Four Porsches, Four Countries in Four Days
- Commander
- 2 days ago
- 11 min read
Since the 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RS was never sold in the US, it was decided to go to Europe to look for one that could be imported. An aggressive trip was planned to see two cars in two countries in four days, but plans changed and we saw four Porsches in four days in four countries.
The 911 RS was never certified for the US at the time because its lightweight, motorsports focus did not meet US safety and emission standards. Now that the car is over 25 years old it is exempt from these standards and can be imported into the US. There are still minimal number in the US and they do not come up for sale often so the decision was made to go to Europe to inspect several for sale.
The first question is how do you find a 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RS for sale in Europe? There is a great site online, called Elferspot.com (in German a rough translation is the 11-spot, short for 911 spot). Elferspot offers primarily European-based Porsche 911’s but the extensive nature of the offerings makes it worthwhile to regularly watch.
My erstwhile traveling partner Allen Peerson, raised his hand and said he would like to continue the journey and search for an RS. Two cars were targeted for viewing; an Amethyst model in England and a Midnight Blue in Belgium. Travel plans were set to fly into London, view the car in England, then travel by the Chunnel Train to Belgium to view the Midnight Blue model. We decided we would add one sightseeing jaunt while in Belgium because neither of us had been to Bruges and we were passing right by the city.
We fly out right after Labor Day in early September with American Airlines flights from Asheville to JFK to London. We splurged on Comfort Plus for a little bigger seat for sleeping. In spite of the larger seat, sleep was fitful and difficult as most trans-Atlantic flights are. We arrived in London, bleary-eyed buy eager to see and drive Porsches on this adventure.
We had pre-arranged the four-hour train journey from London to Plymouth England to view the rare color Amethyst model at William Crawford in Saltash, UK. William Crawford’s Beth had arranged for us to be picked up at the Plymouth train station and driven to the dealership. Beth had notified us as we were leaving that another RS had come into the shop, a Murano Green model. Murano Green was not a color offered for an RS but is a striking color. As it turned out the color was a wrap with the original color being Guards Red.
A wrapped Guards Red 911 RS was not on my list, but since we were going to be at Williams Crawford we would look at it.
Williams Crawford was a surprise with the amount of Porsche inventory in this far-off distant borough of England. They are a real specialist in offering pre-owned Porsches, both modern and classic. Beth bounced into the waiting room greeting Allen and I with enthusiasm and joy that we had made the journey from the States to meet with her and view the two RS’s. Beth is new to sales of Porsches so she soon had dealer principal and profession Rally Driver Adrian Crawford join us with his long history of representing such classics as the 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RS.
We first looked at the Murano Green model. Adrian explained that it was not really a wrap but a spray vinyl process more like paint that was applied to the car. Allen and I inspected it but quickly dismissed it as not really what we were looking for. My goal was a bone-stock, clean RS that was not Guards Red, Black or white. The base color and color change quickly disqualified the car.
Across the aisle was the real target; a very rare color Amethyst RS. The car wasn’t quite stock because it had aftermarket air conditioning installed. Not ideal when you are purchasing a lightweight vehicle, but a nice creature comfort for summer driving in the North Carolina mountains. A radio had also been installed which was not originally in the car but it could easily be deleted though door cards would then have to be replaced to remove the speakers that were installed. The rare nature of the color would make these accommodations acceptable.
The true test would be the drive. It was agreed that I would drive it first since the car would be for me. Allen would then drive the car so another perspective would be added for evaluation on whether this was the right car.
The first challenge with the drive: the car was left-hand drive, but we were in England so we were driving on the opposite side of the road. I creeped out the dealership trying to be sure I was going in the proper lane, especially as I pulled out into traffic. Adrian quickly realized my trepidation in taking this unknown performance car onto unknown roads on the opposite of the road and helped guide me with gentle reminders of which lane to pull into. Navigating multiple traffic circles only added to the challenge. Once I got comfortable, it was a fun ride with a quick reminder of the unique nature of an RS. But the reality was, the car just didn’t feel quite like the RS I had bid on in Monterey that Porsche Classic had re-built.
This RS felt worn and modified and in spite of the rare color it just wasn’t grabbing me. The miles were high at 100,000 miles, the seats were worn and it had lost some of its originality with the air conditioning, and an added 993 basket handle spoiler added. Allen felt the same after his test drive. Something just wasn’t right on this car.
There was no sales commitment and we politely thanked Beth and Adrian for the test drives and train pickup and drop-off, but I wasn’t ready to make an offer quite yet. Allen and I had a four-hour train ride back to London, but it didn’t take long to decide that this wasn’t the 911 RS that I was looking for. A discouraging start to the trip.
We arrived at Paddington Station in London at the end of the day after over 24 hours of traveling from the US with trains, planes and automobiles and inspecting and test driving two 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, but without a purchase. We were leaving the next morning on the EuroStar to Belgium so we decided to check out the station before walking to our hotel.
We had booked a nearby hotel to the two train stations so we could just walk for convenience. The hotel was not a chain and was just a small hole in the wall hotel, however it was clean and convenient. The room was barely large enough to fit the double bed, but for how little we were going to be in the room and how tired we were, it didn’t really matter.
However, before turning in for the night, food was necessary. We had not eaten since breakfast on the plane and it had been a long day. Though the hotel was clean and convenient, it was not the luxury, concierge-equipped hotel that Allen and I were both generally accustomed to. When we inquired of the desk clerk where we might eat, you would have thought we were speaking a different language that she couldn’t understand. Perhaps that was the case with our accent-laden American English instead of proper English of the mother country.
Allen and I decided to walk the nearby streets to see what we found. Since we were in a tourist area, the restaurants were plenty and we were soon accosted by a sidewalk barker encouraging us to try his Indian restaurant. Allen and I looked at each other and said “why not”, we like Indian food and we were in London that has great Indian food.
It was not a Michelin star restaurant, but it was great food in a tiny, loud and crowded restaurant. The many Indian guests were only testament to the quality of the food. After a long and discouraging day of travel and car shopping, we were both brightened up by a great meal in an entertaining environment.
We were in our rooms by 9:00 p.m. (or 2100 as would be proper in Europe) but had an early rise with the 7:00 a.m. EuroStar to Brussels, Belgium. We left the hotel at 6:00 a.m. to walk to the international station to clear passport control and customs and board the train. We had reserved seats and were eager to experience the high-speed EuroStar train traveling through the Chunnel to Brussels. The plan was to then catch another train to Bruges for a little sightseeing and overnighting before viewing the Midnight Blue RS.
As Allen and I reviewed the previous day’s events and debriefed on the Murano Green and Amethyst RS’s we started to discuss looking at a Polar Silver RS that I had considered in the Netherlands but had dismissed seeing because the rare Amethyst color was more enticing. Now that the Amethyst was off the list and we were already in Europe; what would it take to go to see the Polar Silver car in The Netherlands?
Internet access on the EuroStar train gave us the option to change travel plans “on the fly.” First, was it possible to see the car? Email and “What’s App” messaging put me into contact with the dealer, Dick Bloemendaal and yes, he could show us the car. We decided that once we arrived in Brussels after our 200-mph train ride through the English Channel that we would rent a car in the station, drive 3.5 hours to Rijssen, Netherlands and look at the Polar Silver RS. From Rijssen, we would then drive another four hours onto Bruges where we had a hotel booked. It would be another long day of travel.
We found our way to Rijssen with a journey down the Snelweg (fast highway) with a stop at a rest area for a local Dutch meal of a frikandel (as we would know it, a hot dog) and a Belgium Waffle. Allen was sensible and had a salad and missed out on these wonderful Dutch treats.
We met Dick at his dealership that was a warehouse jam-packed with classic Porsches and Alfa Romeos. The Polar Silver RS was right up-front gleaming under the shop lights but looking great in this classic Porsche color. After hearing about the car and inspecting it, it was time to drive it. And oh, what a drive it was! Now this was an RS; tight, and quick with a nice throaty exhaust sound.
As it turned out, Dick was also a Rally Driver and had us use roads that would be on that weekend’s rally circuit. I kept the car at moderate, spirited speeds during the test drive instead of the 100 kph speeds the Rally Drivers would be blasting through that weekend.
For those who follow formula 1, one driver that weekend was Jos Verstappen, former Formula 1 driver and father of multi-Champion Max Verstappen. Jos won the rally that weekend and the season championship.
I do not make quick decisions, especially when spending this amount of money, so we left Dick with thanks and appreciation and that we would get back to him. One story we discussed with Dick is that there is a line about “do you turn around and look at your car when you leave it because you love it so much?’ Well, Dick turned this around on us, because both Allen and I inadvertently turned around and looked at the car as we were exiting and Dick caught us doing it with the comment: “You turned, this this the car for you.” That is yet to be seen.
For the drive from Rijssen to Bruges, Allen took the wheel to share the load. It was an uneventful drive as we cruised the Snelweg to arrive in Bruges at the end of a long day again. The hotel was city center navigating into the city was a challenge, but Apple Maps took us there without just one slight missed exit with a roundabout return trip to the street.
We inquired with the desk again about eating in Bruges and were advised we needed to quickly go to a restaurant as they close at 9:00 p.m. It was 8:00 so we didn’t have much time to check-in and make the walk into the city center to the recommended restaurant for the local delicacy of Mussels & Frites (French fries).
After a short walk, we arrived at Restaurant Poules Moules and asked for a table for two. The host looked at their watch with a look of despair that these Americans were arriving at closing wanting dinner. The question was “What do we want?” We apparently gave the right answer when we said Mussels & Frites as they led us immediately to a patio table on the town square and said “coming right up.” A bottle of wine was offered, that we couldn’t refuse and was greatly enjoyed as we debriefed on the Polar Silver RS.
The car drove great. The only negative was a roll bar was installed and the original RS steering wheel had been changed to a MOMO wheel. Both issues could be rectified. I wasn’t ready to make an offer yet as there was still a Midnight Blue RS to see in Belgium the next day.
We woke the next morning with two hours of sightseeing planned in Bruges, a medieval canal city reminiscent of Venice and known for their Belgium chocolates. The hotel recommended a tiny breakfast spot that was a 30-minute walk from the hotel but the food was worth it and the walk would allow us to see the city. Our food choices continued to be one of the highlights of the trip as our French Toast with fried egg on top was stupendous.
Our walk had us enjoying the medieval architecture, the local cathedral, and the canals. We even found a chocolate shop open at this early hour to satisfy our purchase of treats to return home with for our spouses.
By ten we were off to our next stop in Belgium to see a 1993 Midnight Blue 911 Carrera RS. We arrived just after noon to find a large pre-owned Porsche dealership. We met up with the salesman, Anthony and were taken to see the car jammed into a room of, as they described them, “Oldtimers”, or in other words classic Porsches.
The RS was in the middle of the room and not easily accessible. After a static inspection, we requested a test drive. The response surprised Allen and I as they said: “Our we going to buy the car?” They did not want to have to move all the cars unless we assured them that we were serious and we going to buy.
After discussion indicating that we had flown in from the states so that we were serious buyers, but that we had to drive the car before any serious decision could be made, Anthony reluctantly agreed to move the other cars and allow Allen and I to test drive the RS.
It was great. It drove very similarly to the Polar Silver RS from the day before and similar to the original factory restored RS we had driving in Savannah. The car looked great in Midnight Blue and was a definite contender for purchase.
Four Porsche 911 RS in four countries, England, Netherlands, Belgium and the US in four days made for an automotive trip of a lifetime.
As a postscript, I was ready to purchase the Polar Silver RS, but upon our return to the US, we learned that tariff situation had just changed so that was previously a 2.5% duty was now a 17.5% duty and tariff. On this expensive of a car, I made the difficult decision to hold off on importing a RS and continuing a US-based search for an RS, a RS America or the original goal of a unique color 964.
The search continues, as the story does too. Stay tuned…
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