Living the Legend
Our contributing enthusiasts from around the world share their real-life experiences with their Porsche 911s
Real-world owner reports from our specially selected global collective
996 C4S Model 2002 Year March 2018 Acquired
“Welcome back, Sean.” Lee sent me the text and I was thrilled. It’s been half a year since I last wrote an LTL piece… I sold my beloved
912 and replaced it with a 996 C4S.
The problem was that Lee had done such a good job selling the C4S to me that we now had two in the LTL ranks – one too many! I have since written about my new car in my article for T911 on moving from air to water, an article which got some attention in the letters section. I haven’t changed my mind. The 911 is a better car than the 912 by every measure. I’m even getting to the point that I think it looks better (nearly!).
So, some background. I am a patient in the ‘Love of 911’ ward of Stuttgart General Hospital. The black C4S is now my fifth Porsche, all in 911 flavour – yes the 912 is a 911 – and they have all, with the exception of a misjudged pest of a red SC that I wrote about for years in this magazine, been great cars. I have loved them all, and all have been written about on these pages.
However, after four air-cooled cars I was sick of worrying about climbing values, spiralling costs and a constant concern over rust or breakdowns, so I stopped driving the 912. I wanted a car that I could drive every day, take away for the weekend, drive to see my daughters in Glasgow and Bristol and be able to walk when I got there. Well, I have got that in spades. In the six months I’ve had the C4S I have driven it more than 6,000 miles – more than the last two 911s combined in nearly four years!
The purchase was easy and smooth. I found it in a local performance car sales company; not a Porsche specialist, but good and honest. They were selling it on behalf of a QC who happened to live around the corner from me, opposite my favourite cafe in my hometown of Harpenden. I sold the 912 in Harpenden too… it’s a small world.
I have driven the car all over the country, including a memorable trip to Yorkshire with some of the Living The Legend boys, which was just incredible. The roads up there are brilliant and, although I was born and bred in
Australia, I am a Yorkshireman at heart, my mother hailing from there. The C4S was faultless except for a failing ABS sensor and a very close call due to this, where I almost introduced the front of my car to the back of Joe’s 997 Turbo. It was very close, with huge plumes of tyre smoke.
So, in short, I am back and I couldn’t be happier. I have some great stories already from my time with this beautiful car, and I can’t wait to share them all with you. Lee has been incredibly kind to me allowing me to write my air to water story and inviting me to do an article on the incredible Luft
GB, which was in last month’s issue. Much more still to come. Lee will be missed on these pages, but fortunately we get him everywhere else in the magazine and on Youtube as well! Do you recall the famous but now defunct Husborne Crawley Autojumbles? At their height they were a real treasure trove of Porsche and VW spare parts, and have long been missed by petrolheads ever since.
In a quest to revive that spirit once more, my favourite Porsche specialist, BS Motorsport, had their inaugural Autojumble and open day on 18 August. Their brand-new service bay and reception area was launched to the world, together with new staff members in the engine build and service/restoration teams on hand to chat with customers.
The genesis of this event began when BSM’S Neil Bainbridge recently purchased an articulated truck full of rare Porsche spare parts from a collector in France. Among the gems were 2.7 RS engines, many assorted air-cooled motors from 2.4 to 3.6 litres, a Porsche V8 engine, rare and spare 911 race and road car body panels, electrics, gearboxes, wheels, suspension, trim and interior components and even a brand-new and unused 1974 RSR motor!
Apparently it took quite a while to go through and produce an inventory of this mountain of Porsche goodness, with the parts racks loaded from floor to ceiling. Several other Porsche specialists were invited along to pitch their wares for sale outside as well, including Classic Retrofit with their range of upgrade products, and the crowds were fed and watered by a wide variety of mobile caterers.
Parking was plentiful at the Westcott Venture Park location, and some Porsche owners who have their high-value cars stored at BSM kindly allowed their pride and joy to go on display, creating a scene that was reminiscent of a miniature Luftgekühlt UK, but without the rain that blighted that event!
Our three modest 911s were invited to join the display cars, which was gratifying as we rarely have the chance to gather them together. The event was deemed successful enough for it to be repeated next year, so keep an eye out for details… the BS Motorsport Autojumble could grow into something big.