Time Traveller

Driving the Porsche 911 Carrera T is a privilege indeed but fewer still can say that they’ve been behind the wheel of this car and the original 911T that inspired it. Dr Leslie Kuek is one such person who owns a 1970 Porsche 911T and recently drove the latest 911 Carrera T.  A 21^st century interpretation of the classic, this car has been lightened yet intensified with enhancements such as the PASM sports chassis as standard, lowered by 20 mm or the weight-optimised Sport Chrono Package, while the emotional appeal is completed with racy details such as fabric door opening loops and contrasting colour accents of Racing Yellow, Guards Red or GT Silver against a functional black background.

Same yet better

Being used to owning many Porsche models over the decades, the 911 Carrera T was Dr Kuek’s first experience of the 991-generation.

“It was a nice opportunity to sample the latest generation 911,” said Dr Kuek who has owned various generations of Porsche 911s over the decades. “While there are some similarities with the older models, there’s a huge improvement in comfort and quality.”

“The seats for example, are some of the best I’ve tried,” he explains. “I wish I could put them in my older car!”

Yet, the 911 Carrera T has a clear link with Dr Kuek’s classic 911T: “The fabric straps to open the doors from the inside feels familiar while the sound from the exhaust and the way the car responds to my inputs reminds me a lot of the air-cooled 911s I have owned over the years.”

As a plastic surgeon, Dr Kuek can’t help but look at things with a critical eye. When asked if he would nip and tuck the 911 Carrera T, the good doctor reluctantly offered: “Maybe a small tail – like a ducktail - would complete the car’s profile and also visually link it to the more powerful GT models, as the Carrera T seems to be intended towards that purist direction.”

An epic journey across Southeast Asia

Dr Kuek also attended the Sportscar Together Day in Bangkok, Southeast Asia’s largest Porsche gathering to celebrate 70 years of Porsche sports cars (see info box below). After travelling a few thousand kilometres from all over Southeast Asia, Dr Kuek and other Porsche owners arrived to the Sports Car Together Day in Bangkok in a Porsche car convoy. Some cars, like the classic 911T  of Dr Kuek, had travelled from as far as Singapore and Malaysia, covering a distance of approximately 2,000 kilometres, while others were just from the neighbourhood.

On the road to Bangkok

The vehicles represented a cross section of Porsche’s illustrious history, including every single model in the Porsche range – the 911, 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman, the Panamera, the Cayenne and the Macan. They traversed through three countries and brought back unforgettable memories in this epic drive, the longest that Dr Kuek has taken his 911T thus far.

Moves like the wind

Dr Kuek’s other passion is windsurfing since his early 20s. Today, he says that the sport has advanced dramatically with the development of new materials and technology such as carbon fibre to replace the old fibreglass and aluminium setups. “I love windsurfing mainly because you can go fast without getting a ticket!”

Similarly, he compares how the 911 Carrera T has “moved the game on” with its weight reduction of over 20kg over the standard model. “It might not sound like much, but you can really feel how much more nimble the car is from being lighter.”