Taking a new purchase on a long road trip is a fantastic idea IMHO. Did that with the S2k I picked up in Florida and drove home to WV.
Photography by Chris Tropea
Our Porsche 997 had been cleaned, looked over and fitted with fresh Bridgestones. It was now ready for its first event.
And that event would not be a quick cars and coffee or autocross but rather our own Orange Blossom Tour, a behind-the-scenes trip through Old Florida. These tours don’t have an age restriction on the cars entered, so our 2007 Porsche 911 would be eligible.
The Porsche proved to be comfortable and perfectly reliable for a four-day driving adventure that covered nearly 700 miles.
More importantly, our Porsche was a whole lot of fun to drive. It soaked up the miles with ease, got over 25 mpg, and was a blast on the curvy roads that the tour had to offer.
We also shared our car with some attendees. One Ferrari owner was so enamored that he confessed that he spent that evening combing the internet for a similar car.
Another attendee, who owns a nearly identical car, felt that ours had a stronger engine. Perhaps the cool clear weather was making a horsepower difference.
We even had Ray Shaffer from Porsche Classic spend a morning in our 911. He deemed the 997 one of the best 911 models ever built and was impressed that our car felt as tight as a brand-new model.
As we cruised home from a very enjoyable trip, we realized what a great car we had found and decided it was a keeper in the GRM fleet.
Taking a new purchase on a long road trip is a fantastic idea IMHO. Did that with the S2k I picked up in Florida and drove home to WV.
I've done it and loved it.
Not sure if I'd be too nervous to do it now, but I did pick up my 911 in Chicago and then drove it back to Florida. Made a few stops along the way. (Saw Carl, always a tread.)
Yes it is a great car. Sadly I've come the realization I never drive my Porsche's enough. I prefer messing with junk and driving what I've fixed.
Some day, I want to do a fly and drive to pick up a new car.
I think it sounds like the perfect vacation.
Colin Wood said:Some day, I want to do a fly and drive to pick up a new car.
I think it sounds like the perfect vacation.
Did this with a 1984 Supra P-type back in 2008. Friend of mine calls me and asks if I know anyone who would be interested in a 6M swapped P-type for $1000, and I jumped on that in a hurry. Bought a one way ticket to Phoenx, loaded up my tool bag, and phoned in an order to freshen up the cooling system to the closest parts store.
Stayed at a friend's house for a few days while trying to sort it out. Ended up needing a new radiator, but by that point I'd already gone through every other part of the cooling system. A bit over budget, but that car served me well for about 5 years. Sooooo slow at altitude though.
Always did think it a bit strange that they wouldn't let me bring a small bottle of shampoo with me, but a bag full of hammers is perfectly ok...
Did you loose your sense of adventure?
Colin Wood said:Some day, I want to do a fly and drive to pick up a new car.
I think it sounds like the perfect vacation.
I think I've done 5 fly and drives (well, one was a train and drive). Never had an issue, always had a blast. The funny thing is, these have always been cheap cars, two of them were under, one was WELL under, challenge price.
I've done two cross-country retrievals: Porsche 944 and Honda S2000.
The Honda was brand-new, so no car issues although I had bad weather for the first half of the trip–like, road-disappearing-in-sand bad.
The 944 trip was painless, too. Picked it up in Vegas and drove it to here in Florida. I think that one took place before cell phones.
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