The sports cars I feel fortunate to have owned over my adult life of circa 50 years have all been thought of as very special, from my first car an AH Forgeye Sprite through MGB`s, Lotus, Spitfire, and others, even a REAL GT in the form of a 6276 CC Jensen Interceptor during a fuel crisis, and of course my air cooled and now finally water cooled 991.... My latest and likely last Porsche is very special to me representing many years of work, savings and careful consideration. My sports cars were ever old and worn out and I spent a great deal of time keeping them reasonably roadworthy, and in the process was forced to learn many repair processes, as I did not earn enough to pay others to repair my machinery for me. Thus my sports cars have always been special to me.
As a young man I used my sports car as my daily`s and felt fortunate to be able to do so, but fell foul of my strategy as a change in job description required that my daily mileage would increase dramatically and which did not suit the mature ex competition Lotus Elan I was running at the time, a formerly used and abused machine which displayed zero oil pressure at idle when warm and it`s chassis required weekly welding to recover from the many miles it`s stiff suspension and various other race bred modifications exerted upon it...The very much loved Lotus had to go, and I ended up in a practical Austin Maxi as a daily.... Shock horror..or what..?
In time I managed back into sports car ownership having reached the stage of a sports car being a hobby and not required as daily transport. My daily tended to be a van or truck as I was ever repairing, modernising or extending my old property, thus sports cars were enjoyed as before in a limited way, with much time and effort prioritised elsewhere, so not much in the way of annual mileage covered but every trip out was special, an escape from the day to day pressures of finance and all else that life demands of us... (-:
The most expensive car I had ever bought was my Morgan bought in my 50`s it was a nut and bolt restoration carried out by a specialist of the marque at the time. Having nailed a few old cars together in my time I could well appreciate the quality of his workmanship in out of the way areas of a machine where others would be blinded by a shiny coat of paint. I could not believe I had arrived at the stage where I was buying a "mint" machine, but it was priced to sell and I bought it... Mileage..? In the twenty years I have owned it I have only managed about 28K miles, having around the same time taken on a self build home/ garage and landscaping project that sucked up the majority of time money and energy I had available over way too many years, so not much time and money left over to enjoy my old sports car as I might have hoped. The passage of time acting as ever it does, I now find I am not able to enjoy the fresh air and physical effort in the hoped for vintage driving experience as once I was in all weathers, thus the +8 has spent most of it`s life in the garage with circa 34k on the clock... Sigh!
Since I bought my 991 last August, I have only managed circa 1700 miles in it, but like the majority of my past sports cars, it has been enjoyed regardless of the seasons of the year, and with adequate care and maintenance, none the worse for wear. I can well understand the investment and garage queen mentality, been through some of that myself over the years, but machines are designed to work, not generally to be laid up, and can perhaps suffer more in lay-up in other ways, as like it or not age creeps up on everything in time... (-:
As I see it at club gatherings, classic car shows and local motor sport events, the majority of the participants seem to be of the baby boomer generation or not far off it, thus I suspect the Classic market values as they currently exist has a lifespan, the younger generations 40`s and younger (?) have their own Icons in the shape of EVO`s Skooby`s and Nissan GTR`s, though Porsche have done well to keep up with market trends exploiting market placement to their advantage.
One look at the events of last two years and the evolution thereof, as for the next two years...who knows..? Seems perhaps best to enjoy what you can while you can, for who knows what is around the corner..?
For me every trip out adding miles and smiles in my old sports car, or my far more up to date computer controlled seemingly rocket propelled and comfortable Porsche is still VERY special... What`s more to want..?
Perhaps best to enjoy the miles and not be controlled "to much" by avoiding usage for whatever reason, while at the same time I will ever acknowledge the enjoyment which may be pampering one`s Porsche in varying degrees.. :?:
As a young man I used my sports car as my daily`s and felt fortunate to be able to do so, but fell foul of my strategy as a change in job description required that my daily mileage would increase dramatically and which did not suit the mature ex competition Lotus Elan I was running at the time, a formerly used and abused machine which displayed zero oil pressure at idle when warm and it`s chassis required weekly welding to recover from the many miles it`s stiff suspension and various other race bred modifications exerted upon it...The very much loved Lotus had to go, and I ended up in a practical Austin Maxi as a daily.... Shock horror..or what..?
In time I managed back into sports car ownership having reached the stage of a sports car being a hobby and not required as daily transport. My daily tended to be a van or truck as I was ever repairing, modernising or extending my old property, thus sports cars were enjoyed as before in a limited way, with much time and effort prioritised elsewhere, so not much in the way of annual mileage covered but every trip out was special, an escape from the day to day pressures of finance and all else that life demands of us... (-:
The most expensive car I had ever bought was my Morgan bought in my 50`s it was a nut and bolt restoration carried out by a specialist of the marque at the time. Having nailed a few old cars together in my time I could well appreciate the quality of his workmanship in out of the way areas of a machine where others would be blinded by a shiny coat of paint. I could not believe I had arrived at the stage where I was buying a "mint" machine, but it was priced to sell and I bought it... Mileage..? In the twenty years I have owned it I have only managed about 28K miles, having around the same time taken on a self build home/ garage and landscaping project that sucked up the majority of time money and energy I had available over way too many years, so not much time and money left over to enjoy my old sports car as I might have hoped. The passage of time acting as ever it does, I now find I am not able to enjoy the fresh air and physical effort in the hoped for vintage driving experience as once I was in all weathers, thus the +8 has spent most of it`s life in the garage with circa 34k on the clock... Sigh!
Since I bought my 991 last August, I have only managed circa 1700 miles in it, but like the majority of my past sports cars, it has been enjoyed regardless of the seasons of the year, and with adequate care and maintenance, none the worse for wear. I can well understand the investment and garage queen mentality, been through some of that myself over the years, but machines are designed to work, not generally to be laid up, and can perhaps suffer more in lay-up in other ways, as like it or not age creeps up on everything in time... (-:
As I see it at club gatherings, classic car shows and local motor sport events, the majority of the participants seem to be of the baby boomer generation or not far off it, thus I suspect the Classic market values as they currently exist has a lifespan, the younger generations 40`s and younger (?) have their own Icons in the shape of EVO`s Skooby`s and Nissan GTR`s, though Porsche have done well to keep up with market trends exploiting market placement to their advantage.
One look at the events of last two years and the evolution thereof, as for the next two years...who knows..? Seems perhaps best to enjoy what you can while you can, for who knows what is around the corner..?
For me every trip out adding miles and smiles in my old sports car, or my far more up to date computer controlled seemingly rocket propelled and comfortable Porsche is still VERY special... What`s more to want..?
Perhaps best to enjoy the miles and not be controlled "to much" by avoiding usage for whatever reason, while at the same time I will ever acknowledge the enjoyment which may be pampering one`s Porsche in varying degrees.. :?:
