It’s November 1980 and I’m still proud of the grades that popped out of a small brown envelope marked with the crest of my school’s examination board. I might even be able to get into a decent university. That’s if I can stop reading CAR Magazine and focus on my impending A-Levels. But it’s so achingly tempting, especially when the freshly minted December edition with a red 911 SC on the cover is in my hand.
Clasped next to the mag is the prospectus for the University of Birmingham, which needs to be read. I’m on the train to an interview there and really want to impress. But the feature on the recently upgraded SC (now with 204bhp), beautifully illustrated across the spreads, is far too tempting. It has to be devoured along with the pasty that is flaking down my suit.
It’s one of those memories that lives beyond so many others – such was the power of CAR Magazine and its band of eccentric writers. Under the leadership of Mel Nichols, Steve Cropley, Gavin Green and other groundbreaking editors, they enthused us with a passion for finely engineered automobiles, taught us to understand the workings of one of the world’s greatest industries and delighted us with carefully crafted words that were hard to put down.
Today’s CAR Magazine is a different beast to the young, edgy title that influenced so many of us. It’s one of the grandees of motoring publications; an authoritative, beautifully written glossy whose quality has seen it survive some of the most challenging times for print publications. With six decades of evolution behind it, it’s the 911 of motoring journalism.
So it isn’t surprising that, as I sit at my desk in August 2024, my inbox is on fire. A few hours earlier, an email was dispatched to Club members asking for volunteers to take part in a CAR Magazine cover feature. Just one of each of a handful of models is required, but I already have 13 GT3 owners eager to spend a day with their writer and photographer. Finding an owner with a 918 Spyder is proving trickier.
The search began with a call from Piers Ward, their deputy editor. As a dedicated Porsche enthusiast who grew up craving a 968 Club Sport, he has chosen our favourite marque for their annual used car feature. It’s going to be CAR Magazine’s first single-manufacturer used car cover, so it’s a real compliment to Porsche engineering. All I need to do is find a perfect, unmodified example of each of the models that Piers has chosen and encourage their owners to be in the magazine’s Peterborough car park at the agreed date and time. Which, because we need good weather, will be provided at short notice. Easy!
Soon after sunrise on the chosen day, I turn into the slip road in front of CAR Magazine’s offices to be greeted by a slinky 918 Spyder being carefully extracted from a covered lorry. It’s the only model I couldn’t find within the Club, so it has been generously sourced by Porsche along with a Gtechniq detailing expert who has arrived in a comprehensively equipped van. Piers and journalist Ben Barry are introducing themselves to Club members as they arrive, admiring their cars and taking first impressions on the ownership experience.
At 08:45, we head out in convoy, slipping through the suburbs to the nearby East of England Showground where there is enough open space for photographer John Wycherley to arrange the cars for the cover image. It takes him a good hour to guide each car into a carefully curated pattern that will be snapped from the super-high tripod now appearing from the back of his BMW. As he waves us out of his frame of view, I take the opportunity to talk to Piers.
“The biggest challenge for us was finding the cars as it’s a world we don’t often operate in,” he says, with the smile of a man who loves modern classics. “With anything out of production, we can’t just ring up the press office and ask for them to be delivered, so we are immensely grateful to Porsche Club Great Britain and to the owners for providing their cars and their time.”
I ask him how CAR Magazine’s editors develop their feature ideas. “Generally, we start with a headline, then bounce ideas around until one of them comes into focus,” Piers explains. “We started discussing this feature in April 2024, but it won’t be published until early 2025. Digital means that journalists are always on, always generating content, so we have to be very disciplined to make time for feature planning.”
John wanders over with an eye on the gathering clouds. “The other big challenge is rain,” he states as he corrals Club members and their cars for the detail shots, nipping between them with a substantial handheld camera, glancing up at the sky, down at the cars and the shadows, adjusting his position. Eventually, each car’s curves, interior and engine are recorded and we prepare to leave.
The next stop is a lovely Victorian village hall that has been chosen as the base for the afternoon’s driving shots. The first job, though, is to devour the fabulous spread of sandwiches, fruit and cakes that has been laid on by logistics organiser Chris Pate from the Great British Valeting Company. Don’t be fooled by the name; GBVC isn’t just about keeping VIP customer cars super clean. They’ve evolved into one of the top organisers of specialist motoring events and are a key part of the CAR Magazine team for the day.
That means that everything is organised with military precision… and that’s not just a journalistic cliché. Chris is a former Navy officer with a first career planning the movement of ships and weapons systems. Today, he plans events others can’t, such as driving two 911s up the world’s highest volcano.
As we tuck into the delicious sandwiches, scribbler Ben (who also contributes to Porsche Post) chats to Club members. He’s driven each model for other features over the years, so he doesn’t need to review them today; just a refresher to pin down the emotions each evokes. That will give John time across a series of locations that will deliver the spread of images needed by the magazine’s designers.
So, it’s off for the action shots, but not before the appropriate health and safety requirements are fully embraced. It wasn’t many years ago that the photographer would wedge himself into the open hatch of a fast estate, relying on the carpet to stop him flying into the road. Today, there is a multi-point safety harness, making John look like he has just arrived by parachute.
As the day starts to fade, the panning and car-to-car shots are finally in the bag and it’s time to head home. The results will be impressive, but we will have to wait for CAR Magazine’s March issue to see them. Thank you to Piers, Chris, Ben, John and the Club members who helped make it happen.
This feature was written by Richard Gotch and first appeared in the January 2025 issue of our monthly Club magazine, Porsche Post. to receive your copy, as well as enjoying a host of exclusive member benefits and savings.
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