Lee Sibley

Bournemouth, UK @lee_sibs

Model 996 Carrera 4S Year 2002

Acquired April 2017 Regular readers will know I bloody well love a road trip, so after my new brakes were fitted and bedded in last month, I headed for my favourite roads in Wales with two good friends for the weekend.

I’ve known Sam and Alex for years.

All of a similar age, we’re hard-working individuals in the week and diehard petrolheads the rest of the time. Where we differ, though, is in our choice of cars: I’m quite obviously a devout 911 guy. Sam likes lots of cylinders and as much power as possible, while Alex admires lightweight, track-focused precision.

Our contrasting tastes meant we headed to Wales with an eclectic trio of cars: my C4S, Sam’s 507hp M5 and Alex’s Mx5-engined, 600kg Thruxton

GT. It was amazing and, at times, frankly hilarious to see how each car handled different scenarios. Of course, I believe the 996 was the best all-rounder, fulfilling in many ways the 911’s very purpose as the ultimate sports car for all occasions. Really though, it mattered little: a thoroughly brilliant weekend was had worrying about little else other than the road ahead. For 48 hours, we really did live one corner at a time!

Driving back, I realised I didn’t want to leave the twisting tarmac of Wales, for it was to be the last road trip in my 996 Carrera 4S: painfully, I’ve had to sell the car to fund a house purchase. It’s been the greatest honour, owning the 911 of my dreams (most of you may know I coveted the C4S for years) but, with my 30th birthday only months away, the time has come to get on the property ladder. The private registration plate A911 HCM came with the car, and from the start I jokingly referred to it as ‘A

911 Helping Cement Mortgage’, but the prophecy has become a reality. I won’t be without a Neunelfer for very long though, so watch this space.

It seems nobody is buying at the minute, so the C4S was advertised for weeks with little interest, even as the price began to tumble. In the end Porsche Specialists, Ashgoods, offered me a way out, and so the below is my final view of the car. I’ve a lasting memory of it on Youtube, search ‘That Nine Eleven Guy’ to see the full video.