James Bullen
Herts, UK
Model 991 50 JAHRE
Year 2014
Acquired 2022
Model 991.1 GT3
Year 2014
Acquired 2022
Model 996.1 CARRERA CABRIOLET
Year 1999
Acquired 2022
I felt very proud to be asked by Editor Lee to start a column for the Living the Legend section of this magazine. It’s a section I look forward to every month because it takes a step away from the aspirational and back to the real world as we readers get to learn about other enthusiasts’ recent experiences with their cars. I join an illustrious panel of columnists from the UK and around the world, many of whom I’ve known for some time now, so I hope my condensed Porsche-life, relayed to you each month, is half as interesting as theirs.
Having owned 16 Porsches (mostly 911s) of both air- and water-cooled varieties, it’s fair to say this addiction has caught me and won’t let go. I’ve recently had a major garage change around and so I start this column with a new line-up to share with you. 991-generation 911s have a gravitational pull for me (I’m now on my sixth) and having owned a few different flavours of this platform, I’m convinced this is peak 911!
I took the difficult decision to move on a much-loved 991.1 Carrera GTS in the summer, but not before the wife and I gave it one last good run down to Reims in France. A car like this is made for the billiard-table tarmac of the péage, but we also explored the adjacent scenic routes over the five-day tour of Champagne.
Although I enjoyed every second of my time behind the GTS’ wheel on roads superior to those back home, I knew by the time we returned a change was on the cards. The catalyst was the hotel car park. On the first morning of our stay I discovered that a late-evening arrival parked next to us was a 911 I’ve eyed enviously for many years: the 50 Jahre anniversary edition. This limited edition car features a rich array of embellishments, some obvious and some subtle, in a package that perfectly celebrates the 911’s half-century.
Surveying the French-registered example that would tease me each day by parking alongside the GTS, I realised this was an itch I just had to scratch, so the search began. In truth, this was a path I’d walked before. I almost purchased a 50th anniversary 911 early in the first outbreak of Covid 19. but I felt at that point it was overpriced. As they say, hindsight is 20/20 vision.
Back to the present day, and after shortlisting a few I settled on a two-owner car from Porsche Centre Teesside that ticked most of my wish-list boxes and, importantly for me, had low mileage with a linear Porsche history. A month after returning from France the GTS had gone as part of the deal to bring this special 911 50 Jahre to my garage.
Early experiences are really positive. Every journey in the
