Photography by DK Engineering
Had I been a car journalist 36 years ago, I’d probably have sat on this same pinstriped seat. I would have travelled to Porsche GB’s new office in Calcot, near Reading – where its headquarters remains today – left my Austin Metro in the car park and wandered tentatively around to the press workshop. There, I’d have discovered a boxfresh 3.2 Carrera Clubsport, resplendent in Grand Prix white with ‘911 HUL’ registration plates: the very same car I’m driving today. No doubt a few famous names sat right here, too.
Back in 1988, a scribbled note in my imaginary Filofax says I’m expected in north Wales that afternoon. So I glug down a cup of Gold Blend, slip on my Ray-Bans and hit the M4 westbound for a cover-story showdown with the car’s contemporaries: a Renault Alpine GTA V6 Turbo, Lotus Esprit Turbo and BMW E30 M3. Two days of incredible roads and intense driving await, climaxing in a hard-fought battle between Stuttgart and Munich – with our aircooled hero eventually claiming victory. Am I biased? Naturally, but the 911 3.2 Carrera Clubsport really is that good.