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London Calling – A visit to TOP GEAR and road trip of a different nature
Enthused by our Passo Tourismo fleet, a good customer and friend decided to strike out and find his own air-cooled 911. Placing his trust in our knowledge of 911s, he asked us to assess a 911 that he had found in the UK. His find turned out to be a very rare 993 Carrera 2 S in vesuvio-gray metallic and special wishes full leather interior. We sent our most trusted assessor, a former Porsche technician and absolute source on air-cooled 911 to London. An additional benefit, our “man” is well versed in importing vehicles to Germany.
After a 2 hour pre-purchase inspection and road test, the verdict was in. Buy! The seller, a medical doctor and real “petrolhead”, made us an unusual offer: if the deal could be completed within the week, he would get us a few tickets to Top Gear. Top Gear is the single most successful car show in the world that has been copied in the US and Australia and is known by its fans for its unusual vehicle tests and rankings.
Our friend was extremely happy with the detailed and objective assessment of our inspector and decided to purchase the 993. Being a businessman, he didn’t have the time to pick up the Porsche the following weekend, he asked us if we would have time to run the errand. The prospect of picking up a rare Porsche in London, seeing Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May and having the opportunity to test drive such an incredible machine is something you don’t second guess; so, off we were.
At 4:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning, the alarm clock woke us. Not 5 hours later, I was in London to meet the seller in the Docklands. But first, we had to see Jezza, The Hamster and Captain Slow…
The show was incredible, to say the least. These guys really have a unique franchise and it was a pleasure to see these idols of automotive journalism in the flesh. Very humorous, even if at times a bit teuton-bashing in nature, fantastic super cars and unreal driving. We even got the opportunity to shake hands with Sabine Schmitz, of “Ring Taxi” fame, and we saw the likes of Damon Hill’s son, Lewis Hamilton’s brother and the grandsons of Graham Chapman in action. Truly an once in a lifetime experience!
Around 4:00 p.m. it was time to head back to the continent, by way of the channel ferry between Dover and Calais. Surprisingly, none of the border guards showed the least bit of interest in our papers and we cruised aboard the “Spirit of Calais” without incident and had plenty of time to enjoy delicious fish and chips and homemade lemonade in the ship’s brasserie – we were on our way to France! After a channel crossing in somewhat “challenging seas”, we arrived in Belgium around 10:30 p.m. We quickly checked the oil and tire pressures, grabbed two coffees at the local Total and sped off into the night. Soon we were in a playful game of “tag” with a Belgian registered 996. No traffic, no gendarmes, just increasing fog and dropping temperatures.
900 kilometers and 5 hours later we arrived in Stuttgart. Tired and yet electrified from an incredible journey – a road trip of a lifetime. Of course, we had to swing by the 993’s birthplace in Zuffenhausen before we dropped it off at Panamericana-Engineering (www.panamericana-engineering.com) in Fellbach by Stuttgart, where this super car will get its final going through and polishing, before going on to its new home, Munich.
It was an awesome trip and one that we will surely long for in the months to come.
Lars Eise,
Founder and CEO
