker will release the full story later today, but before that happens, we want to give you a preview supplied by Jack.

In the clip below, the man is shown tackling a rally stage in France. As you'll be able to see in a Porsche-supplied image found below, we're dealing with a hill climb included in a route going from Arreau to Col d'Aspin.

It all has to do with the 1969 Tour de France Automobile race, a 3,100-mile (5,000 km) adventure that saw the classic 911 R taking the win. The two "amateurs" mentioned above were joined by Patrick Long and an unnamed Porsche-appointed pro driver in their quest to tackle the French stage, and you can get a taste of it below. We've also added a second clip at the bottom of the page, showing Jack's Willow Springs saga.

Before you move on to enjoying the clips, though, you might want to check out a few of Jack's 911 R driving impressions, which he shared on the forum mentioned above: "Compared to the early 911 I'm used to driving, it's a very sure-footed car [the 2017 911 R]. But compared to the GT3 RS, up at speed, it's a lot more lively and engaging. The differences from aero are only going to be a factor in faster corners. But the tire-size differences and (possibly) rear-steering-programming differences give it a nimbler feel even in medium-speed corners. It's something you can toss around more easily than the GT3 RS (although again, all things are relative - my 2400-lb 1972 is another animal altogether)."