991 road trip
The loudspeaker announces another delay in the departure of our shuttle to Calais, prompting drivers to clamber out of their cars, lazily soak up some of the early morning sun, and chat to their neighbours in the queue. The owner of a gorgeous E-type next to me asks about the 991, and is amazed to hear its age. “It looks like it was designed this year!” he comments.
I know what he means. The 991 series has aged well. He tells me he’s heading to the south of France, and I reply that we’re attending a 10th birthday party in Stuttgart. He smiles, and wanders off in search of coffee. Birthday parties for 10-year-olds generally provoke nervous twitches in parents at memories of hyperactive children, ice cream in the carpet and jelly on the ceiling. What I haven’t mentioned is that this party is for the 991. It would take too long to explain, and he looks in need of caffeine.
A few beers in our local had sparked the idea. As our 991 approached its 10th birthday, we thought it would be fitting to mark the occasion back where it was born, in Zuffenhausen, as near to the production line as Porsche would let us get. Calais to Zuffenhausen is about 750 kilometers direct, a relatively easy day’s blast each way. Alternatively, we could add a few kilometres and take in a couple of other sights on a slightly more meandering route. But we eventually decided on a third, more
