Z356

I attended on June 25th the 'Start the Engines' 918 Spyder Road Show at Infineon/Sears Point race track in Sonoma, CA. To me the biggest surprise of the day was seeing David Donohue as the newly hired '918 Client Relationship Manager' on his second week of his job at PCNA! David is the son of Mark Donohue, the legendary driver who had a very close relationship with Porsche before his untimely death on August 19, 1975 after suffering a crash during a practice run for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Österreichring!

David is 47 years old and also has a distinguished career in racing! He won the 2009 '24 Hours of Daytona' in a Brumos-sponsored Riley-Porsche and the gt2 class in 1998 at the '24 Heures du Mans' in a Team Oreca Viper! More recently in 2013, David won the GX Class at the '24 Hours of Daytona' driving a Napleton-sponsored Porsche Cayman S!

http://blogs.motortrend.com/porsche-...?__federated=1

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?...uto&id=3450490

http://www.westmontporsche.com/2013-...na-victory.htm

http://www.racing-reference.info/driver/David_Donohue

David Donohue has previously worked for PAG & PCNA as a consultant & brand ambassador, usually in a public relations role dealing with automotive media on behalf of Porsche. He will continue to live with his family in West Chester, Pennsylvania and commute to 918 events & PCNA's headquarters in Atlanta. He is the permanent replacement for Daniel Eastman, the former '918 Client Relationship Manager', who left PCNA in March to pursue other interests. Melissa Witek, a 'Personal Design Specialist' with 'Porsche Exclusive' at PCNA, ably filled in for Daniel until his replacement was found. Melissa continues to be the 'Design Specialist' for 918 customers in the US, but now resumes her responsibilities for the full range of other Porsche models that require design expertise via 'Porsche Exclusive'. She will be moving from NY to Atlanta and will be based at PCNA's headquarters.

Because of start-up delays, Porsche now expects 918 production to continue until approximately the summer of 2015, with deliveries scheduled until the Fall of 2015 here in the US. David is expected to continue in his role as '918 Client Relationship Manager' until the 918 production phase is completed at Zuffenhausen and all vehicles are sold & delivered to North American customers! This is all scheduled to take place by year-end 2015. Although not an engineer like his father (Brown, Class of 1959), David is an accomplished driver whose experience in professional racing will resonate with the customers that Porsche has targeted for this very special sports car, perhaps the most daring & technologically advanced vehicle that Porsche has produced to date! We wish David success in this new position at Porsche. And I am sure the 918 clientele in North America will appreciate his involvement with this model & its marketing program in particular!

For additional information on this 918 event at Infineon, please click on the link below to read the thread on the Rennlist 918 Forum:

https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...june-25th.html

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel


In the photo, David Donohue is wearing the 918 'Acid Green' Polo Shirt!
.

A430v

Thanks for the info Eduardo! It amazes me how fast information travels through the forums, in large part due to enthusiasts like you Eduardo! I work at the dealership level and even this has not been announced to us yet!

Jimmy-D

Eduardo, you are just a wealth of information. For some one who has bee reading this forum for over a year and then jumped in a few months ago I really appreciate your posts. I also appreciate how you help quite a few of us on navigate the Porsche experience.

You are definitely an Ambassador of Porsche but you also can be very objective which I appreciate.

montoya

What a crack up- He was listed in an E-mail as back up for my adviser (Mellisa). I read it and thought, hmm can't be the David Donahue....

Terry L

He is also one of the nicest and least assuming guys that you will ever meet, IMHO.

Z356

Thanks & its amazing that this 'news' on David Donohue at PCNA is so little known!

Thanks.

I agree!

********************

Part 1

The Porsche 'Start the Engines' 918 Spyder road show at Sonoma Raceway (formerly known as Sears Point and Infineon) on Wednesday June 25th started pretty early. I was there at 7:50 AM and already a group of customers were driving a 918 at the track! Groups arrived by their appointed hour. I was the guest of a deposit holder (Doug & Judy B.) and they had an 8:30 AM appointment. The portable 'Porsche 918 Zentrum' was set up at the base of the permanent 'Audi Sportscar Experience' center, in large garage-like structure which normally houses classes for the various driving schools at the Raceway.

You were greeted by staff that checked your name against the invited guest list and gave you a name tag. A buffet breakfast was available in the back, although I didn't see many taking advantage of it. There was a proto-type 918 Spyder in 'Dark Blue Metallic' on display. It was hooked up to the portable Porsche 'electric' station as a show & tell. The staff member I recognized immediately was Melissa Witek. She is a 'Personal Design Specialist' at PCNA's 'Porsche Exclusive', with specific responsibilities for assisting 918 clients with their custom orders. After the unexpected exit of Daniel Eastman as '918 Spyder Client Relationship Manager' in March, Melissa filled in that key position until a full-time replacement to Daniel could be found. Melissa announced to me that indeed that position had just been filled by race car driver David Donohue, who was on his second week as an employee of PCNA in this new role! His first 918 road show, in fact, had been in COTA last week! David was greeting all arrivals and engaging in conversations with the deposit holders, prospectives buyers and guests, which frankly was all quite appropriate. There were other staff wondering about, but none other than David seem focused on engaging with the customers at the Zentrum*!

At around 8:45 David Donohue approached our party and told us that they were all set for us at the track. He escorted us down to the pit lane where the staff of the Porsche Sport Driving School at Barber Motorsport Park in Alabama was waiting for us. I recognized two of them - John Grooms and Cass Whitehead (Lead Intructor at PSDC & an old acquaintance)! But unlike at The Thermal Club where there was a large number of PSDS instructors at hand, this operation apparently was rather lean - I only saw 6 instructors on 'deck'.

The vehicles at the pit lane consisted of four 911 Turbos and two 918 Spyders. Some of the Turbos appeared not to be S models (e.g. the 'White' one for sure was not an 'S' but the 'Basalt' was an 'S'!). One was even a Cabriolet! A 'blue' Turbo coupe was use to lead a 'silver' Turbo coupe for the guest drivers to get used to the track they would later drive with their 918! That was the first 'exercise'. The two guest drivers (that was the limit of the invitations for deposit holders) would each take turns driving the 'Silver' 911 Turbo, always led in front by the 'Blue' 911 Turbo with an instructor giving driving line tips via a portable 2-way radio. I accompanied the instructor on the passenger seat of the 'blue' Turbo. It was interesting to see him drive the entire two laps of the track-learning 'exercise' at speed with only one hand at the wheel, while holding the 2-way radio with his other forelimb! Pretty darn impressive driving....if you ask me!

End of Part 1.

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

*This is not my first 918 rodeo. And I learned from the first minutes of my last event at The Thermal Club in November that unless you sought out a Porsche rep and engaged him or her in conversation, they were perfectly content with leaving you alone! From a marketing point of view (in my opinion), this is but a missed opportunity and a major 'fail'. PCNA needs to make more effective use in their expensive 'dog & pony shows' to actually engage with the clients & prospects that are attending these special events! This perceived aloof 'attitude' by most of the staff manning these Porsche events is also 'felt' at the elaborate 'Porsche Zentrum' that PCNA puts on at The Quail Lodge during the 'Historic Racing' week in August. I hope there is an 'attitude adjustment' correction in the near future if PCNA hopes to make more effective use of their marketing expenditures and make their guests feel more welcomed & informed! Just my impressions which I hope is taken as constructive criticism...but I'll now get off the soapbox!

Z356

The exercise to learn the track on 911 Turbos for the deposit holders, prospects and/or guests invited to drive the 918 Spyders at Sonoma Raceway made sense because Porsche had elected to use a 'slower' line in the back straights. From turn 8A, the organizers of this Porsche event selected to use the outside alternate portion of the track which led to a chicane at turn 9a which forced the driver to slow down the vehicle to almost a crawl, prior to resuming the normal track to turn 10 and the big turn at 11, which leads to the front of the grandstands & pit lane! See attached diagram of the track and the overhead photo of the Raceway (1 & 2). This is the first time I have seen the chicane at turn 9a used at any driving school I have ever attended at Sonoma Raceway! Not even the R8's at the 'Audi Sportscar Experience' based here at Sonoma Raceway impose this 'tortuous' route on its participants. But seeing the organizers choose that route gave me, and anyone else familiar with the track, a realization that Porsche objective at this road show was 'Nice & Easy'. They were not going to take any chances with their precious 918's with this field of invited drivers at Sonoma Raceway!

Two 918 Spyders waited at the pit lane for the drivers of the 'Silver' 911 Turbos which by now had completed two laps each learning the track, always with the 'Blue' 911 Turbo with a Porsche Sport Driving School (PSDS) in the lead. The first 918 Spyder was Vin# WP0CA2A16FS800134. This was a production car (#134). It appeared to be 'Liquid Metal Silver' (although I have not yet confirmed its color) and had an attractive 'Mocha Brown - Orange' interior. It was not a Weissach and had standard Spyder wheels. However, it sported the optional roof, rear view mirrors & rear spoiler in exposed 'carbon fiber' - a very nice look!

Correction: David Donohue has informed me today that the exterior color of 918 Spyder #134 is the optional 'Liquid Metal Chrome Blue'.

End of Part 2a

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

Z356

The second 918 Spyder was Vin# WP0CA2A10FS800128. I don't think this was a series production car, although I failed to photograph its official markings inside the cabin or outside in the back*. The color appeared to be 'GT Silver' (not yet confirmed) with a beautiful 'Garnet Red - Silver' interior. It was also not a Weissach, but it did sport the lighter (and expensive) magnesium wheels.

Correction: David Donohue informed me today that the color of this 'silver' 918 Spyder is actually 'Rhodium Silver'. That makes me 0 for 2 at the batting plate! Feel today just like Obama felt yesterday at the Supreme Court!

The designated drivers (two - deposit holder & his guest) were told to first get in the passenger seat of the 918 Spyder. In the driver seat was an instructor from the PSDS. One of the instructors was veteran driver Cass Whitehead, who is the lead instructor at the Porsche Sport Driving School based at Barber Motorsports Park just outside Birmingham, Alabama. A few years ago I met Cass at a Porsche road show at Laguna Seca and I asked him about a model I was consider buying at the time - the then new Boxster Spyder. Cass, who has a distinguished career as a professional driver, told me that the one of the few new Porsche models that he seriously considered buying for himself was a Spyder! He was that impressed with it. I went ahead and custom ordered a '12 Spyder and had a wonderful year with this vehicle. Ever since I often contact him when I want an opinion on a model or a particular option related to a Porsche under consideration. Cass was also my instructor at the 918 test drive at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, CA, back in November of 2013.

Ahead of each 918 Spyder was positioned another 911 Turbo. 918 Spyder # 134 was mated to a 'White' 911 Turbo Coupe. The other 918 Spyder was mated to a 'Basalt Black' 911 Turbo S Cabriolet (with a stunning two-tone Garnet Red/Black leather interior!). Each of these 911 Turbos was driven by an instructor from the PSDS, including at those sessions when the instructor was driving the 918's to teach the guest drivers what to do at the track! The only time I saw a 918 Spyder go 'solo' at speed on the track was at the end of my group's session when the instructor of #134 generously offered the wife of the guest driver in our group a demo lap at the track!

The instructors drove the 918's for a couple of laps to explain the operation of the 918 and the various 'modes' of operation - E-Power, Hybrid, Sport Hybrid and Race Hybrid. The final mode - Hot Lap - is usually not allowed to be used at these road shows...but perhaps some lucky few were able to push that magical red button! Porsche calls their version of the famed Ferrari manettino by the totally unsexy name of 'map switch'. Leave it to the Germans to be...well, Germanic in their usual technical way. The instructors made the point of leaving the pit lanes in their 918 Spyders solely on E-Power, gliding silently at first but then quickly hitting the maximum of 93 mph by the time they cleared the pit lane and started up turn 1 & past the 'Go Pro/Toyota/Sunoco' pedestrian bridge! Right after that you heard the roar of the mighty 4.6 liter V8 as it added its powerful 608 hp gasoline engine to the mix! The two electric motors that started the locomotion provide aggregate power of more than 286 hp...with a maximum torque of 350 lb.ft that comes 'on' almost instantaneously. In total, the 918 Spyder has at least 887 hp and 944 lb.ft of torque at its disposal!

Soon, the caravan was back and the occupants switched places. Now the guests were taking the 918 Spyders out for their two scheduled laps around the track, accompanied by their instructors as passengers and their Praetorian guards riding shotgun in the 911 Turbos up front! Interestingly, NONE of the guest drivers left the pit lane in E-Power! Although Porsche has carefully designed this Hybrid system to, in part, please the Green Party in Germany and their fellow eco-travelers worldwide (including our recent past & present government here in the US), it was clear that on this Wednesday morning at Sonoma Raceway NOT ONE deposit holder or prospective buyer was interested in trying the 'silent treatment' of pure electric power! These folks apparently do not worship at the same altar as the politically correct Prius/Tesla crowd...and that accelerator pedal went past the kick-down switch less than a micro-second after they started forward motion from pit lane! Hallelujah brother!

And just a few minutes later, the caravan of 911 Turbo and the 918 Spyder was back at pit lane. The test drive for this group was finished. It appeared to be over in a 'flash'...but that is to be expected when one is at a track and at the wheel of this technological wonder from Porsche called the '918 Spyder'! Get one...if you can.

End of Part 2b

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

*For the record, the proto-type 'Dark Blue Metallic' 918 Spyder that was on display at the Porsche Zentrum at Sonoma had Vin # WP0CA2A14FS800925. And the proto-type 918 (don't know if it was working model or not) that I observed on display at the Porsche Zentrum at The Thermal last November had Vin #WP0ZZZ91ZES800970. I failed to record the Vin # of the Weissach we drove at the track. My bad.

A430v

Nice report!

Eduardo: Were "original" Carrera GT owners (who still have the car) invited to this or solid depositors only?

Z356

I am not privy to that information for this particular Sonoma event in total. But my group consisted of a deposit holder and his invited guest as the two drivers...and me & their wives as the support crew! In this particular case, the deposit holder happens to be a 'Carrera GT' owner. But that may be the exception and not the rule for current 918 deposit holders!

There was an interesting back & forth at this forum re: who got invited to The Thermal Club for that particular one week roadshow last November, the first event where deposit holders & hot prospects could drive the 918! You can read it by clicking on the link below:

https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...-it-seems.html

This thread is where I wrote my first post at this 918/Carrera GT forum. And interestingly, when I got to The Thermal Club for the 918 test drive a few days later, Daniel Eastman (then 918 Client Relationship Manager) took me aside and told me that he had read the entire thread from start to finish! I asked him if anything I wrote in particular was incorrect or objectionable to him. He simply said 'No' and that was the end of that particular conversation! I found interesting that he cared about what was being written in the forums about his program...and I thought it refreshing & pretty smart for a manager with a position like his at PCNA! I come from a background of writing extensively about 'Porsche Exclusive' in the internet. Some of my individual threads have now over 112,000 individual views! Yet the folks that are managing the 'Porsche Exclusive' operation in the US tell me proudly (& often) that they NEVER read anything in the internet written by me or anybody else because they don't have time to waste! And yes, they are equally as good in marketing their 'Porsche Exclusive' program here in the US as they seem to be in mastering 'diplomacy' & 'public relations' for the Porsche brand!

But back on topic. I know for fact that Carrera GT owners were indeed a prime target for the list of prospects that was drawn up for the first 918 'dog & pony' show back in 2010. That event took place at the Monterey Jet Center in August, beginning on the 10th. It was in the midst of the annual Monterey Race Week 'Historics' and Pebble Beach Concours. August 10th was the day my friend Doug & his wife Judy were invited to attend the private showing of the first 918 'prototype' at the Jet Center. And Doug was asked to attend because he was indeed a Carrera GT owner! It worked as planned too! Doug signed up there & then...and now are about to get their 918 airfreighted from Stuttgart later this month! This is almost four years after that first 'memorable' 918 event in 2010!

http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/20...shes-eardrums/

http://www.automobilemag.com/feature...?__federated=1

It is fascinating to read the early reports of what was thought would be the specifics of the 918 back in 2010. They have come a long way, baby!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel