Hitched up: Porsche 911 Speedster with caravan

The original and genuine feeling, the manual gearshift – these are the things that constitute the appeal of his fully open-top 911. “It’s just the thing for old age,” he says, referring both to his Porsche and himself. “We just grew up with these things at the time: double-declutching, adjusting the carburettor, welding the body yourself ready for the MOT.”

As for so many, Schiersch’s love of air cooling started with a VW Standard. As a student, he then did various odd jobs to finance his first Porsche, a 356C with 75 PS. He then felt he could longer do without the rear engine, which had no power assistance. This was followed soon afterwards by his first open-top car. A 1957 Porsche 356 Speedster in Red. From then on, he was addicted to pure and unfiltered driving pleasure.

When the opportunity arose, he therefore did not think twice when an almost flawless 911 Speedster from the G model series was offered to him some years ago. “The car was perfect, the Silver Metallic paint finish is not just timeless, but is much rarer than Guards Red, Black or Grand Prix White,” says Schiersch.

He adds that the pleasure he gets from driving the powerful 3.2 litre boxer engine with 231 PS is even greater that from his other cabriolets – his garage is also home to two British cars, a Morgan Plus 8 and an Aston Martin DB9 Volante. "The most beautiful thing for me is still the noise of an air-cooled six-cylinder boxer engine. Driving a Speedster is just pure pleasure. You have to stay alert when driving, and best of all I like the feeling of being part of what is going on.”

And so that he really is well rested, Schiersch has added a special detail to his Speedster: a genuine Porsche trailer hitch. Because his vehicle collection also includes a classic Hymer Eriba Puck caravan from 1975. He already towed it many years ago with the Porsche 911 Targa he owned at the time – which incidentally as good as received its MOT from Franz Beckenbauer when Schiersch sat next to him on a flight from Bremen to Munich. Because the “Kaiser” did not have any autograph cards with him, Schiersch got the footballer to sign the back of his 911 Targa vehicle registration document.

Schiersch was in luck with the trailer hitch: there were just two retrofit kits still available worldwide for the G model series. In order to create the perfect appearance for what is probably the only vehicle combination of its kind, he had the caravan painted in “Porsche 980, Silver Metallic” during restoration work so that it now matches the Speedster.

“The Speedster will be 30 years old this year.” Volker Schiersch

“However, we no longer go on any extended trips with the trailer attached. We prefer to stay here on the North Sea coast and enjoy the peace and quiet,” explains Schiersch, also in view of the 80 km/h speed limit when towing a caravan. “But of course we always take the Hymer when we visit our grandchildren in Düsseldorf and Osnabrück. The kids think it’s great when they are allowed to sleep outside in the caravan.”

But there is one long trip that still attracts him: “Perhaps I will drive down to Salzburg again soon,” says Schiersch. He then adds with a wide grin: “The Speedster will be 30 years old this year – I still need a signature from Beckenbauer for my classic car MOT.”