I’ve gotta ‘ave Porsche’s in my life.
Discussion
... as per the title, what was it that got you to that, “I gotta have Porsche’s in my life” moment?
Me? Well, imagine a spotty eighteen year old, a gofor , with a shiny new driving licence: budding Mirling Stoss; deffo not a Stirling Moss. Imagine if you will, an ancient Austin A40 van: column-change: 3-speed box: slipping clutch: 50bhp, but probably only 40 knackered horses on tap: marginal drum brakes: van overloaded with drums of paint, sliding around in the back. Now, picture beautiful empty rolling country roads with said teenager giving the A40 the proverbial nuts: a real b***s out jobby
. Nothing was going to overtake this driving god, so he no looky in the rear view mirror for... hours. Then suddenly, like Toad of Toad Hall when he first saw a motorised vehicle - wallop - a purple (Aubergine?) 911 came careening past at twice the speed of sound. Smitten! The birds stopped singing & the Earth skipped a rotation - gotta get me one of those.
Not a bad dream for someone earning diddly-squat at the time, & definitely feeding at the shallow end of the trough. Took me ‘til age thirty-five to get my mits on a Porsche - a brand new silver 944 - magic; 911s followed in due course & the rest may be familiar to a lot of you, here on Pistonheads - addiction. Oh, I’ll admit, I’ve been promiscuous, who wouldn’t be? I’m no angel. A Ferrari here; a Quattro there but I’ve always returned to my first love. Must get an early 911 at some point; a purple one, me thinks.
Over to you all. What’s your story?
Me? Well, imagine a spotty eighteen year old, a gofor , with a shiny new driving licence: budding Mirling Stoss; deffo not a Stirling Moss. Imagine if you will, an ancient Austin A40 van: column-change: 3-speed box: slipping clutch: 50bhp, but probably only 40 knackered horses on tap: marginal drum brakes: van overloaded with drums of paint, sliding around in the back. Now, picture beautiful empty rolling country roads with said teenager giving the A40 the proverbial nuts: a real b***s out jobby
. Nothing was going to overtake this driving god, so he no looky in the rear view mirror for... hours. Then suddenly, like Toad of Toad Hall when he first saw a motorised vehicle - wallop - a purple (Aubergine?) 911 came careening past at twice the speed of sound. Smitten! The birds stopped singing & the Earth skipped a rotation - gotta get me one of those.Not a bad dream for someone earning diddly-squat at the time, & definitely feeding at the shallow end of the trough. Took me ‘til age thirty-five to get my mits on a Porsche - a brand new silver 944 - magic; 911s followed in due course & the rest may be familiar to a lot of you, here on Pistonheads - addiction. Oh, I’ll admit, I’ve been promiscuous, who wouldn’t be? I’m no angel. A Ferrari here; a Quattro there but I’ve always returned to my first love. Must get an early 911 at some point; a purple one, me thinks.
Over to you all. What’s your story?
I was a complete sceptic on Porsches. I sneered in contempt at them until a bloke at work bought a cayman and let me drive it.
BUT - I`d always adored the original whale tailed 911 turbo for its looks, a proper bedroom wall poster car and (a bit like the Countach) but never really got the point.
I was soooo wrong
BUT - I`d always adored the original whale tailed 911 turbo for its looks, a proper bedroom wall poster car and (a bit like the Countach) but never really got the point.
I was soooo wrong
It was the whale tail 911 that hooked me too but I didn't gel with the later 911's in the same way, everything changed when I first saw pictures of the Cayman and I knew that was the Porsche for me, I've had my dream car for seven years now and couldn't be happier with my 987.2 S.
On a sour note sadly there is nothing in the current Porsche range that interests me, the 911 is massive and the Cayman its not firing on the full six cylinders anymore...I think I'll grow a beard and start sneering at all the new stuff.
On a sour note sadly there is nothing in the current Porsche range that interests me, the 911 is massive and the Cayman its not firing on the full six cylinders anymore...I think I'll grow a beard and start sneering at all the new stuff.
When I was young I had a clapped out 911S but the condition was so bad that it was not a really good intro to Porsche.
Decades passed until 2007 when I read a Chris Harris review of the 997.1 RS. Never heard of Harris OR the car.
Still, I was intrigued and had to have one. A year later I got one and still have it as well as some of its successors.
Decades passed until 2007 when I read a Chris Harris review of the 997.1 RS. Never heard of Harris OR the car.
Still, I was intrigued and had to have one. A year later I got one and still have it as well as some of its successors.
It’s seems starkly apparent, for a lot of the reasons given in the replies, that a Porsche addiction is rooted in prepubescent ( with some exceptions), not to say rising testosterone influences. Now those are all predictable marketing feeding protocols, but what is it that keeps the addicted.. err, addicted? What maintains the addiction into maturity & beyond (sorry, Buzz-Lightyear)?
Right, my take is that the constant development of the 911 brand offers & maintains a crucial link to the past. A 911 from one’s youth has been smoothed/honed/modified, but, crucially, & in essence, it connects me with the past - my past: my history!
Other opinions/theories/put downs have equal, or greater, validity
.
Right, my take is that the constant development of the 911 brand offers & maintains a crucial link to the past. A 911 from one’s youth has been smoothed/honed/modified, but, crucially, & in essence, it connects me with the past - my past: my history!
Other opinions/theories/put downs have equal, or greater, validity
.Early 2009 seeing a 2 year old nice spec low mileage Guards red 997.1 C2s going through a BCA Bank of Scotland repossession sale struggling to make just £35k following the recent financial meltdown. Bought the car then and there.
Never again would Carreras be that cheap...relatively.
Planted the 911 seed.
And whilst there are many interesting and rapid contemporary cars around especially atm, many are too detached and have grown way too lardy and wide, and whilst a 911 has put on a few pounds, no car imo interacts and rewards you quite like a recent 'manuel' GT3 can.
Never again would Carreras be that cheap...relatively.
Planted the 911 seed.
And whilst there are many interesting and rapid contemporary cars around especially atm, many are too detached and have grown way too lardy and wide, and whilst a 911 has put on a few pounds, no car imo interacts and rewards you quite like a recent 'manuel' GT3 can.
av185 said:
Early 2009 seeing a 2 year old nice spec low mileage Guards red 997.1 C2s going through a BCA Bank of Scotland repossession sale struggling to make just £35k following the recent financial meltdown. Bought the car then and there.
Never again would Carreras be that cheap...relatively.
Planted the 911 seed.
And whilst there are many interesting and rapid contemporary cars around especially atm, many are too detached and have grown way too lardy and wide, and whilst a 911 has put on a few pounds, no car imo interacts and rewards you quite like a recent 'manuel' GT3 can.
Too right, mon amie!Never again would Carreras be that cheap...relatively.
Planted the 911 seed.
And whilst there are many interesting and rapid contemporary cars around especially atm, many are too detached and have grown way too lardy and wide, and whilst a 911 has put on a few pounds, no car imo interacts and rewards you quite like a recent 'manuel' GT3 can.
For me it was 1972 standing on the straight road running from Headley Down to Grayshott and waiting for the school bus. The highlight was watching Dennis Thorne a local amateur racer and car modifier come blasting onto the straight at huge speed on the school run. He was driving his green 911 targa and seemed set on achieving max revs in all gears! He had quite a collection in those days which as I recall included a Lotus Cortina with the reg number DWT10. It was my one tangible connection to real race orientated machinery as my dad drove a 1.3 Marina! My one other treat was watching another local enthusiast who lived very close. Occasionally on a Sunday morning we would hear the stunning sound of a race engine fire up and clear it’s throat as he emerged from his drive in a non road legal D type. His wife would stand in the road until it was all clear then give him a thumbs up. Next thing the revs would soar as he blasted up the straight towards Grayshott to road test the D and warm it through. It was as exiting as standing alongside the Armco on the Mullsanne for a 14 year old.
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff