Yep, a garagista – it’s a thing. The term means either a ‘garage owner’, or an ‘entrepreneurial wine-maker, one who defies conventional wisdom to place technique over terroir to create something special’. And both terms would resonate with James Vellacott, subject of our latest profile.

Owning and driving a car as beautiful as a 911 creates a dissonance. Because (a) when you’re driving a Porsche, clearly you can’t admire it as others do. Also, (b) you’re incrementally reducing the value with every tick of the odometer. So, which do you prioritise?

Buffing it lovingly with a Chamois leather, and trundling out to a country pub when you’ve checked the route for puddles, loose chippings and so on? Have you seen the price of a respray/new shocks etc.? Or do you jump in the thing at every possible opportunity, hit the pedals and to hell with the value? This is a car, not a museum piece!

Supposing you could do both? That’s the choice of garagista, studio owner, promoter of Porsche by the Lake 2024 and all-round Porsche nut, James Vellacott, also known on social media as ‘911_spy’.

His Instagram account is a gallery of beautiful cars (mostly featuring the Sport Classic) set among gorgeous backdrops. Similarly, his studio offers an opportunity to take a more forensic view of his collection. Studio 5 at his premises in Wapping is set up for magazine-style photoshoots – and guess which brand of German automotive excellence is front and centre of the studio’s landing page?

First love never dies (but may get wrecked in the wet).

James and Porsche go a long way back together and it’s an ongoing love affair, rather than anything more transactional, as is the case with some drivers who keep stunning collections of cars where rubber never meets road. Instead, James is a Porsche driver first and owner second. He describes driving a Porsche in an almost visceral way.

What I did on my holidays

His war stories include an episode back in 2004, he fishtailed his first Porsche 911, a 4WD manual 997.1 4S. In an ongoing attempt to escape the Porsche Tractor-Beam of Control – it’s almost as though they don’t want their drivers to end up in a ditch – instead of playing safe, James opted for a two-wheel drive (ie 2S version) 997.2 with the Porsche double clutch auto gearbox (PDK). Nowadays, his social media is full of Alpine trips, gnarly cars and stunning photographs of both. Try doing that with a Lada Riva.

When James chatted with Design 911 there was much talk of “adrenaline kicks”, “hanging on for dear life”, and “all four limbs working together”. The gleam in his eyes as he described “shifting gear before a corner with one hand on the steering, one on the stick and both feet working in unison” would have many readers nodding their heads along. See also “a great sense of ‘nailed it’ satisfaction as you look towards the next turn.” He describes the 997.2 as feeling “lighter and pleasantly – but controllably skittish – especially on the B roads.” Watch out, users of UK’s minor roads!

“One for the geeks.”

The current apple of the 911_spy’s eye is this stunning 911 Sport Classic, a car he says could “launch you across Europe.” It’s an “organic” experience, and “being out there – using the car for what it was designed for.” Fun fact: this is a 1977 car. Yes, eyeroll emoji, this wasn’t officially released until 1978, but James’s car is a first registration, 1997 model. So not only is it PDQ, it’s also rare. One for storing away, then? James will have none of that talk. He’s talking to us right now about getting a new back box for the exhaust. Not something you’d bother doing if you were hibernating your motor…

Damn the torpedoes – full speed ahead!

There are those who would tut and suggest he’d be better off, at least from an investment point of view, stashing it under a sheet in his dedicated storage facility, safe from the potholes, gritting lorries and general grubbiness of the UK’s roads in winter. But he’s firm that “you only get one life. This isn’t a rehearsal, and [driving his car] is a controlled loss – if it’s a loss at all”. In other words, the joy James get from having a tear-up in his Porsche of choice may mean a marginal decrease in the car’s value, but it’s a big credit in the bank of life experiences.

James talks about the Porsche community, from the entry-level Boxster to, well, something like this. It’s a broad church where everyone’s welcome, and you meet people with a shared interest. Well, you do if you get out there and drive the things. See you at Porsche by the Lake 2024, James!

You can watch the full video here –

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