Rob
RMS Regular
- Messages
- 12,468
- Drives
- Amarok V6
Just thought I'd share a few pics of this. Scroll on down for pics if you want to save the waffle.
Back in 2009 myself and @KeithRobinson made a trip to the Ring and I was blown away by all the 997 GT3 / RS cars on and around the track; at this point I had never even seen one before and it just made an instant imprint on me that would prove impossible to shift. On subsequent trips I couldn't wait to see more of them and although they were nowhere near my reach at that time, I just couldn't shift the idea that one day, maybe...
...and here we are. Having been watching them for well over a year, the search began in earnest at the end of this summer, with a clear agenda: it had to be a 991, a Gen 2 with the 4.0 engine, and above all else it HAD to be manual. It also would ideally have low miles, with a healthy options list covering all the big ticket items. Thankfully my own circumstances coincided with a gradual easing of prices and although manual cars were proving hard to come across, I could see their PDK counterparts dropping little by little as every week went by.
And then last Friday, having only been advertised online for 10 minutes, I spotted something that ticked pretty much all the boxes. I was on the Porsche Approved site, and with my usual "Manual" filter selected and sorted by Most Recent, it just jumped at me. I quickly scanned down the spec - Clubsport, manual, white with black wheels, ceramic brakes, front axle lift, PDLS headlights, 918 carbon buckets, carbon interior trim, leather dash and steering column, reversing cam, Bose, and astonishingly.... only 270 miles on the clock.
I called up Porsche Mayfair and bid them a decent chunk below the asking price, not expecting that to be well received, and 2 minutes later got a call back to say that my offer would be accepted. They would also be giving the car a full service as it had been in storage for 6 years, they would fit four new tyres and give it a ceramic coating. The only caveat, it had to happen before month end which was in just a few days time. I immediately accepted and within an hour the deposit was down and paperwork sorted.
Only Friday my wife and I took a flight out of City of Derry and gazed down on the sub zero temps below. Wonderful!
45 mins on the tube from Heathrow had us in Piccadilly right beside the showroom, and we walked in off the street to be greeted by this
It's a pretty mad setup, they only do sales so no service or parts department. All the cars are prepped at Porsche GB in Reading and they have several lorries a day bringing cars for handovers at Mayfair. Pretty small showroom but amazingly the highest turnover sales team in the Group of 5 dealerships, which make up Porsche Cars GB, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stuttgart.
Anyway after all the formalities we were finally on our way
Managed to stop off for a pint of milk on the way home.. didn't get to meet the farmer though unfortunately!
Made it to Liverpool and then onwards in sub zero temps over the Glenshane..
Once home it was time to get all the road crap and salt removed. This meant taking the wheels off and the centre locks, which was a bit of an education. Thankfully I had @KeithRobinson today who kept me right, I would have been beat without his assistance and gigantic torque wrench to get them on again at 600nm. Anachem to the rescue, and salt be gone!
It got dark so managed a few pics and then stored away into winter hibernation. Hope to get plenty of miles put on her next year and make some special memories. I've already more than doubled the mileage just getting it home!
Back in 2009 myself and @KeithRobinson made a trip to the Ring and I was blown away by all the 997 GT3 / RS cars on and around the track; at this point I had never even seen one before and it just made an instant imprint on me that would prove impossible to shift. On subsequent trips I couldn't wait to see more of them and although they were nowhere near my reach at that time, I just couldn't shift the idea that one day, maybe...
...and here we are. Having been watching them for well over a year, the search began in earnest at the end of this summer, with a clear agenda: it had to be a 991, a Gen 2 with the 4.0 engine, and above all else it HAD to be manual. It also would ideally have low miles, with a healthy options list covering all the big ticket items. Thankfully my own circumstances coincided with a gradual easing of prices and although manual cars were proving hard to come across, I could see their PDK counterparts dropping little by little as every week went by.
And then last Friday, having only been advertised online for 10 minutes, I spotted something that ticked pretty much all the boxes. I was on the Porsche Approved site, and with my usual "Manual" filter selected and sorted by Most Recent, it just jumped at me. I quickly scanned down the spec - Clubsport, manual, white with black wheels, ceramic brakes, front axle lift, PDLS headlights, 918 carbon buckets, carbon interior trim, leather dash and steering column, reversing cam, Bose, and astonishingly.... only 270 miles on the clock.
I called up Porsche Mayfair and bid them a decent chunk below the asking price, not expecting that to be well received, and 2 minutes later got a call back to say that my offer would be accepted. They would also be giving the car a full service as it had been in storage for 6 years, they would fit four new tyres and give it a ceramic coating. The only caveat, it had to happen before month end which was in just a few days time. I immediately accepted and within an hour the deposit was down and paperwork sorted.
Only Friday my wife and I took a flight out of City of Derry and gazed down on the sub zero temps below. Wonderful!
45 mins on the tube from Heathrow had us in Piccadilly right beside the showroom, and we walked in off the street to be greeted by this
It's a pretty mad setup, they only do sales so no service or parts department. All the cars are prepped at Porsche GB in Reading and they have several lorries a day bringing cars for handovers at Mayfair. Pretty small showroom but amazingly the highest turnover sales team in the Group of 5 dealerships, which make up Porsche Cars GB, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stuttgart.
Anyway after all the formalities we were finally on our way
Managed to stop off for a pint of milk on the way home.. didn't get to meet the farmer though unfortunately!
Made it to Liverpool and then onwards in sub zero temps over the Glenshane..
Once home it was time to get all the road crap and salt removed. This meant taking the wheels off and the centre locks, which was a bit of an education. Thankfully I had @KeithRobinson today who kept me right, I would have been beat without his assistance and gigantic torque wrench to get them on again at 600nm. Anachem to the rescue, and salt be gone!
It got dark so managed a few pics and then stored away into winter hibernation. Hope to get plenty of miles put on her next year and make some special memories. I've already more than doubled the mileage just getting it home!
