FINDING GOLD JENNIFER TORRES

Great Opportunities for a Gal and Her Porsches

The roads to Porsche ownership are not paved for the unmotivated. Jennifer Torres and her family migrated to the United States from Spain. They crossed the Atlantic to overcome an economic crisis that ravaged their home country in the early 2000s. As a young woman in Spain, she grew up in a middle-class family as her father was a civil engineer. However, the family wanted to move to the United States for the opportunities our country provides. The plan was to gain some stability as well as to investigate the promise of a better life offered in the USA. She was ten years old when the family arrived.

Initially, a language barrier created challenges. Next, Mr. Torres needed to be recertified to work in his professional field of endeavor. His civil engineering title was not valid in the US, and that obstacle meant finding a job, any job. The family went from a successful and perhaps reasonably comfortable life in Spain to a difficult life as financially poor immigrants. It was testing time for the family, without a doubt.

At eighteen years of age Jennifer began working. She held three different jobs: working at a beauty supply store, tutoring for middle school aged kids, and employed by a company, Arteza, making “how-to” videos for the company’s YouTube page. Income from these three jobs allowed Ms. Torres to assist the family and to purchase and then make the payments on her first Porsche, a Boxster. To say that Ms. Torres is motivated would be a serious understatement.

Over the last several years from her start as a teenager in the workforce, she has made multiple career changes. She’s moved to retail car sales, and then to a corporate position with Stellantis. (Stellantis is the automobile manufacturing corporation formed in 2021 between the FiatChrysler Automobiles and the French PSA Group.) Following the corporate position, Jennifer joined a local south Florida BMW dealership working as a finance manager. The position in the “F&I” office, finance and insurance, allows her to afford what might be considered an expensive Porsche hobby.

That first Porsche Boxster, and initial source of financial motivation, was a 2006 Guards Red base model that she bought at 18 years of age. The fact that this Porsche was purchased with absolutely no prior car knowledge, according to Jennifer, should be an indication of her willingness to both take chances and to work hard to achieve. She wanted a convertible. The mid-engine vehicle was a cool “quirk” that was reputed to offer improved handling. Plus, the Boxster was cheaper at the time than a used Honda Civic. Most importantly, the Boxster was immensely cooler than the Civic.

The Boxster provided a vehicle for both personal transportation and for opening endless possibilities. With the red Boxster Jennifer attended DRT, Das Renn Treffen, held in Miami each spring. At DRT she met many like-minded and motivated Porsche owners. By joining the Porsche community Jennifer gained awareness of many individual accomplishments. With new friends and knowledge Jennifer began to feel that success was attainable for herself as well. Soon after her first DRT she joined Gold Coast Region of Porsche Club of America. Today, she considers attendance at DRT as a mandatory event for herself and any south Florida Porsche owner.

Along the way Jennifer found relaxation in creating Porsche art. She was originally introduced to art through her work at Arteza. It was also the first time that she produced income from selling her work. Most amazingly, it became the best paying job among the three she held at the time. We all understand that life as an artist can be a tough road to follow, as building a reputation and earning sales commissions are very difficult to achieve.

Her preferred medium is acrylic on canvas or acrylic on wood. Her approximate volume of automotive art, primarily featuring Porsche-themed creations, reaches over thirty pieces. She has sold to clients in the US and Europe. It is the “timeless lines of our cars” that have captivated and enticed Jennifer to place acrylic on canvas. Today, Jennifer still paints and creates artwork; however it is more for relaxation and fun, as her full time duties in a business office of a BMW dealership are highly stressful, requiring many hours of effort.

Following the first Porsche Boxster, Ms. Torres has owned four other Porsches, including a Cayman track car, a Cayenne S, and a Techart Cayenne Turbo S among them. Her current Porsche is a 987 model Boxster Spyder. The Spyder was her dream car at 18 years of age. There was a wonderful sense of accomplishment when she bought the car in the exact dream spec at 22 years old.

She still owns this first Porsche. However, the Guards Red Boxster was involved in a collision in 2021 when it suffered frame damage. The car is under repair and being restored to a better than new condition. She sees this vehicle as her forever car. It will be brought back to driving capability as a dedicated track car, complete with a better engine and a few new special touches.

Here’s Jennifer’s Porsche philosophy: “I don’t believe in keeping cars stock; I think it is best when you reimagine what could have been from the factory with period-correct and OEM+ style modifications.” This style has been consistent across all the Porsche vehicles she has owned. Jennifer continues, “I think Porsches are for driving, so suspension tuning is usually the first thing.”

With her various Porsche vehicles, she has participated in a several “supercar” rallies and taken her cars to the track. The Red Boxster was driven from Florida to the Tail of the Dragon in NC/TN. It is the “search for curves” where both Jennifer and her Porsches are happiest. If she can’t drive her personal Porsche at an event her first priority is always securing a fun sports car to enjoy the twisting roads.

Sadly, south Florida is devoid of those fun, meandering roads to traverse. Hence, her desire is for the California coast and the Pacific Coast Highway, Angeles Crest Highway, the California canyons, and virtually all of the twolane roads in the Blue Ridge mountains from Georgia up through Virginia. With no mountains and certainly no canyons in Florida, we all must go somewhere else to enjoy the Zen of curving, winding and serpentine roads.

If not driving, Jennifer will gladly watch automobile races and attend the big Porsche car shows. She enjoys Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) that includes vintage air-cooled Porsches mixing it up on the track. The 24 Hours at Daytona is always on the annual list of events. She was recently in Los Angeles for Luftgekühlt and also Monterey for Car Week. Closer to home, WERKS Reunion is on her list for this year.

“I think it is amazing,” muses Jennifer, “how there are people that love Porsche everywhere in the world. People from all kinds of different backgrounds can congregate under the same brand with the same philosophy about cars!” She continues: “It’s always easy to find a cars and coffee or a night meet to gather with fellow Porsche nerds and see some cool cars.” Considering these reflections, it is simple to understand how easy Ms. Torres fits into the south Florida Porsche community, where Porsche nerds abound.

Of course, Jennifer has a favorite Porsche—the 550 Spyder! She considers herself quite lucky to have seen two 550s in person, the first at Pebble Beach and the second at REVS

Institute in Naples. We totally agree with Jennifer that the 550 set an amazing precedent in the history of Porsche racing.

Keeping up with Ms. Torres can be challenging. Even as she responding to questions for this feature, she was off to Atlanta for a visit to the Porsche Experience Center, driving and learning, we suspect. As a young woman in her early twenties, there is much to learn. At the same time, there has been an incredible amount of accomplishment and satisfaction during her short thirteen years in the USA, and even shorter five years in the workforce, with only five years of Porsche ownership to boot. One can only imagine what the next five will be like, or even the next twenty!

There is an old saying, often heard in the car sales business: “The harder I work, the luckier I get!” Ms. Torres has worked hard to arrive at her level of accomplishment. The opportunities for this Porsche Gal will most assuredly find her as she continues create her PCar art and a successful life in the south Florida Porsche community.