911 & Porsche World – the early years

I’ve just been browsing through some very early issues of 911 & Porsche World magazine, bringing back some happy memories. Sadly, I don’t have issue one but here are some images of the second issues, published in autumn 1990 (the magazine came out just four times a year back then).

I’ve always been a magazine junkie and, whenever I had a new interest, the first thing I’d do was seek out a magazine devoted to that. And so it was when I began to take a serious interest in Porsches I browsed the newsagents for a suitable magazine. My timing was impeccable: just as I moved from classic English sports cars to Porsches, a brand-new magazine appeared.

Published by Clive Househam, who sold his 911 to pay for his new venture, 911 & Porsche World was launched in the summer of 1990 and had a clean, upmarket appearance that suited its target audience perfectly. With lavish photography, often over double-page spreads, and lots of white space, it really was a cool publication in my eyes, and I eagerly devoured every word. The Running Reporters in every issue – real life Porsche owners writing about their experiences – were of particular interest to me, as they talked about the highs and lows of running a 924, 944 or 911. One reporter, Grant Bickerton in New Zealand, had all sorts of woes with his 924 – to the extent that his name invariably comes up when discussing these early issues with other readers. He was a legend!

At the time, I worked for a publishing company that produced photography magazines, but I dreamed of writing for a car magazine, so I wrote a letter to Clive (no emails back then!) offering my services. He was kind enough to write back, suggesting we meet at his house, which we did – I was  impressed by his black 944 S2 – and before long I was contributing articles to the magazine. I think my first was about a kit that transformed a 944 into a 968!

Today, these early issues look dated and a bit crude (some of the pages were black-and-white) but I really like them. They are a reminder of the days when publishing was a whole lot simpler than it is now.