Running Report

It has been and extremely busy year for me both within and outwith the Porsche scene. Hangovers from the pandemic meant much tooing and frooing to 9 Excellence to bring deferred maintenance back inline as well as a three road trips and a Rennsport Reunion 7 visit to California. But as busy as we have been, one last cheeky roadtrip across Europe seemed on the cards in early December and by mid december we were set to head off.

But alas that idea was thwarted at the last second with the C4S packed with snowboards, suitcases and the Amex card ready for the melting only experienced at a christmas in the Alps. What scuppered the trip was the winter tyres, which the mobile fitter pointed out were 10 years old and while the treads were deep, the old rubber was as crisp as the wear was even. At that point all was not lost as surely a new set could be procured at this time of year. This turned out to not be the case as the rear winter 295/30r18 are no longer produced by any manufacturer period. Porsche standard winter rear spec is for 265/40R18 which require 10 inch wheels rather than the standard 11 inch and a quick internet search located a set with tyres for a reasonable price. In Germany. Delivery: Next year.

With that the trip was abandoned and we went back inside to realign Christmas dinner plans from Foie Gras to Brussels sprouts. While it is possible to rely on snowchains and luck to get you round in a blizzard, I have done it enough to not want to do it on Pilot Sports in a region that digs roadside ditches deep enough to double stack Peogeots.

It is a shame as Nine Excellence had done a stirling job sorting out the electrical niggles I mentioned in last month’s column. Two new keyfobs sorted out the entry/ alarm issues and new clock spring got rid of the airbag light. The periodic seat issues could not be traced but the connections were cleaned as a precaution.

This sudden availability allowed me to give the neighbour a lift to a doctor’s appointment in the next village. With the Cayenne away having shards of metal discovered in its oil filter the 996 was pressed into action which suddenly brought into focus like dirt fingerprints on the fridge door how used to quirks you get if you never drive a normal car. Ed, the neighbour, can be seen most days striding his 76 year old 6’3 frame across the farm shoving some impossibly heavy load about as he has done for decades.

A sudden hit in mobility found me driving him to an appointment in the C4S with his knees touching the dash and head grazing the roof. The drive found me apologising for the rowdy exhaust I had never noticed but seemed to be blaringly loud now, and tempering my 0-50 times on the local B roads. No all wheel drive front tyre scrabbling around the hairpins in other words. We made it unscathed with me barking orders at Siri periodically via the head unit which I had taken for granted for decades now but was something completely new to him even though the neighbours car is thirteen year newer Mercedes.

I am most comfortable driving my 996 and 928 and their quirks have long ago become the norm to me; anything else remains mundane.