I’ve always had a thing for estate cars – they look better than most saloons. The problem with being a Porsche fan is that there is no estate to choose from.

Recently, I’ve been looking at Cayennes to buy, but the majority of aftermarket specialists I spoke to said keep away. I was tempted to ignore them and go for it, but it’s spending £10-12k on a big car that costs thousands a year to run, plus the fuel, and whatever else goes wrong. I like my Subaru Outback and could better spend Cayenne money on my garage build and loft conversion projects. I needed a Plan B.

Ever since I saw the pictures here, I’ve had deep lust for the 924 Break/Kombi/Shooting Brake. There isn’t much about them on the Interweb – just some snippets of magazine articles, repeated ad nauseum – but I know it’s a conversion by Artz of Belgium from back on the day. Having seen the DP Motorsport ‘Cargo’ version at Essen one year, I thought the earlier 924 base was better looking, but for sure the 944 is a nicer platform. No one does these anymore, so I needed help.

Best friend Rob Campbell at Racing Restorations UK in Pershore is a superstar when it comes to metal, and I do want to build this in metal. He’s just finished a great Renault 5 Turbo 2 bodyshell restoration, is coming to the end of an Alpine GTA rebuild and recently did some very tidy body crack repairs on an old Rolls Royce Phantom I. He repairs Porsche 911 rust all the time, and I’ve watched him restore Maserati, Allard and Connaught vintage racing cars, so I know he’s easily capable of this.

Before I sold my last Mk 2 Golf GTi, Robert started talking about doing an estate conversion and I said I’d rather do an estate conversion on that Grand Prix White 944 I own. Ideas began to fire and that was it. The more I thought, the less I wanted to chop up a (quite rare) non-sunroof early 944 with relatively low miles and nice history; I’d rather restore that as-was. What I needed was a donor car to play with.

eBay has just thrown up a likely candidate: unloved but running 944 with some rust in the floors and a personal plate we can sell to cover some costs. The rusty floors are handy, as I want to size up an Impreza Turbo running gear install. Anyway, I’ve bought it.

So, 2012′s Porsche Project is a 944 Kombi build that should give me an interesting Porsche estate to use for work when finished. I’m pretty excited about the whole thing! Due to collect the 944 this weekend, so will blog that later.

I’ve been searching for a sensibly-priced double-din head unit with nav to stick in the workwagen Subaru for a while. As an Alpine head, the obvious choice is the Alpine INA-W910R for tip top nav and iPhone integration, but at £962 (down from £1800 retail!!) you can forget that.

Chatting with Alastair Caldwell the other day about simple iPhone-only head unit installations for the London to Cape Town Porsche 912 (he is talking about the Parrot Asteroid which I don’t quite get here in the no-3G-signal-countryside) made me think about just running an iPad in the Subaru: drop the Alpine IDA-305S head unit out and run only iPad. I don’t care about radio and am headed towards experiments with car-computers anyway, so this is just part of it.

Checking Youtube, I am about two years behind. Not only are the majors cramming in on the game with slightly wanky iPad ball and socket mounts*, I found the whirring mass of LED overkill that is the iPorsche.

Based on a smart Cayenne with aftermarket wheels from a dustbin lid factory, I like lots of the install (v. slick dash fit) but the “what did you say?” NOISY motors on the iPad frame, the loud BEEPS and those wallpaper squashes in the visor monitors kill it for me. Quite why you need screens in the rear seat headrests when you’ve got a 32″ screen in the rear seat back, I dunno, but then it is a show car which I suppose is fair enough.

I do like an install & like the iPad idea, the Subaru is a keeper now the engine and gearbox have been rebuilt and I am bespoking the spring & damper setup with Racing Restorations, so am thinking that iPad in the dash of the Outback is the way to go. This is encouraged by rumours of a 7″ iPad coming in 2012. Time to mock something up: think C&N Customs can help me out with this one. In the meantime, check this iPorsche video.

*Majors building stuff is a sure sign I am way off the pace. Subsequently found the project was culled due to legal concerns so now I like it

Note to eBay: stop tempting me with cheap-ish Cayennes now the Outback is working properly!

Every now and then, I get a hankering to sell every car I own bar the 911 and buy a Porsche Cayenne. Yes, I know hardly a classic and to some people not even a Porsche, but I like the cut of the Cayenne’s jib.

Admittedly there are many reasons NOT to buy a Cayenne. Maybe not enough ‘many’s there.

• It’s not the prettiest thing in the world
• Only the Space Shuttle has worse mpg
• Colours available mostly more boring than housepaint
• Eats tyres like a thirsty, boring-coloured, tyre-eating thing
• Volkswagen V6 or cylinder-scoring V8
• Manual transmission is only available with the VW engine
• Precious little space for LPG, especially in the Turbo and even on gas only 15mpg (albeit at a lower fuel price)

On the plus side:

• Huge
• Fast
• Sexy V8 noise
• Deserves its Porsche badge
• Decent 4×4 system, not joke setup
• Air suspension rocks
• Replaces everything I own except the 911

So, if it has rubbish MPG and is either slow-ish and not that great on MPG compared to the faster one (V6) or prone to chucking pistons through the cylinder walls (V8), why the desire to own one? I don’t know – it’s a regular thing with me. If I could find a nice non-silver/black colour, circa 55-plate with under 90k miles for £10K*, I think I might pull the trigger. That despite the fact that it would probably be an exceptionally bad idea turning up at home with a ten grand Cayenne, when I already have five cars and am in the middle of building a cash-sapping house extension. Not that that ever stopped me…

The plan would be to sell the other cars, though. Newly-restored E36 M3 saloon, classic Landcruiser 80 series, Subaru Outback on new LPG kit and Mk 2 Golf GTi would all go, replaced by just one Cayenne S. Alternatively, can you say “V6 diesel conversion”? Aaargh, that is full-on man maths talking: *la la la I’m not listening*

Cayenne drivers – share your experiences!

Got my ticket through the email for this Porsche Panamera Scotland trip next week. I’m quite looking forward to driving the diesel, hybrid and Turbo Panameras on some open country roads, and soaking up some Scottish light. I’m also liking that I don’t have to write about it for any magazines, so I can run a blank agenda and just do it for myself.

I appreciate your not giving me a hard time when I occasionally talk about new stuff. It’s useful to track new Porsche trends, as new cars are our future classics. More importantly, it’s nice to understand what inspiration Porsche designers draw from their old stuff. I mean what they really draw from it: not what the marketing department likes to talk up. It’ll be fun finding the old bits wedged into the Panamera (aside from yours truly).

Speaking of finding inspiration, surfing Youtube for inspiration the other day, I tripped over this video of überPorscher, James May, reviewing the Boxster Spyder, probably my favourite idea of a new Porsche (not driven one yet). I hadn’t seen this particular Top Gear before and it’s great! Also ace to see James or his stuntman getting the tail out.

Earlier this year, I pitched Porsche a plan to run a Spyder down to the Mille Miglia, and follow our friend Gijs van Lennep over the event in his State of Art 550. It was a solid story idea that fell on deaf ears – should have just nicked a car from somewhere and done it anyway. Apparently, Porsche Italy had Mille Miglia all sewn up: when I win the lottery I will just do all this stuff for my own amusement and stick the lot up here.

However impractical it appears to be, Boxster Spyder is the first used late-model Porsche I’d look at if I was in the market right now. Mine would be white or silver. Gotta love a light Porsche, and this is about as light as they get at the minute.

A great orange RSR hillclimbing video has been doing the rounds of the ad-packed ‘German Car Scene’ blogs lately. It shows the Porsche 911 of Swiss hillclimb driver, Willi Jenni, competing on a number of national championship rounds. This is it:

My orange 911 Carrera 3.0 came from Switzerland, and was maintained out there by former Swiss hillclimb champion, Alain Pfefferle, who won the title in a Porsche 935. Here’s Alain driving Bergrennen Oberhallau 2010 in the car: note this is a real one!

Also note just how tidy these boys are on track: there’s very little opposite lock. Sideways might look fun, but tyres hooked up and pushing the car forwards is the fastest way to go.

Oberhallau 2011 will be held at the end of this month: 27/28 August. You can follow live web timings on the Bergrennen Oberhallau website here. I’m going to have to get myself to one of these events one day: they look absolutely superb.

No matter how many horror stories you hear about the Swiss speed camera obsession, Switzerland is a great place to go mountain climbing in a 911. The drive that little brother Sammy and I enjoyed at the start of the 2010 TwinSpark Racing Bergmeister Tour was absolutely unforgettable. The fact that it was totally illegal might have had something to do with it, but who can tell with hindsight?!

Not been out in a Porsche since I got back from the USA, so thought I’d better fix that. I grabbed some keys and got out in the fresh air.

Finally got the Tangerine 1972 Porsche 911 T I have for sale booked into Tuthills for a service and a suspension set up: ride heights and alignment. On new suspension bushes and new Dunlop tyres, this car is a delight to drive, but a little lower than is right, so worth sending it to Tuthills to be sorted.

While it’s there, they are going to check a few other bits and change the oil and filter, just to freshen it up. Should be absolutely brilliant when it comes back next week. Then it’s out for a photo shoot and we are thinking of entering it for the Goodwood auction in July. Will keep you posted. Email me if you want to know anything about this remarkable low mileage car. I would love to see it go to a good home.

The T is no slouch on its wicked TwinSpark Weber carbs, but the Carrera 3.0 is even perkier. Once back from Tuthills, I pulled the C3 out and took it for a run.

That car is – literally – a tonne of fun. The tax is up in July, so it’ll head off to Racing Restorations in Pershore for a little bit of body and paint, mainly repairing damage inflicted by moi, breaking into it in Monaco last year. Rob Campbell is also going to strip and clean the wheel arches, repaint and waxoyl the lot.

We’ll change all the window rubbers, install the carpet I’ve had sitting here for a few months, and maybe bolt in the mint 1975 Recaro sports seats. Either that or get the centres of my Recaro A8s retrimmed in some orange corduroy or similar. They are light weight, comfy seats: sweeter than the pukka early ones. But then the early ones are more ‘correct’…

While Robert is fettling the bodywork, wiring the heated screen, changing the fuel pump for an uprated modern unit etc, I’m going to send the engine off for a top end rebuild. No idea who is going to do it yet but am working on that.

Once the refreshed motor is returned, we’ll fit my SSIs and a custom exhaust that RaceResto will manufacture and then see what it goes like. I’m also thinking of redoing suspension bushes: need to get in touch with the polybush people and see who has the best deals on.

Driving it today was as much fun as it was when I first got it. This car never ever gets old.

I spent this afternoon watching the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix. It was an absolute cracker. Every time the cars came through Massenet and into Casino Square, I was reminded of the 2010 R Gruppe Bergmeister Tour, and the three days our ten cars spent in Monte Carlo. Watching the F1 drivers blast at 120 mph or more through sections we trickled through at 30 mph was fantastic.

Bergmeister rallyistes used the city as a base for mountain raids up around the principality, to the epic Monte Carlo Rally routes we were driving. Getting in and out of town was easy enough, but getting around was a headache. Traffic along the GP track in normal running is nigh-on stationary. It’s also quite difficult to equate TV and reality, when parts of the flowing circuit are run as one way or no left/right turn during the normal working week.

We did manage a few runs along some famous stretches, and I got told off by the police once or twice for hanging out the windows of moving 911s with a camera, but it was worth it when the pictures made a cover and a big feature in 911 & Porsche World magazine.

If you’re a diehard F1 fan and have not yet made the effort to get down there and drive the circuit, put it on your bucket list. Trust your Uncle Johnny: it is WELL worth the effort. Though it can be trashy in places, Monaco is a unique environment: a shrine to speed that will undoubtedly inspire something within.

Just whizzed my 911 Carrera 3.0 down to the local tyre shop, to fit some all-weather rubber in place of the well-worn Michelin Pilot Sport Cups I had been using. Or not using as is a better way if putting it; not turned a wheel since July of last year.

As ever, the Orange fired up straight away. I just reconnected the battery isolator and the miniature Odyssey battery cranked it into life on the first turn. I crammed four ContiSport Contacts into the cabin and off we went.

The damp weather today gave me some interesting new-tyre moments on the greasy roads. A massive powerslide out of the tyre depot T-junction make a few people laugh, including me.

Off to the UK launch of the new 911 Carrera GTS down in Bournemouth now. Will try to post some pics and details later.

I was deleting some Youtube vids just now and got watching this one again. Sarah shot it when we picked up the Orange in Switzerland from GeorgeK.

I’ll never forget that weekend; what a crazy time. We had a good drive there and back, although it was a looong way to go in two days. The trusty Toyota was hammered most of the way there and back, but it did us proud. I’d love to do it again one day – sounds weird I know  – but to recapture the pure energy of that weekend would be magic.

I don’t think it is possible, however: this car is a one-off. I am 99% certain I will never be as excited about any other car as I was about buying this one. The Carrera 3.0 is the coolest mass-production Impact Bumper Porsche and this is the coolest Carrera 3.0 anywhere. Yes, I am biased!

I love this pic of my Carrera 3.0. If the 964 RS is the Ultimate factory Porsche, then this is one of my ultimate hot rods.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the breadth of the 911, and I’d love to own them all: something early, something IB, something slighty more lardy. But, if I had to have one Porsche for the rest of my days, then the one I own right at this minute is a pretty good option. It goes just as mega as it looks!