Tell me about your most memorable drive in a Porsche
Discussion
Yellow491 said:
For your sake hunter i hope you dont hit the banking,it will hurt.;)
Engine parts only arrived yesterday,with parts still on back order! so no daytona for me driving sadlly,may come out and help you guys run,dont forget i set the bench mark two years ago 7th overall and 3rd in class,expecting better from you both
Great to have you out and never know .... drives may come up ??Engine parts only arrived yesterday,with parts still on back order! so no daytona for me driving sadlly,may come out and help you guys run,dont forget i set the bench mark two years ago 7th overall and 3rd in class,expecting better from you both
A few years ago I drove back from Spain to Calais in my Boxster with my face looking like Desperate Dan's due to the onset of mumps. I had to get my girlfriend of the time to check the wing mirrors for me as I couldn't turn my head due to the swelling. We had no pain killers either as she told me that she had 'loads' but by that she meant she had three and took two of them because she thought she 'might get a headache.' The French services don't sell pain killers and I didn't want to deviate from the beaten path and risk missing the ferry. It turned out that the swelling of the face was the better part of the illness.
I think she put in about 50 miles of driving while I tried to get my shaking from the pain under control.
Great holiday though.
Is that the type of story you were looking for?
I think she put in about 50 miles of driving while I tried to get my shaking from the pain under control.
Great holiday though.
Is that the type of story you were looking for?
It is late Autumn 1974. I’m working in London but spending every week end climbing in North Wales. Usual mode of transport was Mike’s company car an Escort Mexico, because it came with free petrol. However, this particular week end his boss who owned Alpine Sports in Brompton Road needed a four seater. So they swapped cars and Mike picked me up in a shiny 2.4 911E.
Mike was a great climbing partner, who I trusted with my life on many serious Alpine routes, but a rubbish driver. Half way up the A5 he said he felt tired and would I mind driving. Well OK if you insist.
I know of no words to adequately describe the sensational difference between my then current vehicle a Triumph Vitesse 1.6 and the Porsche. Heading north on the A5 in the dark I was naturally cautious driving a car worth at least three times my annual salary.
We had a good day on Saturday climbing in Snowdonia but Sunday dawned wet and misty so we headed for the sea cliffs at South Stack Holyhead. Climbing Rat Race and Mammoth took some time and we didn’t get back to the car until 7.00pm. Mike said he was too tired to drive but needed to be in London that night.
Oh dear only one thing for it then.
By the time we cleared Anglesey I was settling into it, getting the feel of the controls, enjoying their weigh and precision. Beginning to press on with more confidence, a couple of crisp overtakes hinted at the potential. Traffic thinned by the time we got to Llangollen and we picked up more speed, the exhaust howling and reverberating off the stone walls. There was much less Motorway in those days, speed cameras didn’t exist and I felt free to drive the road as I saw it. Even so pretty much flat on the elevated section round Birmingham took all my concentration. More fast sections down the M1 and then steady progress in traffic across London to my flat in Putney. I switched off. The engine died instantly, the silence broken only by the ticking of hot metal.
It had been a fabulous experience, the start of an affection for the marque which continues to this day. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to own and drive some wonderful Porsche motor cars but there will always be a special place for that 2.4 911 E.
Mike was a great climbing partner, who I trusted with my life on many serious Alpine routes, but a rubbish driver. Half way up the A5 he said he felt tired and would I mind driving. Well OK if you insist.
I know of no words to adequately describe the sensational difference between my then current vehicle a Triumph Vitesse 1.6 and the Porsche. Heading north on the A5 in the dark I was naturally cautious driving a car worth at least three times my annual salary.
We had a good day on Saturday climbing in Snowdonia but Sunday dawned wet and misty so we headed for the sea cliffs at South Stack Holyhead. Climbing Rat Race and Mammoth took some time and we didn’t get back to the car until 7.00pm. Mike said he was too tired to drive but needed to be in London that night.
Oh dear only one thing for it then.
By the time we cleared Anglesey I was settling into it, getting the feel of the controls, enjoying their weigh and precision. Beginning to press on with more confidence, a couple of crisp overtakes hinted at the potential. Traffic thinned by the time we got to Llangollen and we picked up more speed, the exhaust howling and reverberating off the stone walls. There was much less Motorway in those days, speed cameras didn’t exist and I felt free to drive the road as I saw it. Even so pretty much flat on the elevated section round Birmingham took all my concentration. More fast sections down the M1 and then steady progress in traffic across London to my flat in Putney. I switched off. The engine died instantly, the silence broken only by the ticking of hot metal.
It had been a fabulous experience, the start of an affection for the marque which continues to this day. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to own and drive some wonderful Porsche motor cars but there will always be a special place for that 2.4 911 E.
chrisABP said:
Most memorable drive for me has to be driving my 997.2 GTS home from 911V after picking it up....
As a child of a working class family living in a small terraced house I had a poster of a white 911 and a red Ferrari on my bedroom wall which I often glared at for hours on end hoping one day I would get to 'see' one in the flesh.....
Fast forward 30+ years and as a 41 year old there I was pinching myself all the way back from 911V in Uxbridge back home to Cheshire in my white 911, paid for using my debit card, no finance, no loan - MY 911! The drive was mainly in heavy traffic, rained for half the journey and was largely insignificant other than the main event - me in MY 911! I left the M6 early, stretched its legs, grinning like a Cheshire cat and then drove to show my mum that her boy had done good (she still has no idea how much it cost - she would have a heart attack!) before driving home and giving my boys (then 6 & 4 year olds) a trip out in MY 911.
No Nurburgring, no Spa, not even big numbers or heroic saves but a journey I will never forget.
I love his post Chris - what a great story, good for you mate - keep well R As a child of a working class family living in a small terraced house I had a poster of a white 911 and a red Ferrari on my bedroom wall which I often glared at for hours on end hoping one day I would get to 'see' one in the flesh.....
Fast forward 30+ years and as a 41 year old there I was pinching myself all the way back from 911V in Uxbridge back home to Cheshire in my white 911, paid for using my debit card, no finance, no loan - MY 911! The drive was mainly in heavy traffic, rained for half the journey and was largely insignificant other than the main event - me in MY 911! I left the M6 early, stretched its legs, grinning like a Cheshire cat and then drove to show my mum that her boy had done good (she still has no idea how much it cost - she would have a heart attack!) before driving home and giving my boys (then 6 & 4 year olds) a trip out in MY 911.
No Nurburgring, no Spa, not even big numbers or heroic saves but a journey I will never forget.
RSVP911 said:
chrisABP said:
Most memorable drive for me has to be driving my 997.2 GTS home from 911V after picking it up....
As a child of a working class family living in a small terraced house I had a poster of a white 911 and a red Ferrari on my bedroom wall which I often glared at for hours on end hoping one day I would get to 'see' one in the flesh.....
Fast forward 30+ years and as a 41 year old there I was pinching myself all the way back from 911V in Uxbridge back home to Cheshire in my white 911, paid for using my debit card, no finance, no loan - MY 911! The drive was mainly in heavy traffic, rained for half the journey and was largely insignificant other than the main event - me in MY 911! I left the M6 early, stretched its legs, grinning like a Cheshire cat and then drove to show my mum that her boy had done good (she still has no idea how much it cost - she would have a heart attack!) before driving home and giving my boys (then 6 & 4 year olds) a trip out in MY 911.
No Nurburgring, no Spa, not even big numbers or heroic saves but a journey I will never forget.
I love this post Chris - what a great story, good for you mate - keep well R As a child of a working class family living in a small terraced house I had a poster of a white 911 and a red Ferrari on my bedroom wall which I often glared at for hours on end hoping one day I would get to 'see' one in the flesh.....
Fast forward 30+ years and as a 41 year old there I was pinching myself all the way back from 911V in Uxbridge back home to Cheshire in my white 911, paid for using my debit card, no finance, no loan - MY 911! The drive was mainly in heavy traffic, rained for half the journey and was largely insignificant other than the main event - me in MY 911! I left the M6 early, stretched its legs, grinning like a Cheshire cat and then drove to show my mum that her boy had done good (she still has no idea how much it cost - she would have a heart attack!) before driving home and giving my boys (then 6 & 4 year olds) a trip out in MY 911.
No Nurburgring, no Spa, not even big numbers or heroic saves but a journey I will never forget.
GT4 gives a smile on every trip and encourages bad behaviour!!!
Probably when I managed to reasonably boot a cgt down an empty welsh b road...Have been lucky enough to drive a quite a lot of nice cars but nothing stands out like that drive in the cgt as it was pretty astonishing how the car comes alive the harder it is driven. This was earlier in the day.
The first time I finally managed to drive a gt3 (997.2) having missed out on driving any of them for many years comes close I guess as I finally did understand why everyone I knew who was a decent driver was raving about them.
The first time I finally managed to drive a gt3 (997.2) having missed out on driving any of them for many years comes close I guess as I finally did understand why everyone I knew who was a decent driver was raving about them.
At the 'Ring in a (very generous) friend's 996 GT3RS. My first time there, my first time on track in a Porsche, and my first time on track in anything more pokey than a 100hp Caterham. Event was a GRRC organised track day, so after the drive out, there was a nice dinner with one Derek Bell as guest of honour, and he joined our table for the meal. I had more to drink than was sensible, and by the end of the meal was lecturing Derek on the best lines to take at Goodwood in a 7.
The following day was the track day, so I started to get some familiarity with the car and the circuit. Derek was giving pax rides in a 997, after which the passengers were generally emerging with wide-eyed tales of massive slides, so he was clearly trying. By early afternoon I was starting to feel a bit more comfortable, and was in the car on my own when a bit of rain started to fall. Derek came by on the way down to Adenau, so I thought I would try to follow for a couple of corners, thinking an RS should easily keep up with a regular 997. You can probably guess what happened next. I span at the right-hander at Ex-Muhle. Thank God the thing stayed out of the barriers somehow.
It sparked my desire to get back out doing some trackdays, though, and directly led to me buying the only RS Porsche I could afford (a 964RS - back in the day when they were affordable), and several years of track days, great weekends away with mates, and more recently to my GT4.
David
The following day was the track day, so I started to get some familiarity with the car and the circuit. Derek was giving pax rides in a 997, after which the passengers were generally emerging with wide-eyed tales of massive slides, so he was clearly trying. By early afternoon I was starting to feel a bit more comfortable, and was in the car on my own when a bit of rain started to fall. Derek came by on the way down to Adenau, so I thought I would try to follow for a couple of corners, thinking an RS should easily keep up with a regular 997. You can probably guess what happened next. I span at the right-hander at Ex-Muhle. Thank God the thing stayed out of the barriers somehow.
It sparked my desire to get back out doing some trackdays, though, and directly led to me buying the only RS Porsche I could afford (a 964RS - back in the day when they were affordable), and several years of track days, great weekends away with mates, and more recently to my GT4.
David
Jumping on a plane from Bristol to Inverness (with a one way ticket!) to see a 996 I was determined to buy although up to then had been photos only.
Bought it on the spot and then a great afternoon/evening/night bringing it home to the West Country through the best of Scotland, the worst of the M6 and finally a blissfully quiet M5.
It never missed a beat.
Bought it on the spot and then a great afternoon/evening/night bringing it home to the West Country through the best of Scotland, the worst of the M6 and finally a blissfully quiet M5.
It never missed a beat.
isaldiri said:
Probably when I managed to reasonably boot a cgt down an empty welsh b road...Have been lucky enough to drive a quite a lot of nice cars but nothing stands out like that drive in the cgt as it was pretty astonishing how the car comes alive the harder it is driven. This was earlier in the day.
The first time I finally managed to drive a gt3 (997.2) having missed out on driving any of them for many years comes close I guess as I finally did understand why everyone I knew who was a decent driver was raving about them.
Lucky boy! Looks amazingThe first time I finally managed to drive a gt3 (997.2) having missed out on driving any of them for many years comes close I guess as I finally did understand why everyone I knew who was a decent driver was raving about them.
May 2012, I had a few days off so tryed to get 1 down on the bucketlist. The Mille Miglia.
Ask a good friend to join me and off we went.
Visited the Porsche museum in Stuttgart and then went to Egg, a small town in Austria, where we stayed for the night. The `Gasthof` was nicely placed on top of a hill on a dead end streat with a splendid view.
At dinner we asked the waitress about the weatherforcast. Snow she said and walked away.
Yeah right, snow.
The next morning, disaster, 2 inches of snow. No wintertyres on the GT2, so we waited and waited untill we get bored and tryed to give it a go.
That didn´t went well, we slided down the road and nothing helped, breaking, steering or screaming.. We stranded at the first hairpin.
Then in the afternoon it started to rain so after 4 hours of waiting in the hairpin we headed to Itay.
Just over the top of the Furkapass in Austria disaster strikes again, heavy snowfall and we had to stop
on the road, no hard shoulders.
Darkness felt and we where still stranded on the road. All the Austrians with snowtyres on passed us but didn´t stop, even the snowplough 2x didn´t stop
My mate walked down the road and asked a man for help, his german language stops at the word `bier`.beer.
But the man saw the panic in his eyes and followed him. His advice was, don´t go down but try to go back up the mountain.
.So, after a hour of sliping and sliding 1 mile up the mountain we arrived at a hotel. Parked, asked for 2 rooms went for dinner and had a lot of beers.
The next morning we still had to wait till noon for the snow to melt and then went home.
We did see the Mille Miglia in 2013 and every year since.
Ask a good friend to join me and off we went.
Visited the Porsche museum in Stuttgart and then went to Egg, a small town in Austria, where we stayed for the night. The `Gasthof` was nicely placed on top of a hill on a dead end streat with a splendid view.
At dinner we asked the waitress about the weatherforcast. Snow she said and walked away.
Yeah right, snow.
The next morning, disaster, 2 inches of snow. No wintertyres on the GT2, so we waited and waited untill we get bored and tryed to give it a go.
That didn´t went well, we slided down the road and nothing helped, breaking, steering or screaming.. We stranded at the first hairpin.
Then in the afternoon it started to rain so after 4 hours of waiting in the hairpin we headed to Itay.
Just over the top of the Furkapass in Austria disaster strikes again, heavy snowfall and we had to stop
on the road, no hard shoulders.
Darkness felt and we where still stranded on the road. All the Austrians with snowtyres on passed us but didn´t stop, even the snowplough 2x didn´t stop
My mate walked down the road and asked a man for help, his german language stops at the word `bier`.beer.
But the man saw the panic in his eyes and followed him. His advice was, don´t go down but try to go back up the mountain.
.So, after a hour of sliping and sliding 1 mile up the mountain we arrived at a hotel. Parked, asked for 2 rooms went for dinner and had a lot of beers.
The next morning we still had to wait till noon for the snow to melt and then went home.
We did see the Mille Miglia in 2013 and every year since.
Edited by PTT on Wednesday 11th October 15:34
Edited by PTT on Wednesday 11th October 16:07
PTT said:
May 2012, I had a few days off so tryed to get 1 down on the bucketlist. The Mille Miglia.
Ask a good friend to join me and off we went.
Visited the Porsche museum in Stuttgart and then went to Egg, a small town in Austria, where we stayed for the night. The `Gasthof` was nicely placed on top of a hill on a dead end streat with a splendid view.
At dinner we asked the waitress about the weatherforcast. Snow she said and walked away.
Yeah right, snow.
The next morning, disaster, 2 inches of snow. No wintertyres on the GT2, so we waited and waited untill we get bored and tryed to give it a go.
That didn´t went well, we slided down the road and nothing helped, breaking, steering or screaming.. We stranded at the first hairpin.
Then in the afternoon it started to rain so after 4 hours of waiting in the hairpin we headed to Itay.
Just over the top of the Furkapass in Austria disaster strikes again, heavy snowfall and we had to stop
on the road, no hard shoulders.
Darkness felt and we where still stranded on the road. All the Austrians with snowtyres on passed us but didn´t stop, even the snowplough 2x didn´t stop
My mate walked down the road and asked a man for help, his german language stops at the word `bier`.beer.
But the man saw the panic in his eyes and followed him. His advice was, don´t go down but try to go back up the mountain.
.So, after a hour of sliping and sliding 1 mile up the mountain we arrived at a hotel. Parked, asked for 2 rooms went for dinner and had a lot of beers.
The next morning we still had to wait till noon for the snow to melt and then went home.
We did see the Mille Miglia in 2013 and every year since.
Great story and also love the Derek Bell one too - in fact so many great posts .Ask a good friend to join me and off we went.
Visited the Porsche museum in Stuttgart and then went to Egg, a small town in Austria, where we stayed for the night. The `Gasthof` was nicely placed on top of a hill on a dead end streat with a splendid view.
At dinner we asked the waitress about the weatherforcast. Snow she said and walked away.
Yeah right, snow.
The next morning, disaster, 2 inches of snow. No wintertyres on the GT2, so we waited and waited untill we get bored and tryed to give it a go.
That didn´t went well, we slided down the road and nothing helped, breaking, steering or screaming.. We stranded at the first hairpin.
Then in the afternoon it started to rain so after 4 hours of waiting in the hairpin we headed to Itay.
Just over the top of the Furkapass in Austria disaster strikes again, heavy snowfall and we had to stop
on the road, no hard shoulders.
Darkness felt and we where still stranded on the road. All the Austrians with snowtyres on passed us but didn´t stop, even the snowplough 2x didn´t stop
My mate walked down the road and asked a man for help, his german language stops at the word `bier`.beer.
But the man saw the panic in his eyes and followed him. His advice was, don´t go down but try to go back up the mountain.
.So, after a hour of sliping and sliding 1 mile up the mountain we arrived at a hotel. Parked, asked for 2 rooms went for dinner and had a lot of beers.
The next morning we still had to wait till noon for the snow to melt and then went home.
We did see the Mille Miglia in 2013 and every year since.
Edited by PTT on Wednesday 11th October 15:34
Edited by PTT on Wednesday 11th October 16:07
This is a brilliant thread and makes such a nice change form the usual - keep them coming
Dr S said:
Fantastic picture and amazing looking car. Could kill myself that I did ont buy one a few years back when they were relatively "cheap". But now they have skyrocketed well out of my pay grade
if I'm not wrong you live in the continent so at risk of rubbing salt into the wound, yes you really should have bought one! Truth be told, I'm a bit conflicted about the cgt. it's an absolutely wonderful car in the right circumstances but especially here in the UK it's not easy to access the set of conditions that allow one to truly enjoy the car. Always thought it'd be the car one could ever wish for if I lived say around the 'ring or Black Forest though.....
Steve Rance said:
Mine was in a speed yellow Carrera GT a few months after launch. It was at the Le mans Bugatti Circuit. The michellin tyres that the car came with were years behind the capability of that magificent chassis. We were there with the 996RS and were clocking 155mph before the braking zone into the pit straight complex. A friend asked me to drive his Carrera GT. After a lap or so of mincing he said 'if you are not going to F*****ing drive it, take it back and get out'. So i drove it at 10/10ths for a lap. The engine was insane. It revved up to max so quickly. The chassis was well balanced but those tyres were hopeless. lots of correction needed. As we neared the braking zone to the complex the speedo was showing 180mph... then it started going sideways. I thought the accident was going to be dental records. I cant remember what happened next but we ended up getting straight before the complex and scrubed enough speed off to get turned in. The owner just looked at me for a few seconds and said 'nice save Steve'. Someone did it but i wasnt me...
What a car..
Tell me about your most memorable drive. it can be any porsche, any time anywhwere... Let this be a thread for all that is good about Porsche.. The experience of driving.
Steve: Mine was also in a Speed Yellow CGT..this one - Took it to a location I will not name at 5am one a summer morning and let it go. God, it was exciting. The sound of the engine, the effortless revs, and the sense that I had to be careful.. I had it up to about 285km/h, and that was a fast as I dared.What a car..
Tell me about your most memorable drive. it can be any porsche, any time anywhwere... Let this be a thread for all that is good about Porsche.. The experience of driving.
I was also worried about the tires thought it was very warm and dry, and the tires were new. Still..woudl love to drive it now on current tires.......the best car I have personally driven and the Porsche I would want most.
isaldiri said:
Probably when I managed to reasonably boot a cgt down an empty welsh b road...Have been lucky enough to drive a quite a lot of nice cars but nothing stands out like that drive in the cgt as it was pretty astonishing how the car comes alive the harder it is driven. This was earlier in the day.
.
Great photo of CGT in its element. It's hard to see but is that Terracotta?.
It’s interesting that the CGT has cropped up several times in the early stages of this excellent thread. You use the word conflicted and I have to agree. UK and its congested roads are not ideal territory for it, though even here judicious use of time and place can have rewards as your photo nicely illustrates. Cross country in Europe it’s an entirely different matter and now on SuperSports it's pretty much an all-weather car. Top down over the Grimsel and Susten then on a separate occasion indifferent weather through the Jura, and the car was fine in both conditions. However, it is much less readily accessible than any other car I’ve driven, I lack the skills to go anywhere near its limits but that really doesn’t matter because even starting it up in the garage is an event in itself. Either of the Alpine trips I’ve done this year would qualify for this thread but as I had posted about them elsewhere I went for something different.
CGT in its element
And in less benign conditions
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