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Well the sad news from South Africa is that there has been a delay. I had been promised delivery for end Nov / early Dec 2017. But I have just been told it has been pushed back to the 5th week of 2018... More waiting...
Well the sad news from South Africa is that there has been a delay. I had been promised delivery for end Nov / early Dec 2017. But I have just been told it has been pushed back to the 5th week of 2018... More waiting...
So...delays and then changes... Some massive personal changes.
Rather than the car coming 5th week in 2018, it is already in the country. It landed in Port Elizabeth on 15 December, although the company fitting the hand controls are closed until 15 Jan...so I will not take delivery until after that date. But it may have already arrived at the dealer.
But...some massive personal changes. I am a wheelchair user and have been for 18 years now. I enjoy driving, and this joy has been passed on to at least 2 of my 3 sons. At the start of December, I got a middle of the night phone call that every parent dreads; telling me that one of my sons has been seriously injured at the other end of the country. It turned out that Thabo had been stabbed in the back, and was in the local intensive care unit. Of course, I rushed up there, to find that the injury is very serious. The knife went into his back, missing all major internal organs, but then cut sideways, completely severing his spinal cord. Bizarrely leaving him with a very similar disability to me (although I was in my late thirties when I became a wheelchair user, he is early twenties). He is now in a great spinal injury rehab facility in Pretoria, for at least a couple of months. Then (fortunately...I am sure that is the wrong word), he will come back and live with us in a fully accessible house, with cars that he learned to drive in (with hand controls, and pedals). Because I knew we would be facing some substantial costs, over and above whatever the medical insurance would cover, I actually phoned my Porsche dealer to see if I would lose my deposit if I cancelled the order. After a lot of soul searching, and a lot of being told off by various family members and close friends, I didn't cancel the order. Thabo would have never forgiven me, or himself, if he felt he was the cause of me not attaining my dream car, after talking about one day owning my own 911 for so many years.
So the other day sitting next to his bed, I asked him the question. When he is discharged from the spinal unit, and we need to go home, he has a choice; either we fly together, which would be a 2 hour flight and several transfers...or...we drive the new Porsche home (even though he will not be covered on the insurance, so he will have to be navigator for the 1700km journey home. He looked at me, with a twinkle in his eye, the first twinkle since his injury. "We are driving!" So, now we have a goal; he needs to recover, and learn how to cope with the most basic of bodily functions, how to transfer, etc. I have to take delivery of the car, down here in Cape Town, and then drive it up to Pretoria, then we have to work out a system, whereby we can get both our wheelchairs into the car (hopefully both will fit on the back seats - thank goodness I changed my mind and went for the 911 rather than Cayman!). We are planning on filming the trip through a variety of GoPros and perhaps even some drone footage. One father, one son, two wheelchairs, a Porsche and 1000 miles!! I will certainly post photos and links to any film or YouTube that we manage. But this new 911 has taken on an even more important feature in our lives. We could easily collapse and try to answer the "why" questions. Why me? Why him? Why our family? There are no answers. Or...we can focus on this new car. This mad expense. This life-long dream. We can celebrate life in that car. Thabo's mother died 5 years ago...and she always supported my dream of owning a 911. She was of German descent and teased me about my "neunelfer". We will celebrate her life in that car too...
What a story. I don't cry, but I was pretty close there. One of my employees is from South Africa and he has such a similar outlook on life to you. You folks are some of the most optimistic people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting!
What a story. I don't cry, but I was pretty close there. One of my employees is from South Africa and he has such a similar outlook on life to you. You folks are some of the most optimistic people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting!
I am not originally South African, but an immigrant from Scotland (the weather is much better here!!). But, yes; South Africa is an optimistic country in many ways. I think it is the South African way of dealing with life, and all its inequalities. Dealing with disability is also a mindset thing. Personally, I refuse to let the disability define me. Having said that, while I have always enjoyed driving, it has become even more important to me in recent times.
I wasn’t sure whether to post this story here. But thank you for the support.
What a story. I don't cry, but I was pretty close there. One of my employees is from South Africa and he has such a similar outlook on life to you. You folks are some of the most optimistic people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting!
Originally Posted by BlueNorther
Well this thread puts the 991.1 vs 991.2, leather vs alcantara threads in perspective, doesn't it?
OP I wish you and your son all the best on your planned trip home in the 911 dream car.
Thank you all for your kind comments. Yes; events like this do tend to put things into perspective!! Indeed, many of my choices of specification are dictated by other considerations to “normal”. So, turbo or NA? Well, my work means that I regularly have to drive from here at the coast up to 2000m altitude of the Highveld. Those who have undertaken similar journeys will appreciate the safety factor that turbos bring, as a NA engine produces 17% less power at that altitude...and I have had “pucker” moments when I forget that power drop. Manual or PDK? Well, it is possible to have hand operated clutch control, but it is another level of complexity that is not necessary with a decent PDK setup. The seating was chosen to give a good mix of being able to slide into the seat (Sport Tex) rather than be gripped (Alcantara), but memory seats, so I can select one position for driving, and another where I have the seat pushed as far back as possible, the steering moved away, and the seat back reclined so I can pass my wheelchair, in pieces, over me to store on the rear seats. Entry and Drive should also make life easier. Reversing camera is quite essential as I don’t twist around as easily as most, and have had to learn to reverse on mirrors.
But it now even the realization of the dream car takes on a different perspective.
Some more frustrations to deal with. The good news is my son is coping well in a spinal unit up in Pretoria. He remains in surprisingly good spirits.
My car has arrived (it did so before Xmas) in country. My order is slightly complicated by the fact I am able to claim a tax rebate on fully imported vehicles which have to have conversions. This was always a complicated procedure (but worth it!). But the procedure has become much more complicated and I am unlikely to get delivery until next month.
My son has been given a potential discharge from hospital date of 10 Feb. I want to have taken delivery, enjoyed a few days of driving here in the Cape, then driving the 1000 miles up to Pretoria in order to collect him and make the return journey. This could become the quickest run in period ever!! Very frustrating to know my car will have been sitting, waiting for an inspection from customs for over a month. Still, I have waited a lifetime for this car...
latest update: my son's recovery continues, and he is adapting well to being in a wheelchair.
The car has finally moved to the company fitting the hand controls, so there is a (slim) chance I might get delivery at the end of the week. Certainly hope to have it in time to collect my son from the spinal unit and make the 1000mile journey home.
We have a drought situation in and around Cape Town,which has meant we are not allowed to clean our cars (indeed, our water will completely run out in April, and we expect to be using the rainwater we have stored around the house, so this will become a filthy car pretty quickly!!
Amazing story. Thank you for sharing. Glad to hear your son is doing better. Have a great trip home. Can't wait to see some video. This would be a great story for Stout's magazine 000. Heck, Porsche should send out a film crew, to include Jeff Zwart.
11-12-2017, 03:18 PM
