Captain Ahab Jr.

Its why Porsche built them and what these cars enjoy....

Just finished an epic 1000 mile drive this morning, still a bit tired but still grinning from ear to ear. Most of my air cooled Porsche drives are big mile touring trips across Europe but this was a little bit more full on than my normal drives.

19hrs seat time in one go, driving overnight across Europe through 4 countries (nearly added Germany to the list when we got lost) driving was shared with a good mate, we stopped 3x for fuel/driver fuel and once for the Eurotunnel.

I had a few reservations having not used my car while it was on a diet since last June after driving from the UK to Italy via Slovenia. Just to be prepared I did a 25 mile shakedown a couple of days before, tightened the wheels nuts, gave everything a quick look over and checked the oil level in preparation for our departure.

No tool kit or spares packed, only analogue SAT-NAV in the form of seven A4 printed sheets of paper of our route from Google maps. Only comfort blankets were my ADAC breakdown membership, a head torch, mobile phone, a fist full of Euros and a litre of oil.

We started off in glorious Italy afternoon sunshine, crawled along the Milan ring road rush hour evening traffic, an exciting detour over the 2000m Gotthard alpine pass in the dark, got completely lost in France when our route fell of the map page and we ended up on deserted rural A-roads at 3am in the morning, thick fog and heavy rain in France while passing trucks at twice their speed hour after hour and 3rd world road surfaces on the M25 around London.

Sorry no pictures as we were not hanging about looking for photo opportunities. However I may receive in the post two high-res front shots thanks to a couple of French speed cameras I failed to spot until it was too late to put on my best smile.

When I turned the ignition off for the last time I'm sure the car could have easily turned around and done a return trip without any complaints.

If anyone doubts these cars are not up to for a long road trip and need babying take a good look at yourself as it will be you that throws in the towel long before your car. I will sleep very well tonight and my car is now having a well deserved Spa break at a Porsche specialist.

911Jetta

Great inspiration!

Post those when you get them.

Exactly how I feel every time I get back from a mountain trip. The car just eats up road miles like you wouldn't believe.

Sensory overload, but zen-like at the same time. Adrenaline but calm.

I've pulled into the garage many times and just sat there for a few moments thinking, "should I go back out and do a couple more miles?"

Andy Roe

Glad to hear you got back safely and enjoyed the trip! These cars like to be used!

Navaros911

True driving enthusiasm... I only wish I had the same amount of road around here.

I wouldn't hesitate taking my car on a long trip. They do run better with frequent use.

Mondrian

I knew the car could beat me in a driving endurance test in my first proper outing.

Navaros - How does your car handle the summer heat there?

Captain Ahab Jr.

thanks Andy,

shame we didn't get to do a run on the mountain road test loop but time conspired against me

Navaros911

Mondrian,

It handles it just fine... but I do have the mod with a resistor so the high speed fan turns on earlier. Normally she stays around the 8.30 mark.

The heat isn't affecting it too much, but in the high humidity months (Aug/Sep) she does cool a little less.

Never much over 9 o'clock mark.

Anybody who is worried about overheating needs to check their system. The same for the stock AC. It all works fine all the way up to 120 F outside temp.

I don't sit still in traffic longer than 5 mins at a time... but the fan keeps it all under control.