TIPEC All Torque 139

L AL E U Q R TO ARCH 2020 M / Y R A U R B ISSUE 139 FE

SPYDER MEN! Three Boxster Spyder owners meet after dark in Manchester

STUTTGART ON A BUDGET Can you visit Porsche’s factory without breaking the bank?

PUMPKINS & PORSCHES Cheshire & Staffs members on their Halloween treasure hunt

WWW.TIPEC.NET LIVE & BREATHE THE MARQUE

1

JOIN US FOR THE CLASSIC’S Y R A S R E V I N N A H T 30

www.silverstoneclassic.com Our club’s exclusive Car Club Display Package code is:

2020CCD072

All Torque is published bi-monthly by TIPEC (The Independent Porsche Enthusiasts Club) Text & images are © their creators.

Front cover: 944 on the 25th Land’s End to John o’ Groats Reliability Trial (LE JoG), photographed by Blue Passion Photo.

Back cover: Doug Ogden’s 718 Boxster Spyder, photographed in Manchester by Łukasz Dulski (www.ldpmedia.net).

ALL TORQUE 139 FEB/MAR 2020 CHAIRMAN’S CHAT

All Torque is based entirely on submissions from TIPEC members. This is your magazine!

Submissions for issue 140 (April/June) must be in before Sunday 1st March 2020.

We have a new team in Hampshire led by Stephen Simmons (any relation to Richard or Sue?) Thanks to Will and Angela for moving the region forward over the last couple of years.

Editor & designer: Tony Blow tony@typescape.com Flat 2, 2 Bowmont Terrace, Glasgow G12 9LP

A big thank you to all the regional teams for their hard work that has gone into the 2020 calendar of events. As members you are welcome to participate in any regional event (space permitting), please contact the organiser directly. Check out Facebook, our website and the regional pages at the back of All Torque for details.

Printed by: The Lavenham Press Ltd, Suffolk (01787 247 436) Advertising in All Torque is managed by: Sean Smallman, Walnut Tree Farm, Grain Road, Lower Stoke, Rochester ME3 9RE (07500 332 790) Website: www.tipec.net Twitter: @Porsche_TIPEC Search for us on Facebook TIPEC Chairman: Sean Smallman (07500 332 790) sean.smallman@tipec.net Treasurer: Paul Bird (01922 428 409) paulpsb928@yahoo.co.uk Advertising & sponsorhip: Sean Smallman (07500 332 790) sean.smallman@tipec.net Media Director: Paul Ffelan (07391 510 054) paul.ffelan@tipec.net Membership Director: Sue Simmons (07530 312 700) sue.simmons@tipec.net TIPEC Membership: Lavenham Group (01787 249 295) membership@tipec.lpl-uk.com TIPEC Valuations: valuations@tipec.net All Torque & TIPEC are entirely independent of Dr. Ing. H.c.F. Porsche AG, Porsche Cars GB Ltd and its dealers. All registered Trade Marks owned by Dr. Ing. H.c.F. Porsche AG, including the word ‘Porsche’, the Porsche Crest and Porsche Script are acknowledged as such and are their property. Whilst all due care is taken in the production of All Torque; neither TIPEC, its officers or the editor can accept responsibility for the advice, information or opinions expressed herein. Opinions contained in any article published herein are of the author or editor and do not reflect the official position of TIPEC, its management or membership, unless clearly stated by a club official.

IN MY LAST chat I mentioned that the club needs the support for it to keep going in its current form. Whilst there have been no firm offers for any of the specific roles, I have received several pledges of help if required. It is difficult for me to understand what this looks like or how it will work with our current constitution. Nothing is set in stone and we have the AGM to sort this out. If you would like to talk about any of the roles, please get in touch.

We also have some vacancies at a regional level. South Central need a new organising team. A big thank you to Nick and Gary, they have built the region back up from nothing over the last 18 months or so. Hopefully, we can find someone to keep things ticking along.

Terry and Bob have also stepped down in Surrey and Sussex. They will continue to support Michael in the short term until successors can be found within the region. Terry was our longest serving regional organiser and is in his 20th year of club membership.

Check out the adverts for Silverstone Classic and Donington Historic Festival.

Tickets can be booked with our unique half price discount code, with infield parking on the club display.

The planning for Simply Porsche is well underway, a number of trade stands have already booked. Hopefully the weather will be with us and it would be fantastic if we could better the number of Porches that attended in 2018.

The club area was very popular last year, we will book the marquee and increase the size of the parking area. Andy and the team will be looking for volunteers to manage the marquee, there will be a request in the April issue.

Lots to look forward to. We always need content for the magazine, please do share your stories and adventures with the rest of us.

All the best Sean

3

DONINGTON HISTORIC FESTIVAL 2020 MAY 3RD–5TH (FRIDAY–SUNDAY) DONINGTON HISTORIC FESTIVAL is firmly established as a major fixture on the international historic racing calendar, attracting thousands of spectators, hundreds of world-class historic racing cars and huge numbers of club displays, including TIPEC. There are always plenty of off-track attractions and TIPEC will be attending in force as usual.

CIRCUIT HISTORIQUE DE LAON MAY 29th–JUNE 1st THE LAON HISTORIQUE rally in northern France has proven popular with Porsche Enthusiasts Club members over the past few years and bookings are now open for the next event in 2020.

Club tickets are half price and can be booked online by following the instructions below, or by phone on 0843 453 9000.

1.

Go to: www.msv.com/DHFdisplay

2.

Select TIPEC from the list of shown and click on its name. If you already have an MSV account, login. Otherwise, create an account.

3.

You’ll then be presented with a page showing the conditions for displaying a vehicle – click the box at the bottom to say that you agree, then you’ll be taken to a page that asks ‘who are you displaying with?’ Select ‘With a club’ then select TIPEC from the list that appears and press ‘Continue’.

4.

Select the day or days that you wish to attend and press ‘Continue’.

5.

CAR DETAILS: Add the details of the vehicle/s you will be bringing to display on the club stand.

6.

TICKET SELECTION: Follow the process through to ticket selection. IMPORTANT – the online club ordering system automatically puts one combined adult entry ticket / display parking pass for your chosen day/days into your shopping basket before you get to the ticket selection area. So please only select any additional (passenger) entry tickets that you may need when you get to ticket selection.

7.

In the shopping basket you will see any additional tickets you have chosen showing as entry tickets and your driver entry ticket will show as a vehicle display pass (shown at the price for your entry ticket). The tickets will automatically be discounted so that you don’t need to enter any discount codes. Your combined driver entry ticket/vehicle pass, along with any additional tickets purchased, will be sent out immediately.

To order by phone instead, or to buy extra tickets after completing your initial purchase, call the MSV ticket hotline 0843 453 9000, give the TIPEC club name and booking code DHF_20_Q2RME5F and you should receive the 50% club discount. If you are planning on bringing a display car for your club stand, please make sure you request a combined driver entry ticket/display parking pass as one of your tickets and give details of your car. (Calls cost seven pence per minute plus your phone company’s access charge.)

AT 139

The annual celebration of classic cars includes a 100-mile road rally on the Saturday, a street display of cars on the Sunday, and attracts almost a thousand entries (plus many more visiting spectators).

Something for every petrolhead, and in a beautiful setting.

Sue Simmons of the Bristol, South West and South Wales region did this trip with Scenic & Continental Car Tours a few years ago and recommends it as a great weekend.

For details including a discount for all Porsche Enthusiasts Club members, contact Emma, James or Tom at Scenic & Continental Car Tours on 01732 879 153 and quote TIPEC-LAON or book online via www.my-holiday-booking.co.uk/ availability/check/index/i/13/t/ LAON-TIPEC

SILVERSTONE CLASSIC JULY 31ST–AUGUST 2ND WE HAVE AN infield display at the largest classic motorsport festival in the world. Special Club discounted buy-one-getone-free tickets with an infield pass are available.

The Classic is celebrating 30 years, so expect packed grids with everything from 1950s single seaters to LMP1s. Live music on Friday and Saturday night makes the classic a must do event.

The sooner you buy your tickets the more you will save with early bird discounts.

See the advert on the inside front cover for the discount code and how to book.

OUR MAIN ANNUAL EVENT:

SIMPLY PORSCHE 2020 BEAULIEU MOTOR MUSUEM, JUNE 7th (SUNDAY) JOIN US AT Beaulieu Motor Museum in June for our club’s main annual event – the largest Porsche gathering in the UK. What is it that makes this event so wonderful?

Well … there is something for everyone. You could spend the whole day walking around the showground as there are so many cars to look at.

You will find rear-engined Porsches from every era and model, mid-engined 914s, Boxsters and Caymans and an abundance of front-engined transaxle cars, including 924s, 944s, 968s and 928s, not forgetting the Cayennes and Panameras.

Have I missed anything out? Once you have taken in the showground, you could then visit the home of the National Motor Museum of which is filled with over 250 stunning cars and motorbikes from yesteryear to the present day, from early motor carriages to Formula One. There will be a good number of trade stands selling their products and offering advice on all things Porsche. And don’t forget to visit us, The Porsche Enthusiasts Club – we will be on hand all day to help you with membership enquiries.

The Cistercian Abbey ruins are spectacular, dating back to King John. It was destroyed by King Henry VIII in 1538 and owes much to the Montagu family; the Abbey has been beautifully conserved, walking through and around the ruins you get a feeling of what Monastic life might have been like.

England, a collection of 10 stately homes, palaces and castles open to the public. You will find inside a property bustling with character, portraits and treasures, well worth a visit.

Beaulieu is steeped in history and also offers you an insight into the Special Operations Executive (SOE), formed by Sir Winston Churchill during the Second World War. His vision was to ‘set Europe ablaze’ with resistance groups within occupied countries. 3,000 men and women answered his call and were trained in the dark arts of warfare.

Churchill’s SEO operatives undertook dangerous missions behind enemy lines and most of them never returned. You can find out how they were trained and read about the exploits of these very brave secret agents.

Take a ride on the mile-long monorail; the oldest in the country, it will take you for a relaxing ride around the grounds before passing through the Motor Museum. It has a North and South station; the rides are free and unlimited and run frequently throughout the day.

There is the ‘World of Top Gear’ to visit – if you ever wondered what happened to all the cars that Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond destroyed or sympathetically modified, well … here they are!

Simply Porsche is about all the wonderful and friendly people wandering around. What more could you want? Just add a picnic and a refreshing ice cream to finish off a perfect Sunday!

From the Abbey ruins you can stroll down to the Palace House and Gardens, once the gatehouse of the medieval Beaulieu Abbey, which has been in the Montagu family since 1538. Overlooking the picturesque Beaulieu River millpond, considerately extended during the 1800s. This is now a stunning example of a Victorian country house and is one of the ‘Treasure Houses’ of

5

LAUNCHING A SATELLITE IN DEVON IAN MARSH ON SOME CHANGES IN OUR SOUTHERNMOST REGION Thanks to the geography of the South West Peninsular the Bristol, South West and South Wales Region covers a very large area. The monthly club nights are held near Bristol, making travel from areas further west time consuming. Bristol to Plymouth is 120 miles so expecting members who live in the more remote locations to attend monthly club nights is a big ask.

I joined the Porsche Enthusiasts Club just over three years ago and bumped into Derek Flanagan at almost at the same time, only to discover we live about five miles apart in Taunton. Since we have always shared transport and attended the

majority of the club nights and also arranged some events which have been very successful.

However, the club nights are held at the Plough at Pilning, which is over 100 miles return for us, and in the winter it can be an unpleasant drive. There are some club members who live in Somerset and Devon, some of whom come to the club meetings, but the numbers are small and it has proven difficult to encourage more members from further afield.

Derek and I suggested to Sue Simmons, our Regional Organiser, that we set up a satellite section in Devon. To launch our satellite meetings, Sue asked me to arrange a drive in Devon finishing at The Keeper’s Cottage, where we will hold our club nights. We had a good response, with 29 members and 13 cars; however it didn’t start well, with the M5 closed southbound due to a major accident. Half our group were travelling from the Bristol area and they all were delayed for considerable time.

We eventually met at the Brazier at Roastery in Wellington for coffee. From there we drove to

CLUB SHOP NEW SUPPLIER WE HAVE A new club regalia shop, run by Ewood Print Bar. After several conversations with UKCarclubs about the quality of both their products and service we made the decision to find a new supplier. Please do not order any more products from them.

Our new supplier is Ewood Print Bar. Our dedicated club store web page is www.yourclubmerch.co.uk/ product-category/clubs/tipec They offer all the usual regalia produc ts, including T-shir ts, hoodies, jackets and polo shirts.

These will be offered with your region and your choice of 911, front-engined, or Boxster logo.

If there is anything that you would like that you cannot see on the club page, please give them a call.

AT 139

MEMBERSHIP MANAGEMENT CONTACTS THE CLUB HAS a professional membership management agent.

The contact details for any TIPEC membership renewals, changes of address, queries, etc. are detailed below. Please make sure you mention that you are contacting them about TIPEC, as they deal with multiple car clubs:

the Wellington Monument and walked through the woods to see the amazing view from the top of the hill. Leaving the Monument, we drove across the top of the Blackdown Hills and through wonderful wooded areas with beautiful Autumn colours, to the seaside town of Seaton. We were blessed with sunshine, blue skies with no wind.

A couple of cars delayed on the M5 caught us up at Seaton and we all drove to The Keepers Cottage at Kentisbeare for lunch, off junction 28 of the M5. We had the restaurant to ourselves and all 29 members managed to be there despite the traffic problems.

We will be holding monthly meetings at The Keepers Cottage on the third Wednesday of each month from 6:30pm, and those members who live close by will hopefully be attending. The full address is: The Keeper’s Cottage Inn, Kentisbeare, Cullompton, Devon EX15 2EB (tel 01884 266 247).

Our plan is to encourage other Porsche owners in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, of which I am sure there are many, to join TIPEC and come to club nights and chat about cars and events for 2020.

The South West is a very popular holiday destination so if any members from elsewhere would like to join us at our club nights whilst on holiday, you will be more than welcome.

ALL TORQUE SUBMISSIONS

CLUB WEBSITE WWW.TIPEC.NET

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE magazine are always very welcome – All Torque is your magazine and we rely on your articles, reports and photographs to keep it full of varied, interesting, Porscherelated stuff.

YOU CAN USE the club website to register or renew your TIPEC membership, advertise cars and parts for free, view old issues of All Torque, and keep up with local or national events.

Anyone can contribute – we only ask that it is all your own work (both writing and photography).

Email tony@typescape.com

01787 249 295 membership@tipec.lpl-uk.com TIPEC Membership Arbons House, 47 Water Street, Lavenham CO10 9RN www.tipec.net Go to the membership renewals tab. Password: tipecmember

Sometimes there simply isn’t room for everything, so please bear with us if your piece hasn’t been printed in this issue – we’ll hold some over for the quieter months when less events are on.

We really do appreciate the effort made by our club members and contributors, and value ever y individual submission.

At the top-left of the homepage, you will find a link to TIPEC’s online discussion forum. This is the place to trade banter with fellow club members on a day-to-day basis, ask questions and share knowledge with your fellow club members, up and down the UK (and worldwide!)

THE ULTIMATE BOOK OF THE PORSCHE 356

By Brian Long Veloce Publishing • www.veloce.co.uk £356.00 • ISBN 978-1-787112-13-1 IF YOU ARE a long-term fan of the Porsche 356 and have been disappointed by the books to date focusing on the model, Brian Long’s extensive (and expensive) magnum opus just might be for you.

Long’s original book on the 356 for Veloce was published in 1996 and followed by a revised edition a few years later. Both have featured here and we found them to be good solid coffee table overviews of the 356, but Long was not satisfied, feeling that his books were a bit lightweight. This ‘luxury’ edition is an attempt to rectify that. An admirable goal, but the limited edition price tag could put it out of reach for many. That said, this edition is probably only for the committed 356 owner and enthusiast – and it’s probably a fair bet that if you can afford the car, the book’s cover price won’t worry you too much.

So what does the ‘Ultimate’ book offer? The simple white dustjacket, white leather harcover, and foil-blocked black slipcase are lovely, as are the silver-edged pages – but it’s the content we care about really. All buying advice has been expunged, as has all discussion of replicas, in favour of covering the actual 356 story in greater depth. The historical reference here is excellent, from a light history of Porsche’s early days and details of the design intent behind the very first prototypes, every iteration of the 356 gets full attention. Want to check what factory colour combinations were available in what year? What engine variants were fitted to each model? What chassis numbers rolled off the production line in each year? The details are all here, along with small-scale reproductions of period sales brochures, advertising and catalogues. Motorsport is covered, though not in as much depth as production and mechanics.

The imagery is, as usual for a Veloce book, impressive in range. Many of the period photographs here haven’t been printed in decades and they really bring the 356’s history to life. Limited to 356 numbered editions and priced at £356, this book is undoubtedly a luxury – but it’s a lovely one. If you have the means it’s thorough enough and beautiful enough to justify the spend.

NO LUCK FOR PORSCHE IN CHILE CRASHED OUT AND DISQUALIFIED IN THE SAME RACE

MEMBERS BEWARE DVLA LETTERS SCAM

AFTER A PODIUM finish in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team had a disappointing time at the third race in Chile. Neel Jani in car number 18 was forced to retire from the race after just a few laps and whilst André Lotterer crossed the finish line in a below-par 22nd place in car 36 after a racing incident of his own and a pit stop for repairs, he was later disqualified having exceeded the maximum permitted energy amount.

A WARNING FROM Bob Stephens, from the club’s Surrey & Sussex Region, about a postal scam that has been doing the rounds recently:

In Jani’s own words “We certainly had the potential to score some points. However, at the end of the first lap I was hit by another car as I turned in, which pushed me into the car next to me. That broke the front suspension on my car. Now we are looking ahead. If we continue to work hard until the next race we have a good chance of being competitive again. I remain positive despite the result. I only missed out on Super Pole by 0.15 seconds.”

L o t te r e r d i d n’ t f a r e m uc h better, but also remains upbeat “Unfortunately, the race finished early for me and Neel after our collisions. Starting the race from 14th place means that it can get a bit chaotic in the middle of the field. It was important that we were able to repair the car and return to the track to chalk up some more kilometres.”

“A friend of mine was recently talking about a letter received from DVLA, to confirm change of ownership of a car. The letter stated that unless the DVLA received a reply within 14 days a new V5C document would automatically be issued to the new owner. This letter had genuinely been issued by DVLA. “Two things spring to mind: 1.

2.

the vehicle in question had not been sold and this was a scam by someone seeking to obtain a V5C registration document, if the genuine owner had been away on holiday, they may well not have responded within the required 14 days.

“If anyone receives such a letter from DVLA you should respond to them as soon as possible, and also report it to the police.”

7

I’VE LOVED PORSCHES since I was a child, but hadn’t considered I’d be able to own one until a couple of years ago. I thought choosing my first Porsche would be easy. I knew I wanted a 911, and that my budget meant that my choice was either a reasonable well-used 996 or the very cheapest 997s. Like I said, easy …

On the move its very much driver choice as to whether you want ‘everyday car’ or ‘supercar’ AUTHOR IAN FISHER PHOTOGRAPHY IAN FISHER

Fast-forward on my search by three months, and I realised my approach of scouring website adverts wasn’t really working, as I had an ever-increasing list of many ‘possibles’, but ultimately not ‘the one’.

Time to get ruthless on preferences: 2WD, Tiptronic (I tried one on an experience day last year and loved it), Aerokit, sunroof, 3.4 (earlier cars but slightly lighter) IMS upgrade done, strong service history … oh, and all for under £15k. The choice of suitable cars became a rather shorter list!

996 AS A FIRST PORSCHE

AT 139

I found one on Auto Trader, with 111,000 miles – I would have preferred 20,000 less and didn’t really want a black one, but it met my criteria and looked promising. A call to the helpful (private) owner and the subsequent viewing and test drive didn’t disappoint. Yep, this was the one. I even felt confident enough to dispense with my planned specialist preinspection. It was that good on my inspection, documentation stacked up and everything worked as it should on the test drive, so I took the brave (foolish?) decision that I’d rather put the money into the car once I had it.

I paid a deposit to hold the car, cleared my cluttered garage, and two weeks later picked up the car. So, what’s it like?

Well, unsurprisingly, its rather good! An ef for tless drive around town and just as happy eating up the miles at 69 mph on a dual carriageway, but it’s at its best on twisty crosscountry ‘A’ roads.

The sound at start-up gives a reminder of its supercar performance, but once on the move its very much driver choice as to whether you want ‘everyday car’ or ‘supercar’.

I’ve had the 996 for four months now, and a post-purchase inspection at the excellent JAZ Porsche (St. Albans) provided comfort that the car is basically sound, but helpfully highlighted a number of areas for either mechanical replacement (cracked coil packs, rusted top mounts) or cosmetic improvement (missing trim or screws, etc.)

I’ve now had a major service carried out by JAZ, along with new front shock absorbers, top mounts and coil packs, and uprated brake hoses and fluid, as I intend to do the odd trackday with it.

Speaking of which, I took the 996 on its first track day at a damp and slippery Silverstone in late October. By my own admission, I didn’t ‘press on’ as much as I’d have liked to, but on reflection, I was asking a lot of myself (I used to race Alfa Romeos, but have only been on track for 30 mins in the last 10 years!) and my main aims were to learn about the car and bring it home undamaged, both of which I achieved.

On the track, I could feel the somewhat unner ving weight transfer across the rear axle through quick corners at Silverstone and it took some time to build my confidence that the car wasn’t going to swap ends. I needn’t have worried, the car had grip to spare.

As the day went on and my confidence grew, I was able to exploit the amazing turn-in ability of the 996, barrelling into slow corners with no fuss or complaint from the front end. I’d recommend to any 996 owners that they take their car onto a track, its an opportunity to exploit the exceptional ability of a beautifully engineered car.

Mine is ver y much a ‘weekend’ car, and whilst I want to look after it and keep it as pristine as I can, it certainly won’t be a garage queen – I bought it to use it! To date it hasn’t disappointed, every weekend it puts a smile on my face when I take it out and I’m looking forward to some days out in it during 2020.

9

AUTHOR CHRIS WICKERS PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS WICKERS

STUTTGART ON A BUDGET MY LOVE OF Porsche started with a test drive of a brand new 928 years ago, and after an executor’s sale of a house, led me to a visit to Pie Performance (being the nearest specialist with a 911 for sale within my price range), a deposit being left, and most recently a desire to visit Stuttgart, the Porsche Factory and the Porsche Museum.

My previous factory visits (Volvo in Gothenburg, Skovde, and Ghent) have all been with car clubs and have ranged from very cost effective, to ‘not so’ cost effective. The one offered with a different Porsche Club fell somewhat outside of my budget and so I decided to price the trip myself and see what could be done. I found I could get sensibly timed flights with BA to the main Stuttgart airport plus hotels for around £200 per person for three nights – I actually paid a little more to get a central hotel.

Transfers were six euro each way for both of us by SBahn/ Ubahn with one change at Hauptbahnhof. I added an overnight stay at the Heathrow Thistle T5 for an additional £50, again through BA. AT 139

My German is limited to the important phrases such as ‘zwei biere bitte’ and not much else, but even I could work out that a train station called ‘Porscheplatz’ was the one we needed for the factory! Three day tourist tickets for less than 20 euro meant we could go wherever we wanted on the public railway (which is very efficient) – I told the wife before we went that she would want to go to the factory and museum …

On arrival in Zuffenhausen what is amazing is how compact everything is, and any expansion to the factory now must be up or downwards as there is no more land available. The tour starts in the entrance to the Museum with strict instructions about not taking photos or video, and consists of a walk around the plant looking at the production of the cars from the start of their journey to the finished model driving off the production line.

It is a very impressive experience seeing the way everything fits together, how ever yone works as a team and the involvement of robots to aid the assembly process and ensure everything lines up as it should. The trim area demonstrating how the leather is checked for imperfections and how the computer layout is designed to minimise waste was extremely enlightening as was the fact it is all cut to size by a jet of water before being stitched and assembled.

I had promised my wife lunch before looking round the factory and there is a moral to this part of the tale; check the price before you agree to something. I knew the Christophorus Restaurant with its panoramic views of the factory would not be the cheapest, however it is not every day you go to Stuttgart and Porsche. A fillet steak and a couple of glasses of wine each. We can both truthfully say it is the best steak we have ever had, but also the most expensive – as they say you get what you pay for! (£150 for both of us.)

“My German is limited but even I could work out that a train station called ‘Porscheplatz’ was the one we needed for the factory!”

On to the Museum, and as you have probably gathered my wife has no interest in cars. Even she was impressed with the sculpture outside, the architecture of the building, the layout and the way everyone was ‘steered around’ the exhibits – we split up to go at our own paces. Whether you like cars or not it is extremely slick and professional and I really appreciated all the exhibits from the very start until modern day – I would have liked to see more 996s, but I am sure everyone says that about their own model of Porsche.

It was a great trip and even my wife enjoyed it. It was only fair to let her choose the activities on our remaining days which included the Wilhelma Zoo which was extremely good, Fernsehturm TV Tower with spectacular views across Stuttgart, and of course shopping – with a massive complex less than 100m from our hotel. The odd ‘bier’ or two (or three) was enjoyed too.

So to sum up, three nights in the Mercure Hotel Stuttgart, scheduled BA flights from Heathrow to Stuttgart, Thistle for a night and Pod transfers to Heathrow T5, plus transfer tickets in Stuttgart came to under £550 for the two of us. The Porsche factory tour is around six euro each adding another £10 to the cost. Depending on the time of year, you can do the trip even cheaper.

So yes, you can visit Stuttgart on a budget to do the factory tour and visit the Museum. Don’t forget though to book the factory tour by email first! werksfuehrungen@porsche.de

11

AUTHORS PAUL MURPHY, DOUG OGDEN & DAVID COURTNEY PHOTOGRAPHY ŁUKASZ DULSKI (WWW.LDPMEDIA.NET)

After dark in Manchester, three owners of Porsche’s hidden gem gathered to discuss the marvel of the Boxster Spyder …

AT 139

13

s? e hi g hl ig ht g iv en u s th ve ha ill s w e ad w So w ha t ro t to us an d t’ (i f ns st an d ou en ru g tm in es w nv llo ‘i ou r Th e fo : to p ro te ct turn to th em such), so W e w an te d d oubted ly re co ns id er ed un e b er ev n d, r ca otec te s de : b uy in g a ca rf aces PPF pr o in the Pico AND JAN JONES ont facing su Potes to Rian co ated ic om fr m 1 ra 62 ce N we had the fr k PAUL MURPHYSPYDER e wor • Th o Pa ss ai ni ng p ai nt the Sa n G lori d O ap p lie d w ith th e re m 981 BOXSTER Europa, over H er m id a an G te ch ni q EX La of n g in ee e. ‘if at w in et co an sh l b on ga na 2 ng fi ni rs ti 28 a er ca as A ’ d -l C bu ic an a lo ng • Th e at ‘class Va lle de Ca ho le ca r fo r EN look ing en t ha s a and on to basi s, bu t ac ro ss th e w W E HAD BE th e in ve st m Puente na ns neve r w ill’ p, e ea w , ch w y s tl e no ac it Picos) a in sk ills wer th re e ye ar W hi ls t no t ex we do n’ t do (aga in in the rr a d a Es tr el a lit tl e over mec hanical . We ug h th e Se w hi le. N ow ed that our te cted ad th ro ro ro th or lh a, p w e 2 vi n n th 23 Co ee N ee b on to b soon realis e ly one • Th G ou ve ia succ es sf ul to keeping rtug al, fr om g an d so, ee p sh in e, er m an ha s in d Po H l a or d, s ra ot ol in not re ally up nt m ta Ce p re to e ch ip s an d ea of op en as. ywor k. d test dr ive, ag ai ns t ston liked th e id via M anteig of f th e b od to look at , an to d of t ill b ea d in g de lo st ci a , er de ck at ti w to ith ed w in 20 16, em th es e to u rs , as they se e d ri ve n o n rs th s te on ile xs r. s of m Bo fo ile ro 0 s g e m variou en w ith th ere look in an ha d 19 O f th e 7, 50 as ed , H er m r what we w ha ve those have be d W he n p ur ch ne rs hi p, we the boxes fo ably 7,40 0 of engage d, an ow ob of on pr s tt ar bu ’ ye w e ha ve Boxs te r S , Af te r th re e e ‘S port Plus so a k. th – g d s oc in cl an st ile . n te m ly w k ss ad do fla w le ex ce ss of 16 , w as out ro u se it ! We er th at w as s p er fo rm ed am as se d in W hi ls t I, Pa ul H er m an ha ou rs el ve s to a w hi te Sp yd to on e , . is up ia m om ed on ro d ro p en Th e w ho le ke p t ou r Ja n ha p p fr om Sn ow of th e sh ow no t to o fa r th e co rn er ne rs hi p like? ly e ed ar liv nd ow w ul to ou llo er tic y fo r fo ar yd ar ck g p ve Sp ar e lu lu rk in ti ng , b ot h la r ha un t, ! A te st d ri So w ha t is e is in to xi ca d io n s b ee n a re gu as we at fir st si g ht nc ru ha us ie ve ow yd g at d er lo ig p in in th rr as w d ex ch w Ce e at an It t of th d ri vi ng ta to rs’ w n Ruth in an d g et wen t ou an d fo r ‘s p ec g al , d ca m er as ul d af fo rd 10 5 b et wee r u co ee B5 rt ca e e sp e Po w th e an d our b ud th & er ag in n th us in Sp ai r e oi d s th e aver d is cuss w he sp ec ia lly so to lo w er ou th Wal es). W er). Th e (w hi ch still av sa t d ow n to d ri ve b y (e or w he th er al l ov er N or al he ad tu rn , re ng er , ri a to yd ur ea e as to Sp p ic l w a ff ta ap Su an e en r. m ar in na l and te er at nt io H xs th a ca r lik e Co pt re Bo w he ta ke n a b ig lin g are exce a ‘c oo ki ng ’ er ith y nd d u w ha b g un d d . ed tin so an ar an ia al g s ha ve si g ht s, ever y ye ing unex pect el ve s ne g ot ro ad ho ld in a 2, 50 0 m ile en when hitt r th e fo un d ours rc ev fo e , ci ss e w ic ly ro ng at al ri pr ac th r ic su p y ng ke as ty sa ei r stic very re w he n d ri vi Ce ntre on th g h, th ey th e rn Sp ai n, e on th e ro ad ou g he th om rt ud n fr sl e la no th e Po rs ch e y p is to to ow o sn r. Th e no s e ar w e d ro ve g s d id not g r la st w in te nd th e Pi co er us an d w ch ild is h Th e fi rs t ye Spyd er. Th in D en b ig h M oo in an d ar ou er fr om un d s p er ce ived as yd e ad f b Sp ro of ed ht te e g se ig hi e in th m t th ad t ng us mix of he yi Bu ha . e jo ce es ex ni or en so ld th e w a iv ts at sp or ode gi ves al p ar k b ef a in g fo r al te rn ges. ro p a na ti on t Spor t Plus m m m en d th e an r we fo un d Eu bu co te ch e e, re la d wer e le ft lo ok nm w ot th so do nn on by rt h. We ca rev blips on al it y w n an d a m at D e u d no so q n, e an ve n th nt tio s, ha ee le ss ca lle s b rg ifi at ro d ce ac ha od sp ec pops, gu b uc ke t’ se at ro ad s, ex pl e, w ith a go , el y light b re ‘f ol d in g ng tiv fi en ou g h: g re di la s ad re on co p y, rb Pi bl ac k ex am al er ca im en Th e Br om le y. te de sp ite min , fa ntas tic sc lu in l: es so rs na n ac io ab Ca rf he o pt an w su ce an ro ad Stef co m e. A nd proved ex m fo rt ab le er to a w ar m wel n re al ly co p ar t, an d a Sp yd tr af fic , an d d ow n! ha ve p ro ve e, of ey ch ro th m us t b e, in rs e Po th at t Th ou r fi rs er s in th e ho ld d is ta nc es . a Spyd er w ith yd ly ig in al b y Sp 1 g re jo So w e ha d in 98 ch 0 ur hi to ou r ju st ov er 20 s b ol ster s w e’ to t’ of as om ke e w t of ‘h uc is on en b th an t; e ym m b oo in g th at d ue to th g full en jo w e to ok H er th m en ti on to ok th e la ce, al low in p co nd ye ar, is an a fa m ily in se Th th e r ly t. m Th he ar U K. It is w or fir ot tg ut ng yo u fa ctor y in St ni ng an ythi iti on, 375 vi ng . g e, G he nt , th e Po rs ch e fir st tim e ow in Ze eb ru g d a lim ite d ed ‘s p ir ite d ’ d ri ha ng e ki w ta e ly of th en rt op t, lo Pa ar ! a tg ap of ut le g e, th e a St rm , te fo st sa lo on. Sudd ca r. Q ui ic e/oi l ch an Bl ac k Fo re ater sp or ts a m in or se rv er ce d esb ourg , th e la rg e sum M r, a m y, an d d fa xe ch nt an So ra su Lu bh p, two se e g s? ar ch in st W rs d Co Ex te nd ed th e th e or y an d Po e tio n fo r sp en ct y, ch an ca Fa rs lle m ifi e er Po st Va ch u nt to e ju ‘H n rs ja r Po ou na m ed co st of th th e Rh ei e th e la st er (q u ic kl y se u m s, u p ty re s b ef or d fin al ly Po rs ch e u m an ar as Ro ad z it d a, re n e an w Sp Be us , on ou r Sp yd e ne ould tw o b ur g ri ng , in sura nc e as th at we w t a dr iver s’ le Va lle y, N ür nd , of co ur se co m e ro ad s in th el A bu ill . e os w n, al th M e G er m an’) w ee e ic ug er rt qu rv w Po se aj or e H ig hl ig ht s ot as a ga rage e. Th e fir st m e th ro ug h th lly en joye d.

Ro tter d am . inte nded. N Fund Li ce nc rg an d th os s. us ed an d fu ou ile e b b nd m m ld ra xe 00 G ou ,0 Lu e w no rt h of ca r th at xt ye ar, at 25 (a lt ho ug h th ne es sg Vo h ut as tic. no rt h an d so ow!). has been fant os ed w ith sn ex pe rience’ p ite ly hi in rs ef ne d Ba llo n w as cl w is Our ‘o . Th is ca r d ever y m ile t on ai n an d th e ve ou Sp lo g to in ve k sh ha ac e la b W an d ar to ok u s ng ab ou t sp ki ye rn in d he t be ir Th rt th no ’. e no ill er Th of f to a ‘kee p r it . Yo u w e he ad in g m ila r? G o fo th e G er es , si es ng av hi Pi co s, b ef or Ch et , ca so m a ug al: Br ag an . lle y, Se rr a d ce ntra l Po rt d is ap p oi nted to, D ouro Va or p O , n. rk ai ag n ai Sp to N atio na l Pa rth in lh a, an d no Es tr el a, Covi AT 139

b la ck ly ha d to b e tio n, it si m p ca ifi ka g e ec ac p sp r y o Fo r m si c in te ri as Cl er it h yd th e b la ck w w it h th e Sp fo ot st ep s of e e. : th or EN ef in D b g G s in O ar fo llo w DOUG d ow ne d ye YDER SP R m ai n d ’ 98 6 S I ha TE e Re th XS er O h st B it 8 w ox ‘B 71 va ti ve w as co ns er b uc ke t che was Bo x ti ck in g ll 91 8 ca rb on tr y level Pors fu en E e IN th G N ng g -E ei in b ID go ’ M ia l fe el, ce E ng ec en TH hi g sp in d ul SINCE , I’ve had a ‘t r th at ex tr a ca 96 e 19 th in h e ok d it iv w ce g fr am e an d lo lm in at in g se at s. Th ey first announ ab le fo r my e Boxs te r cu rt e e ch fo th rs ch m s rs is Po co e m Po er t ar e sup on fo r th cted from re al ly do n’ which I colle et rg eo us . Yo u ss er go co yd ad Sp ey 8 th de 71 p as d ro this th es e op ti on w it h on in 20 19. . I adde d he ated se at Cent re Bolt ck pe rfec tly ba er w lo d nd an (a d co nt ro l ue en e ar ag is re your su ch as cr u d when a colle s te ar em st it st st al no t fir fir ic ir vi si b ili ty is of th e ve ry so m e p ra ct My love af fa PD C (a s re ar rs) ha d on e , ca r) It ar t ve t. of p A sa en er . p m se p LS (o r lic en se ri al fli l an d PD te rm in ve st y im ate co nt ro on la te st sh or ter cl s d iv hi al el ar u d d as d ok ), an 6s at st to g re U K 98 fo r m e an d I o w h ic h is n ht ro g si is as Ch w st Th s . fir at rt e G T4 , th fr o m Sp o 98 6) in 19 99 w as love at ti on al on th e (a Boxs te r op f e ch ie th ut rs br b g a Po in r er d st te yd ra fir Af th e Sp of my b othe r up g a Boxs te r S . on e se of h it. I d id n’ t followed by ca er y uc a kl ng m ly ic y lo al qu tt a rm d re as p w a S an as it ’s no a 99 7 Ca rr er ent sy stem in 20 17 ha us t on! ente rt ai nm lia is on w it h to my ro ot s d sp or ts ex ed rn an f tu of re I eo o, er rb st Tu n, 7 S. ow 99 GT d a r ro of w ith 1 Boxs te ri ve? ch as e of a 98 fe el like to d w ith th e p ur e 718 Spyd er er th h s r me ot fo oe s d an t ay y So w ha ry ea rl y d o an d b u a 99 7 Tu rb on ly o to te th is , it ’s ve ri e ll rb w I’v se I Tu y as ch hy m l, w su el W So it in an d as y ti m e I to ok g er in a ev e nn l, tie s. m ru el ili W ill as I’m st Bo xs te r? would le nd of it s ca p ab th e surf ac e .

Bo lto n, th ey d in an d re he g nd nt tc lin ou Ce ra e ar sc nd e ch re al ly Po rs e ar e th e ha ptio n to dr iv m ri r sc fo de s ve e re. ay ri m tu d at hi c in na to p-d ow n M ai n ta ke aw Boxs te r of so e ju st te le p b ac k fr om a ar s e it, ch m ad lim hi ca ro e I w , Be th stee ri ng Ea ch tim rs te er ne ar th e fa nt as tic would unde ils! e ca rs over ir e, S ra es sh GT on e th rk ’s th of Yo it t e re e es W he in on an d W nd le s lik nted an d ha st La nc as hi re it above 7 Turbo th is fe el s p la we ha ve in Ea face! The 99 n’t yet ta ke n y ve m ha I on ; ile ne ir gi sm -a en ve e en si to rq ue. th as op h s m e it’ uc a Nex t, I had ha ve so m ow n b ut th to to s r el ca fe , le it on ib w ut ed is q u it e lo ng the Boxs te r 6,00 0r p m b w as an in cr oitabilit y of th e g ea ri ng pl 1, w ex 98 lo t e ad en th ro e m BYe s, lik fun and e an y d etri ly d on’t notic ai n. e, d ue b ut yo u re al m e over ag th e re v ra ng h ug ro th g rs in box p ca p n zi m os t fu ta p. The ge ar d ow n, or on e of th e e of power on as of nc w or tre da sh TS tu G un us er 1 ab io to the Th e 98 u e to it s ov w ith a d el ic ca n d , p ar tl y d w it h to op er ate u ne ht in yo ig ow or ed el l, d ix er a fu m ev is I Bl ip is u se -s ix ho w l at ofl ut A d At hr l. . le s.

Rö ff on ic r u ti te on th ro w ac lig ht ly m oe like Wal ot he r hi st ri e an d he el-n-t b an g s an d f on g s, of d is op ha p th I h , al sw itc lib er GT S in 20 17 98 1 er. I b uy in g th e ig n as th e a 98 1 Sp yd th e tim e of at ok lo to ly sa m e d es p ct hi of hi le rs ls xa w le (e ve n le ea io of r d at Th e ro to th e w ith hi g he an ua l op er th e nc e re q ui re s m d so m ethi ng ie et ill te g er st u p an ) w yo ex er l ly e yd ti al lik Sp re of a fa ff un a m or e G Tit b d k a an in is th ce d o: an rb p ar ke d an p er fo rm ce of th e Tu athe r op ul en co mfo rt ab le ss ha ng of it. le af te r th e le a d an s s, al ca nt ar a I op te d I). d ever yo ne lip an u b uc ke t se at t q ue stio n on ch as si s to yo es , d, g d er te ig p se b ec ea cu e p fo ch th ex r I g ue ss ri d e (o d like? ’ A s , an d m uc h But d oe s it so un th e stun ni ng oe s no t ill b e ‘w ha t sh ow ro om . w in stea d fo r e u st on , it d th ha in ex it ts to or xt sp ne e t . th oe sn’t sa er h ev en w it b la ck G TS es ca rs . It d te d a Spyd th e 981 se ri ill re al ly w an as st I ic is n’ t a n, ep d as ow an d d so un d ee p s or b an g s op p e ht or e th ig out w ha t m s d ee p er, m h av e an y of ius to wor k d , it so u nd en o ea g fo r st a tw In nd ll ke . u fu ta er t so sc re am It d id n’ e. So , a Po rs ch e S, th e 71 8 ra ng th e it ’s a p ro p er s GT in … r oe te g xt d in xs it ne n ac Bo e y m en co m co ol w he er y of m so un d s q ui te r ta king de liv yd er, (you ca n sure. It al so months af te fo r a “718 Sp nt k at low revs ic te tr in n of io at er it tt iv le ct d a -a an b ut to n d r de te rt r ca it ta cy lin de I sub m ak e su ch a auto stop-s ch e ev er m of f w ith th e an u al rs b in th e is m ill Po a th w h h ld rs it itc ou w ne sw sh re so m e ow ated fl at-s ix ir su e p m as I’m ti ). e lly m ar ke t ay rth ra by th e w b e na tu as an af te t th in k at us t as so on ne st ly d id n’ ns ia ha ho I or ex im p ac t st ”. d U hi ox ar EC e d e rb ch st an g ea ta ck le s th p en as Po rs ch p hi w ha ? of ht er ed g ev ri uc er, th e lo ss cy lin d er s, ki t is p ro d th at would G PF s. H ow ev e 8 m ea ns fo ur to th 71 ce g at ri in th p l ov al ow of re m w ill kn ti ve ly sm tr ic s is a re la fu lly ea g th in t s. us am ie n ha lit ex m in d r’s q ua rs ch e d on ’t re st of th e ca on ’t ev en p ay fo r th e It se em s Po p ro b ab ly d so o’ rb 8 u ‘T e ye ar s ag o, d uc in g a 71 el ec tr ic ca rs fr om al l th os ht ab out p ro g ue ou ag g th in lle e on nd ad co th s of re U nl ike my r to ca p it al is g ive a se co s. A ft er m on p in g’ th is ca e er lip d ch e th ‘f rs lin e om b Po cy fr t y x s I w ill no w it h si g spy vi d eo m ium. A s m th ey an d w atch in as ed lo ca tio n p re n n al te io y e he rl at er w ul w ea n y ec er an sp y kn ow d Spyd ha ve al re ad w 718 GT4 an rsche is ca r to Ce nt re w ill ’R in g, th e ne ld have it, Po ou I b ou g ht th w , ck on ti lu ca as lo d, re al lit an y r ic ius th at m u bl en fo ed pu g g ra nt to the ve l in th e as p ir at ed a n at u ra lly joy an d to re si on! is se. en ed ui sm to g m , an ir GT ve tr nf l ri in d co te r, fin al ly xs ly to a m an ua Bo on on e y ed ch it at p rs m is th e Po fla t-si x Bo lt on to ok w as ch e Ce nt re ia l la un ch I M ay b e Po rs fic of e th r tl y af te e me m e, b ut sh or g oi ng to g iv y th ey w er e sa time, to st d fir te e co nt ac ee! For th cation … Yipp al to lo tic al en st id fir r lly ei ca th is m ec ha ni er yd an d Sp of r ro te th e Boxs t from th e in g GT4 ap ar r it s nd te po af s es rr ar co ye th e So, so m e 23 n. a ig es us d r re ar sp oi le fi na lly g iv en rs ch e ha ve Po , on ti uc in tr od GT! 15 re d Boxs te r th or oug hb

AT 139

DAVID COURTN EY: 981 BOXSTER SP YDER

Fo r m an y ye ar s D ou g ha d b ee n ex p th e d es ir ab la in in g ili ty of th e 98 M Y PA SS IO Th e w ay th N FO R ca rs 1 Boxs te r Sp he re m y w ife e p o w er is w yd er an d as ki cked of f by fa th er ’s in te an d I w er e d el iv er ed d if fe re nt. Th re st in ho m at my a se Po is q u it e ri ousl y co ns id rs ch e Ce nt re e su p er ch ar e m ec ha ni cs a p as ti m e th er in g ed Lo tu s is g . a q B w ui ei hi at invo lved ck ng te er th on ou at in it ia lly e. t th of It is w as cl ea r th e co rn er s w as a se ri ou g et ti ng yo ur dirt y, as a yo as th e ’c ha rg s step up in an y g ap in lo ha nd s ung boy I w m y Lo tu s an er fil ls q ua w an d lit ow te y fr W hilst he ne d to be invo n g runt. Th e d w ay, w ay om lo ng er g ea ri lved. ver owned m or e lu xu ri Spyd er an d w ith th e buck ng is a lit tle a ‘special’ ca it s ou s, it taught m et b u se t m or e se ns iti at s an d sh or r as such, se le ctio n an e a lot abou still ha d a p ve to g ea r t sh ift ge ar bo d re v ra ng e t routine m er and more in fo x rm it so ai an nt yo ce fo cus to o. enance the ge ar box u d o ne ed to volved jobs sa le s te am’s Th e Po rs ch e a lit tle more, , and has su us e me over the of fe r fo r my rely helped however the is so sweet, subsequent Lotus w as no w an ge ar box te a d, re year s. ve lation com w hi ch w as no t w ha t I pa re d to the th at yo u d o re al surp ri se m in d th e d Lotus, not m in d d oi , b ut in my ec is io n ha d I st ar te d re ng th at at al b ee n m ad e. ad in g th e m w l. as d ul y p ut up fo Th otor in g p am e Lo th e d ay, th e tu s r sa le at a p ri p hl et s of Th e h an d lin m os t m em or th an the pa rt ce m uc h hi g g w as w he ab le b ei ng ab out th e 93 exch an ge of he r re I g ot m an ar tic le su rp ri se. Th e 0 Turb o w ith fe r an it y b ig g es t d w 48 hour s late as g on e. Th Sp yd er is a a p ic ture of airbor ne in th e r Sp yd b ig g er, he av ‘9 er an 11 se H U L’ d e hands of so I ar di ch d ex b ie r ca r eg pe an . ct a softer, le me motor in Th en al on g ss sh ar p ex pe g jour no.

It m ay surp ca m e th e 95 O f cour se, I ri ri ence. se 9, yo w w ante d the u th oug h th hi ch b ec am of m y b ed ro on ly 15 0kg best ca r I co e on e at th e Spyd om p os te r th er e wer e s he av ie r th uld find, bu er is ca rs . To m e, a ow ne rs hi p fe w t an th e Lo tu th in g s th at Po rs ch e in iti al ly un de w as th e ul tim wer e m us t ha s so ye s, it 91 8 b uc ke t rs te er s a lit tle ate d re am. se at s, sa t na ve s: m or e on turn th en it d ig s v, an d cr u is wer e al l es se in but in an d on p e co nt ro l Fa st fo rw ar ntia ls as th e ow er g iv es conf idence d a fe w ye ar in te th in cr ed ib le nt e io ca n du r m or e th an w as to us e s an d m y g e to th D oug , ow ne e le ve oo d fr ie nd just as a B-ro l of gr ip and m id co rn er r of th e 71 8 th e Po rs ch e excelle nt ad b la ster. st ab ili ty. Yo Sp yd er al so A p p rove d U h er e, st ar On u ne ve r g et fe at ur ed yo te d h is o w se u d ar si e I te th e se ns e no ju I st fo un d th e ca w ow n at Po ha n er sh ip ‘m ng in of Po rs ch es g on . r rs ch e Ce nt re ar at h o n ’ , al l of w hi a on e ow ne Sw in d on . It ch he ki nd r ca r su p p lie m e to d ri ve w as ly al lo w ed In . It w as a p te d ri ne o th r w b y Sw in d ough t GT Si lv co m fo r t an ri vi le g e to d es ir ab le ca on I er w ith th e Sp d fi n is h is d ri ve su ch in co m p ar ab rs an d g et or t Cl as sic in o f co u rs e lo ok ed fa b le , th e Po rs a fe el fo r th te u q ua lit y of p lo ri or u s an ch e is a su d e hi g h en ot ro d uc t th at he g in r ee b d ee et re p er b ly ai n d ls sp an Po th ec d rs at ha d im p ec ca b ly ch e p ro d uc ce d w he n ne ta ste fo r w ha e an d a a w or ld ap ar fin is he d ca w (c ol ou r co t a re al sp or ho op s, si d e r an d t fr ts ca r ca n d d om ed or w ro ng ly ve ro an nt s an d th e ll yt hi ng I ha ve o. Ri g htly fa r, it is a ve , th is al so ce b la ck lower m ount s) re d ri ve n so ry ni ce p la ce m en te d th e m al Po rs ch es w ir ly ro m r ad e th e over al id ea th at to b e w he th ar e si m p ly er e b eyon d It ha d th e 91 l lo ok p er fe er yo u cr ui si ng ar ou my m ea ns , w anted a sp 8 b u ck et s – ct. b ut I re al ly nd or b la st yo ur fa vo ur or ts car. So I ti ck Bo in g d ow n , sa se t Surr ound So ite ro ad s w na v – ti ck , did what ever a d re am d oe ith ro of d ow un d – un ex p yone with w ith th e ro of s, st ar te d sa n. A nd it is no cr u is e. Th ec te d tic k … d ow n yo u g vi ng up … er on, th at ’s no b ut e d ea le r w as et th e b ig g es m … ha ng al l, t right. W ha th q e u th g ic t tr ea t of at lo k to p oi nt ou ri ous so un d th is co ul d b t I did w as w b oug ht a us t e re tr of it te d of th at fla tent out and aw ay th ro ug ed Se ri es 1 Lo si d – on x tic w ai lin g k! e si h A g ht un se en th e sp or ts ex d ea l w as tus El is e. , on ag re em ha us t. Th e no in cr ed ib le, w al k aw ay en t fa is e is th nt at as I co ul d tic , g lo ri ous, if no t ha p p The re lative in m e love s y. Su ff ic e to af ford ability rud e. Th e ch ever ythi ng th sa e took me from ild y p op it th in to a sup er w s, ey as b an g s an d sa id , an d af the Elise w ife of te n te ch ar g ed Se cr ac kl es ; m te r a re al ly sp ha nd ov er of lls m e I ne ve ri es 2 Ex ig e, y ec so m e ye ar s f w ia e l w r en g fo llo w ed re w up, th is t. A lt ho ug h not he lp! la te r by a su en d of Ja nu ca r w ill th is w as th e p er ch ar g ed ar y w e w er Roadster. I ha V6 e Ex d many a ha b le ss ed w it ig e d ry wea th er ppy hour dr h su nn y, on th e sup er w hi ch m ad iv ing them A m I ha ppy e th e w ho le b ro ad s in th m or e g lo ri ou w ith m ak in g d ay ev en e N or th of En Th e ol d ad s. th e sw itc h? ye s. Th e over g la nd . ag e of ‘L ot A bs ol utel y al l p ac ka ge s O f Tr ou b Se ri ou s’ d id is am azin g, le U su al ly to b no t ap p ly an e fun, fa st, A th e ab ili ty lm os t a en te rt ai ni ng ye ar in , a q d th e p er fo w as fo r sure ue stio n I g et rm an ce , lu xuri ous, an d ra re al ‘s uf fic ie nt ’ d oe s it co m cl as sy a l at lo b ut yo u ha d t th is e p ‘h m an y co m p sa m e ti m e ar e to th e Lo ow to m ake re al ly lo ve. ro m is es as is so m et hi ng tus? ’ w hi ch w as ve ry m uc Th e b ig g es th ey ar e ve af I te ca rs . I w as r h al a l p t er fo rm an ce p ro b le m I ca ry fo cu se d fo r th e ro ad m ad e ve ry a q ue stio n th ca r to o, an d n se e is , s I m ai nl y d w el co m e b Wes t re g io at it is is no ri y ve th t al e N or th on an d th e g et to us e it, w ay s so ea sy n of th e Po Th e Sp yd er ti m e I rs ch e En th u to an swer. w ha t co ul d an d th e Ex ig d es p ite b ei si as ts Cl u b p os si b ly b e ng a Lo tu se Ro ad ster si b et te r? m ila r ow th ar an yo u m ay e m or e ni ng in te rl op a ‘f ri en d of th in k. er. A s th e cl ub’ I at te nd ed va ri an d even ts ous m ee ts an d it w as on th e N ew Ye th e st ar t of ar run at 20 19 I ha d an ep ip ha ny : a w an te d w as Po rs ch e I af fo rd ab le.

17

PUMPKINS & PORSC

LOCAL LEGENDS AND GHOST STORIES ON THE CHESHIRE & STAFFS REGION’S H AUTHOR STEF MAHAN PHOTOGRAPHY STEF MAHAN

OUR ANNUAL Halloween drive saw 10 Porsches from Cheshire & Staffs Region dressed up, ready to blow away the cobwebs and explore the Peak District looking for ‘spooky’ clues and hidden pumpkins along the way.

We began at Tittesworth Reservoir, though before taking to the roads, everyone had to hunt for the first part of their pumpkin before heading off into the Peak District to explore.

As always everyone was to look out for my red herring directions as I am very sure there would be one in there somewhere! Well it was trick or treat season …

I love how our region always gets into the spirit of our adventures.

It wasn’t only the younger generations dressing up, we had Little Red Riding Hood, The Hulk, Scream characters, witches, and many more, adults and kids alike.

Just a shame we didn’t have a best costume prize as I am very sure Little Red Riding Hood would have won that one.

Once everyone was on the road the clue hunting began. Heading into the scenic hills along the A53 Leek to Buxton road one of the first clues to find was ‘What can be seen in the rocks?’

AT 139

The answer to this question is the ‘Winking Man’. Part of Ramshaw rocks that looks like a face sticking out of the hillside … as you travel past in the car the ‘eye’ appears to wink as a pinnacle of rock passes behind the face as a consequence of parallax.

In times gone by the face was regarded as supernatural and was said to represent a god, possibly Thor or Woden.

Continuing along the beautiful rolling hillside we passed another infamous landmark; The Cat and Fiddle Inn, second-highest pub in England. The Cat and Fiddle is on the eastern fringes of Cheshire in the Peak District National Park, on the A537.

There is a legend that an inscribed stone can be found on the back road to Rainow in Cheshire and on it is written “Here John Turner was cast away in a heavy snow storm in the night about the year 1755”.

On the reverse side it reads “A woman’s single footprint was found by his side in the snow”. Legend has it that John Turner was returning home to Saltersford when he was caught in a snowstorm. A search party found him frozen to death less than a mile from home, his string of packhorses unharmed and a woman’s single footprint beside his body. Who was this mysterious woman? Why only one footprint? Many believe there is a connection between John Turner’s death and the Cat and Fiddle Inn, assuming it’s where he passed away – but the inn was built in 1830, some 75 years after he died!

Whilst driving past the Cat and Fiddle Inn we were greeted not by a ghostly sight but an impromptu drive by photo oppor tunit y, thanks to the BikerPics.co.uk crew who were taking action shots and managed to get some fab photos of our spooky Porsches.

Our next stop for refreshments and more pumpkin finding was at the Blue John Cavern – Blue John is one of Britain's rarest minerals, first discovered by the Romans.

The world’s only known deposits of this extremely rare and beautiful stone are in Castleton. Legend has it that during excavations at Pompeii two vases of Blue John stone were found. The cavern is still mined today. I can highly recommend a visit.

Once parked ever yone went looking for the other half of their pumpkin clue, these could be found on the wonky A625. Before you start thinking no I am not trying to ‘kill off’ club members by getting them to explore busy A-roads for clues! This road was closed in 1979 due to multiple landslides moving the road and making it impassable.

The once straight road is now a twisted, snapped and buckled mess. Deep cracks criss-cross the road by a cliff face where the road has now shifted vertically, below where cars once drove. This half mile sight is another one worth exploring.

When this section of the A625 was closed, it became known as the ‘broken road’ around Mam Tor, leading Winnats Pass to became a busy, if steep, thoroughfare.

SCHES

S HALLOWEEN DRIVE ...

Winnats Pass gets its name from ‘windy gates’ due to the swirling winds there. But the local legend of the unfortunate Alan and Clara means that it may be more than wind you hear howling down in the valley …

Whilst staying at a Castleton Inn, they met some drunken miners.

From their fine dress the miners presumed Alan and Clara to be wealthy and plotted to follow them that night. Riding through Winnats Pass, the five miners ambushed them, pulling them from their horses. They stole the £200 intended to start their new life together (around £35,000 in today’s money), but the ordeal did not end there for the couple. The miners murdered them and are said to have hidden their bodies in a mine shaft, where they were only found 10 years later.

Alan and Clara were star-crossed lovers who eloped to Peak Forest Chapel in 1758 because of their families disapproval. Peak Forest Chapel was known then as the ‘Gretna Green of England’ where couples could marry without the usual legal requirements. Sadly Alan and Clara were not destined to make it to the Chapel.

Legend has it that the miners suffered tragic fates, with one said to have fallen from a cliff near the site of the murder, one hit by a falling stone there, one committed suicide, one went mad, and the last was so guilt-ridden that he confessed it all, along with the names of his accomplices, on his deathbed some 20 years later.

Thankfully we heard nothing spooky on our visit to the broken road, though with all this haunting history around us it seemed to award our ‘trick or treat’ prize to the best dressed car. John and Marie Pye had gained a rather skeletal back seat passenger, whilst Lisa and Mark’s 944 boasted tombstones in the boot. Even the Boxsters had Halloween themed lights, witches brooms and pumpkins. One black beauty that was the spookiest of all though, and that was Darren Slater’s graveyard-themed 996.

Once all the pumpkins had being collected we hit the open roads towards our final destination, where we could feed our hungry bellies and the Pye’s could get some much needed nutrients into their malnourished passenger!

As the sun started to set over the horizon, the sunset glow provided a surreal atmosphere that finished

off the day beautifully; a perfect end to our Halloween drive before some amazing home cooked food at the Reform Inn in Thorncliffe.

A fantastically ‘spooky’ adventure was had by all, with treats for all who attended. We don’t do tricks, except for my one ‘red herring’ direction, that Hedley and Bev missed and went in the wrong direction for a couple of miles before getting back on track.

The Carr family were the winners of the clue hunting with the most questions answered correctly, along with the requested cheeky selfie photos.

By now we will have kicked off 2020 with a New Year drive around Wales, but keep your eyes peeled on our fixtures and fittings (Cheshire & Staffs regional section at the back of the magazine) for our planned adventures – we look forward to seeing you all.

19

LE JOG ’19 Success for Porsche (and our own Bernard Northmore) on the toughest classic car rally in Europe.

AUTHOR RICHARD NORTHMORE PHOTOGRAPHY © BLUE PASSION PHOTO

AT 139

21

WIDELY ACCLAIMED AS the toughest classic car rally in Europe, the 25th running of the Land’s End to John o’ Groats Reliability Trial (LE JoG) started on Saturday December 7th. The highly competitive rally is a real test of endurance for both crew and car and this year’s Silver Anniversary edition of the event attracted 82 starters, of whom just 64 would reach the finish on Tuesday 10th. The organisers are HERO, the Historic Endurance Rallying Organisation (www.heroevents.eu).

Only cars built to a specification valid before 31st December 1985 are eligible, and this year there were 10 Porsches running – one each of a 356B, 911 and 912, two each of a 924 and 944, and three 924S models (including the 924S of Richard and I, running as car number 82).

All 10 cars were amongst those which made it to John o’ Groats.

AT 139

The competition comprises several regularity sec tions (mostly on public roads) and a number of tests (all held on private land), so it is a combination of precise speed control for the former and on-the-limit car control for the latter. A somewhat complicated scoring system aims to provide a level playing field for all entrants, from pre-war Bentleys through 1960s saloons and sports cars up to the Porsches and Golf GTis from the ’80s. The route between competitive sections is given to us as marked-up OS maps in roadbooks, while the routes to be followed for the regularity sections are given in various forms at various points throughout the rally – so there is some pre-plot and some ‘plot and bash’.

Cars run at one minute inter vals, with the first car away, a 1924 Bentley, tackling a test on the wet and windy clifftop at Lands End at 7:30am. Being car 82, we had a rather more leisurely breakfast, starting at 8:52am. The first leg of the rally would involve five regularities and five tests taking us up through Cornwall, Devon and Somerset to our first Main Time Control at Magor in South Wales – due time for us there would be 6:07pm. We started well on the first regularity, dropping four seconds over the three timing points. One of the highlights for us would be a regularity around the Caerwent military training area, which contains a vast number of very tight corners on tarmac, concrete, gravel and dirt, all the while avoiding some rather solid kerbs; the road book here listed 110 instructions in

If we got lost it would be very difficult to get back on track.

9.39 miles, with a target time of 20m 30s – most of which was timed at a totally unachievable 28 mph. An accurate and reliable trip meter was absolutely essential here as if you got lost it could be extremely difficult to get back on track. We did take one wrong slot, which cost us time but we soon found our way again.

A two-hour break at Magor allowed for a meal and then while the drivers fettled cars as necessary, we navigators had a bit of plotting to do to find the required route for leg two up through Wales, including four regularities and a couple of tests at the Mid Wales Activity Centre. This route included a regularity along the famous rally road from Abergwesyn up the Devil’s Staircase to Tregaron and thence through Devil’s Bridge and along the Dovey Estuary to Machynlleth where our due time was 1:52am. After a brief refreshment halt here, we headed off northwards towards Dolgellau and another regularity in the ‘Maze’ – a bunch of lanes to the north-east of that town. I’m sure that the drive along the north bank of Bala Lake would have been beautiful – but in the small hours of the morning, not a lot of it could be seen. The only Time Control (TC) section of the event was after Bala; Here we are given a route between TCs, together with the time at which we should check into them; penalties are applied for being early or late. This section ended just west of Wrexham, from where it was a straightforward main road run to the ‘overnight’ halt near Connah’s Quay for our due time of 5:17am.

Our star t time of 11:22am on the Sunday morning allowed for a few hours sleep before breakfast and leg three (comprising five regularities and five tests), which is normally rather less strenuous than either the Saturday or the Monday/Tuesday legs – but as we leave we are still given a few regularity sections to plot as we head northwards.

First stop was for a couple of tests on a kart track at the old Vauxhall works site at Hooton near Ellesmere Port on Merseyside and then it’s a long transport section (allowing me to plot most of the rest of the leg) up to the Lymm Truckstop at the M56/M6 junction near Warrington for a test around some cones in the lorry park, and then another tarmac test up near Preston before a couple of regularities through the Trough of Bowland.

After a brief lunch stop near Kirkby Lonsdale, another test and a regularity along Dentdale (past Dent station, the highest mainline station in England) we eventually arrive at the famous Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in Britain, which was extremely welcoming as the weather was bitterly cold, wet and windy. Our route then went to Brough and along the Lune valley to Middleton in Teesdale before turning northwestwards towards our second overnight halt just over the border in Gretna, for a relatively civilised due time of 10:02pm for us.

After leaving Gretna at 9:22am on the Monday morning, our next major halt would be Kyle of Lochalsh on the Monday evening (scheduled arrival time 10:22pm), and on leaving Gretna I was handed our map book and plotting instructions to get us there. Apart from a test through a farm near Lockerbie it was a long haul up through Dumfries and Galloway (one of the many ‘Driver Change’ sections on the rally) before a couple of tests at Kames kart track. After a short regularity we then crossed the Clyde on the Erskine Bridge west of Glasgow to get to a coffee break at the Inn on Loch Lomond, where we first saw snow on the distant mountain tops of the Trossachs.

Next up was the Rest and Be Thankful hillclimb followed by a regularity and then lunch in Killin at the western end of Loch Tay. A couple more regularities, now in the dark, up Glen Lyon and around the north side of Schiehallion took us to Kinloch Rannoch and thence to Dalwhinnie (no visiting the distillery on this occasion, of course!) The next competitive section was a seven-and-a-half mile regularity following 34 ‘tulip’ instructions through the private forestry estate of Ardverikie which included some fantastic roads, mostly very smooth and fast tarmac (we picked up 18 seconds of penalties over the five timing points).

About two and a half hours later we arrived at the Kyle of Lochalsh Hotel, where we had a couple of hours rest … or for some, an opportunity to have the mechanical support team do a bit of fettling.

23

The road book and maps handed out as we left Kyle of Lochalsh at 22 minutes past midnight showed that this last leg comprised 338 miles to John o’ Groats where our finishing time was eight minutes before midday. I had five regularities to plot as we set off on what seemed to be the longest route which the organisers could find up the west and along the north coasts of Scotland. We were particularly grateful to the poor marshals on the first regularity (which ended at Applecross) as some of them were clearly having great difficulty standing in the gale force wind. We had brief halts at Ullapool and Durness (by which time it was again daylight) before arriving at the hotel in Melvich where we indulged in a very welcome breakfast of bacon roll and coffee.

As mentioned, the scoring system is somewhat complicated, the aim being to get a medal – preferably gold. To be eligible for any sort of medal, you must visit all controls while they are open – this was achieved by 22 of the 64 finishers. A gold medal is then awarded to the best performing eligible crew in each age category, silver to the next best, bronze to the third best and ribands to all those who retained medal eligibility but did not do as well. In 2018 Richard and I won gold, after a continual battle with Eric and Aswin in another 924S; this year we made a couple of schoolboy errors resulting in the tables being reversed so that they won gold. Best of three next year?

We did get sixth overall and second in class, which was some consolation. Of particular relevance here, Porsche also won the Marque team award (the 911 and the 924Ss of Eric/Aswin and ourselves). Porsche also won the Marque team award in 2018 (two 911s and us in our 924S), 2017 (356B, 911 and us in our 924S) and 2016 (two 911s and a 356B), so this made it four in a row!

See the event at www.heroevents.eu/videos

Just one regularity was left, starting on Dunnet Head and briefly visiting the private lanes of the Castle of Mey before ending at John o’ Groats, where all finishers were welcomed through a finishing arch by a piper accompanied by much cheering (and relief).

Marque team winners, LE JoG 2019

AT 139

25

‘HEADS-UP’ ALL 964 AND 993 OWNERS AUTHOR LAWRENCE DOLLIMORE PHOTOGRAPHY JULIAN REAP (WWW.REAPAUTOMOTIVEDESIGN.COM)

OUR BELOVED CARS are now 20 to 30 years old, and a broken odometer is an increasingly common problem. Mine stopped working almost 18 months ago, after having faithfully rotated for 118,000 miles.

A little research indicated the problem was almost certainly a lost tooth on the tiny (7mm diameter) urethane odometer ge ar. New ge ar wheels are available online but you first need to know how many teeth yours should have and this requires you to dismantle your speedo unit before you can place your order.

The offending broken 15-tooth gear (above) and the new replacement in situ (right).

See how tiny it is in relation to the whole speedo in the image at top – it’s the tiny gear at the bottom-left.

AT 139

I did more research, still with the intention of doing the replacement job myself, but the various YouTube DIY videos soon dampened my enthusiasm.

I asked my local Porsche Centre if they could repair it, but they could only replace my faulty unit with a new one (costing well over £1,000).

However, they helpfully gave me the name of a company that repairs VDO instruments –who quoted five to six weeks to do the job, which was well out of the question.

Then, during a recent club outing to see the lovely new facilities and showroom of Paragon at Five Ashes, they suggested I should try Julian Reap of Reap Automotive Design in Harrow (www.reapautomotivedesign.com).

Julian told me there has been a surge in demand for this repair from 964 and 993 owners, since the gear wheel’s working life appears now to have been reached. Also, his turnaround time is only about a week.

So out came the speedo (a two minute job), into a well-packed and labelled box it went and then off to Julian by Royal Mail Special Delivery (around £11, with up to £2,500 insurance cover). Just over a week later it has been returned in full working condition, all for £162, including VAT and postage.

Julian kindly sent me some photos.

Note the missing tooth on the old 15-tooth gear and how small it is relative to the whole speedo.

Note also the pristine whiteness of the newly installed gear. Good eyesight and a steady hand are obvious prerequisites for this job!

PORSCHE INSURANCE Preferred Insurance Partner

Supporrng Car Clubs For Over 30 Years

Agreed Value Cover TIPEC 15% Discount Free Club Track Day/Event Cover * Free UK & EU Breakdown Recovery Free Legal Cover

All Modifications Accepted Laid Up/Restoration Project Cover Multi-Vehicle Policy Salvage Retention Your Choice of Repairer

01455 639 000 classiclineinsurance.co.uk

Authorised and regulated by the FCA. * Terms and Conditions Apply.

27

QUIET ROADS, LOUD MUSIC AND A 997

WINTER WANDERING

AT 139

AUTHOR RICHARD SHOLL PHOTOGRAPHY RICHARD SHOLL

MID DECEMBER, the Sunday after the North West Region’s Christmas lunch; rain showers and gusty winds. What better to do than put some fuel in the old 997 and take a crosscountry drive to the coast?

Leaving Belvedere Speed Shop, first stop after half a mile is for a few gallons of super unleaded, where my BPme card is proving beneficial. I take a back road route to Whalley and Clitheroe (home of the infamous carpet retailing Top Gear sponsors), humming along to Echobelly’s On – first into Waddington, over the Fell and dropping into the Trough of Bowland.

Now westward bound, the Michelin rubber in tune with Imelda May and her Love Tattoo as we cross Dunsop Bridge and climb to Quernmore’s Jubilee Tower, something of a beacon on this grey day.

Billy Bragg is singing about the A13, Trunk Road to the Sea as I drop down to the less catchily named A683, to cross the River Lune and stop for personal refuelling at Woodies Café in the curiously named Crook o’ Lune. I remember that I’ve not stopped here since the summer of 2003 (whilst riding a motorc ycle and undertaking an observed IAM ride) – my mug of tea and predictable bacon sandwich are good and I’ll not leave it so long for my next visit.

Low Road is the backroad to Halton where we cross the UK’s longest motorway and WAZE finds the way through the sadly decaying back streets of Morecambe. The seafront is blustery, but refreshing and the North West’s Midland Hotel is decadent in its Art Deco outfit. We stop for a snap and Apple’s autofocus copes with my unsteady hand against the onshore breeze; in the doldrums we are not.

Off the Prom and up the road we find the Town Hall, begging for another picture to be taken – but we can’t stop long, Beirut have a Landslide back on – so it’s southerly on that long M6 to Forton’s less-than-lovely service area for a coffee and a Belgian bun. I wonder whether Brexit will rob me of my patisserie pleasures in the near future?

It’s a conundrum that I can’t linger on – Mark Germino is singing From the Brooklyn Bridge as me and the 997 cross the Leeds Liverpool canal and wind our way past the abandoned Feniscowles Hall towards home, where we find a dry garage and a hungry black and white cat waiting for us.

For the 997 and me it’s been a good Sunday, and Mark reminds me that if you saw us, we’d have been Caught in the Act of Being Ourselves.

29

REGIONAL ROUND UP R2

Scotland

R20

South Central

R4

Yorkshire

R8

Anglia & North Essex

R5

North West

R11

North London, Herts & South Essex

R3

North East

R12

Kent & South East London

R18

Cheshire & Staffs

R13

Thames Valley

R26

Shropshire & Mid Wales

R9

Surrey & Sussex

R6

South Yorkshire & North Notts

R21

Hampshire

R24

Peterborough

R23

Southern

R19

East Midlands

R22

Bristol, South West & South Wales

R7

Central

R2

R3 R4 R5

R18

R26 R7

R22 R23

R2

R6 R24

R19

R8

R20 R13

R11

R21

R9

R12

SCOTLAND

scotland@tipec.net RO David Clelland • 07794 600 808 ARO (West) Neil Baird ARO (East) Tim Price Facebook: TIPEC Scotland Meetings are held first Wednesday of every month 7:30pm for an 8pm start in the 007 bar, upstairs at Bo’Ness Motor Museum, Bridgeness Road, Bo’Ness EH51 9JR. www.motor-museum.bo-ness.org.uk Regional sponsors: McLean and Stewart, Solicitors & ClipperTrek Motorhome Hire

we would still keep the three ‘official’ posts.

Under the new Management Team’s care in 2019, we attended nine car shows during the summer, had two weekends away (Spring and Autumn), six lunch runs and numerous social events that included a Burns supper, launch of the new 911 at Porsche Centre Perth, BBQ at Bo’ness, visit to Zoldani at Dunfermline, visit to Tesla Edinburgh, ten pin bowling night and a Christmas dinner and party night.

A number of our members also attended shows at Essen and Dinslaken on the continent, Silverstone and Spa Classics and various trackdays/nights.

On behalf of Team TIPEC I’d like to thank everyone that supported us and hope that you agree that we had a very successful year. Hopefully, 2020 will be every bit as good.

As mentioned, our annual ten pin bowling night was held at Deer Park, Livingstone in November and a very enjoyable time was had by all those that attended. Various prizes were handed out with John Davidson being crowned as the overall winner. Thanks to Neil Baird for organising this.

The Scottish Region’s Christmas party in full swing

Bearing in mind this article was written at the end of December, I hope everyone had a merry Christmas and there weren’t too many sore heads at New Year.

2019 saw a slight change in the way that TIPEC Scotland was organised. Instead of an RO and two AROs it was decided to spread the workload a bit more evenly and have a management team (or committee) of six members all with an equal say in matters, although for administrative reasons AT 139

In December, our annual dinner and party night was held at the Selkirk Arms, Kirkcudbright, and as usual was well attended and enjoyed by all.

Thanks to Nick Marshall for organising this.

Also in December, we had a curry night at Indie Roots, Bathgate, which was well supported and again was a great success. Thanks must go to Tim Price for this one.

The Burns supper at Railbridge Bistro in January (still to be held at time of writing) is being organised by Brian Hutchieson.

At our December meeting the region’s annual awards were announced. These were the result of a members’ vote: New Member Award: Brian Hutchieson Technical Award: Martin Whitelaw Member of the Year Award: David Clelland Spirit of the Club Award: John Park December’s meeting was also the Scottish Region’s AGM where the old Management Team stood down and a new one was elected. A list of nominations was read out and since there were no new additions, the following members were elected to represent the club during the coming year: David Clelland, Tim Price, Neil Baird, Andrew McDowell, Nick Marshall and John Davidson.

There was no January meeting due to the fact that the first Wednesday of the month landed on New Year’s Day, so the first monthly meeting of 2020 will be on 5th February. Hopefully this will be well attended by old and new members alike.

A list of events has still to be finalised.

February 5th (Wednesday) Club night at Bo’ness Motor Museum February 16th (Sunday) Lunch at Louis Brown’s, Dalgety Bay (TBC) March 4th (Wednesday) Club night at Bo’ness Motor Museum March 15th (Sunday) Monthly lunch run (TBC) April 1st (Wednesday) Club night at Bo’ness Motor Museum April 19th (Sunday) Monthly lunch run (TBC)

R4

YORKSHIRE

yorkshire@tipec.net RO Laurence Parkin ARO Tony Hartley • 07714 822 808 Facebook: The Independent Porsche Enthusiasts Club Yorkshire Meetings are held third Monday of every month 7:30pm at The Red Lion, Main St, Burley in Wharfedale, Ilkley LS29 7BT.

R5

NORTH WEST

RO Colin Hammerton • 07500 908 091 col.hamm@hotmail.co.uk ARO Richard Sholl • 07970 147 779 n22rks@googlemail.com ARO Dave Gort • 07800 825 241 davegort@icloud.com ARO Joe Turner • 07599 100 151 joe@joesshineshop.uk ARO Cumbria Dean Mason • 07599 015 694 deanthediver@gmail.com Meetings are held on the second Monday of the month from 7pm (with club business dealt with at 8pm) at The Bowling Green, Preston Road, Charnock Richard PR7 5LA.

At the end of November a Facebook request

by Phil Naylor, a non member, saw eight NW Porsches turn out for the funeral of his father Robert, who was a huge Porsche nut. Phil asked if anyone could join the funeral cortège in their Porsches to give Robert the sendoff he deserved, and the good burghers of the NW didn’t let him down. Phil was overwhelmed by the turnout and has now joined the club and become a NW member. His father Robert has left behind an early 911 in bits, which Phil intends to rebuild in remembrance of his father.

7th December saw 44 hungry members enjoy an afternoon of food, chat and Christmas spirit at the Foxfields Hotel. A great day was had by all who attended.

December was our busiest club night ever, 70+ people in attendance for our Christmas quiz!

We had to spill over into another part of the pub.

We had a range of fabulous prizes worth over £2,000 to be won, donated by club members and local Porsche Independents (Unique Porsche, Jasmine Porshalink, Performance Porsche and Sports & Classic).

As is the norm in the NW we also had our end of year vote on RO/ARO positions, which resulted in myself and Richard remaining as RO/ARO with Dean Mason continuing as Cumbria Area ARO. We are also joined in 2020 by Dave Gort and Joe Turner who will both be AROs. We felt that with over 200 members we needed a little more help planning in 2020.

May 17th (Sunday) A Prom full of Porsches (TBC) May 29th (Friday) Curry/Chinese night May 31st (Sunday) Jasmine Porschalink open morning, 9-11am plus run out R3

NORTH EAST

RO Derek Ellison • 07862 794 149 derekdse123@aol.com ARO John Tomlinson • 07595 166 187 Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month from 7pm at The Old Farmhouse, Darlington DL2 1JZ.

R18

CHESHIRE & STAFFS

RO Chris Hulme • 07775 794 291 chris@claytonhulme.co.uk ARO Stefanie Mahan • 07776 132 389 ARO Gareth Aldridge • 07881 228 944 gj.aldridge@yahoo.co.uk ARO Ian Highfield ianhighfield@talktalk.net facebook.com/groups/TIPEC.CS Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month at 8pm at The Kilton Inn, Warrington Rd, Knutsford, WA16 0PZ.

As I sit here and write this report we end the year with 213 NW members. I hope to see you all in 2020 for more of our usual shenanigans! Happy New Year to you all.

Packed car park at The Anchor Inn

As the year was coming towards an end, our NW activities slowed down a little. That said, our November club night was extremely busy with around 50 people filling the room. There was much talk about what we may get up to next year, which will be much of the same I would think – if it ain’t broke why fix it! We also had several new faces join us to see what we’re about.

24th November was a very successful end of season run! 35 NW Porsches and a Classic VW Beetle Cabriolet with around 60 people in attendance. We set off from our usual muster point near Clitheroe at 8am sharp and took a spirited drive over Waddington Fell, through Slaidburn, Wigglesworth, Long Preston, Gisburn and regrouped for breakfast at the Anchor Inn at Salterforth. After a good English fry-up we headed off to Settle and regrouped in the Co-op carpark. From here we took another spirited drive at TIPEC NW pace up to Ribblehead for the obligatory group photo.

Some of us went on to Hawes for a bit of cheese sampling whilst others headed home or over to the Goat Gap Café for coffee and cake.

February 10th (Monday) Club night at The Bowling Green from 7pm February 23rd (Sunday) Breakfast run, details to be sent via email March 6th (Friday) RS Day at Oulton Park, details TBC

An icy spot on the Chirstmas drive

March 9th (Monday) Club night at The Bowling Green from 7pm

2018 was rounded up with a busy December for our region members.

March 22nd (Sunday) Jasmine Porschalink open morning, 9-11am plus run out

The Festivities were started with the ladies enjoying the Manchester Christmas Markets; the mulled wine was going down a treat along with some scrumptious German food too. The stalls offered a variety of Christmas cheer and presents galore could be found, there were a few stocking fillers bought along the way too. It was nice for the ladies to enjoy a catch up and natter without the gents, as well as some 2020 Le Mans Classic planning in the mix.

April 4th (Saturday) Lakeland Motor Museum drive in day April 13th (Monday) Club night at The Bowling Green from 7pm April 19th (Sunday) Third Northern-ish Gathering April 24th (Friday) Friday feast / chippy tea May 11th (Monday) Club night at The Bowling Green from 7pm

Whilst the ladies were drinking mulled wine (aka shopping!) the chaps were whizzing their way around Warrington (yes the real one) Karting Circuit. The competitive side of the gents came through with a battle commencing on the circuit.

There were some spins, some near misses, and fun had by all.

33

Our last planned drive out of 2019 saw us taking to the Peak District once more, with a mixture of weather en route. The stunning picturesque scenery saw seven Porsches and a BMW roaming the rolling hills. Before reaching the Ford Inn for a lovely home cooked meal we stopped for a chilly/ windy photo opportunity on the top of Holmfirth, along with the snow and ice – a stunning way to (nearly) finish our Christmas drive out.

Christmas club night was a truly festive one – massive thank you to Tom at Weissach for our ‘Merry TIPECmas’ balloons, they finished the decorations off nicely. We reflected on a fantastic year of adventures and the memories 2019 has given us, not only as a region but also as a club.

As you are reading this we will have already begun the fixtures and fittings for 2020 with our New Year adventure around the Welsh hills.

With many of our region still having the Porsches on the road and others coming in their winter wheels, the Welsh countryside saw 14 members’ cars taking in the breathtaking fresh views.

Don’t worry if you couldn’t join us on these adventures or if you haven’t joined us before.

Please come along with us on our 2020 journey and see what fab times you can have with us. We have a busy few months ahead and our first show of the season, Dubfreeze, is fast approaching.

For anyone who wishes to join in the February madness then please let Stefanie or Gareth know as places are limited.

There are many things happening this year and we look forward to some new items on the fixtures and fittings diary so keep your eyes peeled, not only in All Torque but also on email, social media, etc. If you wish to be added to C&S emailing list from another region please liaise directly with our RO. A warm welcome to all our new members and I would also like to take this opportunity to wish our entire region and club members alike a very happy New Year.

February 16th (Sunday) Dubfreeze (confirm attendance with Stefanie or Gareth) February 18th (Tuesday) Club night at the Kilton Inn February 21st–23rd (Friday–Sunday) Race Retro, Stoneleigh Park March 6th (Friday) Oulton Park RS day March 17th (Tuesday) Club night at the Kilton Inn March 27–29th (Friday–Sunday) NEC Classic Car & Restoration Show April 21st (Tuesday) Club night at the Kilton Inn April TBC Easter egg hunt AT 139

R26

S HROPSHIRE, MID & NORTH WALES

RO Richard Simmons • 07972 811 221 richardjjs@yahoo.co.uk ARO Mick Duckworth • 01952 411 697 mickduckworth156@hotmail.com ARO North Wales Vinny Jones vinnyckjones@hotmail.com Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month from 8pm at the Corbet Arms, Uffington, SY4 4SN.

February 4th (Tuesday) Club meeting at the Corbet Arms, Uffington February 23rd (Sunday) February run, up and round Blaenau Ffestiniog March 3rd (Tuesday) Club meeting at the Corbet Arms, Uffington March 22nd (Sunday) North Wales, Rhyl and Llanduddno April 7th (Tuesday) TBC Late April TBC First meeting of North Wales area Evening event, around Rhyl May 17th (Sunday) Porsches on the Prom, Rhyl – TBC R24

Parked up at the Rhyl RNLI station

We have decided to expand the region to include North Wales – and Vinny Jones has agreed to become North Wales ARO. We are finalising a meeting place for the area and are looking at a first meeting date in the second half of April.

PETERBOROUGH

peterborough@tipec.net RO Stuart Wand • 07725 328 183 ARO Sunny Hoyle • 07976 931 621 ARO Neil Kenefec • 07709 932 627 facebook.com/groups/PeterboroughTipec Monthly meetings are held second Wednesday of every month from 7pm at The Haycock Hotel, London Road, Wansford PE6 8JA.

In December we met at Oswestry, headed up through Llangollen and up the Horseshoe Pass to the Pondarosa Café where other members met us for breakfast. I must have passed the café hundreds of times and never been in, but having tried it now we will certainly make it a regular place to stop.

We headed off for Rhyl and unfortunately one of members lost control of his Boxster on the bad bend near Denbigh. There had been a number of accidents there over the previous few weeks.

The car is badly damaged but no-one was hurt.

Thank you to Mark Fisher for staying behind and then running Mark home. We arrived at Rhyl just after lunch and parked in the RNLI station where we where met by the Coxwain, our new North Wales ARO Vinny Jones.

Photo opportunity at Sandringham!

We held our annual Christmas do at the Gurkha Lounge in Hampton, Peterborough. A fine curry was had by all, minus the Christmas trimmings.

We had a look round the arena and prom and the great new facilities around the prom. We then went inside the station and were treated to an inspection of the new lifeboat. Wow! The technology was incredible. Thanks to Vinny for a great day out.

I’m sure other regions have found it difficult to find and keep a good club venue. Well we’re going to try a new venue in January. The Haycock Hotel at Wansford has been chosen. It is close to Peterborough and is just of the A1. This is an old coaching inn dating back to the 16th Century with expansive grounds and parking. It also seems to have a resident ghost. Let’s see how we get on!

We are looking at changing our monthly meeting venue early in the new year as we really need to be able to park together – something the Corbet Arms are unable to do.

Please also note that we are reverting to the 2nd Wednesday of the month for our club nights.

A Porsches on the Prom event in Rhyl is in the early stages of planning and we have a provisional date of 17th May. We hope to have full info in the next issue providing we can agree details with the local authority. Watch this space!

On New Year’s Eve we partook in some razzing around the country lanes in Norfolk. Meeting at a layby in deepest Cambridgeshire our group assembled. After a quick razz our first stop was the historic village of Castle Acre which dates from the 12th Century.

A lovely walled Bailey gate greeted us guarding the village. A brisk walk around the village and castle was done before mounting our steeds and heading towards the Norfolk coast.

Plans are starting to come together for club events in early 2019 – please see the current plans below and look out for email / Facebook updates as more plans are added.

At Wells-by-the-Sea we consumed fine fish and chips while gazing across the pretty harbour.

New for the East Mids in 2020, we’ve secured a members only trackday at Blyton Park on July 3rd.

Keep an eye out for the booking details as we get closer to the event. Numbers will be restricted and first-come-first-served so if you’d like to get yourself on the list, let me know.

The return razz was a country hack to the royal residence of Sandringham house. We parked up quickly outside a grand wrought iron gate to take a few photos while being sternly watched by the occupants of a dark green Range Rover. We got the message and swiftly moved on. The weather played ball and we all had a great day out.

Further planning has been done on our European Trips. For the Spa Classic trip we plan to stay at the Hotel du Lac at Butgenbach again. Please let us know if you’re interested.

We will be looking to book accommodation soon for our trip to Simply Porsche in June. We would also like to know if anyone would like to attend the Baston Car Show again this year? The new venue at Grimsthorpe Castle was a big hit.

We’re planning an event at Porsche Centre Silverstone sometime in the new year after its renovations are complete.

If there is anything you would like to see or do, please let Sunny, Neil or Stuart know and we’ll do our best to look into it.

February 1st (Saturday) Megiuar’s seminar – joint meet with South Central region at Daventry February 12th (Wednesday) Monthly meet at the Haycock Hotel, London Road, Wansford March 11th (Wenesday) Monthly meet at the Haycock Hotel, London Road, Wansford

R19

EAST MIDLANDS

As ever if you’ve got any ideas for other events or activities for 2020 please give me a shout.

January 8th (Wednesday) Club meeting and annual new-year buffet at The Packe Arms February 5th (Wednesday) Club meeting at The Packe Arms March 4th (Wednesday) Club meeting at The Packe Arms July 3rd (Friday) Members only trackday at Blyton Park – restricted numbers so let me know now if you’d like to be on the ‘reserve’ list.

R8

A NGLIA & NORTH ESSEX

RO Ian Jones • izzy.spyder@sky.com ARO Adam Jiggins • adamjiggins69@gmail.com Treasurer Yvonne King • yvonneking@hotmail.com facebook.com/groups/618348854957396 Meetings are held fourth Tuesday of each month from 7pm at The Woolpack, Fornham St Martin, Bury St Edmunds IP31 1SW. www.thewoolpackfornham.co.uk 01284 753 380. Secondary meeting second Tuesday of each month from 7pm at The Alma, School Road, Copford, Colchester.

CO6 1BZ. www.thealma.org.uk

east.mids@tipec.net RO Jim Stevens • 07879 885 260 ARO Mark Frearson

We are still looking into a number of events throughout the year to add to our calendar.

Second Tuesday of every month Club night at The Alma Fourth Tuesday of every month Club night at The Woolpack, January through to November February 1st (Saturday) Post-Christmas meal, Bury, details above April 26th (Sunday) National Drive it Day, details TBC June 7th (Sunday) Simply Porsche, national TIPEC event June 12–15th (Friday–Monday) WotY Wales, please advise ASAP if you want to join us July 1st–6th July (Wednesday–Monday) Le Mans Classic, please contact Ian for more details July 17–19th (Friday–Sunday) Silverstone Classic August 9th (Sunday) Saffron Walden car show As always, please give us your ideas and feedback on what you want us to do, what you don’t want to do, or what we could do better. We are here to serve the region, but your input is invaluable.

R6

S OUTH YORKSHIRE & NORTH NOTTS.

Meetings are held first Sunday of every month at 7pm for 7:30pm start at Ye Olde Bell Hotel, Barnby Moor, Retford, Notts, DN22 8QS

Happy New year to all East Midlands members!

By the time you read this we’ll have had our New Year meal at the Packe Arms and will also have had a number of our members joining up with the Peterborough, South Central and Thames Valley regions at the Bicester Sunday Scramble on January 5th.

A few of our members got out and about over the holiday period from the Cotswolds to the Norfolk Broads.

RO & ARO wanted urgently

Meetings are held first Wednesday of every month 7pm at The Packe Arms, Rempstone Road, Hoton, Loughborough LE12 5SJ.

We’ve been fairly quiet for the last couple of months although many members have been out and about visiting various car meets throughout November and December.

This will be preceded by a drink or two and ending in a good old fashioned pub crawl for those that are staying over!

Ian Hutchings’ boat (and Porsche!)

Hi everyone, and happy New Year. I must say the region has been pretty dormant in the lead up to the season of goodwill, with quite a few members heading off to sunnier climes.

It has never been an easy time to get everyone together so we will be holding a post-Christmas bash on the first of February at the Dog and Partridge in Bury St Edmunds.

Keep up to date at www.synn.org.uk or look for us on Facebook as ‘Porsche Enthusiasts Club - South Yorkshire & North Notts (TIPEC)’

R7

CENTRAL

Fine’, an informal breakfast meet at the Akeman Inn on the A41 between Aylesbury and Bicester, a great run out and a decent breakfast. A good mixture of cars, and a mix of TIPEC and PCGB members at the pub.

March 9th (Monday) Slub night at The Bull’s Head March 22nd (Sunday) Breakfast meet, venue TBC

tipeccentral@outlook.com RO Lindsay Brown • 07768 442 050 ARO Steve Jones • 07775 581 044 ARO Neil Smith • 07899 961 429 Meetings are held second Monday of every month 7:30pm onwards at The Bull’s Head, Birmingham Road, Shenstone WS14 0JR. www.vintageinn.co.uk/thebullsheadshenstone Our Christmas meal was well attended with 31 members. The Bull’s Head did us proud again, and the friendly banter made it a very enjoyable evening. Thanks to all those that took time to come along – I hope you were as happy with the food on the night as I was.

The stand at The Classic and Sportscar Show at the NEC in November was very well visited, and a good number of new members signed up.

The cars displayed were very well presented as usual and a big thank you goes out to not only the owners but all those involved the smooth running of the stand over the weekend.

I missed the November Donington breakfast meeting while I was at the NEC but managed to head a convoy up for the December meet. This event just gets better, I estimate 250 plus cars turning up, and now it’s getting policed the idiots that spoiled the earlier meets are no longer allowed to show off as they exit Donington Park.

February and March look a little bit sparse for events at the moment, but we will be adding events as we go along and will notify you by email or you can keep an eye on the Facebook page for updates. These will include Caffiene & Machine, a chip shop run and curry nights, along with old favourites like Middleton Hall, Plum Festival and Donington Festival to name but a few. Hopefully we will see you and your car at either club night or one of our events during the year.

February 10th (Monday) Club night at The Bull’s Head Gmund qs

30/6/08 16:49 February 23rd (Sunday) Breakfast meet, venue TBC

Page 1

By the time this issue hits your doormat, a few events will have passed and we can report on them next time. As always, please keep an eye on our Facebook page for more events.

March 27–29th (Friday–Sunday) Resto Show at the NEC April 13th (Monday) Club night at The Bull’s Head

February 1st (Saturday) Visit to Meguires, Daventry

April 18th (Saturday) Curry night, venue TBC

February 6th (Thursday) Club Night at The Green Man

April 26th (Sunday) Breakfast meet, venue TBC

R20

February 9th (Sunday) Nine is Fine at The Akeman Inn HP18 0QJ Drive out, arriving for breakfast around 9:30am

SOUTH CENTRAL

February 16th (Sunday) Wales Drive Out, see the Facebook page

south.central@tipec.net RO Nick Papé • 07801 881 170 ARO Gary Howard • 07856 723 196 Instagram: @tipecsouthcentral Facebook.com/groups/southcentraltipec

March 5th (Thursday) Club Night at The Green Man

Meetings are held first Thursday of the month from 7:30pm at The Green Man, Lavendon MK46 4HA.

March 8th (Sunday) Nine is Fine at The Akeman Inn HP18 0QJ Drive out, arriving for breakfast around 9:30am March 22nd (Sunday) Silverstone Social Classic Car Meet, Turweston Aerodrome NN13 5YD We can have a club pitch at this event if there is sufficient interest.

March 28th (Saturday) Tea & Transaxles, Banbury OX15 6PH, 11am–2pm April 2nd (Thursday) Club Night at The Green Man

January’s breakfast visit to The Akeman Inn

There is much planning going on to make 2020 a very active year for the region. Currently we have a poll on our Facebook page asking members which activities they prefer, with half day weekend drives out in front at the moment.

Our January club night at The Green Man in Lavendon was well attended, still a few Porsches despite the weather. We had a drive out to 'Nine is

April 12th (Sunday) Nine is Fine at The Akeman Inn HP18 0QJ Drive out, arriving for breakfast around 9:30am April 18th (Saturday) Visit to Workshop 77, Weedon NN7 4PS April 26th (Sunday) Cotswold Coffee at Gateway Hotel OX18 4HX

www.gmundcollection.com The internet's largest collection of Porsche memorabilia.

DVD’S & CD’S C’était un rendevous - £14.99 The new RUF DVD - £55.00 Best Motoring - The Porsche 996 Turbo - The King? - £19.99 Porsche model info CDs - £10.00

PHONE FOR LATEST MODELS WORKSHOP MANUALS Original Porsche workshop manuals available for all models, most ex-stock

BOOKS

SALES BROCHURES Porsche Sales Brochures from the 1960’s/70’s/80’s to present day are now available. From £10

ORIGINAL DRIVERS HANDBOOKS These handbooks are what would have been supplied with every new car that left the dealership. They contain lots of very useful information - almost every model is still available with prices starting from £25.00

w w w.g m u n d co lle c t i o n .co m email: info@gmundcollection.com tel: 0870 20 20 911 fax: 0870 20 20 959 AT 139

R11

N ORTH LONDON, HERTS & SOUTH ESSEX

NLHSE@tipec.net RO Vince Dallimore • 07798 630 649 ARO Peter Musk • 07734 769 953 facebook.com/groups/1217447545000223 Three informal monthly meetings: First Sunday 10:30am (open marque) at The Goat Inn, Vicarage Causeway, Hertford Heath, SG13 7RT. Second Saturday 7:45am at South Mimms services car park (near the exit to fuel), for a drive to White Elm Garden Centre for breakfast and an optional country drive out. Please confirm attendance in advance, we will leave sharp at 8am. Last Monday 6pm (Porsches only) at The Ace Café, Ace Corner, off the A406, Stonebridge, London NW10 7UD.

at Bicknacre in Essex, then onward for a country run out.

April 6th (Monday) Club night at The Moody Mare from 7:30pm

February 24th (Monday) Porsche Night at the ACE, with Porsche only parking from 6pm.

April 19th (Sunday) Breakfast drive to Bosuns Bite, Rye

March 1st (Sunday) Classics at the Goat, arrivals from 10:30am for the best parking spots; followed by our region club meeting to agree next events.

We hope to see lots of our local members at the forthcoming events, check out your email for updates.

R12

K ENT & SOUTH EAST LONDON

R13

THAMES VALLEY

thames.valley@tipec.net RO Andrew Harris • 07812 146 999 ARO Graham Driver • 07799 625 279 ARO Jason Gibson • 07958 459 725 Meetings are held second Tuesday of every month 7:00pm at The Bell & Bottle, Bath Rd, Littlewick Green, Maidenhead, SL6 3RX.

kent.sel@tipec.net RO Paul Greer • 07799 412 870 ARO Stuart Watson Meetings are held first Monday of the month from 7:30pm at The Moody Mare, 501 Seven Mile Lane, Maidstone, Kent ME18 5QY (On the B2016 road near Mereworth)

This edition brings us nicely into 2020 having had a busy 2019 with many events and drives out. We are already well underway with our diary for this year so please keep an eye on the diary page of the website and for our emails. The big event for us is always Simply Porsche at Beaulieu and I am pleased to say that it is on the calendar again for this year, Sunday 7th June – just over four months away, so please make a note in your diaries.

928 in pride of place at Brooklands over New Year

Our Nor th London Her ts, South E ssex Facebook group now has 51 members registered; forthcoming events are posted there for your convenience, as well as being noted here in All Torque. Find and ask to join the Facebook group for our region at www.facebook.com/groups/1217447545000223 With good weather The Goat continues to attract a wide selection of classics and is a good venue for our month starter on the first Sunday. Our most recent visits in December and January were quiet, but it’s that time of year; the braver souls turn out in all weathers!

The regular breakfast with Pistonheads in December was a quiet meeting due to the rain, but good company and chat with the owners.

November and December saw good turnouts at the ACE. The Monday before New Year was a 3pm start.

With a dry forecast over New Year and the prospect of empty roads, a run out to the home of Motorsport at Brooklands was in order; an amazing turn out with cars of all types on display, with pre 1990 models given pride of the infield!

Porsches lined up for our Christas Jumper drive out

Christmas party night at Brands Hatch

Thank you to all who joined us for our Christmas party at Brands Hatch on Saturday 7th December, it really was another great night at Brands Hatch with some ‘interesting’ entertainment! Good food and great company.

Please see below our events calendar for the early months of the year. If you haven’t attended any of our events before please do make 2020 the year you join us, I’m sure you will have a great time and be welcomed by our great members.

We are working on more events – some old favourites and some new ones too. If you think of something we should attend please do let me know. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

February 3rd (Monday) Club night at The Moody Mare from 7:30pm February 16th (Sunday) Brooklands winter motoring breakfast

February 2nd (Sunday) Classics at the Goat, arrivals from 10:30am for the best parking spots; followed by our region club meeting to agree next events.

March 2nd (Monday) Club night at The Moody Mare from 7:30pm

February 8th (Saturday) Breakfast run to the White Elm Garden centre

March 21st (Saturday) Chatham Dockyard gin tour

Our November and December gatherings at The Bell & Bottle were as busy as ever, even with the darker and colder evenings creeping in! We had lots of fun at our December meeting with a ‘name the artist or group’ Christmas music quiz followed by round two, a ‘shout it out as fast as you can’ Christmas word quiz, along with the traditional mince pies of course! As the weather was a little on the damp and dismal side, we didn’t see too many Porsches but we did have a good turnout and, with a few new faces joining us, making for a fun and very enjoyable evening.

This year’s Christmas party was held at the Holiday Inn in Reading and the theme was James Bond.

You will never guess who won ‘best dressed man’ … only our very own Jason Gibson! Jason wasn’t the only winner … Eileen won a bottle of champagne as she was the highest winner on the roulette table … she was shaken, but not stirred!

Our last event for 2019 was our ‘Christmas Jumper’ drive out on Sunday 15th December. We had a good turnout with us all feeling very festive.

Breakfast was served at the Toby Carvery in Maidenhead for 8am. Jason briefed us as to what was to follow and then … Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines, we were off … on a Christmas treasure hunt leaving in groups of two and three at three to four minute intervals. We did struggle 37

to spot a Santa (a living one anyway) however, we did manage to find most of everything else on Jason’s list, including someone out of our group wearing a Christmas Jumper! We then met at the Akeman Inn near Aylsebury for a coffee and a natter before heading off for a ‘spirited but safe’ drive to our Sunday lunch stop at the Yorkshire Rose in Warfield. A fabulous day, thank you Jason for organising it, we all had a great time.

February 11th (Tuesday) Club night at The Bell & Bottle February TBC (Sunday) Breakfast drive out to The Super Sausage Café and inter-regional gathering March 10th (Tuesday) Club night at The Bell & Bottle April 14th (Tuesday) Club night at The Bell & Bottle Please keep an eye on our diary page of the website at: www.tipec.net/regions/thames-valley We have lots of events coming up and it would be great to see you. Don’t forget about our Facebook page too – Thames Valley Region – Porsche Enthusiasts Club.

R9

March 11th (Wednesday) Club night at The Bolney Stage March 27–29th (Friday–Sunday) Classic & Restoration Show, NEC Birmingham March 28–29th (Saturday–Sunday) Goodwood RRC Members Meeting March TBC TIPEC annual general meeting

R23

RO urgently wanted ARO Jim Tarrant • 0120 260 1886 jim.tarrant@consequia.com Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month from 7:30pm at The Old Thatch, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 7NW.

February 15th (Saturday) Visit to RNLI College, Poole Contact Bob Stephens February 16th (Sunday) Brooklands Winter Breakfast Club AT 139

Angela and Will, departing RO for Hampshire

After two years, William Batchelor has decided to step down as RO of the Hampshire group.

Many thanks to Will and Angela for all that they have done and in making the group a successful social and Porsche enthusiasts meeting place.

The Hampshire Region continue to meet informally at the Hinton Arms, pop along any month to meet and chat about our cars and much more, it’s a relaxing and welcoming venue.

Southern Region members enjoying Christmas dinner

I must say a massive thank you to Becs for organizing the Christmas dinner. I was unable to attend but I’m told a great time was had by all.

If anyone has any words and/or pictures of what what they’ve been up to with their cars, please do email them to me for publication.

February 12th (Wednesday) Club night at The Bolney Stage

Meetings are held first Wednesday of every month from 7pm at The Hinton Arms, Petersfield Road, Hinton Ampner, Alresford, Hampshire SO24 0NH.

SOUTHERN

Another big thank you to Neil for organising the raffle which raised £130 for Dorset Mind.

Our Christmas meal was held at The Bolney Stage on our December club night and a good time was had by all. Our thanks to the staff for all their help throughout the year.

hampshire@tipec.net RO Members collective ARO Andrew Morle • 07450 435 347 Facebook.com/groups/361024217594761

All details of our regional events can be found on our regional section of the TIPEC.net website.

surrey.sussex@tipec.net RO urgently wanted ARO Michael Bowden • 07724 016 592 facebook.com/groups/ tipecsurreyandsussex

Surrey & Sussex Christmas meal at The Bolney Stage

HAMPSHIRE

April 8th (Wednesday) Club night at The Bolney Stage

SURREY & SUSSEX

Meetings are held second Wednesday of every month from 7:00pm at The Bolney Stage, London Road, Bolney RH17 5RL, 10 miles south of Crawley off the A23.

R21

February 4th (Tuesday) Club night, The Old Thatch, Wimborne March 3rd (Tuesday) Club night, The Old Thatch, Wimborne April 7th (Tuesday) Southern Region AGM and club night, The Old Thatch, Wimborne April 26th (Sunday) Wilton Wake Up at Iconic Performance Cars, meet at Ringwood car park 7am Please visit our region’s part of the website at www.tipec.net/regions/southern as we are always updating our events page. Members will also receive email notifications of upcoming items.

February 2nd (Sunday) Breakfast meeting, 10am at the Departure Lounge Cafe, GU34 4BH February 5th (Wednesday) Club night at the Hinton Arms, SO24 0NH March 4th (Wednesday) Club night at the Hinton Arms, SO24 0NH March 18th (Wednesday) Steak Night, 7pm at The Greyhound Public House, Midhurst, GU29 9QH If you would like to attend please contact Beverley on bajleeonsolent@aol.com April 1st (Wednesday) Club night at the Hinton Arms, SO24 0NH April 3rd (Friday) Curry Night, 7:30pm at Lee Tandoori, Lee on the Solent, PO13 9LB If you would like to attend please contact Beverley on bajleeonsolent@aol.com May 6th (Wednesday) Club night at the Hinton Arms, SO24 0NH Further updates can be viewed online through our region’s page on the club website at www.tipec.net/regions/Hampshire

R22

B RISTOL, SOUTH WEST & SOUTH WALES

of the launch of our new ‘satellite’ meeting venue. We met for breakfast/coffee and then visited the Wellington Monument before driving to the Devon coast at Seaton and then onward to our new venue The Keepers Cottage Inn near Cullompton where we enjoyed a fabulous lunch. I can definitely recommend it for food and being just a stone’s throw from the M5 at Junction 28 I hope it really will offer the chance for our southwestern membership to get together more and for new members to join the throng.

The second event was a brand new event for our region but I have the feeling it may become a popular addition to the calendar. Rather than just meeting for a Sunday lunch or Christmas meal near Bristol we decided to make a weekend of it! The Metropole Hotel in Llandrindod Wells offered us superb hospitality (for a second time, as we first stayed there for our 2018 September weekend away).

RO Sue Simmons • 07530 312 700 sue.simmons1@gmail.com ARO Debs Bradshaw • 07423 436 503 debbradshaw@sytner.co.uk ARO Sarah Hughes Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month from 6:30pm at The Plough, Pilning, Nr Bristol BS35 4JJ. www.theploughpilning.co.uk

The event was well supported with 27 of us on the first night joined by a further 16 on the second night where much fun was had by all. Thanks to Sharon for organising some fun activities with amazingly suitable prizes and for everyone for their generosity in supporting the annual draw.

This year the star prize was a Porsche Driving Experience Day at Silverstone and as the winner had done this already they offered it up for auction – so in total the draw raised £940 for our

Christmas at The Metropole Hotel, Llandrindod Wells

Well of course the first thing to say is happy New Year and happy New Decade to you all.The end of last year included two excellent events for Porsche Enthusiasts in the South West regions: First we enjoyed a fabulous driving day in November organised by Derek and Ian as part

BOVOANKCE

IN AD

VE TO SA

STO NECRE

RATIO

NS

Charity, The Great Western Air Ambulance, who were so pleased to receive this. The total we have raised is now £5,836 which equates to three days funding a specialist paramedic. Well done to all who contributed!

The evening also saw Ian awarded 12 months free membership for all his help in 2019 and for spearheading the new venue to boost our regional members engagement.

So now for planning events in 2020 – at our first couple of meetings this year we will look at suggestions for a weekend away again in September and decide if we want to rebook a similar Christmas event (you know I like to get these things booked early).

I also hope that more of you will join my trip to Laon Historique at the end of May – just six of us at the moment.

First Tuesday of every month Club night at The Plough, Pilning, BS35 4JJ Third Wednesday of every month Additional club night at The Keepers Cottage Inn, EX15 2EB May 29th–June 1st (Friday–Monday) Laon Historique June 7th (Sunday) Simply Porsche at Beaulieu – book your accommodation now as it fills up fast

ICKETS CLUB-T / M O HOW.C In association with

Official Show Partners

SPRING’S BEST CLASSIC CAR SHOW 27-29 MARCH 2020 • NEC, BIRMINGHAM

Get hands on, sit back and learn, and be entertained at the friendliest of classic car shows!

Over 1,000 Classic Cars • 150 Car Clubs • Live Demonstrations • 250+ Traders Car Dealers • Celebrities • Restoration Gurus

Exclusive discount on Saturday and Sunday adult or family tickets with your club code*:

RSCC2818

Book your tickets today at necrestorationshow.com/club-tickets *Exclusive discount code is for club members use only, available in advance until midnight on Thursday 26 March 2020.

To book by phone call 0844 858 6758, calls cost 7ppm plus network extras.

454639_PCRS03_Club_A5_Landscape_Ad_2020_FV.indd 1

31/10/2019 12:09

39

WWW.TIPEC.NET LIVE & BREATHE THE MARQUE