Hot Rod
What kid from the 80′s didn’t lust after the Porsche 911? For the past week I got to live out my 16 year old fantasy of tearing up the streets in a tricked out 939 Targa, thanks to a kind and generous soul.
Did it live up to the fantasy? Was it worth the wait? You better fucking believe it!
It’s a good thing I’ve chilled out in my old age. If I was 16 when I drove that car I’d certainly be dead now. My mom got a brand new VW GTI at the same time I got my driver’s license. What a car to start out on! What kind of insane person would unleash their hormonally raging pubescent son in a car like that? It’s an undeniable miracle that I survived those years – and didn’t kill anybody. In hindsight, I strongly believe boys under the age of 21 shouldn’t be allowed to drive anything that has more horse power than a lawn mower. Needless to say, I totaled the GTI in a death cheating accident.
Over the Xmas holiday, our oldest and dearest friends Wayne and Heidi came visiting from the US. It was so great to see them, it was just like old times. For Wayne it was probably more like old times (high school) than he cared to relive.
Punching into second gear is the closest thing to rear thrust in an F16 just off the carrier. It’s unreal. The response is instant. Your head knocks back. It reminded me of driving go karts at Malibu Raceway (my safe racing outlet at 16)…times 50…on the sexiest, most curvaceous, beautiful roads I’ve ever driven on. I took every coast hugging, country back road, and autobahn-esque motorways in the vicinity. The views were stunning, if blurry. Overtaking cars is a millisecond operation. It’s like you’re swerving around parked cars. I’ve never entered corners so hot, hugged them so tightly, and exited them with so much torque. Even in idle the engine bubbles furiously.
It’s a huge relief that I got the car back to its rightful owner in one piece. Each night, the day’s ride played back in my head like a carnival ride, an often terrifying replay. I’d swear that the next day I’d ease up. But the car won’t let you. It simply will not accept low revs. It’s cranky and fidgety at low torque. It begs to be wound up. That doesn’t mean high speed, just high torque.
It’s high performance all the way and I’m so, so, so glad that I got the opportunity to have my way with it and lived to tell the tale.
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