Finding Gold

CARA WOLF

Porsches in her family? They’re everywhere!

Member Feature by Mark Johnson

Cara Wolf’s family loves Porsches, lots of them! This long list includes parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts (well, they probably ride with the uncles or vice-versa), and even Cara’s boyfriend, who is becoming a Porsche Car enthusiast. Originally from North Carolina, Cara moved to Ft. Lauderdale in January this year. Her baby, a 2019 Boxster wrapped in a custom blue hue (similar to Miami Blue), came with her.

Leaving North Carolina for South Florida in January 2022; we need not wonder why.

Cara’s Porsche affinity started with a grey 2002 Boxster when she was in college. This was shortly after several family members had purchased Porsches, a family trend inspired by her uncle Mark and his 993. Visiting home one summer break, her other Porsche-owning uncle, Brad, allowed her to get behind the wheel of his Boxster. It was that drive that started it all. After this first spin at the wheel, Cara talked her way into the driver’s seat of her grandfather Jim Gibson’s first of several Porsches, a 911. She suggests that this memory is probably one of the fondest in her Porsche history.

This was only her second time at the steering wheel piloting a Porsche. She clearly remembers grandpa exclaiming, “What are you doing shifting so soon? You gotta get it up to at least 6,000 RPM before you shift!” And then Grandpa Gibson added, “Why are you slowing down? You never slow down in a turn, that’s when you give it more gas!” Gramps obviously understood the skill it takes to command a Porsche 911, and Cara was learning fast.

After the drive with the senior Gibson, she was totally hooked on Porsche. With two uncles owning two Porsches, two grandparents with Porsches, and Cara’s mom, Debi, being a previous Porsche 912 owner, the entire family was quickly on the hunt for Cara’s first Porsche. The 2002 Boxster soon made its arrival in 2013, and inspired Debi to acquire a 911 soon after. (If you are trying to keep track at home, that makes a total of 8 Porsches in the family at that moment!)

Unfortunately Cara’s first Porsche, the ’02 Boxster, only lasted six months before the car was totaled. Being a Porsche family, everyone quickly took up a second search and found Cara a silver 2005 Boxster S. Uncle Brad upgraded the car with ceramic brake pads, a new radio, and painted the center console in silver to match the exterior. Cara was living in Missouri at the time and the ’05 Boxster was shipped from NC to MO.

As luck and fate would have it, mere months after receiving the silver ’05 Boxster Cara was rear-ended by a small pickup truck traveling at 30 mph. It had been a glorious and beautiful day to drive, then bang! A second Cara Wolf Boxster totaled through no fault of her own. Just being in the wrong place at the wrong time; two great cars lost to inattentive drivers.

Loading up for Octoberfest in 2018

Cara took a break from Porsches, perhaps fearing the loss of a third; she simply did not want that experience again. A VW Passat was bought for transportation. Although the car was certainly not nearly as exciting or enjoyable as a Porsche, she drove the Passat for the next four years. As with a sweet siren song, the Porsche passion kept calling her and her family members to have Ms. Wolf back in the fold. While Cara was driving the Passat, cousin Grant drove a Boxster, brother John owned a 944 and her dad, Bill, finally joined the Porsche club with the Cayenne in 2016. It was during the fall of 2018 that Cara’s many Porsche- owning family members attended Oktoberfest with their respective Porsches. Without a Porsche Cara was left out and immediately she “wanted back in”! With her mom’s car-finding talent, a 2007 Boxster was located at a small NC Ford dealership.

It was yet another grey exterior, but this one had a tan interior. Cara was not originally excited about the color combination, but her mom was. Off they went together, not clothing or jewelry shopping, but “car shopping.” The ’07 Boxster 987.1 was a real looker in person. They examined everything, then eventually started it. Hearing the exhaust note, a quick glance was exchanged to which both Cara and mom simply said, “It has a nice growl,” Cara knew absolutely that she would not leave the Ford store without this Porsche. She drove the ‘07 Boxster for two years, and its story did not end with bang, crash, or total–fortunately. However, the Boxster did require a substantial amount of maintenance, uncommon for the brand. Following a round trip to Key West from NC it was determined that this ’07 would be replaced by a newer model. Dad found the next one. Yay, Dad! Support from the Gibson-Wolf clan is immeasurable; we should all be so fortunate.

The ’19 Boxster 718 was unwrapped in pristine condition. It was grey with black interior and a six-speed manual transmission. It was acquired with less than 1,000 miles on the ODO in 2021. It is the fourth Boxster for Ms. Wolf, each one of them a varied shade of grey. Not wishing to drive yet another grey Boxster, Cara had the car fully wrapped in the Miami Blue hue to take a personal break from the past three monochrome Boxsters. It was time for a change and Miami Blue in Florida is a natural.

The car is truly an exceptional vehicle;

Cara enjoys everything she does with this 718—from driving to detailing, looking at it, and talking to anyone and everyone who is willing to listen. Cara has been a PCA member since 2012 when the ’02 Boxster was first acquired. Her membership was transferred to Gold Coast Region in January 2022 commensurate with the move to Florida. She attends multiple cars & coffee meetings and as many PCA events as time allows, either accompanied by her dog or her boyfriend, Blake.

Driving the car is the best. Living in North Carolina there are almost limitless different two-lane roads of curvy nature to enjoy. Cara would frequently solo these and the many back country opportunities to savor the acceleration, handling, and joyous driving of the mid-engine Porsche. Arriving in South Florida, she found the roads aren’t quite as thrilling, and she has to borrow a driveway for her detailing efforts. Yet the South Florida Porsche community offers an Since being south she has made a few trips down through the Keys, and an Everglades tour (with straight roads and a bit slower speed, so it’s about the scenery). This fall the plan will be to get back north to western NC and visit the Tail of the Dragon, Cherohala Skyway, and the many exceptional twisties in the area. Top-down Boxster driving in western NC during the fall is special!

Cara also owns a 2016 Cayenne in white. She likes horses to go with her Porsches, and the Cayenne is a super vehicle for towing the ponies. The Cayenne was purchased from her dad late last year. He owned the Cayenne for roughly four years before selling it to his daughter. The Cayenne replaced a RAM 3500 that was used on the farm, which Cara sold, prior to the move to Florida. With no need to own the RAM, she finds that the Cayenne is a much better and substantially more fun choice as a tow vehicle. For the record, Blake currently owns a Mercedes G-Wagon; however he is most often sporting around in Cara’s Cayenne for its practicality and versatility.

Besides her love of driving her favorite marque, Cara works as an independent travel agent, booking trips for a group of clients and variety of suppliers all over the world. She books her own travel of course, the best part of her job.

Her favorite Porsche model? Any of the Spyders. Briefly obsessed with the Spyder, she almost pulled the trigger and purchased one a few years ago, but the timing wasn’t right. Zeroing in on the Spyder, Boxster/Cayman it is the 987 model she favors.

As for the Gibson-Wolf family they count 24 Porsches owned at one time or another. The current family inventory includes 11 Porsche vehicles. This number does not include an allocation for yet another new 911. It started with Debi Wolf (mom) and her 1968 912, followed by Uncle Mark Gibson, Karen and Jim Gibson (her grandparents), Uncle Brad, cousin Grant Gibson, Bill Wolf (dad), John Wolf (brother), Janelle Huey (aunt), and Uncle Jim Wolf. We’d love to list each Porsche by family member, but we simply don’t have room! Notably, all the 911s, 912s, and Boxsters have been manual transmission. THEY ARE DRIVEN!