New Member Andy Davey

When you own a Porsche, a regular question is “where did your journey start / did you always want a Porsche”? For me the answer is simple. Yes, from a very early age. My story goes all the way back to around 1983. Growing up on the East Coast of the UK my parents would take us touring in the caravan around Europe every summer holiday. On one of these holidays we were driving through Germany towards the Black Forrest region on what was likely the E81 (my memory from 39yrs ago is not that good – I’m recounting this part of the story second hand from my father). As we were trundling along in our trusty Morris Ital we were passed by a convoy of the Porsche Martini Racing team. I can still vividly recall the red and blue stripes and mostly the noise that accompanied what felt like 20 plus cars streaming past us. I was in awe. Instant love at first sight. All I went on about for the rest of the holiday, and likely the rest of my childhood, was how nice Porsche cars are. Straight after that holiday I added a poster of a 930 Turbo to my bedroom wall. Even in later teenage years when the bedroom wall was adorned with posters of Claudia Schiffer and Cindy Crawford, the 930 Turbo still had pride of place above my bed. In this era I think all car loving teenagers had either the

Lambo Countach, Ferrari 328 or a Porsche on their wall. For me there was no contest (OK, Claudia Schiffer was a close second, more about that later). Wind the clock forward a few decades, marriage, kids, moving continents and getting older the dream finally became a reality. I New member – Andy Davey have covid to thank the pandemic, in part, for facilitating my Porsche purchase. We had an expensive overseas trip booked that was scuppered by Covid in 2020 so I had a surplus of cash in the bank. While working from home in early 2021 I was distracted with some lunchtime CarSales dreaming and stumbled across a MY18 718 Boxster S. GT silver, Carrera 20” rims. Black roof, black interior. Love at first sight happened again. After enquiring about the car, the seller was frustrated and looking for a quick sale. The buyer he had lined up was stuck in lockdown in Victoria and the sale had fallen through. Right place, right time. The 718 Boxster S was soon in my garage. I’ve always named my cars so I needed a fitting name for the Porsche. It had to be Claudia.

I still pinch myself when I go in the garage and see Claudia gleaming, begging to be driven. I am loving it. I am certainly not keeping it for a show car or Sunday afternoon cruise. It was designed to be driven and I am exploring every limit of the car. I’ve been building up my confidence on a few different track days and events over the last 18months in a wide range of weather conditions and I have definitely improved my driving skills substantially. A few weeks ago at QR I had some fun trying to keep up with a 992 GT3 (of course the GT3 was quicker but I gave it a good go). It’s interesting the perception some people have of the Boxster. I’ve heard people say “It’s not a proper Porsche” and Jeremy Clarkson famously described it as a hairdressers car. I certainly don’t agree with either statement. It’s quick, responsive, incredibly well balanced through corners and so much fun to drive. I’ve had people pass comment at track days who couldn’t keep up with me surprised at just how quick it is.

A few of my friends are very invested in the car modification scene and tweaking their cars to get more out of them (note, none of them are Porsche owners). They regularly ask “what are you going to do to your car”. My reply is always “Drive it”. In my humble opinion the Zuffenhausen tech guru’s did a pretty fine job and have this little pocket rocket about as close to perfect as it needs to be.

The photos in this article were taken shortly after I bought Claudia. My kids bought me the photo package and call them my second wedding photos. The photographer is a very talented friend of mine called Craig Stampfli. The high speed shots were actually achieved at 2kph. Look Craig up at www. stampfli.photography.com

So what’s next in my Porsche journey. I LOVE Claudia, but we’ve had a chat and she knows that one day she will be replaced with a 911. My 50th is in a few years time … all I have to do now is persuade the other love of my life and minister of finance at home to let me spend a few dollars more!

Thanks for the welcome into the Porsche club family.