Top tips to keep your classic Porsche in great condition
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On a scenic autumn drive from Milan to Lake Como, furniture and interior designer, Tommaso Spinzi, explains the joy of owning a classic Porsche 911 and shares his tips on laying it down for the winter
Always prepared: Tommaso and his beloved 1983 Porsche 911 besides Lake ComoA dream accomplishedBack in high school, Tommaso Spinzi would fawn daily over a classic 1983 Porsche 911 that was owned by one of his professors. Then, by total chance, that very same car came up for sale later in life. So Tommaso bought it. That car has remained by his side for the past ten years. “Probably everyone played with a 911 toy when they were little,” he says. “This is like a toy for grown-ups. Every time I get to drive it, I feel like a kid that fulfilled a dream.” It’s one that the interior and furniture designer says he’s as proud to own today as when he bought it. Growing up in northern Italy, which in the colder months is no stranger to bad weather, makes him the perfect guide to how to protect a classic Porsche in winter.Tommaso’s business, Spinzi, is based in two equally enviable locations – Milan and Lake Como. With his work focusing on interiors, furniture and art, it’s no surprise that he has a keen eye on Porsche design, and which elements of the cars speak to him, and particularly the 911. “It’s the clean lines for me,” he explains. “It has its own distinctive shape, but at the same time seems to blend in with the air around it. It’s very fluid. The 911 is the peak expression of automotive design.” Driving the road between his two studio spaces in his classic car, a road that he knows so well – Tommaso originally hails from Como – he describes how waves of relaxation wash over him. “Being in that car, making that drive? It always feels like going back to my roots,” he says.Wind down your classic before winter bites hard, so you can rev it up again laterFive top tips on how to protect a classic Porsche over winter When you have a vehicle as cherished as this classic Porsche 911, Tommaso simply was never going to hide its handsome looks away. Swapping a traditional-style garage with his creative loft, the car delights visitors when they catch a glance at this alternative vintage centrepiece. “I keep the car parked inside my loft so that while it rests, it gives me just as much pleasure as when I’m driving it. Being an interior designer, I see it exactly as a lamp, an armchair or a table – a beautiful object that deserves to be admired.” And beautiful objects need looking after to preserve their looks. When you are faced with a winter that can be unforgiving, sometimes the best way is to store it during these harsh conditions. Tommaso tells us that when asked how to protect a classic Porsche in winter, there are a few choice tasks that he carries out so that his much-loved four-wheeled companion is raring to go when the weather improves, and the next drive arrives.TIP 1: GIVE IT A PRE-WINTER SPRUCE A careful clean inside and out will offer a classic Porsche the first-class hibernation it deserves. This can range from dehumidifying the car, which helps prevent mould, to using a tyre cleaner.TIP 2: ADD A FUEL ADDITIVE This helps to protect and also clean the tank and fuel system of the vehicle when they are stored. TIP 3: USE TYRE PROTECTOR PADS Flat-spotting – when tyres develop tyre wear and deformations – can occur when a car is left stationary for long periods. Place tyre protection pads under each wheel to help stop this happening. TIP 4: CONNECT TO A BATTERY CHARGER In order to keep your car’s battery in the best possible condition, hook it up to the battery charger. TIP 5: TUCK IT IN FOR THE WINTERJust like us on a cold night, make sure you pull a cover over your classic Porsche. Use a breathable and dust-repellent product – like the Porsche Classic Car Cover – which also protects the bodywork against scratches.Before you bid it goodnight (for a couple of months or so), don’t engage the handbrake – just leave it in gear and use wheel chocks so it doesn’t move. Putting the handbrake on for any sustained period of time can cause the brake pads to fuse to its discs.TIP 1: GIVE IT A PRE-WINTER SPRUCEA careful clean inside and out will offer a classic Porsche the first-class hibernation it deserves. This can range from dehumidifying the car, which helps prevent mould, to using a tyre cleaner.TIP 2: ADD A FUEL ADDITIVEThis helps to protect and also clean the tank and fuel system of the vehicle when they are stored.TIP 3: USE TYRE PROTECTOR PADSFlat-spotting – when tyres develop tyre wear and deformations – can occur when a car is left stationary for long periods. Place tyre protection pads under each wheel to help stop this happening.TIP 4: CONNECT TO A BATTERY CHARGERIn order to keep your car’s battery in the best possible condition, hook it up to the battery charger.TIP 5: TUCK IT IN FOR THE WINTERJust like us on a cold night, make sure you pull a cover over your classic Porsche. Use a breathable and dust-repellent product – like the Porsche Classic Car Cover – which also protects the bodywork against scratches.Before you bid it goodnight (for a couple of months or so), don’t engage the handbrake – just leave it in gear and use wheel chocks so it doesn’t move. Putting the handbrake on for any sustained period of time can cause the brake pads to fuse to its discs.Hooking your classic Porsche 911 to a battery charger will help prolong battery lifeA classic connection with the roadFor Tommaso, learning how to protect a classic Porsche in winter is vital, as it helps prolong the life of a car that’s a big part of his life. While his 911 is revered like a sculpture while at rest, he has a different emotional connection to the car when winter has passed and it’s time to drive it again. He tells us about the special feeling he gets when he moves up and down through its manual gears, and the special connection with the road and feedback through the steering wheel – no power steering here – that he hasn’t quite found in modern cars he has driven. “As soon as the door closes, that sound is enough for me to completely switch off from everything else,” says Tommaso. “I don’t think about being on a phone, talking to anyone – I’m just connected to the road.”
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