Just Another Silver Porsche 982 GTS

Off to Spain...

Mid September and the Silver Porsche now has 3500 miles on the clock and the door rattle has been fixed. I've also fitted the smallest dashcam I could find, very easy and completely invisible from the driving position.


Luggage for a 3 week trip all goes in the front boot,along with a few spares, an old 911 aluminium scissor jack, some microfibre clothes and a pair of walking boots in the rear one, practicality box- ticked.

Off to Plymouth to catch the ferry to Santander in horrendous weather, which was the point at which I realised I'd never driven this silver Porsche in the rain. Fortunately it was raining so hard that the car still looked clean when I got to Plymouth (200 miles from home), and my pre-trip wash and polish hadn't been in vain.

No ground clearance issues getting on the ferry and we're off on time . Fortunately I don't suffer from sea sickness as there were some very green looking passengers on board as it was quite choppy for the first few hours, after sunset it got very amusing/rough and I rolled out of my little bunk a couple of times. So I went for a walk around the good ship Pont Aven... quite a few people get stuck into the bar immediately they get on board, they were definitely regretting that now. Bouncy boat & hangover isn't a good mix.
[Hopefully there's an accessible YouTube link here?]





It all calms down by sunrise and Santander hoves into view and again it is all on schedule. All in all a fun crossing, the food and facilities onboard were all good and the Brittany Ferries' staff were most welcoming.

30 minutes after driving off the ferry I was leaving the port with Passport and customs checks done. No cavity search required.

The route was westward along the coast then down the N-621 through the Picos de Europa and on to my first night's stop in Benavente (c.230 miles).

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Santander/42.977...

I'd never been to the Picos before and had high expectations, but whilst the roads were interesting they weren't much fun. Heavy rain the previous week meant numerous roadworks and contraflows were in place, and generally heavy traffic dampened the fun. But just driving MSP (My Silver Porsche, unless someone has a better name?!) is enjoyable, burbling along enjoying the scenery poking through the clouds.

The the landscape opened up, the traffic disappeared and blue skies showed themselves.



The last 40 km of N621/625 into Riano were fantastic with good surfaces, winding up and over some terrain and into increasingly good weather.
[YouTube links are just off my dashcam, so in 1 minute chunks and not of the highest quality, but hopefully might give PHers who've not been there an idea of the roads and views].



Car spotting and then the sunshine...



Lovely views dropping down into Riano,


and then keep heading south arriving at the Parador in Benaventa by about 4pm. My first stay in a Parador and it was a delight. Straight out for a walk around the town and a couple of beers. I soon realise I need to brush up on some Spanish as no one outside of the hotel has any english, I feel a bit embarrassed, but get by and don't quite die of thirst.

Tomorrow's destination is Guarda, eastern Portugal and adjacent to the Serra de Estrella National Park.

MSP has been flawless. Comfortable, quick enough and rewarding to steer.

Luggage space certainly isn't an issue. Having the frunk which doesn't get hot from engine heat is nice too, don't want to cook any wine that gets picked up along the way.

To the top of Portugal and beyond...

So onward from Guarda to Covilha and a three night stay from which to explore the Serra da Estrella, some of the best driving roads you're ever likely to leave rubber on.

Here's a Google Map link for those who like to have a more thorough look around and a route which covers a few of the suggested roads.

The Silver Porsche was perfect on these roads, nimble and with enough grunt to effectively flatten the terrain with plenty of performance in hand. And here's why you might consider going there, wonderful roads, scenery and the magic ingredient which spoils so many other contenders... not too many people.



3 truly memorable days of driving around the area, it could easily be regarded as a destination for a roadtrip rather than somewhere to visit enroute to elsewhere.
Numerous options for scenic and/or spirited drives, but this is possibly the best known piece of tarmac in the area. 07:30 on a Sunday morning, and it quickly dawned on me that I was the first person to go up the road this day, I could see my tyre impressions on the dew and sand that had settled on the road overnight.
There's also the possibility that some decent sized rocks will have migrated to the road and using my car to move them seems like a poor use of resources, mine anyway.



And a link if you want to see a few more minutes of that climb (in 1 minute dashcam chunks ) which starts from just above the treeline and climbs to Torre, the summit of the range and Portugal's highest point.

At the summit of Torre (1993m) there's a couple of gift/cheese/coffee/shagging rug shops and the remains of the radar domes. Spectacular.







Whilst that road is rather special I might have had my best driving experience on a 20 mile stretch of the N230 , that happy coming together of great weather, almost no traffic and a road which at the correct speed has a flow that brings out the best in a car. MSP loved it! Good enough that I drove it again the next day just to be sure. Up, down, sweepers, broad hairpins, in short... big fun.

Strong brakes and plenty of notice when they are getting close to their limits inspires confidence and a front end which seems to stay absolutely stuck to the tarmac whatever means that MSP flatters a hamfisted pilot like myself. Nothing wrong with a bit of self deception on occassion.

And not forgetting the evening ritual, it's important to stay hydrated. Cheers.


Next time it's off to Madrid, bull fighting and wine.

I really enjoyed watching your YouTube piece and found it a little humbling too. Very candid and all the better for it imo.

At one level a roadtrip is just tarmac and turns, but there are deeper motivations,rewards & challenges which I might have a go at addressing in my lumpy style when I eventually get to the end of this "trip report".

Here's a link to Paul's piece, well worth carving out a little time to watch.

Portugal-MAD-Let's drink...

With the delights of the Serra de Estrella done it was time to head towards Madrid and collect my drinking buddy from the airport. I had to be there at around 1pm so decided to nightstop in the Madrid area.

I'm running a slightly tighter budget than some I read about on roadtrip threads and try to keep the hotel spend comfortably under £100/night, but was finding it hard to locate anything on the west side of Madrid so then found a Parador in a town called Chinchón, underground parking was available for €10/night. That was my sum knowledge of this little town to the South East of Madrid and I was in for a wonderful surprise.

The drive over was easy. An hour of fun roads from Covilha to start the day, then onto the A5 autovia (toll free motorway) for the bulk of the trip towards Madrid. Dropping down onto the spanish flatlands of Extremadura the temperature climbed into the low 30s and the largely traffic free route meant the miles were munched. Cruise control engaged at a sensible number and some tunes on...


Google maps

An enroute stop at the immaculate services for a cold coke and a half hour soaking up the Sun's heat then onward. No fuel needed for this 300 mile day trip, the 64 litre tank and 30+mpg gives a comfortable 400 mile range with reserves. Back onto the A5, wave as I pass Talavera de la Reina, birthplace of World Superbike Champion Alvaro Bautista, and follow Waze for the unremarkable remainder of the journey.

5 hours, and the GTS shows the breadth of its' talents. An hour of making progress on the fun stuff then just settle back and mile munch. At 5pm I roll into the rather picturesque town of Chinchón, there's a prominent sign a kilometre out of town saying campervans are prohibited and the road climbs into the ancient and increasingly narrow streets. Tarmac gives way to cobbles and I park outside my accomodation, checkin and get directions to the underground car park.

Bag in room, car off to the car park, it's a gloomy dark hole of a car park and as I absolutely trickle forward into the tight entrance the rear left wheel drops into a pothole and I ground the car amidships. bks. Into reverse and no nasty scrapping noise signals that my creeping approach had only just resulted in light vertical contact, I'd not dragged the arse of MSP along a jagged concrete curb. Jump out, kick some conveniently located rocks into the pothole and the second attempt is utterly successful.
Park up and a quick inspection doesn't reveal any visible damage. The floor has a nice uniform layer of dust, I reckon this will show in the morning if I've ruptured any coolant lines.



Fingers crossed, I need a beer.

The town is gearing up for a festival/bullfight and the bullring is the centre of the town. The barricades are up and the bars are open...



text



Emergency beer located in a great spot for some people watching, and remembering the dangers of dehydration one more with some nibbles before a plateful of lamb chops and an early night.


A good early morning walk reveals that when they aren't preparing for a bullfight that the arena is used as a car park. I'd probably use that option after the previous car park trauma. I'm becoming less concerned about parking MSP, people's reactions are very positive and there aren't any yoofs loitering in this rather smart town.

Onward to the joys of Madrid traffic the next morning, the only time on my trip that the volume of vehicles reminds me of the UK. Airport parking is €4 for 2 hours, a nice change from LHR and all billed via my Fulli Toll Tag. Collect my mate and up the autovia to Soria and then switch to the N-111 for the final hour and into the city of Logrono and an AirBnB for a few nights.
Tapas on Calle Laurel, some winery tours, mini daytrips,plenty of wine and the time flies by.

Given MSP's designation it would have been rude not to nip up this road...



TBC...

I've got an Insta 360 action cam, which is a GoPro rival. It'll shoot at 4k and 60fps and the footage is clearly much better, although if you had it in the windscreen on a sunny day it would overheat at 60fps in about 15 minutes, about twice as long as it takes a GoPro to shutdown.

The downsides are they are much bigger and obstruct your view, I find them very distracting and strictly speaking they are illegal.
Powering them & mounting them also need more thought.

I took my actioncam but didn't use it much, I will think of a better solution for getting some memorable footage but the dashcam is there for insurance evidence. I've had someone drive into me before and then bugger off and without video evidence the police where useless. A couple of years ago another driver scraped my daily and tried to avoid responsibility. My dashcam footage meant he was held responsible, had his insurance cancelled, and received a nasty fine whilst I only have a No Fault claim on my insurance.


In short the footage is clearly better but they aren't really fit and forget. They serve different purposes imo.
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Glad my scribblings were of interest. It's been a bit of a trip report but I'll add some thoughts on the car more in keeping with the Reader's Cars forum later.

Apologies for the formatting issues in the previous post. No idea why and it reverts to the mess above whenever I try to fix it. Moving on...

Whilst MSP hasn't really been driven on salty roads over the winter I gave the underside a good clean. Then wheels off for the arches and to inspect the tyres. Found some "workshop damage" on a rear wheel inner rim, a bit frustrating but just cosmetic.

Removed the bits of tarmac and tar which the rear wheel barrels seem very fond of collecting. Renewed the ceramic coating on the wheels and put it all back together. All ready for the summer now.

New Rubber, we're off to Germany.

I managed to squeeze one last roadtrip into Year One's insurance mileage allowance, a quick trip to Germany and France.

A few weeks ago I did the "collar mod" on the exhaust valves. As delivered, the exhaust valves close even when you've selected them open at various times. It isn't that intrusive, but does result in some rather odd sounds as they abruptly open and close at 3800 rpm in particular. The mod is a simple way to restrict the degree to which the valves close. In turn that removes the abrupt sound changes and results in a much more natural progression through the full rev range.



Before setting off and bearing in mind I would be on the Autobahn at some point I decided for a slightly early tyre change. The Pirelli PZero were getting close to 3mm all around after 8000 miles and were definitely past their best. The front end still felt planted and secure under braking and turn in but the lack of traction out of corners was notable.

So off they came and each corner got a nice new Michelin Pilot Sport 4s. This was the night before departure so I had a quick 50 mile run and then checked that my nuts were suitably torqued and pressures were spot on. Check the fluids (none required), clean and vac and she's all ready to go.


The night boat from Harwich to the Hook of Holland is a very civilised way of travelling. A 6pm departure from home and a 3 hour drive later and I'm in the queue for the boat with a scheduled 11pm departure. A long way from being full and by 10:20 I'm in my cabin and asleep...



...all very comfortable. Arrival is 08:00 (local) and I'm up a couple of hours before that for some exercise and a fatboy breakfast, shower and back to MSP. Getting on/off a ferry never gets old, it really puts me in roadtrip mode and adds to the pleasure.

I end up being the very last vehicle through customs, but an hour after getting off the ferry I'm leaving the port. I was stopped at each border crossing on this trip, just a quick look for any stowaways! If you want to become a smuggler then get a Cayman as all the border officials were surprised that there was a front and rear storage area..."but where is zee engine?" The next 911 to pass through may have a more difficult time explaining why they won't open their rear boot.

The first night is in Oberhausen, to the west of Dusseldorf. Not the most exciting bit of Holland, but after another hour we're in Germany on the A57 on a Sunday morning. That means many fewer lorries and there's not much traffic so progress is brisk.

Autobahn driving is enjoyable. Obviously the speeds are high, but I enjoy the self discipline and mental challenge it represents along with the responsibility that high speeds bring. I confirmed MSP's declared top speed.

Oberhausen might not be a top holiday destination, but the hotel was perfect. A nice big room, comfy bed and jetwash like shower. Parking in pole position too.



It's been years since I've visited Dusseldorf so a small Alt Bier is mandatory and obviously helps prevent dehydration. Delicious...


And the next day it is onward to Trier which means plenty more Autobahn. Good conditions again, namely dry, not too windy and generally light traffic.
Deployed the action cam in an effort to improve quality from the earlier offerings, shame I've got my nose sticking into the left of frame!


There's a slightly longer version here.

That night I stayed at Kloster Steinfeld, there's a clue in the name which I somehow missed whilst hurriedly booking. It's a monastery, which means it is a little bit spartan on the food front. But very scenic with some wonderful twisty roads on the edge of the Eifel mountains.

What I wasn't expecting was the snow. Proper thick chunks coming down in the evening. It melted a couple of hours after sunrise, but the temperature had been down to -5c and MSP had a nice covering of ice.



Which was a good test of her de-icing capability as I'd brought nothing with me. There must be a heater element in the screen blower as within a minute all the screen ice was gone, the rear demisted and I moved the car into the sun and went for a coffee to let nature remove the remainder. Those toasty warm heated seats and steering wheel were much appreciated.

Some nice twisties, taken rather slowly as there were icy patches in the shade, but the new Michelins once up to temp gripped nicely on some very mixed surfaces. Track was west through Luxembourg and Belgium, across the Ardennes and just into France for a night at the Chateau Fort de Sedan.

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A very impressive building. I had been looking forward to a posh dinner here and was rewarded by being served two of the worst courses of food I can remember, I didn't make it to the end of the tasting menu and left with my glass of wine and had a bag of ready salted crisps in my room. They were lovely.

And so onto the most important part of the trip. A visit to the Thiepval War Memorial where my Great Grandfather is remembered. He'd been a fireman on the trains and joined up in August 1914 and having survived the main Somme battles was killed a week before Christmas 1916. I have some of his letters and they are deeply poignant, he was 26 and left behind two small children.

So I spent an hour in the Museum which was fantastically well presented before going up to the memorial and finding his name amongst the 73000 + who had no identifiable remains to bury. Sat there and read his letters.

The irony of turning up in a german car wasn't entirely lost on me, but I think as someone who appreciated machinery he'd have "got it".

And so to home. Across northern France, it really is dull, and to Calais. Load up with duty free, pole postion, and back home for a party. Amazing how much you can squeeze into a week!



MSP was fantastic. Nice and stable at high speed, comfortable, shrugged off the ice, dealt with the snow and continues to make me smile with anticipation each time I turn the key.

That is definitely the end of Year One ... 10 000 fun miles