Chesapeake Region
Stephen Heyse: A Porsche Lifetime Stephen Heyse Member Profile: Stephen P. Heyse (Current) Cars: 1967 European 911S, Silver Metallic/Black leatherette; 1993 Carrera 2 Cabriolet, Grand Prix White/Blue top and blue partial leather/rear seat delete; 2000 Boxster, Ocean Blue Metallic/Graphite Grey partial leather. When it came time to buy a vehicle, what made you choose your Porsche and is this your first Porsche (if not please detail prior Porsches.) While in college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I had a subscription to Car and Driver. After reading their road test of the 1967 Porsche 911S in the January 1967 issue, I was hooked and knew I would have to own one someday. A visit to the Chapel Hill VW/Porsche dealer convinced me that it would be a while given the price tag - $7,500 (about $62,500 in today’s dollars according the US Inflation Calculator.) I own a 1965 Midnight Blue Metallic Corvair Monza at the time that I considered my poor-man’s Porsche since it had a 6 cylinder rear-mounted, air-cooled engine. I found a wrecked Corvair Corsa in a junkyard north of Durham and swapped the instrument panel so that it had a tachometer and some other gauges. It made several roundtrips between Chapel Hill and Long Island where may wife, Christine (Chris), and I were from and survived several winters in Syracuse, New York, where I went to medical school. Its traction in the snow was a major asset there. It was fun to drive, including in road rallies, but having a 2 speed automatic transmission left a lot to be desired.
After competing medical school, we moved to Northern Virginia where I was entering a family practice residency at The Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church. I had sold the Monza to a friend before leaving Syracuse and needed a commuter car. I found a 1966 Corsa for sale in the Washington Post. It was Marina Blue Metallic with a 140hp engine and 4 speed transmission that had been “souped up” by the previous owner with a Holley 4 barrel carburetor replacing the 4 individual carbs, tuned headers, glass packs for “mufflers” and some other tricks. It was quick and very loud. It was getting closer but it still wasn’t a ‘67S.
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