Living the Legend
Nick Jeffery
Surrey, UK
@npjeffery
@npjeffery
Model 996 CARRERA 4S
Year 2002
Acquired JUNE 2014
Model 996 TURBO
Year 2002
Acquired MAY 2017
Model 997 CARRERA 4 GTS
Year 2012
Acquired OCT 2018
This month’s column is about our recent road trip. We planned the 11-day adventure ourselves, including the route, pit stops and hotels, crossing France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. We had six Porsche: a GT3 RS, two Carreras, two Boxsters and our GTS. The GTS was selected for two reasons. Firstly, I tend to keep it tucked away, which feels wrong, as these cars are meant to be driven. Secondly, it seemed the obvious choice for the job, given it’s ten years newer and two generations on from our 996s.
The first day was all about ‘getting there’. We used motorways and autobahns to cover ground quickly. The second day brought more autobahns, but we were unable to better our top speed on derestricted sections due to torrential rain and a GT3 RS shod with Cup tyres!
After lunch in Passau we crossed from Germany into Austria, and quickly found some glorious flowing roads and a few switchbacks, providing us with an excellent opportunity to test our cars! The local roads were a huge surprise with elevation changes, long, sweeping, fast corners and tight bends.
We spent the third day taking a well-earned break with a trip into Salzburg. Our fourth day brought the first of the passes, Fern, then the mighty Hahntennjoch. The GTS was simply epic on those mountain roads!
Day five offered more of the same glorious fun along the passes – Fuorn, Flüela, Julier – then lunch in St Moritz followed by the run to Varenna by Lake Como in Italy. The GTS had already proved its breadth of ability, able to soak up the miles crossing countries. We took the opportunity to rest up on our sixth day, enjoying a boat trip to Bellagio followed by a swim in Lake Como.
Day seven brought Varenna to Monte Carasso – the ferry from Varenna to Menaggio versus the long way around Lake Como for the Boxster and our GTS. I am pleased to report the car-only route won the day. More passes followed as we headed to Interlaken, taking in some epic roads with the likes of the Nufenen, the world-famous Furka and finally the Susten. The latter was arguably my favourite pass as it offered higher cornering speeds and a superb flow.
Our eighth day took us from Interlaken to Baden-Baden and the Black Forest where we tackled the mighty B500, offering a series of long, sweeping bends aligned to plenty of gradient change. Highly recommended!
Day nine involved a trip to Porsche Stuttgart, the Porsche Museum and Factory Tour, all of which were fascinating. Our penultimate day effectively started the long journey home with the opportunity to visit the historic Circuit de Reims-Gueux.
Day 11 meant saying our goodbyes after an awesome adventure covering 2,345 miles, making some unforgettable memories along the way. The GTS never missed a beat and my love for the car has grown immeasurably. The GTS is now booked into Paragon for an oil change, MOT and to investigate a couple of small items.
Joe Williams
Weymouth, UK
@joewilliamsuk
Model 912
Year 1967
Acquired APR 2017
The weather has finally turned and what seems like a really long summer has finally come to a close. Dark mornings, shorter days and a general downturn in car-related
