I wrote this story up for another forum, but figured I'd post it here, and add a little to it.

Apologies in advance for the extreme length.

I've always aspired to own a really nice car, and was slowly working my way up the ranks. Owning a Porsche was always my end goal, but had always planned to get an M car first.

My dad taught me to drive stick when I was 16, in his Dodge Stealth Twin Turbo. Boy was that car fast. He still has the car today, and has since modified the exhaust, and put on some nice wheels and tires. I'll track down a photo eventually.

For a few years I'd drive my mom's van (and later her Mitsubishi Endeavor), and when I was lucky, my dad's Stealth.

I bought my first car in 2006 to attend college. It was a black '98 Subaru Legacy GT. Manual of course.



The car was a ton of fun. I was into rally driving quite a bit (anyone remember the Richard Burn's rally game?), and was absolutely thrilled to have my very own car. In the snow the car was incredibly fun – especially going sideways.

Unfortunately the car met its demise pretty early when someone crashed into it.

I didn't drive for over a year as I was stuck paying off debt, etc.

Fast forward a bit and I became enthralled with drifting. I practiced day in and day out in Gran Turismo (with a steering wheel setup), and couldn't wait to someday get my own drift car.

I ended up finding an '89 180sx (right-hand drive) and jumped the gun.

The car made around ~275rwhp, and sounded like a beast (straight pipes!). It was my first real sports car, and I was in love. Every time I got in it to drive to work it was like I had won the lottery.





Unfortunately, my insurance company didn't see eye to eye with me, and cancelled my policy after 3 weeks. Had to sell it.

At least I managed to put 3,000km on it in the 3 weeks (about 1,800 miles)!

I took a quick trip to Italy, where I was lucky enough (well, I paid), to drive a 458 Italia and a 430 Scuderia.

I posted about it on 6Speed way back: http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/f...other-day.html





When I was back home in Ontario, I took some time and looked around for something that'd fly with my insurance company. After a lot of searching, I managed to find a completely stock 1997 240sx (an S14 "Kouki" for those that are familiar with S-chassis).



The car remained stock for a little while, but I couldn't resist the urge to start modding it.

In North America, these cars were given a 4-cylinder truck motor. Not really that fun. The 180sx had the Japanese SR20DET motor, which is much more fun. Ultimately, and engine swap was my plan.

But before I was going to focus on the (expensive) engine, I figured I'd get everything else in line.

I started off by replacing the factory sound system and tinting the windows (aka the "early 20's" mods).

I then found an HKS Hi-power exhaust and installed it. Next came a set of wide bronze wheels with drift-spec tires.

The subframe bushings were shot, so I replaced them with solid aluminum ones. Installed some HSD coilovers and a short shifter, and I was almost there!

It was Tuesday evening and I booked my first track day for a Saturday. The next morning I was going to have new multi-link suspension installed, along with a few other little goodies.

I woke up Wednesday morning, and the car was gone. It'd been stolen!!!!

Here's what it looked like right before it was stolen:







And just like that, it was gone. Forever.

I didn't have theft insurance (long story), so I was literally out about $20k overnight.

I needed something to get me to work, so a friend hooked me up with an automatic 2000 Toyota Corolla with ~280,000km on it for $1k.

I drove the car for a year, never spent a penny on it. The car was dinged up, so I decided to turn it into a canvas for my friends to "write" (aka key) on:





Decided I needed to go to the racetrack, even in an automatic Toyota Corolla.













Drove around at Mosport DDT all day, managing to keep up with some Acura Integras and the like. I knew I should cool the car down a bit more than I had been doing, but I didn't really care. I didn't necessarily expect to make it back with the car.

And I didn't. The engine blew.

Okay, now it was time for something a little more grown up. There was a guy that worked in the same office building as I did that had a really nice E36 328i coupe with a few mods. I started chatting with him one day and he convinced me that I needed an E36.

I set out to find one, and managed to find a black, manual, '98 E36 328i sedan with only 100,000km on it (about 60,000 miles).







It didn't have any of the sporty parts, but it still felt quite sporty. It was solid, quick, and had great feedback. This was my first taste of German engineering. It wasn't an M car, but it was a step in the right direction.

I took the car to the track a couple months later, but with the soft "comfort" suspension (and really ****ty summer tires), the car was somehow less fun than my Corolla. Maybe it was because I cared about ruining it.







I've owned the car for the last 5 years, and it's been the best all-around car I've owned.

I've taken it camping, to cottages, to the track (just the once), and had used it to get to work and such for years.

For the last few years I had been focused on starting my own business. There were many ups and downs, and times I thought I might not even be able to pay my rent.

I had become wise enough to know that I'd never buy a nice car again until I could properly afford it (something I can't say about my early days spending money on cars, much like a lot of young guys).

For the last five years I've spent hours EVERY day thinking about cars. What would I buy if I could afford something nicer? What's my next car?

I waited and waited, and even after my business started doing well I held off. I didn't want to rush into anything.

I spent some time traveling, including taking a trip to Germany to visit my sister. I rented a BMW M4 for 3 days and drove from Munich to Berlin, and then from Berlin to the Nurburgring. Managed to (safely) get up to 270km/h on the Autobahn.

The M4 was such a wonderful all-around car. It was comfortable, high-tech, good looking, and incredibly fast. It felt like the fastest car I'd ever driven – on par with the 458 Italia (which it's probably not, but still).

The rental was a DCT (which was my only complaint), but otherwise I was really happy with it. It didn't sound nearly as "bad" as I had expected, and as a daily driver all-around car, it felt perfect.





Passenger took this pic!



It had always been on my bucket list to drive on the Ring, and it was finally my turn.

Rented a Toyota GT86 with semi-slick tires, racing pads, a roll-cage/rear and a seat delete – but otherwise stock. Was the greatest thing I've ever done.







I was blown away at how well the GT86 handled on the Nurburgring, and it was more than enough car for me for my first time there.

I traveled for quite a while after that, but once I landed back in Canada the car shopping voices in my head wouldn't keep quiet. I'd been thinking about getting an M3/M4, or maybe an M2 for quite a while. But I couldn't quite make a decision.

I much prefer the looks of the M3/M4, but the M2 is quite the bargain (and reviews have been really great for the most part). After much decision making I decided to get an M2 – but then I found out I'd have to wait a year to get one. That's too long!

I then thought about ordering an Individual M3/M4, and picking it up in Germany. Another major thing on my bucket list. The only problem was, I didn't really want to do anymore travel this year. I then spent a ton of time trying to decide between the M3 or the M4. I generally prefer the looks of the M3, and it's much more practical – but then I'd be behind an M4 on the road and fall back in love with the looks (especially the back). I figured if I'm getting a sports car, I should just get a coupe. But I felt like I'd regret it.

Again, I couldn't decide. And that's when it finally became clear what my next move would be.

And here it is. A 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4, fully loaded with almost every option. Just picked it up on Tuesday.

A few iPhone photos from the first day:







I took delivery last Tuesday (May 17th) and have spent a fair bit of time driving it. But a lot of that has unfortunately been in traffic. I must say, the car is really good in traffic, and it's an easier driving experience than my E36. The seats are more rigid, but they're really comfortable. I haven't gotten out and complained about my back yet.

Compared to the M4 I rented in Germany, this car is just SO much more alive. Everything about it feels like it's been designed for the utmost driving experience. And the sound. Holy **** does this thing sound incredible. The M4 accelerated faster, but who cares about (just) acceleration?

The car has all of the technology and creature comforts you want – but it never feels like a computer's driving the car. It feels like and old-school sports car, somehow with all of the latest modern tech.

It looks fantastic, sounds great, and the handling is the best I've ever experienced. You can really feel the down-force at speed. The 918 bucket seats hug you like a bear, and are an absolute must-have option.

I'm really happy with my decision to get the GT4 over an F8X. It already feels a little bit pointless having a car like this in Toronto, but I would have always wondered "what if" if I went with the BMW. For anyone trying to decide between the two, I think it just depends on what you need it for. As an all-around daily driver the BMW makes more sense. But if this is a car you're going to be using just for fun, the Porsche wins, hands down.

I look forward to driving this as much as possible this summer before parking it away for the winter. I still have the E36 and will keep it as my daily driver for a while.

Thanks for reading my incredibly long essay!

 

Whoops – I meant to post this in the GT4 section.

Can a mod move it for me please? Thanks!

 

Nice journey! Great to hear how well things have turned out given earlier bad luck.

 

E36 to GT4? I think you win the "biggest upgrade" award for 2016

 

Epic tale

Thanks for sharing (even with us lowly non-GT4 owners )

Enjoy your new ride. Something tells me you most definitely will.

 

Congrats, enjoy in good health!

 

Hey, that was great. Well written and engaging. What a fun journey.

I was never able to afford the sports cars that would quench my thirst, so I came to Porsche via motorcycles. I've done roughly 140,000 miles on two wheels, four continents and dozens of countries. I'm 48, and am just now struggling to squeeze in a 2006 Cayman S.

Your GT4 looks amazing. Perfect color, perfect stance. An inspired accomplishment. Welcome, and keep writing.

 

Great story... Great car!

 

Congrats! I like your color scheme

Thanks for the very nice read! It went a bit fast at the end, you found the GT4 at a dealer, or did you spec and order it? Here in Sweden (and Germany, where I also shop for cars) the lightly used GT4s are 15-30KUSD over MSRP. If my dealer had a build slot, I would get it for MSRP, dealers don't do markups here. But no slots and a loooot of people before me in line anyway. Still, I'm enjoying the GTS so much at the moment, the GT4 can be a goal in 2-4 years.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome messages everyone

I bought it used (CPO'd) from the owner of a Porsche dealership here in Ontario – it was over MSRP unfortunately, but, hopefully it shouldn't really depreciate much.

 

I managed to make it out to my first track day less than a week in, at Toronto Motorsports Park (for the last hour of the day). The car handled really well (obviously) – the barking performance was probably the biggest thing I noticed compared to any of my previous (limited) track time in other cars (mainly Japanese).

I’m not too crazy about the course itself – the lack of elevation or beautiful scenery leave you wanting more, but it was still a great time, and a fun way to experience the car after just picking it up.

A few photos from the track:

 

Beautiful car and great story! Congrats and thanks for sharing.

 

Congratulations on your entry to the P car world as you have acquired one of the finest machines on the planet and thank you for just a terrific story!

 

Great to see the progression from very basic rides to the exotic level, and all the while you've remained an enthusiast who kept focus on the next big thing.

So, what's after the GT4?!

 

Thanks for all the kind words everyone!

If business is going well I think I'll Euro-deliver an F80 M3 next spring to replace the E36 as my daily driver.

Other than that I think I'd just love to continue to own a Porsche GT car that's manual. Sure I'd love a 991 GT3 RS, but I'd have to have a fun manual car like the GT4 as well. And on the road here in Canada, all of these cars feel like a bit of a waste

I'd love to own a 430 Scuderia or 458 Speciale one day, but, I don't think I'd like the attention they draw.