Porsche, Past, Present

Cars change. It’s a simple statement, and an observable one. At the same time, it could be argued they don’t. The steering, the exhaust note, the grip of the tyres to the road – though these may technically vary from vehicle to vehicle – the experience of driving is typically a shared one.

Porsche 550 owner Daniel Graham kicks this off, claiming: “You have to have a connection with the car that you’re driving. You look at today’s car, you drive a Taycan; it’s electric, it’s quiet, the speed is sensational. But it loses something in the feel of it. Driving something as authentic as this [Porsche 550] is just a really raw experience.

“It’s low, it’s exciting, it looks brilliant from every angle and every corner,” he continues, summarising the driving journey: “People want experiences out of life. They want to enjoy experiences. And this is certainly an experience. From the exhaust note, the gear change, the turning… it’s a really, really fun thing to be in.”

Jump forward some 30 years, and you’ve got the Porsche 930 Slantnose. The Slantnose embodies the 80s, with its pop-up headlights, vents and oversized spoiler; the machine is unmistakable.

Dave Watson, owner of this Porsche, says: “I like cars that are not the same as the next one. If you like something that’s different, and understand the heritage behind it, then that’s what makes this car special.”

What makes a car special is not always the specs it comes with. Sometimes it’s the rarity of it, sometimes it’s the opposite. But as Dave asks himself: “How often do you see one of these on the road?

“It’s the usable supercar from the day,” he adds, resting his arm across its roof knowingly. “I did a road test report for a magazine many years ago, I can remember the headline they used in the magazine. The article was titled: ‘The 80s were cool after all’.”

And, whether you think the 80s were cool or not, it goes to show there’s a car for everyone.

Harry Potia radiates the same fondness as Daniel and Dave when talking about his recently purchased 2014 911 Carrera 4S: “I really love the way it looks and the way it drives, the way it sounds. It [911] was a bit of a poster car for me when I was younger, having it on my bedroom wall. Now I’m fortunate enough to own one. It’s an amazing machine.”

Besides the looks, there’s the heart. That’s a thing both us and our motors have in common.

“It starts when I pick up the keys,” Harry says, telling us what it is he feels in his heart exactly, “From that, walking to the car, getting into the car and starting the car. When you hear the engine and hear the exhaust, it sounds amazing. It’s hard to describe. It’s definitely a feeling you have inside you. Seeing the badge on the steering wheel, you have this warm and exciting glow.”

For many of us, that same feeling comes from motors other than a Porsche, and it’s the feeling that should truly matter.

“Buy what you enjoy,” Daniel Graham reiterates, “buy what captures your heart, what captures your emotion and captures your imagination. Pick one that you like, and buy it.”