Ian Dean, Great Britain
My time with a 996
Now it’s not just any 996 Cabriolet: it was registered in the UK in May 1998 and must have been one of the first cabriolets on the road that year. Silver and Blue with blue interior, it was crying out for me to be its 5th owner on the forecourt of a garage in Windsor. It had its hard top but had a number of faults. To be honest, I only wanted a weekend car, and this was about six thousand pounds more than the budget that had been agreed over dinner. The Boxster additionally had a major flaw because it was a two-seater, and this gave us issues about where the dog would sit. Now I’m tall and the desire to tour Europe in an open-top car meant brands were limited. As a result, the 911 in Windsor was soon a done deal. Since 2015 we have used the car for exactly what we bought it for – touring. The Porsche Club is so open to the members in this area, you are welcome wherever you go. Big international Porsche events, track days, Club days, tours or special events, the 996 fits us in just nicely. I have seen a change in interest in the 996, and with its 25th anniversary this year, this is bound to further fuel interest both in the Club and across the social media platforms – it’s a great car and deserves its following.
The Austria Trip – International Porsche Days Zell am See
The Porsche Tage was a 3,000km round trip, we travelled leaving England to Dieppe and stopping overnight in Offenburg, before traveling the next day on the very busy autobahns to Zell am Zee. Being the only UK plate on the road, as the boarders had only just opened to travel for visitors, we clearly attracted attention as we were stopped by the Zoll and checked for smuggling. Anyone who has toured in a 911 will know they are not the largest car to concile 'Drugs' , 'Guns', 'Gold' or 'Money' but the search was very polite and it was good to hear "Unterlagen sind in Ordnung“. Off the autobahn we made good time through the scenic German Borders into Austria
The Porsche events are normally non-stop and this was no different with a packed programme. Every location was fantastic: from the museum, the drive up the pass, right through to the track time and lunch on top of the mountain. All stunning.
It was a real surprise and an honour to get the medal from Dr Porsche for traveling the longest distance, spirit and participation.
We made it home safe but again the autobahn was 'packed tail to nose‘. We ended up having to divert and the diversion took us past the development centre at Weissach. I think the car knew the way.
I blog about some of my travels with the 996 on www.passandvalley.com. This video shows a trip to Italy with Porsche Club friends and a drive around the Fiat rooftop test track.
