The Grass is Always Greener
by Peter Olliviere, President Last month we republished my short story “Confessions of a 4 Cylinder Junky” in which I articulated my undying love and affection for 4 Cylinder Porsches. It surprises me that, that article was written 6 years ago. Where does the time go; More important is, what happened during that time and have things changed or remained the same. Well, it is no surprise that things have changed quite a bit. The first change was that I added a 1987- 928 S4 to my garage alongside the 968, (Four cylinders to eight, a five liter eight to be exact.) I now had two Transaxle Porsches and I loved both equally. I learned during this time with both cars that the 968 was basically a simple car, and that the 928 was not. The 928 was a complex beast that had received all the technology that was current for that time, but now was several decades old and presented its own set of owner’s issues. The first question anyone reading this should ask is why, I thought you were addicted to the 968 your drug of choice? Well, the answer is simple. The 928 is a beautiful car, far ahead of its competitors, when looked at as a styling exercise, and I loved to look at it. When a black one became available, I could not resist, I had to have it. Now understand I had not abandoned the 968 I just advanced its cause. The 968 engine is the 928 V8 cut in half. It has the same rear mounted gearbox the same long hood short deck styling, just more of it, a lot more. Best of all was now I could inject my drug of choice into both arms. When I purchased the 928, I do not think I realized, just what I was getting into restoring that car to a competitive concours standard was a major project. Over a period of 5 years, the car brought to a standard that allowed it to win its class in several PCA concourse events and a best in show at the Gold Coast Porches by the Bay Concours. Money and time are all you need to create a winner. Around this time, I realized that I was not using the 968, when I wanted to take a Porsche somewhere it was usually the 928. Why? I don’t know; I do know that through both cars were a joy to drive, I spent most of my time in the 928. This of course was detrimental to the 968. Not using a car especially one that is over 20 years old is a sure-fire way to have various systems in that car deteriorate, and you find yourself constantly chasing problems. When the opportunity presented itself to sell the 968 to a good home, I took it, and for the next several years concentrated on the 928. But once again the fun began to run out, you cannot use a showpiece as a daily driver. You do not want to drive it in the rain, you don’t want to park it any were, you basically are a slave to your car, and I was a slave to my much loved 928. It seems that when an idea sets in your mind sooner or later you will act on it, and
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Die Porsche
Kassette | Jun 2021
that is what happened to me. I found my self looking at Boxster’s and thinking about selling the 928, when out of the clear blue I got an offer to buy the 928. No suspense here, two weeks later a Guards Red 2014 Boxster S PDK was in my garage. The story should end there, the 4 Cylinder Junky finally overdosed and went to six-cylinder heaven with its greener grass but no, the Junkie’s Porsche story is just beginning. The showing is nice, the cleaning and care is OK, and the driving is superb. Next month we will compare the Transaxle Cars to the 4 generation of Boxster’s that came after and how they stand up to the challenge of being the entry level Porsche for a whole new generations of Porsche lovers. We will also talk about why these entry level Porches are really the best bang for the buck in the Porsche family of cars.
