It’s actually a little over one million, sitting at a huge 1,165,937 kilometres. In fact – no – that’s changed again since the time of me writing this and again the time of you reading it.
Many sports car owners dust off their beauties every fortnight for a Sunday afternoon of coastal driving. Other car enthusiasts, however, like Bill MacEachern from Toronto, Canada, use their luxury whips for everything from getting milk and bread to cross-country road trips.
In 1976, Bill spotted his Porsche 911 Tubo 930 for the first time through a gap in the airport fence. The midnight blue 911 with a cork leather interior, a driver’s sport seat and limited slip differential had been flown in from Germany in May of that year. It was covered in a layer of dust from the journey, so much so that Bill thought Porsche messed up his order with the wrong colour.
After giving his new love affair a once over it immediately became his blank canvas to then rack up the huge figures over the course of the next 40 years. Both local and trans-continental, Bill put more kilometres on the clock that even manufacturers could presumably never predict.
The 930 travelled everywhere from Georgia to California, competing in races across the whole of North America. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however, as even the most robust engineering will be put to the ultimate test to reach one million clicks.
In 2009 and at 850,000 kms, an SUV turned right from the middle lane clipping the 930’s front wing, bending the axle shaft and suspension out of alignment. Aside from the single unlucky encounter and a fan pulley breaking during a trip through Oregon, the vintage car has commendably chugged on.
When the time finally came for the mammoth million milestone, Bill’s celebration was humble and full of gratitude. “The car clicked over its millionth kilometre on the way to the famous swap meet in Hershey, Pennsylvania,” says Bill. “And we had a little celebration with champagne toasts when I got back to Toronto.”
“The 930 was just such an amazing watershed machine. Porsche Turbos have set new standards of excellence as both racing machines and high-performance road machines. And they’re still a one-of-a-kind thrill to own and drive today.”
This article is an adaptation of Mark Webber’s piece for Drivetribe.
