Whether we be considered BOF`s or Fuddy Duddies, by ourselves or others, matters not a jot, the 993 is of it`s time, as are we, the rest is down to evolution not only of machinery but of expectations of performance with each new generation as it climbs into the driving seat, perhaps creating an era of influence in matters automotive...? To be fair on the youngsters, even BOF`s and FD`s expectations advance with the passage of time as they may be looking for a bit more comfort and relaxed driving experience as better matches their advancing years...?
Ahh Lotus, I well remember lusting after the Elan in the 60`s, and was fortunate enough to own two of them over the years, being no stranger to a spanner helped me keep the costs down, and running on a tight budget, much as I did in earlier years with my old m/cycles equated to becoming a tad efficient in the art of roadside repairs... (-: But, just as above with the onset of the ageing process lying on the garage floor is best avoided these days, thus aspects of reliability along with the other advances in automotive engineering seem to be a tad more attractive. though the expense involved in paying others to maintain one`s machine is far less attractive...Hmm..?
I feel very fortunate to have owned 4 Porsches over a few decades, three air cooled and now my current 991.1, none were used as daily transport thus all felt special each time I fired them up. I guess I created far more memories over the air cooled years, than I am ever likely to do so with my 991, but I do think it is a fine example of automotive art and accomplishment, at or near the peak of ICE design, with more horses than I might ever hope to control were they all ever to be unleashed in a stampede, thus it seems fortunate indeed that my C4S does have a whole load of digitally programmed, sensors and actuators, to assist in maintaining firm contact with the Tarmac for the majority of the time..(-:
Comparisons in terms of maintenance and repair old tec Vs new.... just a very different world. While I was able to learn enough to keep my old 50`s m/cycles running in the late sixties and followed similar processes into my car owning years right up till a time when digitisation appeared on the scene and began to become ever restrictive to the generation of would be home mechanics who perhaps grew up using fag paper to cap contact breaker points and fag packet cardboard to gap plugs...all in the days when most folk smoked.. Sure some...err..mature home mechanics equipped themselves with the kit required to interrogate the on board systems and the interweb was worth it`s weight in gold in terms of providing education, to a level far in excess of the m/cycle and car mechanics magazines from which I was mostly dependant upon to acquire a reasonable working knowledge of matters mechanical. It seems old tec may actually becoming ever more difficult to maintain as I suspect the majority of Technicians to be found employed in main dealerships today would have ever have gapped a set of points let alone timed the ignition by rotating a distributor, assuming they knew what a distributor might be, all assuming the spare parts required might still be available.. ? Last time I helped a pal get his K-Jetronic system repaired, parts were indeed difficult to find.....
No criticism of the young or modern mechanics implied, it is all just a matter of evolution is it not..?
Such was my era of max motoring enjoyment, that the 993 was thought by me as perhaps a step to far away from that which I formerly felt more involved in the process of piloting a sports car.. I took a step back in time in a bid to amplify the requirement for driver input to the process of proceeding perfectly on an interesting ribbon of Tarmac at road legal speeds, while feeling entirely involved in the whole process...(-: I bought into the idea of acquiring a pseudo vintage open top sports car, idealy one with a V8 engine that made a lot of noise, rattled and shook just a tad, and made me feel I was driving at over the ton, while proceeding at a road legal pace.
Of course in any such discussion there will be those who will perhaps set and hold to a different datum point in time and in terms of automotive ideals, each to their own. It might be hard to believe but some prefer to set their datum for automotive enjoyment considerably further back than even I, engaging in adventures either on muddy roads or taking on European trips in machinery older than themselves....!!!
OK so wandering well off topic, but AFN (Archie Frazer Nash)as best I know, were the first official importer of Porsche into the UK, and Frazer Nash cars started out with chain driven rear wheels and a wooden chassis, even using air cooled aircraft engines as in the GN machine in the vid... now whether you would consider such a machine as tantalising or torture..... ? Each to their own..(-:
For a repeat trip back into Southern Europe as I have had the good fortune to enjoy with my good lady, the last of which was circa 2006 in our old V8 crate, is today unfortunately no longer possible, but were it so, I would think given my maturity, that the 991 would seem to be the ideal machine in which to attempt to repeat the performance.. though I do suspect in terms of my purist Porsche priorities, I suspect my old 911 SC might be more trusted electromechanically given my own experience to date..
Ahh Lotus, I well remember lusting after the Elan in the 60`s, and was fortunate enough to own two of them over the years, being no stranger to a spanner helped me keep the costs down, and running on a tight budget, much as I did in earlier years with my old m/cycles equated to becoming a tad efficient in the art of roadside repairs... (-: But, just as above with the onset of the ageing process lying on the garage floor is best avoided these days, thus aspects of reliability along with the other advances in automotive engineering seem to be a tad more attractive. though the expense involved in paying others to maintain one`s machine is far less attractive...Hmm..?
I feel very fortunate to have owned 4 Porsches over a few decades, three air cooled and now my current 991.1, none were used as daily transport thus all felt special each time I fired them up. I guess I created far more memories over the air cooled years, than I am ever likely to do so with my 991, but I do think it is a fine example of automotive art and accomplishment, at or near the peak of ICE design, with more horses than I might ever hope to control were they all ever to be unleashed in a stampede, thus it seems fortunate indeed that my C4S does have a whole load of digitally programmed, sensors and actuators, to assist in maintaining firm contact with the Tarmac for the majority of the time..(-:
Comparisons in terms of maintenance and repair old tec Vs new.... just a very different world. While I was able to learn enough to keep my old 50`s m/cycles running in the late sixties and followed similar processes into my car owning years right up till a time when digitisation appeared on the scene and began to become ever restrictive to the generation of would be home mechanics who perhaps grew up using fag paper to cap contact breaker points and fag packet cardboard to gap plugs...all in the days when most folk smoked.. Sure some...err..mature home mechanics equipped themselves with the kit required to interrogate the on board systems and the interweb was worth it`s weight in gold in terms of providing education, to a level far in excess of the m/cycle and car mechanics magazines from which I was mostly dependant upon to acquire a reasonable working knowledge of matters mechanical. It seems old tec may actually becoming ever more difficult to maintain as I suspect the majority of Technicians to be found employed in main dealerships today would have ever have gapped a set of points let alone timed the ignition by rotating a distributor, assuming they knew what a distributor might be, all assuming the spare parts required might still be available.. ? Last time I helped a pal get his K-Jetronic system repaired, parts were indeed difficult to find.....
No criticism of the young or modern mechanics implied, it is all just a matter of evolution is it not..?
Such was my era of max motoring enjoyment, that the 993 was thought by me as perhaps a step to far away from that which I formerly felt more involved in the process of piloting a sports car.. I took a step back in time in a bid to amplify the requirement for driver input to the process of proceeding perfectly on an interesting ribbon of Tarmac at road legal speeds, while feeling entirely involved in the whole process...(-: I bought into the idea of acquiring a pseudo vintage open top sports car, idealy one with a V8 engine that made a lot of noise, rattled and shook just a tad, and made me feel I was driving at over the ton, while proceeding at a road legal pace.
Of course in any such discussion there will be those who will perhaps set and hold to a different datum point in time and in terms of automotive ideals, each to their own. It might be hard to believe but some prefer to set their datum for automotive enjoyment considerably further back than even I, engaging in adventures either on muddy roads or taking on European trips in machinery older than themselves....!!!
OK so wandering well off topic, but AFN (Archie Frazer Nash)as best I know, were the first official importer of Porsche into the UK, and Frazer Nash cars started out with chain driven rear wheels and a wooden chassis, even using air cooled aircraft engines as in the GN machine in the vid... now whether you would consider such a machine as tantalising or torture..... ? Each to their own..(-:
For a repeat trip back into Southern Europe as I have had the good fortune to enjoy with my good lady, the last of which was circa 2006 in our old V8 crate, is today unfortunately no longer possible, but were it so, I would think given my maturity, that the 991 would seem to be the ideal machine in which to attempt to repeat the performance.. though I do suspect in terms of my purist Porsche priorities, I suspect my old 911 SC might be more trusted electromechanically given my own experience to date..
