New Porschephile Editor

PROVINZ’S LONG-RUNNING PORSCHEPHILE features the stories of PCA UCR members, sharing their experiences and highlighting their journey to finding and acquiring their Porsche. I am kicking off this column as the new volunteer Porschephile editor by sharing my story with you in this edition of Provinz.

My sports car journey started in my teens, when I saved up and bought a Fiat Spider from a neighbour. Learning to drive on a five-speed manual was quite a challenge on the busy streets where I lived in Toronto’s east end. My street had so many interesting cars, many parked on the road. In those mid-1970s years, during my walk home, I would pass a BMW 2002, Dino Ferrari, Triumph TR6, Lotus Elan, and a Porsche 930 Turbo.

At the time the Porsche seemed so exotic and out of reach, costing nearly as much as some of the houses in the area. Over the years I was given the opportunity to drive a couple of 911s that belonged to friends, and gradually I opened up to the idea that Porsche ownership might be more realistic than I used to think.

My son-in-law had purchased a 997 Turbo in the spring of 2016, and over the next couple of years his car really grew on me, culminating in a chance to drive it, a few months before he sold it late in 2018. Afterwards, I began to do research to determine which generation of 911 would be the best fit for me. This research coincided with the Porsche 70th anniversary in 2018, when I attended the special Porsche display at the Toronto auto show, as well as one of the dealer-hosted events in the 997 Turbo. I also made a “field-trip” to the Werks Reunion held in March 2019 on Amelia Island, where the organizers provided a “type” presentation highlighting the attributes of the various generations of 911.

I combined this research with a close look at the market during the same time period, and arrived at the decision to look for a 997.1 C2S, preferably in silver with a black interior, the following season. Although I liked the 997.2, I decided it was above my budget. Then COVID-19 came and my budget was quickly turned upside down. I followed the prices throughout 2020 and like many others, was amazed to see the asking prices increase substantially. In the early spring of 2021 I found two worthy cars that both met my criteria, so I arranged and paid for a pre-purchase inspection of each car. Unfortunately bore-scoring issues were discovered and ruled these cars out of my search. I decided to forget about looking for a while after the second car failed to meet my needs.

A short time later, my son-in-law introduced me to his friend who was considering selling a 2010 Carrera S, with manual transmission, in silver with a black interior. The car had come onto the market suddenly as the owner had been successful in obtaining a build spot for a new Porsche that year. The car had not been driven in winter, had low mileage, and was very clean.

I met the owner and test drove the car in April 2021, then purchased the car a couple of weeks later. The day after I took possession of the car, I was fortunate to be invited to go on an informal back-roads tour with a group of PCA and racing friends of my son-in-law. The opportunity to tag along with several other 911s and Caymans on a crisp, clear spring day was a real thrill.

As the anniversary of that first drive quickly approaches, I look forward to uncovering my 997.2 and turning over the engine for another adventure. </>

More Great Articles

Comments

Popular stories

0
YOUR CART
  • No products in the cart.