Year after year, car guys drive to the same places with the same people. Why do they do it? Discuss.

Rolling into the Chunnel car park and finding twenty of your friends waiting for you in similar cars is a great feeling. Camaraderie engulfs the entourage, with anticipatory awe permeating the queue of cars headed for check in.

Off the train in la belle France half an hour later, we gathered to discuss the route options. A red Carrera GT filling up next door was a positive Porsche portent, with the same good vibrations evident throughout our journey west to Rouen and south towards Sarthe. An unbelievable amount of rain means marine terminology is required to describe making way along the A28, each 911 creating a huge rooster tail of spray. France is famed for its joi de vivre though, so torrential rain and a few wet clothes do not dampen our high spirits. (more…)

“The days of the petrolhead are numbered,” says the media. “Rubbish” says John Glynn, who has complete confidence in the next generation of car fanatics.

The daily papers are awash with tales of woe: soaring energy prices, crashing economies and knife-wielding thugs at the gates of every school. With so much bad news everywhere, peace of mind now depends on getting no news at all. “No news is good news” as all of our grandmothers used to say.

Our grandparents’ generation endured their catastrophes, and we must have ours - that is the way of the world. As one generation matures and begins their weary descent towards decrepitude, so the next generation must step up to take the reins. (more…)

This spotless IROC RSR replica blends old-school style with modern technology to give a truly unique ride. John Glynn reports.

The secret of success is a question that has tested the greatest minds for centuries, and most agree that the recipe relies on two critical ingredients: hard work and vision. The historic backdrop to today’s photo shoot is a perfect example of hard work and vision, combined in perfect proportions to yield spellbinding results.

Taking a year to buy, a year to plan and two years to execute, this recently restored medieval manor house is unspeakably impressive, and is testament to the tenacity of its owners, Graham and Babs Stanton. The strength of their vision, and desire to create something truly special, meant that the budget for the rebuild bore scant relationship to market value. “I probably spent more than it’s worth to other people” muses Graham, “but nothing like what it’s worth to me”. The owner of our stunning feature car can sympathise completely. (more…)

DP Motorsport have announced the final edition of their DP Cargo, a ‘shooting brake’ estate based on the 944. The DP Cargo first appeared in 1988, and fewer than ten cars have been built to date, for those seeking a unique but still very usable style of Porsche. With only eight sets of the bespoke rear glass remaining, the company recently decided to build the final five cars, with four deposits already received.

DP built their first Cargo in 1988, after experimenting with the roof of a VW Passat estate laid over the top of a 944 bodyshell. The conversion eventually evolved into a complete remodel of the 944’s rear section, with a fibreglass roof and rear door supported by a tubular steel framework, adding increased rigidity to the otherwise open-backed coupe.

Inside, the custom creation features a cleverly relocated spare wheel and flat load floor. The Cargo is impeccably finished, with colour-matched side panels and headlining retrimmed in leather. The conversion takes two months and costs €18,900 including VAT.     

The DP Cargo was one of the stars of the recent Essen Techno Classica, where it attracted many positive comments. Look out for a full feature in a future issue.

When it comes to the extra-sensory experience that is owning and driving an older 911, some senses are more equal than others, says John Glynn.                        

Sound is a key component of the 911 experience. The instantly recognisable Porsche Symphony Orchestra is a critical part of the process wherein we hand over large amounts of cash to own what is essentially just a means of getting from one place to another. Or at least it would be just another means of transport, if it didn’t have that flat six singing away in the rear.

To the dirty fingernail brigade, the air-cooled boxer engine speaks volumes in mechanical terms, with diminuendo hints of cam and valves and the basso profundo throb from the external cylinders, all accompanied by the drumming of the fan. On the move, the motor communicates via the throaty chomp of induction noise, followed by compliments to the chef from the rewarding rasp of the evocative exhaust. Even non-Porsche people know that nothing else sounds like an air-cooled 911.    (more…)