Among Friends: the Supersupersupertest in Berlin

The best way to learn more about where you live is when you have guests from out of town. I’ve lived in Berlin for thirty-four years. As a freelance storyteller, I spend most of my time at home in front of the computer. I know my street like the back of my hand, it is a microcosm of the world where as many languages are spoken as at a UN plenary meeting in New York. I know which Turkish bakery sells the best bread and which Vietnamese snack bar is the most authentic. I know that the Indian restaurant and the Mexican bar around the corner are run by the same Indian family, who stand behind the counter at one place wearing sombreros and at the other without them. I know that the Italian restaurant diagonally opposite is run by a guy from Croatia who nevertheless makes some great Italian food.

I know precious little about what goes on in the city that stretches out beyond my street. Somewhere out there are Berlin’s famous sights and attractions, the Victory Column, the Television Tower, Brandenburg Gate. To be honest, I have only ever been to these wonderful places thanks to my work with the car magazine ramp, whose editor-in-chief Michael seems to think that ­Berlin isn’t such a bad location for a story. He regularly comes for a visit, and then we take a spin through the city, sometimes by bicycle and sometimes with an old Porsche, which, like rare, elegant, somewhat feral horses, can be found around the outskirts of Berlin in no small ­numbers.

These Porsches are maintained and actively enjoyed by the members of an independent fan community called Berlin Porsche ­Enthusiasts, who meet two to three times a year for their regular Cars & Coffee get-together at Karero, the Porsche Classic dealer and restorer at Jacobsenhöfe in ­Berlin, or go on outings together. In Germany and the world, a Porsche is more than a car – it is a legend, a myth, often inspiring a sense of adventure, definitely a ­friend capable of connecting all kinds of different people in a shared passion. Michael and I went for a drive through Berlin with Kai, Magdalena, Tobias, Tom and Andreas to try to understand what makes this friendship so special, how a car can bring people together and what you actually need a Porsche for in a big city.

You can recognize the sound of my car from a hundred meters away on any street. When we meet up for our drives, preferably to Berlin-Mitte, Unter den Linden, people are thrilled to see such an old car. It’s like bumping into an old friend. This car still puts a smile on people’s faces.”

"The car is a legend, and the sound of the air-cooled six-cylinder engine is out of this world. It revs up with such ease and is only stopped by the rev limiter at 7,300 rpm. When I drive it, I feel the spirit of the late sixties, the passion and the courage with which Porsche built cars back then. For me, every kilometer I drive with my cars is a journey through time. In the 911 S, I can really feel that Porsche DNA. In the newer model, I get a sense of how far that genetic code has been carried to perfection.”

Andreas, founder or Berlin Porsche Enthusiasts – 1989 Porsche 911 G model

“It’s loud, it’s hard, the heater doesn’t work properly, it doesn’t have any modern gadgets, but it smells of fuel, oil and leather, it’s alive. Italy, the Mediterranean, coastal roads, every road is a Porsche road. And the best thing you can do with a Porsche is drive it. After all, these cars were made to be driven. I would never trade my old car for a new one. The new ones are big, wide and digital, but they don’t trigger any emotions in me. When I’m in a bad mood, I get into my thirty-­five-year-old Porsche, start up the boxer engine and everything is again as it should be.”

PS: Shortly after our little drive around town, the Berlin Porsche Enthusiasts were recognized as the best example of how to reach new communities.

But Michael and I already knew that anyway.

→ You can read the entire text by Wladimir Kaminer in ramp #66 “Drive My Car”.