Battlestar Galactica Series 3 Finale

Bournemouth Blast and Broken Betty

The last bank holiday we took a trip down to Bournemouth. The papers widely predicted chaos on the roads as people drove more miles over the weekend than before. A quick post on PistonHeads suggested an alternative route using A roads rather than motorways. It was a truly memorable drive. We set off late in the evening and the roads were quiet! The Porsche was in top form and we covered the ground with real pace, indeed the only car to overtake us, was another Porsche, who was venturing well into licence loosing speeds. It really is a brilliant car. SWMBO realised that we were travelling quickly but felt safe in the passenger seat. The suspension enables the car to grip like a limpet while the power is so smooth it feels effortless.

The Porsche Litronic headlights are amazing. These are high intensity discharge for dipped and conventional halogen for main beam. The dipped beam is very bright and clear, like no other car I’ve driven. It provides amazing confidence to see and press on. Then when you activate the main beam, the dipped level is raised to flood the road further. It is utterly brilliant.

The following day, we went for an excellent walk in the country. We passed Madonna’s country house, which is exquisite with acres of beautifully tended lawns, bordered by native flowers and trees. A few kilometres later, we met up with some paragliders and spent a pleasant hour sitting in the sun on the side of a hill.

It was a beautiful day and SWMBO fancied driving Betty. Top down, it was the perfect day for a drive in the country. The two girls set off in the Porsche with the boys following in the chase car. We met up again back in Bournemouth and I realised that the power steering wasn’t working!

SWMBO and I have this running joke that she breaks things. I’m not the only one to poke fun at her. Indeed, at an early age, her Nanna named her “Whelan the Wrecker” after the famous Australian demolition company! Of course the fault was not anything she did, but it was funny that it broke while she was driving!

After some more research on PistonHeads, the car is now with Camtune being repaired. It turns out that a low power steering fluid level caused the pump to overheat and melt the reservoir. They are a very refreshing garage to deal with. They don’t see Porsche owners as cash cows to be milked and take the time to explain the problem and resolution in detail. It might not be cheap, but you know where your money is being spent and that a good job is being undertaken. I can’t wait to get the car back next week.

Porsche Sports Exhaust

My Boxster came equipped with the factory Porsche Sports Exhaust (PSE). It’s a factory option that cost £912. Quite expensive, but for the money you’re getting an electronically controlled system that bypasses two of the three silencers under certain conditions. You can clearly see the bypass pipes to the left and right of the tip. Impressive on paper, but when I first got the car, with no reference point it didn’t seem particularly loud to me, although the note is beautiful. Having recently heard the standard exhaust, it’s not any louder, just more tuneful. Is it worth it though? Let me share two recent experiences.

Around the built up streets of Wapping, the wails and howls reverberate off the buildings. With the top down, it’s real spine tingling stuff. I recall at the weekend approaching a mini roundabout. I spotted two pedestrians standing just off the kerb. I was slightly perplexed as to why they weren’t crossing. I was only meandering at a couple of thousand rpm in first gear. Then I twigged, it was the noise! Based on the sound, they were expecting something to be racing down the narrow street! I stopped, smiles were exchanged and they crossed in peace.

The second experience was on Sunday. SWMBO and I had cabin fever and went out cruising round London. We had no idea that the Gumball 3000 was also setting off that day. We ended up crawling in traffic in one direction as the Gumballers passed travelling in the other. I was really surprised how many people turned out to see them off. I guess the dream of driving a fast car across Europe has more allure than I imagined! The streets were lined on one side and the central reservation with people keen to get a peak. The Ferraris and Porsches were revving hard, much to the delight of the spectators. I couldn’t resist it and gave my own flat six a good blip. The crowd looked round in surprise, they weren’t expecting the same flat six noise from behind them! As I sniggered and grinned to myself, I caught the eye of a couple. They were smiling and laughing too, they commented, “you should be on the other side!”. Priceless.

Long live the PSE. Hip, hip, HOORAY!