The end of the road

Before we bid you farewell in search of new horizons, some of the key individuals who've contributed to this magazine over the years share some final thoughts...

Philip Raby Editor 2005 - 2011

Creator of the magazine and long-time journalist, Phil edited 85 issues of Total 911 before opting to buy and sell Porsche

When Lee rang me to break the news that Total 911 was coming to an end, I felt incredibly sad, as the magazine has been a huge part of my life, and has shaped the direction of it to this day. I’m not good with dates, though, so I had to look through my back issues to find out when it began. The first issue came out way back in 2005!

Then, I had two young children, we’d just relocated to the south coast to begin a new life, and the Porsche 997 was the freshly penned 911. It was an exciting time, made even more so by the launch of Total 911.

Being publishing editor of the world’s only magazine dedicated to the Porsche 911 (“Nothing else matters” screamed our byline) was, as you can imagine, a lot of fun, as I spent much of my time driving my favourite cars. I’m often asked what my favourite Porsche is and my usual response is, “the last one I’ve driven”, because they’re all great. Aircooled or water-cooled, I just love 911s and, after all these years, they still make me grin – they really do!

Another perk of the job was being invited on press launches held in often exotic locations. Spain, Portugal, Germany, Finland, Austria, Dubai and, er, Wales were all places I had the arduous task of visiting to drive newly launched 911s, and to be wined and dined by Porsche.