Anthony Coyne
Fort Lauderdale, FL
@elferusa
Being back in London for most of the month, the 997 still in Tennessee, my main transport has been a little Abarth 500. All the other cars in the UK have now been sold; the Caterham gone, the Bentley Turbo R sold (to a man who bought it to surprise his friend who’d just been diagnosed with Parkinson’s), and the 993, a car I thought I’d never sell, gone to a new owner. Having spent so much on my 993, including a £21,000 3.8 engine rebuild, I must be one of the few people in the last decade who has lost money on one. The enjoyment it gave me is more than worth the tens of thousands lost. Oddly the one car I couldn’t quite part with was the Abarth – it has no collectable value, the reviews have never been all that good, yet it remains the best car I have owned in my life.
Returning to the US, I was both looking forward to driving the 997, and dreading it. When I left I assumed it would be the last time I’d see it without kerb-damaged wheels, but to my surprise there was not a mark on them. Astonishing. Renée had even changed the battery, which decided to give up the will to live outside a mall in Knoxville. The condition of its wheels were not the reason I was dreading being reunited with the 997 – I don’t care if they get scuffed up, I was dreading a 1,000-mile drive a few days after arriving from Tennessee to Minnesota. We needed to take Alfred for his MRI and see his medical team following his craniotomy (www.elferusa.com). The 997 will be perfect for us driving around Fort Lauderdale and Miami, heading down to the Keys, and is fabulous on the incredible roads through Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains. It’s not perfect for driving 15 hours non-stop, but in fairness what is?
We set off early, 5:30am on a Sunday morning, and headed across to Nashville, a city known for being the music capital of the States, but to me the attraction is a coffee shop called Barista Parlor where I have visited for years. We enjoyed some breakfast and then hit the road north. Avoiding toll roads keeps the scenery more interesting and saves the brain from boredom. We timed our stops to combine some dog exercise, bathroom visits, fuel, food and driver swaps so our target arrival time of 9pm didn’t creep too much.
What’s frustrating is knowing US speed enforcement can be brutal. Sitting at around 80mph mostly seems acceptable, but it’s hard not to push the needle higher in a car capable of more than double that – especially with so many straight, empty stretches. Occasionally temptation is too much, but always brief; mindful a State Trooper could be hiding behind a bush far in the distance. They’d probably need air support to catch up, but insane as it may sound, I don’t doubt they’d do it. I much prefer the bed in the Canopy in Minneapolis to a cell somewhere in Iowa.
The day passed without seeing another 911. A truck driver we’d passed a short time earlier pulled up next to us at a rest stop and wanted to know if that was the best car I could find for a road trip, saying a horse looked more comfortable! He raised a good point; tyre noise means the Bose needs turning up high if you want to listen to Siriusxm, and the cabin is perhaps a little cramped for two people, a dog and luggage. Aside from that, what’s the problem with using a 911 for this sort of thing? Curiously the folding carbon bucket seats are not uncomfortable – even at the end of this marathon stint in the car, neither of us have backache.
We made Minneapolis at 9:30pm. Not bad at all considering we stopped in Nashville for an hour. So far this 997 is turning out to be an ideal US all-rounder/ sort-of-daily driver. Would I have taken the keys to the 997 over the Abarth had they both been here? Yep!