Hello!
joining the club finally: bought a 2020 992 Carrera 2S coupe. Fantastic car. Never thought I’d own a Porsche. The brand had too much stigma for me, a lifelong Alfa Romeo owner. Entertainment industry, Flashy Attorneys, not real car people I thought.
but then I joined the local Porsche club. They don’t require a Porsche to join and it was a great way to track my Alfa Romeo sedan. amazing instructors. Made some great friends . And along the way was convinced that Porsche people really are car people who really really get it. A RELIABLE sports car ( a myth for us Alfisti) is a glorious thing.
So then I turned 50 and decided if I was ever gonna become part of this community. The time was now to get a Porsche.
Of course a new Porsche would’ve taken months. Fortunately, I found a fantastic used example at the dealer up the street: Porsche St Paul. Specs: sport package, PDK, PSALM, glass sunroof, adaptive cruise, lane keep assist, ventilated seats. Black with red/black interior. Gorgeous. Thought long and hard about a manual but decided that as I’m still learning to track I should save that for my next Porsche. (My 1969 Spider was going nowhere, so I would always have a manual car to exercise those specific pleasure centers).
Almost backed out on the car: it’s a Canadian car and so the digital speedometer read in kilometers an hour. Fortunately, a whiz in the service department figured out how to change the country code and make everything fit for the US. He also coded it so that my key fob will open/close the sunroof and windows with a long press. Took her home. Very happy.
Last fall got to go to a three day Porsche track event where I really fell in love with this car. What an amazing machine! Surprisingly, easy to control at the limit. Got up to 172 miles an hour on the straight. Took 15 seconds of my track time with the Alfa. Wow.
Later last year took her for an Audi event at the same track- Brainerd MN. Sobering experience of accepting a pass contract too late at turn 1 and going off track at nearly 170 mph. Amazingly didn’t hit anything or have any injuries. No car damage except a flat tire from the tire being pulled off it’s seal. Quick trip to the tire shop and they resealed it and we were back out. Understandably wings clipped and driving her with a little less aggression but working back up. Looking forward to the spring track events To get back my mojo.
in fall got her some winter tires and have been driving her (5000 miles) much of the winter. Remarkably good for a rear drive car: just like on the track, very controllable when she starts to lose grip. Seats warm quicker than my other cars. Just wish she had remote start ( what the heck Porsche?).
big news is that I’m moving to LA county some time by June. Looking forward to enjoying her on many more tracks out there!
I have contributed a lot over the years on Alfa bulletin board and the Giulia forum. From restoration of my 1969 spider to many upgrades for my Giulia. Looking forward to contributing here too!
