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TL;DR: In the year 2000, a boy and his dad in an E36 M3 get smoked by a 996TT; experience changes boy forever; boy grows up and finally buys a 991.2 Turbo and is pleased, and his toddler son even moreso.
This story begins on a bright summer morning in south Denver in 2000 or 2001. I'm in the passenger seat of my father's 1996 BMW M3 on a straight road with few others on it. I'm 12 or 13 at the time and had already been bitten by the car bug a few years prior. In my mind, the M3 was THE car and nothing could possibly seem faster and or handle better. "M stands for Motorsport" was engrained in my mind and was confirmed by well-worn copies of Road and Track and Roundel magazines.
That was, of course, until we approached a car at a stoplight that changed everything. I had heard of Porsches before and certainly knew what they looked like, but they had thus far failed to make an impression on me. 964? Meh. Boxter? Yeah ok but not for me. 930? What's that? Even the mighty 993TT featured in the movie Bad Boys (which I watched behind my parents' backs and enjoyed quite a bit) never elicited more than a "yeah that's cool." No Porsche (even the 959) had ever entered my mind as a hero car in the vein of a Ferrari F40 or a Lamborghini Diablo and I had written off the brand as making fast cars that were a bit awkward looking. (Don't worry; I have since realized the error of my early taste in cars and have sent prayers of apology to Ferry Porsche).
That day, however, the car we approached was a brand new 996TT with temp tags still attached. It was black with silver turbo twist wheels and hummed brilliantly next to us as we pulled up to a stop. "What's that!?!" I asked my father. "A Porsche Turbo. Must be one of the new ones." He was well aware of what he was looking at through the open driver's window and had long lusted after a Porsche himself. "Let's race" I said, eager to see how our M3 would stack up against this automotive UFO sitting next to us at the light. "That's not going to end well..." my father said. "C'mon let's do it!" I said, more eagerly as the anticipation grew. My dad cracked a slight smile and dipped the throttle to send over some invitational revs to our stoplight dance partner. The 996TT continued steadily humming, but the driver's sideways glance signaled that we hadn't gone unnoticed. "I'm telling you. This is not going to end well." A few seconds passed. Red. Red. Red. Red. GREEN!
We took off hard. The M3's tires chirped as my father dumped the clutch and the M3 lurched onto the rear wheels. I felt the instant kick back into the seat that I had come to know from spirited drives with my father (and become hopelessly addicted to). The revs built as we hit first gear and swiftly shifted to second. One more chirp of the tires as the clutch engaged second and continued its relentless pull. Despite the unmistakable sensation of speed and adrenaline that I was experiencing, the Turbo was gone. I mean, GONE. Carlengths ahead of us, close enough only to watch the rear wing extend as it put us and our car firmly in the past. "Told you." My dad said, with a tone that was equal parts "told-you-so" and "damn-that-was-cool." I sat there gobsmacked as my father upshifted and brought the revs down from redline. We eventually caught up to the Turbo and exchanged thumbs up as the Turbo went in a different direction. I stared for a long time as the Turbo went out of view, but my mind's eye remained fixed upon it long after. "What just happened? How could it do that?" After that I was obsessed with all things Porsche and the 996TT was my automotive North Star. I was just dipping my adolescent toes into the car world, but at that point I understood with absolute certainty that a Porsche with side intakes and an extendable wing is an object to desire.
Life moved on - high school, college, professional school, jobs, living and working in different cities, girlfriend becomes wife - but my interest in machines and speed never waned. Be it from countless hours driving in Gran Turismo (driving Ruf cars as the Porsches weren't then available due to licensing), arrive and drive karting, car shows, car clubs, motorcycles, road bikes and bike racing, the whole bit. My father continued to buy and drive cool cars. From the E36 M3 came an E46 M3 (that became mine for a time), a 997 C2 Cabriolet and in 2015 a 991.1 C2S. Lucky for me, I had more than my fair share of miles in all of them (thanks dad) but for a long time a Porsche never fit into the picture for myself.
Fast forward to January of this year. I’d purchased an F80 M3 Competition in the spring of 2021 as we needed a second car with four doors in anticipation of my son being born. It certainly suited the mandate of the time and I thoroughly enjoyed having a single platform that could run errands to Home Depot, drive around with my son with his infant car seat in the back, and take to HPDE’s and get point-bys. It was a truly great and versatile car, but the desire for a 911 was persistent. I have long lusted for a GT-product of some kind but the fact that we’re a family of three means that a car without rear seats is useless to me. Then there's the T, S and GTS cars - all formidable but none moved me to action. Then I remembered the race against the 996TT – of course, the Porsche with the side intakes and extendable wing and an object of desire. Rear seats? Check. Savage fast? Yup. Dailyable and trackable? Of course. Can I take it skiing? With snow tires, sure why not.
From there, a descent into insanity ensued. Market analyses, email alerts on car websites, multiple conversations with sales managers and mechanics. I ran across a few red flag cars available at a discount that I tried to diligence and was dissuaded from buying, and of course there were other life considerations to take into account (the perpetual truth that money you can spend on thrills can always be saved and put toward some nobler purpose), but the truth was that there was no going back. It was time; I was doing it. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I found it. A 2018 Porsche 911 Turbo in GT Silver Metallic over Espresso Brown that was about 8 hours from me. Miles were low (enough for me; I wanted a driver), condition was good and the PPI checked out. It also lacked some of the bling that I hoped to avoid (mainly, PCCBs and center locks) for simplicity’s sake as I like to work on my cars from time to time. After some negotiation, terms were agreed and the deal was locked.
I called up my father and told him to clear his weekend plans as we were going on our own mini Cannonball Run – out to Salt Lake City with the M3 and back with the Turbo in one day. He agreed after approximately no seconds of consideration and this past Saturday we set out from Denver at 2:30 am for Salt Lake. 8 hours passed, some snowblown high mountain roads traversed, large coffees drained and many topics of conversation cycled through, we arrived in Salt Lake and did the exchange. I waved goodbye to my trusty M3 and wished it well in the hands of a future owner. We took off in the Turbo at a considerably higher rate of speed. THIS, was the experience I was hoping for, that was 23 years in the making. The vision of the Porsche with the side intakes and extendable wing absolutely decimating the E36 M3 had helped drive me to the point where I could finally get my own, and on a remote part of I-70 I looked at both of those features of my own car in my mirrors and smiled with satisfaction as the miles ticked (swiftly) by.
We pulled into Denver at 9:00 pm Saturday evening and I dropped my father off and then finally pulled into my garage. My wife came outside to greet me and asked “is it everything you hoped for?” After 18 hours of driving, a complex response eluded me but the one that came out still seems the most appropriate: “everything.”
The most important introduction came Sunday morning. My 16 month old son was asleep by the time I got home and hadn’t yet seen the car. As soon as breakfast was over I went to the garage with a metric socket to remove the rear seats and fit his car seat – we were going for a ride ASAP. My wife let him outside as I was midway into fitting his car seat and the onslaught began: “CAR! COOL CAR! VROOM VROOM!” He’s had a 992 Carrera push car in Miami Blue since before he was born so he knew immediately what he was looking at. I watched as he ran around, looking through each wheel at the brake rotors and getting brake dust all over his hands (maybe should have got PCCBs…). He then jumped into the driver’s seat, held the wheel and started jumping up and down screaming “VROOM VROOM!” over and over. The apple did not fall far. I finished installing the seat and we all went to the playground with little dirty hand prints all over the car. I watched his face in the mirror as he took everything in, his vision tracking left and right and up and down as he examined every little corner of the interior. I’m pleased he’ll have the opportunity to grow up with this car and for us to have it as a shared interest as I know how much a shared passion for cars has strengthened my relationship with my own father and created so many lasting memories. I mostly hope that he’s able to find something that moves him in the same way that a black 996TT moved me 23 years ago. For now though… VROOM VROOM!
What an awesome story! I especially liked the multigenerational father-son passion for cars and bonding thereof!
I've got into Porsches only quite recently. My father-son story revolves around when I decided, in 2008, to build a Cobra replica from its component parts, because, why not...? Up until that point I hadn't done much more than a DIY oil change, but hey they promised that anyone could do it, so I dove in headfirst. It was the best decision I ever made. It took me 6 long years to assemble that car (most people are done in 2-3) but my son spent countless hours in the garage with me as we jointly figured it out. When the car was fully baked, my son was fully baked too...
I had the car for several years after I completed it (these cars are never truly finished!) and it evolved into a multi-award winning showpiece. And my son evolved into a budding orthopedic surgeon, who claims that he is good at drilling and fastening bones because of all the drilling and fastening he did with me in the garage! Today I don't any longer have the Cobra, but my son and I still talk Porsches, and Jaguars, and Corvettes...he has the bug, for sure!
Pics are my son and I (1) when the kit was delivered, in 2008; (2) when we declared the car finished in 2015; and (3) just before I sold it in 2021.
What an amazing story! Congratulations fellow E-Acquaintance! Your story hit hard and I felt like I was there. I too can share a lot of the details said.
You've got a classy ride with that color combo. Love the gauges too. Enjoy in good health and hopefully this one stays with you long and many more to come.
One h3LL of an intro(*) story. Fantastic. And thanks for sharing it with us.
Welcome aboard.
(*) But, it makes me feel really old, ‘cause a couple years before your story starts, I was the guy in the Porsche wasting some poor dude (who was trying to impress his girlfriend) from a stop light.
Congratulations on the upgrade and welcome! Sounds like we have taken similar paths as I also came from an F80 Comp and echo your comments. It was very nice to have one car that could handle it all. Fitting multiple car seats, taking clients to lunch, facilitating other daily duties while still handling itself quite well on the track and/or occasional freeway down in Mexico. But it did lack the "special" factor which is where the Turbo came in...and in GT Silver nonetheless.
I did not have the same automotive influence from my dad that you and many others have experienced. He grew up on a farm in a small town in South Dakota so cars/trucks where always seen as a tool to accomplish whatever task was at hand and nothing more, so I am not sure where my case of automotive passion/sickness came from. My boys on the other hand have definitely picked up on my enthusiasm and passion for fast/fun/cool vehicles and were likely just as, if not more excited than I was when the Turbo was delivered. They have loved this car more than anything I previously owned and I look forward to reading more stories of your ownership and enjoyment with your son as well!
Picture of said delivery day to add to the "family friendly" aspect of the automotive world that my wife still thinks I am making up.
What a great introduction and that teenage infatuation with the Porsche 911 Turbo hits home for me. My father was obsessed with MGB in the 80s, and I solemnly swore then never to own anything mechanically designed or built by the English.
In my case, the marketing campaign for the 964 Turbo gave birth to my obsession - anybody else with the 964/993 Turbo ads carefully cut out of magazines and taped to their walls? I finally achieved my automotive dream 3 years ago and my teenage sons haven't been the same since.
I can totally relate to this story. I had a 1998 M3 4 door stick. My wife made me get the 4 door for child seats in the back. After 1 year of ownership I shipped it to Active Autowerkes in Florida and had a turbo installed along with water injection (no meth at that time). The car was so fast and such a sleeper. When my wife would take my son to school in it, he would lecture her that she was not shifting it at the right rpm from his car seat. Loved that car!
What an awesome story! I especially liked the multigenerational father-son passion for cars and bonding thereof!
I've got into Porsches only quite recently. My father-son story revolves around when I decided, in 2008, to build a Cobra replica from its component parts, because, why not...? Up until that point I hadn't done much more than a DIY oil change, but hey they promised that anyone could do it, so I dove in headfirst. It was the best decision I ever made. It took me 6 long years to assemble that car (most people are done in 2-3) but my son spent countless hours in the garage with me as we jointly figured it out. When the car was fully baked, my son was fully baked too...
I had the car for several years after I completed it (these cars are never truly finished!) and it evolved into a multi-award winning showpiece. And my son evolved into a budding orthopedic surgeon, who claims that he is good at drilling and fastening bones because of all the drilling and fastening he did with me in the garage! Today I don't any longer have the Cobra, but my son and I still talk Porsches, and Jaguars, and Corvettes...he has the bug, for sure!
Pics are my son and I (1) when the kit was delivered, in 2008; (2) when we declared the car finished in 2015; and (3) just before I sold it in 2021.
02-28-2023, 08:10 PM
A Turbo Story - The Car that Changed Everything
