Guten tag y'all! New Porsche Owner w/ Euro Delivery (lots o' pics!)
11-12-2013, 06:02 PM
#19
Racer
Thread Starter
Yes but you didn't need the palm trees for detective work, the license plate frame on the back of my Audi identifies me as a fUCLA hater... which reminds me, here's something you only see cruising around Westwood!
(...and NO! That is NOT photoshopped, lol)
I was raised in Pasadena but been in Belmont Shore, Long Beach for over 15 years.
And yes, it was very nice dealing with the folks at McKenna, especially the GM Bob Hogan... and as I said on my original post, no other dealer I spoke with were willing to do Euro Delivery on such short notice. As a pleasant surprise, there was only one car at the Porsche Museum at the time I visited that had racing livery representing a U.S. dealer so prominently!
11-12-2013, 06:54 PM
#22
Racer
Thread Starter
Thanks everybody! I hope it was as fun for me to write that as it was for some of you to read it. It was truly a blast and if you have even that slightest of thought to take European Delivery, I say DO IT!
...and report back with pictures, of course.
and now for some random thoughts...
At the factory, I was told that fully 70% of the cars that come off the plant in Zuffenhousen are black, white or some sort of silver/grey variant, with almost 50% of them black! Now I got nothing against black cars, I've owned a few of them myself, and I know that you can make it stand out with some nice wheels, clear lenses and so on but... I wanted my 911 to be a little different. I guess that makes me part of the other 30%.
Now whether it was my color choice or if a fresh from the factory 991 was eye-catching no matter the color, I was surprised at the attention it got everywhere I went in Europe. Certainly far more than it will get when it's back home in Southern California. I even got some Swiss-French dude in front of a bar near Zurich, who had a couple of beers too many, begging me for a ride around the block. I politely declined for fear he might puke all over the inside, haha!
Conversely, the car could not be any more anonymous on the Nurburgring parking lot. It got lost in a sea of other 991s, 997 GTSs and Turbos, the occasional Aston, Ferrari 458, Lambos, Vettes and Vipers. And that's what makes the Ring a very cool place to hang out on days that the track is open to the public. It's not just about going around the track to thrill yourself, but hanging all day with your gearhead peers, checking out other rides and talking shop. I know it sounds silly, but it feels like "I'M HOME!"
Couple of other pics.... here's a not so cheap grill badge I picked up, then I thought, "oh, I don't have a front grill!" lol
Here's a memento courtesy of Porsche, with the aluminum piece with my car's VIN engraved, riveted to the artwork.
Prettiest 997 I've ever seen at the dealer across the street from the factory. Maybe a little too understated for some but I liked it a lot! I shoulda taken a photo of the spec sheet, but they wanted 165,000€ for it!
and here's my ride next to one of it's granddads at an inn south of Baden-Baden, amazed at how much it's evolved.
Thanks again for the support everybody!
...and report back with pictures, of course.
and now for some random thoughts...
At the factory, I was told that fully 70% of the cars that come off the plant in Zuffenhousen are black, white or some sort of silver/grey variant, with almost 50% of them black! Now I got nothing against black cars, I've owned a few of them myself, and I know that you can make it stand out with some nice wheels, clear lenses and so on but... I wanted my 911 to be a little different. I guess that makes me part of the other 30%.
Now whether it was my color choice or if a fresh from the factory 991 was eye-catching no matter the color, I was surprised at the attention it got everywhere I went in Europe. Certainly far more than it will get when it's back home in Southern California. I even got some Swiss-French dude in front of a bar near Zurich, who had a couple of beers too many, begging me for a ride around the block. I politely declined for fear he might puke all over the inside, haha!
Conversely, the car could not be any more anonymous on the Nurburgring parking lot. It got lost in a sea of other 991s, 997 GTSs and Turbos, the occasional Aston, Ferrari 458, Lambos, Vettes and Vipers. And that's what makes the Ring a very cool place to hang out on days that the track is open to the public. It's not just about going around the track to thrill yourself, but hanging all day with your gearhead peers, checking out other rides and talking shop. I know it sounds silly, but it feels like "I'M HOME!"
Couple of other pics.... here's a not so cheap grill badge I picked up, then I thought, "oh, I don't have a front grill!" lol
Here's a memento courtesy of Porsche, with the aluminum piece with my car's VIN engraved, riveted to the artwork.
Prettiest 997 I've ever seen at the dealer across the street from the factory. Maybe a little too understated for some but I liked it a lot! I shoulda taken a photo of the spec sheet, but they wanted 165,000€ for it!
and here's my ride next to one of it's granddads at an inn south of Baden-Baden, amazed at how much it's evolved.
Thanks again for the support everybody!
11-12-2013, 07:14 PM
#23
Three Wheelin'
Great pics, and congrats on the beautiful car! You spec'd a great build (even though I'm one of the 70 percenters who spec'd a white, black or gray/ silver). Sounds like you had an awesome time, and good luck with part 2 of the wait as your baby makes the trip home!
11-12-2013, 07:44 PM
#24
Rennlist Member
Johnny oh Johnny.
I could have commented on the lic. frame in my first post and didn't even though I'm a Bruin.
On that note I see you bought a blue car. ? What the heck bro? >
Most of you guys buy red/maroon cars.
No matter since I was at UCLA during our longest win streak against you guys.
All kidding aside, you have a beautiful car and we look forward to seeing it around town. We will even invite you down to Newport Beach when she finally arrives!
Congrats again on your new sled.
I could have commented on the lic. frame in my first post and didn't even though I'm a Bruin.
On that note I see you bought a blue car. ? What the heck bro? >
Most of you guys buy red/maroon cars.
No matter since I was at UCLA during our longest win streak against you guys.
All kidding aside, you have a beautiful car and we look forward to seeing it around town. We will even invite you down to Newport Beach when she finally arrives!
Congrats again on your new sled.
11-12-2013, 07:49 PM
#25
Three Wheelin'
@lbcgolf: that's a limited edition 997 sport classic ! A gorgeous car that used to be in the museum if I recall correctly !
Last edited by bccars; 11-13-2013 at 06:42 AM.
11-12-2013, 08:38 PM
#26
Racer
Thread Starter
Johnny oh Johnny.
I could have commented on the lic. frame in my first post and didn't even though I'm a Bruin.
On that note I see you bought a blue car. ? What the heck bro? >
Most of you guys buy red/maroon cars.
No matter since I was at UCLA during our longest win streak against you guys.
All kidding aside, you have a beautiful car and we look forward to seeing it around town. We will even invite you down to Newport Beach when she finally arrives!
Congrats again on your new sled.
I could have commented on the lic. frame in my first post and didn't even though I'm a Bruin.
On that note I see you bought a blue car. ? What the heck bro? >
Most of you guys buy red/maroon cars.
No matter since I was at UCLA during our longest win streak against you guys.
All kidding aside, you have a beautiful car and we look forward to seeing it around town. We will even invite you down to Newport Beach when she finally arrives!
Congrats again on your new sled.
In this town you're with one team, the other team, or ambivalent, so I stood a 2/3 chance we'd be friends or foe, lol.
Red yes, maroon is ASU! I'm sure you know that and you're jes trying to push my buttons
Maroon only belongs on a Buick, though I'm ashamed to say I've owned a 2005 MB GL450 in that color. But I SWEAR to you it was the choice of a girlfriend I was dating at the time!
11-12-2013, 09:00 PM
#27
Seeing this post made my day! Thanks. Did my own European Delivery in July. To be honest, people spending 6 figures on a car should seriously consider the extra cost of ED because it is an amazing experience. Only problem is when you get the car home and you realize how pathetic most NA roads are compared to much of Europe.
11-13-2013, 01:04 AM
#28
Racer
Thread Starter
Seeing this post made my day! Thanks. Did my own European Delivery in July. To be honest, people spending 6 figures on a car should seriously consider the extra cost of ED because it is an amazing experience. Only problem is when you get the car home and you realize how pathetic most NA roads are compared to much of Europe.
Yeah, I was having a conversation with my co-pilot for the trip about it. It was a sad realization that the car will never be driven as hard or as enjoyably as we did in it's first 2 weeks on the road... unless I track the car, which probably won't happen, but it's always a possibility.
But I'm not in 100% agreement that their roads are better. It is true that from an overall driving enjoyment aspect, you can't beat Europe. A lot of fun, twisty backroads, amazing scenery, the stretches on the German autobahn with no speed limits. Having said that, driving in heavy city gridlock is no different, whether you're in Toronto, LA or Stuttgart. Once you leave the "A," "B" and "C" roads, the road quality (and WIDTH!!!) can get a little dicey. Finding lodging with a decent parking facility was a daily chore, and even then I swear European parking spaces are 80% as wide as the ones we have here. Autobahn is a bliss when there's no speed limit, but you always have to stay alert for those max speed changes, and the infinite number of road repair/construction zones. I swear that Germans are perfectionists to a fault here. "Hey look, Hans! I zee a 2cm crack on zee tarmac. Ve better close 5km around it and call zee repair crew, ja?"
Alas, a pedal to the metal high speed run with no radar detector or fear of arrest is indeed something worth celebrating. We all remember the first time we blew by a polizei car going a buck-twenty or more, thinking for a brief second, "Oh $#it!!!" only to glance at our rearview mirror and realize he wasn't coming after us, right?
If any of you might be wondering... I lost my 'nads way before hitting max speed. I can drive 200 to 220 kph pretty comfortably, but most rental fleet cars I've driven petered out at 200... maybe 215... downhill with the accelerator glued to the floorboard. I hit one stretch cruising on the C2S at 215 in 7th, neither Sport or Sport Plus selected, found a straight section I could see 3 miles in front easy with very light traffic (a rarity), I punched it and O.... M.... G.... it drops down to 4th, and it kept pulling 220... 230... 240... 250... still plenty of space to run, still lots o' juice left in the motor... I lifted before I hit 260. What a wuss!
11-13-2013, 02:56 PM
#30
Three Wheelin'
And that's why we love Pdk over here ;-)