This Porsche 911 Is The Realization of a Dream

Photography by: Aadjan van Holst

Hello everyone, my name is Aadjan van Holst from Northland, New Zealand, and this is the story of my old Porsche. I became interested in cars and motor racing at a very young age. I fell in love with the a Porsche 911 at age 10 when I saw a black Carrera outside my dad’s workshop. The shape, the dimensions and the sound and the look of these cars was incredible to me.

From that moment on I was hooked. I knew I had to own one some day!

After leaving school and developing my career, the passion for these cars grew. I started to work as much overtime as I could and save every penny. After getting married, I decided the time was right to buy. After several months of searching, a car came up on a New Zealand site. It ticked all the boxes: originally delivered here, non-sunroof, and in special order silver. I rang the owner immediately and the car sounded good.

My ever-supportive wife drove with me to see the car. It was 500 km (510 miles) from where we lived to Taranaki to see the car. Leaving at 6 am, we set out to buy a Porsche. We arrived early afternoon and there it was, sitting on the driveway. My wife and I looked at each other and smiled: we both fell in love with it instantly!

After spending two hours looking over the car, I was happy. All the boxes on my list ticked. It was a solid car. We did the deal, and started the 6-hour journey back home. The drive was a mixture of nervousness and excitement: I had just handed over a large sum of money for a 30 year old sports car with nearly 300,000 km on the clock!

Later on in the drive, my wife and I pulled over and had moment to reflect. We couldn’t stop smiling! I was now so happy with the car, and as we drove in the pouring rain through the twisty roads home, all the worry went away.

Every time you step inside and go for a drive, you are reminded that you’re in something special. The sound, the steering, the view over the headlights. So much soul. It’s character very much lost in modern cars.

Soon after getting the car, I wanted to tidy the exterior. It had a small amount of rust in the A pillars so I wanted that clean up. As we stripped the car back, we found more signs of light corrosion. At that moment, I made the decision to go for a full bare metal re-spray. So started 6 months of completely stripping the car, painting the body and re-building. It was the most testing and rewarding project I have undertaken. It was all made possible by my ever-supportive wife Emma, family, and great friends.

The results are amazing. The car is now like new, and ready to pass onto my son one day. I love this car because it was the realisation of a dream. Countless hours of work and saving, and reaching a big goal I had set at age 10.

For me, owning an old 911 has become so much more than just realising a dream. The friends I have made through the various groups and clubs has been phenomenal—friends for life! We often go driving on the amazing roads here in New Zealand. The road from Waipu to Langs beach is one of my favourites. We stop for lunch, and a swim, and plenty of laughter.

To me, this is what makes owning a classic Porsche so enjoyable!

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