My New GT Silver C4S - !! Collection Day !!

G2 said:

911Time said:

Staffordshire's nice and rural and perfect for heading to better roads in Wales, the town is just OK nowadays (council lost their way) but it's not the county town it really should/could be (I'm not from Stafford originally) - we're south of Stafford and tend to enjoy Lichfield more.

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Staffs Cannock, Lichfield, stone via Weston and back to staffs used to be our car 'proving ground" late night.. then one of the boys hit a deer so we slowed it down a bit. Also the worlds collection of speed cameras being placed along the A34 quite rightly slowed everyone down. :cop:

Sorry for leading the thread on a detour. Any plans for trips in the new motor? The trax/Donington meet will be your closest event if it goes ahead this year :thumb:

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No 'Detour' - all good car chat

The route you mentioned always used to be a good one but they've reduced the speed limit now to 50mph in most places and added speed cameras - which on the straight sections with good sightlines just seems crazy (no doubt filling the coffers though :roll: ).

Lots of 'local' day-out journeys planned: Across to Lake Vyrnwy on the B-roads is a favourite of ours (me and my girlfriend) and usually quite free of traffic. The Lake Vyrnwy Hotel & Spa often has classic car clubs visiting too.

The Evo Triangle is good but has become a bit too 'obvious' in recent years :cop: Instead we like to take the back roads from Stafford, Gnosall, Whitchurch, Wrexham, Ruthin and ultimately to Llandudno.

We also do the run across to Aberaeron, which is a nice run out - clearly we're not the only ones as there was a lovely GT3 and new GT3RS there last year.

It's been a while since I spent any serious time in the beautiful Scottish Highlands (I used to do a lot of motoring) so I'd like to do the North Coast 500 but like the Evo triangle that seems to be attracting some idiotic behaviour and consequently drawing too much attention from disgruntled locals - I don't blame 'em for objecting but resorting to scattering nails on the road could result in manslaughter.

If my health stays good (and travelling in Europe doesn't become a PITA) then I'd love to do some foreign trips - obviously a factory tour of Porsche would be atop the list and maybe a trip to Zell am See and up the Grossglockner, or up to the Tourist Routes in Norway (which look great) or down to Lake Garda (another long-time favourite).

This one's not car related but I'd quite like to visit Hallstatt in Austria - apparently my DNA showed some of my ancestors were from that area. I spent many happy years in Austria back in mid 80's but haven't been back for decades and my other half hasn't been to the Alps....could be a plan.

Plenty of good options but we'll probably stay local to begin with...

Any suggestions for Porsche friendly routes (decent roads/parking options/photo ops) or other get togethers?

!! Collection Day & The Full Story!!

Hi Guys, well - having alluded to it previously here are some pics of the big day and more on why this purchase is such an important one for me.

911Time said:

G2 said:

911Time said:

Staffordshire's nice and rural and perfect for heading to better roads in Wales, the town is just OK nowadays (council lost their way) but it's not the county town it really should/could be (I'm not from Stafford originally) - we're south of Stafford and tend to enjoy Lichfield more.

Click to expand...

Staffs Cannock, Lichfield, stone via Weston and back to staffs used to be our car 'proving ground" late night.. then one of the boys hit a deer so we slowed it down a bit. Also the worlds collection of speed cameras being placed along the A34 quite rightly slowed everyone down. :cop:

Sorry for leading the thread on a detour. Any plans for trips in the new motor? The trax/Donington meet will be your closest event if it goes ahead this year :thumb:

Click to expand...

No 'Detour' - all good car chat

The route you mentioned always used to be a good one but they've reduced the speed limit now to 50mph in most places and added speed cameras - which on the straight sections with good sightlines just seems crazy (no doubt filling the coffers though :roll: ).

Lots of 'local' day-out journeys planned: Across to Lake Vyrnwy on the B-roads is a favourite of ours (me and my girlfriend) and usually quite free of traffic. The Lake Vyrnwy Hotel & Spa often has classic car clubs visiting too.

The Evo Triangle is good but has become a bit too 'obvious' in recent years :cop: Instead we like to take the back roads from Stafford, Gnosall, Whitchurch, Wrexham, Ruthin and ultimately to Llandudno.

We also do the run across to Aberaeron, which is a nice run out - clearly we're not the only ones as there was a lovely GT3 and new GT3RS there last year.

It's been a while since I spent any serious time in the beautiful Scottish Highlands (I used to do a lot of motoring) so I'd like to do the North Coast 500 but like the Evo triangle that seems to be attracting some idiotic behaviour and consequently drawing too much attention from disgruntled locals - I don't blame 'em for objecting but resorting to scattering nails on the road could result in manslaughter.

If my health stays good (and travelling in Europe doesn't become a PITA) then I'd love to do some foreign trips - obviously a factory tour of Porsche would be atop the list and maybe a trip to Zell am See and up the Grossglockner, or up to the Tourist Routes in Norway (which look great) or down to Lake Garda (another long-time favourite).

This one's not car related but I'd quite like to visit Hallstatt in Austria - apparently my DNA showed some of my ancestors were from that area. I spent many happy years in Austria back in mid 80's but haven't been back for decades and my other half hasn't been to the Alps....could be a plan.

Plenty of good options but we'll probably stay local to begin with...

Any suggestions for Porsche friendly routes (decent roads/parking options/photo ops) or other get togethers?

Click to expand...

Halstatt and Zell, awesome places, although Zell is a bit err, Arabic! :thumb: no pics of the motor showing?

!! Collection Day and The Full Story !!

!! Collection Day & The Full Story !!
Hi Guys, well - having alluded to it previously, here are some pics of the big collection day and more on why this particular purchase is such a very important one for me.

Probably like most of you, I've wanted a 911 for a long time and have owned many other cars before - I could have bought a Porsche years ago but wanted to wait 'til I could get the 'right one'.

Back in 2009 I was doing OK, successful company, nice cars, not rich but comfortable, then overnight everything changed - after what appeared to be a trapped nerve turned out to be a serious spinal collapse (which required immediate surgery and metalwork), all caused by an incurable form of cancer that causes bone damage. Suddenly the pains in my neck, which I thought were just work related stress, made sense.

At 43 and being otherwise fit & healthy, I was told I probably had 3 - 5 years: In the years that followed I had successive rounds of treatment - to date I've undergone two bone marrow transplants, four rounds of chemotherapy, three rounds of radiotherapy and had more scans and tablets than I can recall.

Along the way, I lost my business, my cars, a chunk of my life savings and had to downsize my life in many areas - thankfully, my family/partner have been fantastic all the way through and thanks to some help from above and sheer bloody mindedness on my part I've kept going (it'll be 10 years this May).

Despite all this, to the casual observer, I probably look OK and I still keep on smiling: Unfortunately, the cancer & treatments have destroyed my immune system, created numerous bone lesions (risk of fractures), created peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage in my hands and feet) and cause me varying degrees of pain every day. I have to be careful what I do: I'm still on chemo now and unless NICE licence some of the newer therapies, I probably will be till the end but there's life in the old dog yet!

Last year I started on an old fashioned form of chemo, which despite also causing me heart disease :roll:, has held my cancer at bay for a while now, so I've decided to splurge some more of my savings (can't take it with you) and finally buy my dream motor.

In addition to my family and partner, cars have always been a fundamentally enjoyable part of my life and this new one's already put a MASSIVE grin on my face and definitely been worth the wait

BTW: This story isn't a sympathy call - I don't need it or want it but just as a reminder that S$%^ happens and we should all be grateful for what we have and enjoy the time we have. Here endeth the lesson

NOW the important bit:

Having found a beautiful C4S, I wanted a few 'extras' to remind me of the cars of my youth - so the 50th Anniversary cover, black 'PORSCHE' badge (good call T8 :thumb and a set of forged Sport Classic alloys (Fuchs look in my mind) with Michelin PS4S.

















I have to say a big THANK YOU to the staff at Dick Lovett Swindon and in particular two sales staff, Haydn Lee and Matthew Collett, who've responded to many questions from a very particular (PITA :wink customer and helped turn a dream into a reality - cheers gents, collection day was perfect :thumb:

Now it's time to make some memories.

Mark, that is some journey that you have been on, and still enduring.
I'm not shy in telling people that it's later than we think.

Congrats on your purchase, the wheels stand out very well. :thumbs:

:thumb: looks lovely especially the alloys and the 305's.

Come along to the Bulls head meet on the 23rd to show it off? Just down the road and a very friendly bunch (except Jonttt obviously) :grin:

:thumb: enjoy :cheers:

A lesson indeed Mark, in the power of positive thinking and, as you say, bloody mindedness.

Love what you've done with the car, those wheels and cover are fantastic finishing touches to an absolute beauty to start with, great work :thumbs:

8) car

:worship: story

:thumb:

Love the new look and congrats again. Clearly you should very much try and enjoy this now !!

All the best
Jungle

Mark, your car looks great and I get the feeling that you'll enjoy every second of it!

I wish I could bring you over to where I work to tell your story and pass on some of your positivity!

All the best.

Thank you all for your comments about the car :thumb: - this is the first car in ages that I've found myself just sneaking out to sit in or looking at it in the garage - not felt like that for a long while...

Thank you also for your words of support - like I said, not seeking sympathy but we're all on this journey and that's the main reason for sharing the story.

Look forward to meeting you at the get togethers, so if you see the car come across - unfortunately I can't make the one on the 23rd but look forward to the next.

Best wishes, Mark

Mark, thank for you sharing your story. A great reminder for the rest of us to be grateful and think positive, daily. You deserve your car, and what stunning car it is. Enjoy it, although I strong suspect you know that you will!

Nice story & that's what its all about buying something youve always wanted scince you were a boy & now love to own, im getting more & more into my porsches too, a little bit of something nice :thumb:

Took the car out for a short drive through the local countryside - warmed up gently, then coming away from a mini-roundabout in second I popped into Sport Plus and opened her up properly....WOW!!

The sound of that N/A engine being revved out, brought wonderful images of trees blurring past on the Green Hell, all the historical Porsche racing cars and me wearing a maniacal grin, wider than the Cheshire cat!!