Facing cancer, Porsche fan dreams of ride in exotic car
Mike Simard has been “blown away” with the responses to his online ad asking to go for a ride in a fancy sports car.
He’s not looking to hit 200 miles an hour. He doesn’t even have to drive the car himself.
The 43-year-old just wants to know what it feels like to ride in a Porsche before it’s too late.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Even before I got sick I wanted to go down to a track day or something like that, with cars you can drive.”
His shoulders, weakened by bone cancer, already can’t lift his arms to a steering wheel, although chemotherapy may return some strength. Three tumours have been removed from his body in the past six years, including from his spine. He feels his future isn’t bright.
Simard, who lived in Moon Lake before moving in with his father in Saskatoon six months ago, used to lead provincial forest firefighter crews but is now at a desk job.
He has always enjoyed exotic sports cars, ever since he got to drive them around the parking lot when he worked at a Saskatoon car wash in his youth, he said.
His first love was the Porsche 959, which at the time was the fastest car in the world. He’s now a fan of modern 911 models, especially in black or blue, he said.
For perspective: a new, base model Honda Civic produces 158 horsepower and 138 pound-feet of torque. A Porsche 911 Turbo boasts 540 horsepower and 524 poundfeet of torque.
Since posting the ad on July 14, he has received about 20 responses, including from a dealership, a car club and a man who owns a Corvette, Simard said. The post on Kijiji has had more than 1,500 visits. He hopes to arrange a ride for next week.
“These people are great. I’m a 43-year-old man. You do this for a 12-year-old kid,” he said.