FOREWARD
After helping my good friend and client James McMurtry back in May close on his first Porsche 911 - a pristine 2017 Graphite Blue Metallic 991 Carrera 4S - we explored shipping options to get his new car from Texas to his home in Colorado. When we weighed both the cost and time it would take, James told me he was looking into flying down to pick up the vehicle himself. When he hinted at this, my first reaction was "That's awesome!" What better way to get know your first taste of the legendary Porsche 911 than to take an initial 800-mile road trip - on your own - while at the same time being able to tell your wife you are being practical because the cost of flight and one night hotel stay wound up being less than half of the shipping costs? In short, I thought James a genius. My second reaction was
"Would you be open to write an article about the experience?" to which James in a heartbeat he said he would. So below is James' chronicles into his adventure driving his newly purchases Porsche 991 from Dallas, TX to Denver, CO - in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. His insights into his first experience with this incredible road machine - along with navigating the regional cross country trek in the middle of Americans still figuring out how to live in a world with the latest strand of coronavirus - are both captivating and insightful. So read on to learn more about what it's like to first stretch the legs of one of the most coveted sports cars on the planet: The Porsche 911.
Driving from Dallas to Denver in a 911 During a Pandemic
- by James McMurtry
Figuring Out How to Get My Newly Purchased 911 Home
Congratulations! You worked long and hard on a country wide search and found your perfect 911 with the spec and at the price you wanted. Now you have to move on from the search to the now all important dilemma of 'how do you get it home?' This was the first logistical question I had to answer. While my good friend Ken Hans of KKAB, who helped me find and negotiate the deal, was working to get quotes from transportation companies, I was contemplating the idea of a road trip. Really I had this in the back of my head for sometime now. Ever since I was willing to consider buying anywhere across the US to find the 911 that I wanted, I thought it would be fun to do an extended road trip and bond with the car. However, COVID-19 had thrown a monkey in the wrench of everybody’s travel plans on the planet. Suddenly staying at a hotel was a question mark. Flying was another. Was it safe? Was it smart?
With the car of purchase being in Dallas and only a 12 hour drive away, I found it more economical to fly down rather than pay what was looking to be $1,000 plus expense. Also, after weighing the risks I felt that it was safe to fly on a short trip, so on a Friday I called a couple of close friends to see what they were doing over the weekend. My buddy Darren got permission from the wife and we booked tickets to fly out to Dallas the next morning.
Flying into Dallas to Pick Up the Car
Something that was very different was the flight into Dallas. Both airports were ghost towns. We all wore masks the whole time in the airport and on the flight. This has to be the cleanest time in aviation history. We flew Southwest and they had throughout cleaned each seat and air filter possible. Once arriving after an hour and twenty minute flight we booked
an Uber to the Nissan dealership in McKinney, a 45-minute ride from the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport. Pulling up to the dealership there was a great sense of anticipation. While trying to direct our driver to the proper location I couldn’t help but try to spy my Porsche amongst the assortment of Nissan inventory on the lot. With no car in sight we got out of our intermediate transportation. Before we even finished thanking the driver a representative met us with great exuberance in anticipation of a possible new sale. “Can I help you gentlemen?!” he said. “Yes, we are here to pick up a car we have already purchased.” I said. The expression on his face was slightly adjusted as there were no new commissions coming from our brief interaction. None the less he still maintained a smile, if less imbued with hope, and directed us to the manager with whom we had made arrangements.
Ken had made sure that Jeneva, the sales manager, personally took care of me when I arrived. Geneva greeted us near the front door and said our sales rep was pulling the car around. A minute later we see a sleek low 911 silhouette smoothly glide towards us. Yes, that car was mine, and I was going to drive away in it, a rare moment in my life when a lifelong dream of owning a 911 was going to become a reality, right now.
After the salesperson got out of the car, he handed the keys to me. Ken had made sure both the car and paperwork were ready to go. So all it took was a small matter of 5 minutes worth of signatures with Jeneva and we were off.
The First Time Driving - A Mix of Fear, Nervousness, and a Kid on Christmas Morning
I don’t remember being this nervous driving a car in a long time. I have driven other people’s exotic sports cars without this level of anxiety. This time was different - this was MY exotic sports car.
To set the stage, this was was a 2017 Carrera 4S. In Porsche internal lingo, this car is a 991.2, which is part of the second production stage of Porsche’ seventh generation 911, which was built between 2012-2019. For some perspective, the 991.1 Carrera 4S was a naturally-aspirated (i.e., non-turbo charged) 24-valve 3.8L inline 6 cylinder, which pumped out 400hp and a 0-60 time in 3.9 seconds. This 991.2 went on an engineering version of a keto diet,
having lost 0.8 liters, reducing the displacement down to 3.0L, while at the same time layering on some additional muscle with a turbo charger. And so the 991.2 Carrera 4S now pumps out 420HP with a 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds. In short, this car dishes out supercar-like performance, and I was now the owner of it. So what was coursing through me was a mix of the surreal and ‘a kid on Christmas morning’ feelings, and I could barely contain myself.
To add to the situation, I’m getting to take my new sports car for the first time in a strange town on a highway with aggressive Texas drivers. I didn’t know the car yet. I was like a 15-year old with a permit getting on the highway for the first time. So I did what every new 911 owner did coming off the lot. I drove as slow as possible being careful to keep distance between me and any other car for fear of getting the slightest scratch.
On our way to Oklahoma City, 3 hours away, would give me time to settle in and grow in confidence driving a dream car. The goal was to get the car home in one piece and without incident. Perhaps I was overly cautious as we started our path, but speed traps were passed almost instantly. Too few miles to have a first ticket. So I learned that Porsche has a very nice cruise control experience.
Staying in a Safe Hotel (Sort of)
Deciding to fly across state lines from Denver to Dallas during a pandemic had a level of risk in its own. Parking a Porsche 911 at a hotel is another. I specifically looked for a hotel with covered and secured parking. So I booked the nicest hotel in Oklahoma City, the Hamden Inn.
Talking to the nice girls at the front desk I asked several questions about the parking arrangements. When they heard what I was driving they wanted to see the car. They each walked to the front of the lobby to view the car. Then I asked if someone wanted to sit in it and get a picture. The blonde woman was thrilled and I obliged. Something about having other people get the opportunity to live the Porsche 911 dream with you makes it that much more satisfying.
After that we were told the parking garage was 8 stories tall and we should probably park on the 7th. With that advice and being checked in we headed out to Cattlemen’s steakhouse for dinner. Being somewhat familiar with the car at this point we decided to roll down the
windows and switch to sport mode to hear the sports exhaust (formally called the PSE - Porsche Sport Exhaust) reverberate off the downtown buildings. The pops and growls let me know that the option is a must for the 991. Then a short romp off the light and a giant smile was fixated to my face as I knew the sensation of a howling engine and acceleration is why I bought this thing.
During our meal there were two habits I noticed. One was staring at my keys with the thought that I can’t believe these belong to a 911 I got to drive back to the hotel in. The other was “Is my car going to be safe while I eat?”. Thankfully the meal was so delicious it distracted me from those thoughts and when we returned to the parking lot there was nothing to worry about.
Driving into the parking garage I went straight to the 7th floor and found a space with no cars visible. Saying goodnight I took one last glance back to the lone vehicle on the floor and we retired to our rooms.
Unfortunately, Darren didn’t get to sleep early as he watched on live TV while looters - who were taking advantage of the local curfew restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic - worked their way towards us from about 5 miles South in downtown Oklahoma City. He was about 5 minutes from calling me on the cell to say “We have to go!”. At about 12:30am the activity stopped a mile from the hotel and Darren was able to get some semblance of sleep.
9 Hours to Home
Awakening bright and early we headed to the parking lot before 8am to get a good start on the road trip that lies before us. As the doors opened on the 7th floor of the garage elevator I found cars parked on both sides of the 4S. The reality that my new favorite ride can’t escape the world that other cars live in! (Note to self: next time bring orange cones for the parking lot :) ).
With the hotel unable to serve its buffet - due to social distancing rules in effect - we decided to pull through a Chick-fil-A. Being that it was Sunday the line was short, but the wait was long as the standing tradition of Chick-fil-A is that stores are closed on Sundays. So we moved on to the Mac’s lounge up the street. There we experienced our first double take look at the 911. With our nose parked pointed out towards the main street, we witnessed a local in a passing car do a double take and continue his “rubber necker” gaze as his car passed us. Maybe in California a 911 is commonplace, but in Oklahoma the Porsche is more of a rare exotic seen on city street.
Finding a Wendy’s drive-thru we ordered some lunch and then parked the car to admire and talk at a table outside. Perhaps a Porsche 911 in a Wendy’s parking lot or drive thru seems odd, but really the car is at home in just about any environment. With lunch finished, we switched back with me having the honor of piloting my new German-manufactured road machine into our home state.
On the last fill up/bio break in Byers we were about an hour outside of Denver. I hadn’t truly pushed the car for an extended period beyond 5 seconds to this point. Getting back onto the highway the situation became clear. There was a caravan right next to me that went 7 cars back, and the on-ramp was quickly forcing a merge to the jammed lane. In short, it was time to see what this thing could do. I pressed the sports plus driving mode setting, and
floored it. Just like that we went into hyperspace and all the cars seemed to stand still. Easily getting ahead of the cars in the caravan - including an RV - we rocketed to the passing lane and had left the precarious situation behind us in what felt like a blink of an eye. Also, realizing the triple digit speed we had quickly achieved, I had to immediately lift my foot off the gas pedal and return to a more conservative speed to ensure I avoided a hefty speeding ticket on my 991’s maiden voyage.
Coming Home
Close to home I called my better half using the extremely nice Porsche hands free Bluetooth system tethered to my Android phone. I let her know I would be pulling around the street in a few minutes. As I pulled up to my house my family was waiting to welcome me and the new member of the family. I had them all pile in (yes you can use the back seat with teenagers) and we went for a quick casual spin in daddy’s new car. Everyone was impressed with how “fancy” the car was. With a seal of approval for “fanciness” from the fam I parked the 911 in its new home.
Tomorrow, the next pleasure of ownership awaits….a car wash by hand.