The man behind some of music’s greatest videos explains why he was born to love Porsche
Words: Julian Milnes
Photos: Dan Curwin
Dan Curwin had the earliest, and classiest, of entries into the Porsche world, driven
home from hospital within hours of his birth in his father’s Viper Green 911 T. As Porsche backstories go, it’s as good as they come, and it doesn’t end there. Dan’s parents were close friends with legendary Mexican racing driver Pedro Rodriguez, who powered the fearsome 917K to glory back in the 1970s.
Dan takes up the story: “My parents and Pedro Rodriguez both lived in Bray, Berkshire, when he was on the Gulf team. He lived in the flat above and they became good friends.”
The relationship grew and Dan’s parents drove to various famous race tracks abroad, including La Sarthe and Monza, to watch Pedro compete, and witnessed him win the World Championship of Makes in the 917K for Gulf-JW Automotive in 1971 – the year Dan was born.
“Apparently he adored me, joking that I was his kid as I looked just like him, calling me ‘his boy’,” says Dan. “I’ve got Super 8 footage and photos of his car in the pits, as well as the Gulf 917 model, which members of the race team received.
“It’s fair to say my dad’s Porsche journey started on the back of this relationship, inspiring him to buy that 911 T. I think that’s also the reason I like Porsches so much – a Porsche was the first thing I saw outside the hospital!”
In 1979 Dan’s father graduated to the then-revolutionary new 928, followed by an S2 and an S4 during the 1980s. “Wherever I would go it would be in a 928. They really stuck with me.”
Fast-forward to the mid-1990s, with Dan determined to own a 911 before he was 25. “I located a 911 T, again in Viper Green like my dad’s, over in the US. It was around £4000 – they weren’t that expensive at the time. The car arrived a month later, appearing on a random dock in London. It wasn’t quite the car I’d been expecting – it looked like it’d lived a life! But I loved it anyway.”
Next up was an immaculate 1980 SC Targa with 50,000 miles on the clock, the later 200hp engine and Turbo wheels. Dan paid £8000 for it, and over three years it cost just £300 in servicing. However, when his girlfriend became pregnant with twins, he reluctantly chose to sell as the demands of work and home life took over.
Dan soon began another chapter in his Porsche journey, however, thanks to his role as video commissioner at Atlantic Records UK. He was contacted by the PR representing Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay to discuss the video for the group’s latest release, and was invited to tour the singer’s famous collection of cars, including two 911 Carrera RSs – a purple Touring and yellow Lightweight. “He wanted to remake the intro to the film Vanishing Point,” says Dan. “I thought, ‘Great, this is like my dream video.’”
The purple Carrera RS was shipped out to the desert in Almeria, Spain, and a Spanish rally driver was hired for the shoot. As the windows were blacked out, Dan decided to ride shotgun while they were being chased by a helicopter. “It was 45 degrees, no air conditioning, flying through the desert at 100mph in a £500,000 car. It was at that precise moment I thought, ‘I have to get back into Porsches.’”
When his father-in-law passed away a short time later, the family was sorting through his belongings and found a set of keys and a log book. Although they knew he had owned a transaxle Porsche, they didn’t know which model. After making a few enquiries, a rare white 924 S Le Mans with 70,000 miles on the clock was tracked down to a garage down the road.
“It was a 1988 Japanese market model, and I believe that only eight were made in white and 12 in black. My other half said, ‘You want a Porsche – there you go,’” recalls Dan.
He drove the car for the next 18 months. “I loved it. You could tell it was a Porsche through and through. I joined the Porsche 924 Owners Club, which was fantastic, and Porsche Club GB. I really loved running that car.”
A hankering for a vintage 911 continued, but times had changed and prices were skyrocketing. Fond memories of 928s endured, however, and Dan eventually sold the 924 to fund a manual S2 from 1985 with factory limited slip differential and lowered suspension.
Dan shows his appreciation for the 928 through his dedicated Instagram Page, 928Porsche, which has over 3000 followers. “Porsche Club GB has been really interested following the success of the group,” he says.
“People who drive 928s sometimes feel they’re a bit on the outside, but I think that’s now changing with the help of the Club. For me it’s a kind of obsession; a passion. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”