Finding Gold

Alexander Lozev

Keeping it simple with Porsche….

Member Feature by Mark Johnson

Alexander Lozev is a Floridian, born and raised in Miami Beach and Surfside. He currently resides in Aventura but has also lived in Boston and Los Angeles. We suspect it is the beautiful Florida summers that brought him back to South Florida. However, as a commercial real estate broker with his own brokerage firm (The Klapot Group), it is likely the exceptional Florida marketplace and business climate that has kept him in the southern tip of our great state: Hey, it’s Miami! That summer heat and humidity sure as heck aren’t attractive, although the winters are the bomb.

Alexander has been a Gold Coast Region PCA member for a bit over two years, but a Porsche owner since 2008 when he ordered his Cayenne GTS from The Collection in Miami. It took three months at that time from order-to-delivery (OTD), with the order being placed in February 2008 and the vehicle being delivered in May of that year. This length on OTD feels quick in comparison to today’s lead time, as Porsche models can take anywhere from six to eighteen months, or even longer for a factory production order. Vehicle supply and demand has substantially stretched the length on OTD on a new Porsche as many of our members have noted. The Cayenne was delivered relatively quickly, and it is Alex’s daily driver, but the Cayenne is not his only Porsche.

Alexander was fortunate to acquire a second Porsche in October 2020. This beauty, a 2004 Porsche 911 40th Anniversary Edition (“40 Jahre” or “40 Fast Years” as Porsche named it) in GT Silver, was purchased from the original owner. The first owner ordered the 40th Anniversary 911 new from Braman Porsche in West Palm Beach. He had driven the 911 for the past 14 years and had only accumulated roughly 27,000 miles – a rate of 2K miles per year. The car was in phenomenal shape and garage kept at the seller’s home in Wellington.

While many folks learn of cars for sale on Bring A Trailer, PCar Market, PCA Classifieds, or even word of mouth, Alexander was fortunate to see this Porsche on “OfferUp.” Apparently this was the only place the vehicle had been advertised and the seller indicated that Alex was only the third person to contact him about the 911 40 Jahre, as it had been on OfferUp for six months! There had been another Porsche collector from North Carolina who had expressed interest in the car, but Alex was local, showed up to look at the vehicle, and struck a gentleman’s agreement with the seller as Alex was serious about the purchase.

He provided the seller a serious earnest deposit (cash is king) and examined both the 911 and its meticulous records. This 911 was exceptionally well cared for and Alex knew he would be going home with it. Within a few days, both parties coordinated a visit to a local bank to complete the transaction. As a bonus, a lagniappe, the seller even gave Alex a Porsche mug that he acquired on a visit to Stuttgart from the time he ordered the car. Driving home in the 911, Alex had to negotiate a huge rainstorm, but it mattered not, as he was very excited and pleased with the purchase.

Not one, but two 40 Jahre Anniversary 911’s at Porsche West Broward, Alex’s on right and Roberto of TUNERS on left!

Ana Carolina and Alexander Lozev in Italy, 2016 40 JAHRE and playmates

Alex, Ana and friends in the kitchen - where else would they be?

Today, the Cayenne has close to 100,000 miles on the clock and the 911 a touch under 32,000 miles. Both vehicles are very well maintained, as would be expected, and each has been upgraded, actually tailored, to suit Alex’s taste and driving style. With these upgrades, Alex prefers to keep the original parts and pieces so the vehicle may be restored to original Porsche spec. The Cayenne has received a 19” OEM wheel upgrade wrapped in 31” all-terrain tires (to help navigate those construction sites easily with clients), front and rear wheel spacers, a front light bar with Hella driving lights and a Porsche Tequipment Roof Transport System, where he will carry either a Tequipment bike carrier, a surf/ paddle board carrier, and/or cargo box depending on the activity. Other upgrades include Euro Amber taillights, two-piece front rotors, upgraded brake pads all around, and Castrol SRF brake fluid.

The 911 has also been so tailormade although from the factory, the 40 Jahre presents more than just a cosmetic upgrade as it came with X51 engine package, mechanical LSD and M030 sport suspension. Having been lowered to Euro spec with Porsche RoW springs and using Castrol SRF brake fluid, the 911 breathes better with a Speedtech catless x-pipe, modified mufflers from another Anniversary 911, and a 997.1 air box with a BMC filter that does more than “jewel up” the engine bay by enhancing induction noise. Along with an alignment suited to his style of driving, this all amplifies and ties an experience together that now tells a story on each and every drive. A GT3 center console was added but made for some difficulty, as the double-din PCM radio needed to be converted to a single-din radio using an OEM Becker unit with Bluetooth streaming. The HVAC controls also needed to be relocated to the upper dash and the rare carpet color needed to match. Every piece/part was sourced through Porsche by Alex himself and because he had no desire for Apple CarPlay, there was no need for the Porsche PCCM. There are a few other added items to both vehicles, and again, all can easily be brought back to factory original should that be necessary. The vehicles are each like a fine Savile Row suit, completely matched to Alex’s style and fit.

Beyond Porsche, Alex enjoys domestic and international travel. He and his longtime companion, Ana Carolina, recently completed a trip to Glacier National Park and Yellowstone. Earlier trips have included most of the U.S. States east of the Mississippi River (from Maine to Florida, Wisconsin to Louisiana, and everything in between). Most of the west has been on their itineraries too, from Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho to Arizona, Nevada, and California. As international travelers, they have seen Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, England, Iceland, and Central & South America with the Caribbean Islands sprinkled in for some quick, out-of-the-country trips. Alex has even lived in China. WHEW! Ana and Alex seemingly are always on the move!

Growing up in Miami Beach, Alex was influenced heavily by fancy cars, elaborate architecture, and mesmerizing design, thus attended Design & Architecture Senior High School. He then moved to Boston, MA where he studied at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts for his Bachelor of Science (BS) in Mechanical Engineering. He followed that degree with a second BS in Industrial Design at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. Both degrees provided great value and insight in becoming an automotive designer, reasons why he lived in Los Angeles and China for several years. The very demanding automotive industry, he found, had very little reward however, and thus Alex moved back to paradise, a place where people come to vacation, to start his brokerage firm.

Because Alexander has always been into cars, naturally he enjoys motorsport. Even since a little boy, he remembers watching Senna/Prost battling in F1 on TV to going to the Miami Grand Prix in the 80s back when it was a real street circuit in downtown Miami around Bayside, the Freedom Tower, and Biscayne Bay. Living in Los Angeles, a car culture city like no other on the planet, racing is everywhere. Alex’s commutes often involved going through the tight and twisty canyons we often see on YouTube from people reviewing cars—roads like Angeles Crest, Stunt Road, and Mulholland Drive. Alex also seems to be a natural at driving spiritedly as he does well when karting or taking his heavily track-prepped Audi to Track Day or Autocross events to tracks like Willow Springs or Button Willow in California, and Homestead or Sebring here in Florida. When Alexander Lozev is not working, traveling, or going racing, he can be found around South Florida with his Porsche buddies. It is a great mix of air-cooled and water-cooled Porsche owners who meet once a week at various local restaurantwatering holes, including the second Thursday of each month at Miami’s Beat Culture. With business as hot as an August Miami summer day, Alex attends as many of these local events he can. He will also take some time for a long weekend at the WERKS Reunion in Amelia Island or the Rennsport Dragon Run later this month with the running group. He can be found on a Porsche run to Triad’s Seafood or Schnebly’s Winery with Ruben Fuentes on a Ruben’s A&W Run or two, and loves going to DRT every year. With the recently added exhaust upgrade on the 911, we will probably hear him long before we see him!

Enjoying Porsche camaraderie, Porsche’s infinite tailoring, and a simple joy of driving an exceptional marque. That’s Alexander Lozev.