1996 Porsche 993 Twin Turbo
When I finally came into some money again (after my unfortunate Borland debacle and subsequent exotic car sell-off), this was my dream car. I remember calling dealers to order a new one, only to be sold that the factory had just stopped making them. I was just crushed! I heard from Carlsen Motors that they had a slightly used '96 they could sell. I was so depressed, I didn't know whether to go see it or not. I happened to mention this to my business partner and friend, Steve Kahn, on a Friday. Who do you suppose drove up in the '96 by the following Monday? Was I pissed, or what? Does the Pope wear a funny hat?
The only redeeming thing that Steve had to say for himself was that he had been told there was a limited production run of something called the Turbo S, and I could still get one of those. So, I ran (did not walk) over there and signed up. Meanwhile, I had to endure Steve owning my dream car until the S showed up. Life was good again once I had the S, in fact, it was better than good. However, I now had to deal with the fact that the car I wanted to drive every day was a collector car of which there were only 175 in the world. I needed a "beater" Twin Turbo to use as a daily driver. It so happened that these cars were no longer novel, and since my S was better than Steve's Turbo, he was ready to sell (since he could no longer lord it over me).
But the story becomes complicated here. Steve was in negotiations with our mutual Home Theater expert, Geoff Franklin, to sell. They were haggling. I offered Steve the deal Geoff was currently trying to do better on, but was rejected--what else are friends for? This was annoying, particularly after the car had been bought out from under me in the beginning. Geoff bought the car, and I went back to fretting about whether I was putting too many miles on the S. The good news is that I heard from Geoff a couple months later. He was ready to sell the car and would I give him what he paid for it? Of course I would!
Now all was right in the world, and I owned two of these lovely beasts. Over time, the craving to constantly drive a Porsche Turbo began to subside a bit. I got to where I owned lots of cars, and the ultimate frivolity of keeping two of these thoroughbreds in the stables began to hit home. While it made a wonderful track car, I really wanted something more closely aligned with my skill set (can you say Lotus Elise) than a fire-breathing turbo for the track. Of course you've already seen it coming haven't you? You got it, I sold the car to my house contractor (guess I was paying him too much, eh?). It now enjoys a very good home and everyone concerned is happy.