Max Newman
Aylesbury, UK
Model 991.1 CARRERA S Year 2013 Acquired SEPTEMBER 2020
“Now you have a 911 you’ll never want to be without one,” is what my father said in April 2012 when I bought my first 911 – a 997.1 Carrera. I guess he was right.
My original plan, not unrealistic at the time, was to trade up into a 997.1 GT3 after a few years. But the retirement of the magical Mezger motor and 997 generation cars, and the arrival of the incredible 991 GT series sparked a wave of nostalgia and frenzy of excitement that moved the market more quickly than my career could keep pace with. It turned out not to matter when I realised the great joy of 911 ownership is being able to use it like most folk would use their ordinary tin box, but to exist on a higher plane of automotive engagement and pleasure.
Nine years and 60,000 miles later my curiosity got the better of me and I bought my second 911 – a 991.1 Carrera S – and ran the two alongside each other. Having been everywhere and done everything in my 997 I used it less and less, so decided to sell it and concentrate on the 991. The 991 is a spectacularly good car – look back to issue 225 to read my thoughts about it.
I bought the 991 in an unusually bullish mood in September 2020, but have found myself increasingly bearish in recent times. The work on HS2 accelerates the deterioration of the roads in our area and I found myself feeling increasingly precious about the car. Too precious – I began to drive the car less frequently.
We forge our relationships and affections through the adventures we take and the memories we make, and the 991 and I haven’t managed to live the kind of life I did with the 997. Despite that I’d often find myself feeling very lucky and proud to own such a wonderful car. I reacted first by buying a Macan to facilitate Porsche seat time as much as I possibly could. In doing so it dawned on me that my affection for the brand itself is perhaps almost as strong as my love for the halo model itself. The Macan buying process led to me spending a week living with a brand-new Boxster
S, a car I was curious about and had no experience of. In short, I loved it and decided I wanted one, but only in addition to the 911, right?
At the turn of this year my friend Simon Jessop offered me the chance to drive in his G50 911 3.2 Carrera, which proved to be another seminal moment. Having little classic 911 experience, and feeling a bit rusty with a manual gearbox, I approached it with some trepidation but was instantly charmed. I found the process of making smooth, swift progress to be immensely satisfying, and the car an intoxicating companion. I began to contemplate classic 911 ownership for the first time. A 3.2 Carrera or SC is something I’d like to own for weekend jaunts, and something I hope to come to in due course, but it’s not for now. I’d still like a GT3 of some description, too.
I decided to buy something more modern with a manual gearbox. I still think PDK is the best way to experience a Gen1 991 Carrera, so didn’t fancy a seven-speed manual example. And I craved more new experiences – something that wouldn’t be fulfilled by a return to 997 Carrera ownership.
The 981 generation is my favourite Boxster, but it isn’t easy to find the right car – is it ever? When such a car appeared at reputable marque specialist Cameron Sports Cars, I spent the morning with proprietor Simon Cockram and agreed a deal there and then to sell my 991 to him and buy the 981 Boxster S.
I knew I’d miss 911 ownership, and I do. But I didn’t think I would regret selling the 991 and so far, I don’t. I hoped I would enjoy Boxster ownership – and I love it. As a result I’m required to give up my Living the Legend slot and in doing so, would like thank everyone who engaged with me over social media as a result – please continue to do so. I may well see you on these pages again soon…