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Glad to read that all is going well with you and the family, Serge. I, like many, thoroughly enjoyed reading about your adventures with the 911. Best of luck with all future endeavors!
Thanks Pete! The timing of my US adventures was not the best: I arrived when the recession hit and will now be leaving as things improve -slowly-, but it was part of the mission too... From a petrolhead standpoint, these were the best years I have had so far! A car friendly environment, great roads and tracks, and all of that at a fraction of the cost of my home country Trackdays at Spa could be an consolation when I go back (only drove it on a game console so far...). I'll post a video when it happens for real!
Before getting to my new (used) 991, a few words about my first years back in Europe.
Europe may have great tracks, the autobahn, but above all... plenty of taxes! So having a company car, I was not sure I wanted to put a lot of €'s in a weekend car. I ended up buying a 987.1 S (manual of course) that was still in a pretty good shape. See the following picture taken at Spa.
Spa-Francorchamps is really a terrific racetrack: elevation changes, high speed straightaways, tight turns and chicanes, you have it all.
For those of you who have not seen Spa yet, here is a lap filmed from inside the car:
On top of it, there is a lot of run-off areas which, in principle, should keep you safe.I am saying in principle because it did not prevent the good old Cayman to go meet her maker .
Going up the (in)famous raidillon and gently passing an old BMW 6-er a Peugeot 308 Pro Cup driver, who had nothing to do at a DE, got the idea to pass me driving outside the normal limits of the track. Realising he was going to run out of tarmac he brutally steered to the right and hit me. I was still at around 100mph and spun multiple times, hitting the BMW (looking at the video, it looks like I am rolling over, but it is only the GoPro getting loose and flying up in the air).
As I always take track insurance, a got an (almost) full refund, but the Cayman was toast...
I stayed without a Porsche for a good month before I found a 718 Graphite blue base Cayman in Germany. OK, I had 'downgraded' to a 4 cylinder but the car was fun and agile while, of course, not having the soundtrack of the 987.
This was the end of the last Summer before the pandemic and I have not been to the track since then.
The 718 was a joy to drive on B-roads, maybe even better than a 911, but you don't get out of the corner sure footed, pedal to the metal like you do with her bigger sister. It also missed PASM, a key option IMHO when you have to drive on Belgian blocks.
So I started looking for a 911, until... (to be followed)
Night Blue Metallic exterior , full leather saddle brown interior .
To be fully honest, I am not such a big fan of Porsche's "Saddle Brown". A bit too much along the lines of 'dog poop after having too much spinach' . My last Bimmer and Merc had "Saddle Brown" interiors and I liked their colour better :
This being said, the fit and finish of the 991.2 is impeccable and with the full leather option, better than on my two previous 991.1 S.
The detailed specs of the car are in the PDF file attached to this post.
A bit of an 'old man' 911 : classical colours, full leather, rear wiper, no PSE, 19" wheels, no frills... but on the other hand, it was a CPO in pristine condition with only 25.000 miles on the clock and priced competitively . More than enough to convince me. I had been looking on German and Belgian Porsche websites for a few months and, when I saw this one, I was at the dealership 12 hours later (the fact that it is located less than a mile from my office helped a bit too). It was an early 991.2 model, but with the warranty, low mileage and not a single squeak during the test drive, I felt pretty confident.
So now comes the question... Shall I leave it as it is or start working on it ?
great looking car, so what's the planner this beauty? DD and track days?
Definitely both, starting with DD (the end of 2022 track days is around the corner in Belgium). Having a more versatile/comfortable DD was part of my motivation to get back in a 911. In the meantime I will be looking at options in terms of brakes (I still have a set of Brembo BBK callipers from my 991.1, but maybe high temp fluid, stainless steel lines and Pagid pads will do), exhaust (the soundtrack is a bit muted, but I would definitely go for a switchable exhaust) ...and tune (will investigate and post on this topic).
Definitely both, starting with DD (the end of 2022 track days is around the corner in Belgium). Having a more versatile/comfortable DD was part of my motivation to get back in a 911. In the meantime I will be looking at options in terms of brakes (I still have a set of Brembo BBK callipers from my 991.1, but maybe high temp fluid, stainless steel lines and Pagid pads will do), exhaust (the soundtrack is a bit muted, but I would definitely go for a switchable exhaust) ...and tune (will investigate and post on this topic).
Thanks!
For the exhaust and tune, definitely check out FVD Brombacher, since you’re in Europe…
09-06-2015, 03:02 PM
Trackdays at Spa could be an consolation when I go back (only drove it on a game console so far...). I'll post a video when it happens for real!
.
but the car was fun and agile while, of course, not having the soundtrack of the 987.
.
. More than enough to convince me. I had been looking on German and Belgian Porsche websites for a few months and, when I saw this one, I was at the dealership 12 hours later (the fact that it is located less than a mile from my office helped a bit too). It was an early 991.2 model, but with the warranty, low mileage and not a single squeak during the test drive, I felt pretty confident.
