T he best thing about having a passion is being part of a community that shares that passion. Arguably that is never truer than when it comes to cars. Who else will listen as you rave on for hours about this engine or that suspension setup, about this transmission or that styling choice?
More importantly, if you’re in the company of people who are equally enthusiastic about a particular brand or model, then consider yourself lucky because such an ideal audience rarely comes along. Unless, of course, you happen to be a member of a club designed to bring together exactly such people, where they can find common ground on the cars they cherish.
Considering that the idea behind this platform was to shed light on the people and the stories behind the cars as much as the magnificent machines, it was natural that we would want to share the experiences and camaraderie of such tight-knit communities with our readers, many of whom are themselves part of such groups. Naturally, choosing to feature Lebanon Porsche Club as our first foray was a no-brainer, especially as our own love affair with Porsche transcends time and moderation.
Which brings us to participation. Naturally, just as you can’t fully experience a ride with a motorcycle club unless you’re riding a motorcycle, you can’t say you drove with Porsche enthusiasts to the fullest extent unless you’re in a Porsche.
And that produced the first obstacle. I had sold my own Porsche 944 S2 Cabriolet some time ago, leaving me with no appropriate car to drive with these Porsche aficionados, let alone something that could keep up with the magnificent 911s that were sure to show up.
Fortunately for me, Porsche Center Lebanon came to my rescue by providing me with a lovely Graphite Blue 991.2 Carrera S Cabriolet. I couldn’t have asked for a better ride, except maybe a 959 or a 918 Spyder, but those are the stuff of dreams so I happily accepted the 911.
All that was left was to put together a team to capture everything on video, so I arranged for a convertible BMW 328i from which to film, filled it with filming equipment, drafted a friend into driving the Bimmer, coerced a work colleague into handling the filming and prepared myself for holding my own in what I expected would be a relatively fast-paced drive up toward Tannourine and Douma.
Which brings us to my friend Jean-Pierre Kebbe, president of Lebanon Porsche Club, who along with his colleagues from the club meticulously scouted routes for the drive well in advance to ensure all present would have the best experience possible.
The day finally came – a sunny Sunday morning ideal for such an event – and the club’s members began to arrive at the Porsche Center in Dbayeh ahead of the predrive briefing, with plenty of coffee and snacks to go around. The early arrivals took advantage of the time to chat with other participants as they waited patiently for the rest of the group to show up.
Once everyone was present, Jean-Pierre shifted into gear, laying out the carefully and painstakingly selected route and explaining to the audience every turn and every exit they would take in order to make sure the group stayed together, especially through traffic.
It seemed simple enough: Take the Seaside Road, go right over the Dbayeh bridge and take the ramp down to the highway. Then drive north and exit the highway in Amchit, where the cars would regroup. And so, full of enthusiasm and excitement, I hopped into “my” blue topless Carrera S along with a friend from Lebanon’s Porsche dealer and swung the 991 into the queue of assorted models that ranged from more flat-six-powered darlings to Boxsters, Caymans, Cayennes and even a Panamera.
It was a Porsche lover’s paradise. I waited as the cars ahead of me took off one at a time, and when my turn came I followed suit. It took me exactly one minute from the time I left the Porsche center to go the wrong way and mess up Jean-Pierre’s meticulously devised plans. Instead of swinging back down on the highway, I stayed on the Seaside Road and kept going.
You might say, “So what, one car taking the wrong road hardly matters in the bigger scheme of things.” Unfortunately, half the convoy was behind me. You can guess what happened next.
This “genius” journalist who can’t follow simple instructions dragged about 20 Porsches, including the camera car, off the preplanned route, and before I knew it I was past the Dbayeh tunnel, still on the Seaside Road, heading toward Jounieh. Sorry Jean-Pierre. Please, please let me come with you guys again!
Still, I may have the attention span of a cocker spaniel but I didn’t panic. Spying the actual convoy on the now-inaccessible highway to my right, I floored the throttle and the 911 took off like a missile. I powered toward Kaslik, went under the bridge, swung back south and then came around and out on the highway. I must have been less than a minute behind the rest of the cars, but traffic wasn’t helping.
Still, I could detect various Porsches up ahead as well as behind me that I assumed were part of the group, so I started to breathe more easily. We eventually made it to Amchit after one more bit of confusion that saw us take the exit in Jbeil – this time it wasn’t my fault, I promise – and regrouped with the other Porsches, which were all lined up along the side of the road as far as the eye could see.
After the camera car took the lead, the drivers started their engines and the convoy took off, the 911s soon outstripping the BMW, which was forced to film the stragglers. As for me, I was on my best behavior – not only was I driving a precious 911 that didn’t belong to me, but my friend from Porsche was also in the car, so I was trying very hard not to overindulge.
Of course, that soon created a queue of frustrated Porsche drivers behind me who were wondering why the guy in the 420-horsepower Carrera S was driving like a senior citizen. I even lost the Bimmer, which despite packing about half the power of my 911 was already well ahead and out of sight.
Yes, I know, it’s embarrassing, and not unleashing the Carrera S on this magnificent road was a waste of an opportunity at nirvana, especially as all the other drivers were having so much fun powering up the hill. I had to make a choice: Either I start driving the car like it was meant to be driven or I end up driving up to Tannourine on my own, well behind everyone else, which would defeat the point of taking part in the drive.
In truth, there really was no choice, so I ditched my self-restraint, set the drive mode dial on the steering wheel to Sport Plus and floored the throttle. The 911 erupted into action and shot up the hill like a homing missile. I soon had the Cayennes in my mirror, followed by a trio of Boxsters and the Panamera, until I caught up with the BMW and passed it at full throttle.
Now that I think about it, taking a BMW 328i to film Porsches wasn’t the brightest idea. What was I thinking? That a bunch of eager guys in 911s would simply drive patiently so the camerawoman in the back of the slow-moving Bimmer could film them? That’s one mistake that’s not happening again.
It’s a shame really, because up ahead multiple generations and models of 911s were doing their thing, overtaking slow-moving traffic and transforming the road into a mosaic of Porsches, and the straggling camera car was filming empty road. It really was a beautiful sight though, not only for the diversity of Porsche models all traveling together, but also because of the cars’ occupants, who consisted of individual drivers, friends and even entire families.
The selected roads for the most part were divine, perfect for the caliber of cars that were traveling on them. Whether the drivers were there to play with their toys or just cruise along, enjoying the summer weather, it was an ideal setting to enjoy a Sunday morning drive in a Porsche, which was what I fully intended to do.
I was soon overtaking the stragglers among the 911s – having 420 ponies behind you in the engine bay has its benefits – and my topless blue beauty was ravenously gobbling up the kilometers. Moreover, the pressure to stay with the pack was relentless – and welcome – because in addition to the motivation to exit my comfort zone, it kept me focused not only on the road but also on trying to maintain a balance between speed and safety, especially as I had numerous other Porsches behind me all with the same thing in mind.
As one would expect, nothing had been left to chance, with the club’s officials present with their cars at every juncture to guide the group in the right direction, while multiple pit stops allowed all the drivers to regroup and resume the drive within proximity of one another.
The drive soon swung us around and back down to Jbeil. Going downhill, my conservative side reasserted itself, simply because gravity is not your friend in the event of an unforeseen mishap in front of you. Besides, I was tired, so I just cruised along, enjoying the open-air 911 until we arrived at Edde Sands, where lunch by the beach was waiting for the group, who spent the time making new acquaintances and recounting the events of the day.
It was really one of the more fun days I have had recently, although I suspect it was even more pleasurable for the others who were focused purely on the drive, while I also had to keep tabs on the coverage. What I do know is that the drive took well over 3 1/2 hours, and most of that, other than the few pit stops, I spent with my hands tightly gripping and working the steering wheel as the 911 flew along the highway and negotiated corners.
And believe it or not, I was so immersed in the sound of all those engines that it never occurred to me even once to turn on the radio. And while I was driving nowhere as aggressively or expertly as the lead cars, I still felt weary from the effort after intense driving for that long.
But honestly, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. As I drove back to Beirut after lunch, my mind was still going over the events of the day, and it occurred to me that while I had to worry about only one other car during the drive, the organizers had to contend with dozens of Porsches traveling at different speeds, and with keeping them on the right roads, all while working to ensure everyone’s safety. If I thought I was tired, I can only imagine how weary they must have been, and they never once showed it. Great job guys. Hats off. You have my thanks.
