Jethro Bovingdon, formerly of Evo Magazine and now of Drivetribe was not always a Porsche believer. In his words; “I was a motoring journalist for about two weeks, and had a healthy skepticism when it came to Porsche 911s.” A chance drive from Bedford Autodrome back to Evo’s office in a base-specification 996 proved to be his “road to Damascus moment.”
By his own admission the 996 is a polarizing car. Nearly twenty years on from its 1998 introduction, the 996 is beginning to stand on its own merits. The 996 is shorter, narrower and lighter than any other watercooled 911, and astonishingly undercuts the preceding 993 by just over 150lbs (the final 993 Carrera 2s tipped the scales at 3,064lbs, and the first 996 Carrera 2s were 2,904 lbs).
As with any Porsche, what matters is driver involvement. According to Jethro, his 996 delivers that in spades. On the roads of Wales Mr. Bovingdon put it best; “One thing I do know, is that in ten or twenty years, I’ll still be coming to these roads in this car, and it will still deliver every single time.”
That’s what it’s really all about, isn’t it? What was your first Porsche and why did you buy it? Did you enter the fold with a 911, or was it something more humble? Perhaps a 914, 912, or a 924?
