On Top Of The World

As we round the next bend, the spires and steeples of a great château rise from behind a thicket of trees high above the road, and for a moment I feel like Alain-Fournier’s Le Grand Meaulnes, stumbling through the forest and gazing upon the fairytale palace of his love Yvonne de Galais.

- Greg MacLeman

The world of publishing has changed a lot since the 1970s. Print was king, magazines had the ear of manufacturers, and office parties resembled the last days of Rome. As a journalist who started his career after the turn of the millennium, though, I was convinced that the epic tales of trans-European derring-do recounted by the likes of Mel Nichols had gone the same way as the liquid lunch: consigned to the history books and dog-eared copies of Car. Then I received a call from a reader who had a problem that he thought we might be able to help with: how to get a 1971 Porsche 911 targa from central Italy to the UK in three days.

Of course, we jumped at the chance, especially when we realised that Mugello Circuit, just a few hours north of his Italian pad, would host a huge Porsche Festival the day after we arrived.

The 911 targa hasn’t always been as desirable as it is today. Like the ‘Sabrinas’ of the MGB and the open headlamps of the Series 1½ E-type before that, the 911 targa fell foul of US Federal Regulations – or at least the threat of them. Concerned that a ‘proper’ convertible would be outlawed in the States, Porsche opted to add a brushed-stainless-steel rollover bar that, to many eyes, detracted from the organic lines of the tin-top 911. But the passing of time has been kind to the targa and, far from spoiling an already pretty car, the tall hoop and glasshouse combination imbue the open version with its own character, in the process creating a model that was perfectly suited to grand touring.