The little Porsche had its chance on eBay, but the £249 purchase price was apparently too rich for the cash-strapped 924 faithful. I was getting offers down around the £150 to £175 mark for the project car, and lots of the remaining bits were worth keeping for the 944s, so I decided to kill it off.

Though they are extremely pretty cars, I didn’t enjoy driving it, so one less 924 in the world is good news as far as I am concerned. Plus it means one more clean 944 saved, which has got to be a worthy trade.

Here’s a few pics of the car on the way to its last ever (com)pressing engagement.

(This was run as Part 2 of the Perky piece)

The main advantage of buying from abroad is obvious: better choice. Most Porsche production was exported, with the USA the biggest customer, and the vast American market offers a selection of cars far beyond what is available here in the UK. Thanks to this extensive supply, prices for most cars on the American market have remained low in relation to ever-increasing European prices. Combine this with a US Dollar priced very low against Sterling and the Euro, and it’s no wonder that huge numbers of people are importing vehicles from the ‘States; cars like this SC are cheap.

To some people, talk of US imports conjours up images of sunburnt 356s, and scruffy but solid early 911s, brought to the UK as cheap entries into classic Porsche ownership. Importing from dry states remains a useful method of acquiring rust-free base vehicles, but the current flow of Porsches across the pond spans the spectrum, from would-be restos to full-blown RSR replicas and all manner of exotica. This time last year, I spoke to a pair of Porsche enthusiasts who had snapped up a couple of Carrera GTs from a dealer in downtown New York when the dollar rate hit what was then an all-time low. (more…)

The low dollar means that bargains currently abound in the good old USA. One man’s passion for modified Porsches recently led him to look across the pond for his dream 911. John Glynn tells us more.

Astronauts often say that the most impressive aspect of space travel is seeing a jewel-like Earth set amongst the stars, and realising just how trivial our personal concerns are when viewed against the grand scheme of things. Today, we are only a few hundred feet up, but the increased elevation has a similar impact on proceedings. Under unfettered cerulean sky, glistening lacquer ignites in the ultraviolet, and worries fade away, as we focus on an iridescent hum of light and shade, floating atop this 911’s beautifully pressed metal like a Star Trek deflector shield. It’s silver Jim, but not as we know it.

This car began life as a 1978 911SC. Originally finished in Grand Prix White, it was supplied in lightweight guise: without sunroof, aircon or front fogs, and with manual windows. Little is known of the car’s early history, but in 1986, it left Charles Ivey Porsche in Fulham, bound for Florida. At the same time, a young Irishman, new to London, was working right next door to Charles Ivey Porsche. It’s amazing to say that, 21 years on, this may not be the first time our paths have crossed. Small world. (more…)

With the emerging emphasis on energy efficiency, John Glynn proposes that Porsche take a leaf out of their history book when planning the next-generation 911.

Whatever your politics, the record price of oil and other non-renewable forms of energy mean that the cars of the future require a fresh approach. Only an imbecile could drive down the motorway surrounded by countless other cars, all powered by dead dinosaurs and all carrying just one person, and think that was indefinitely sustainable in an increasingly energy-conscious world. If we want to enjoy the same motoring “freedom” in the years to come, we must develop a new mindset where our cars are concerned.

Mayor Livingstone of London is one of the people attempting to provoke a people change, by making it increasingly wallet-unfriendly to drive a heavily polluting car through the capital. Porsche GB’s public objection to the £25 daily charge for driving the biggest oil burners into the heart of London might be commercially understandable, but is it ultimately sending out the message we want to hear from the fathers of our beloved 911s? As a long-time Porsche fan, I’m not so sure. (more…)

Marriage is all about teamwork, but a certain amount of independence is also important in a healthy Porsche-supporting relationship, says John Glynn.

When I was growing up in Ireland in the 1970s, nice cars were rare beasts. For a start, the country had yet to discover the EU Development Fund, so away from Dublin (as we were), the roads were straight out of the third world. There was no MOT, so people maintained their cars as they saw fit, which meant most didn’t. Finally, there was the Government, who considered that if you were wealthy enough to have a nice car, they deserved a reward for giving you the opportunity to amass enough money to buy it. Irish car tax was and is obscene.

None of this deterred my dad, who owned a few successful music shops, and had a bit of money to spend on his favourite things: cars. Dad’s best buddy was a car dealer, so he was always coming home in interesting machinery, most of which is etched upon my memory.

My first car journey was home from hospital in a carrycot plonked on the back seat of a Fiat 850 Sport Coupe – there still exists a cutting from the Limerick Leader, showing the local Fiat agent presenting dad with the keys. Next, he pushed out not just the boat, but the dock and nearby warehouses too, buying a brand new Mercedes 250SE, in Sand over Chocolate, with caramel-coloured MB-Tex trim and an ice-cream-white steering wheel; the epitome of ‘70s in-car decadence. (more…)