With the Porsche posse at Daytona

Rennsport Reunion draws 600 examples of Stuttgart's auto art Moving experience shook my allegiance to kingdom of Ferrari

They say cat people and dog people don't mix. Is that true for car enthusiasts?

Just because I've worshipped the Italian prancing horse all my life, can I actually appreciate the Stuttgart stallion?

After driving Porsches — from the Cayenne to the Boxster, the 911 Turbo to the GT3 — I was starting to enjoy the cars. Me, the illegitimate daughter of Enzo Ferrari as rumoured, was learning to love the "anti-Ferrari."

Friends e-mailed me: "Conspiracy," they agreed.

A fellow Ferrari enthusiast wrote: "They're definitely trying to break you here, Nika. I wouldn't be surprised if (Wheels writer) Laurance Yap is currently sitting in a top-secret underground bunker full of evil Germans wearing monocles and laughing heartily as he plots your total conversion to Teutonic and Tiptronic allegiance! Be strong!"

I thought it best to confront this situation head-on and see whether loyalty can falter: will my blood still run Ferrari red after being immersed in Porsche at a three-day gathering for aficionados?

Porsche Rennsport Reunion II was held last weekend at Florida's Daytona International Speedway.

It is dedicated to the one manufacturer that has scored 20 overall victories and 66 class titles in the Rolex 24 Hours race here at the famous 2.5-mile (4 km) tri-oval that turns into an infield road circuit for North America's premier endurance race.

I traveled here with a posse of Porsches from Toronto.

My co-pilot for this 24-hour road trip was family friend Terry Cleland, and our means of transportation his 1988 930 Turbo running approximately 400 hp — it's certainly not stock.

Another in our procession to Florida was Jay Lloyds of Automega in Etobicoke, with his 1977 911 that has been tweaked with a 930 engine.

So I was in the company of two people with more years of Porsche expertise than the car has been in existence.

My first inquiry, "Where are the cupholders?" was met with Terry's reply, "Right here," as he handed me his coffee cup.

This would become just one of my jobs, besides map reader, speed checker and rest stop finder.

My fears of the 930 not being able to make the journey were unfounded. Apart from some small idiosyncrasies that happen after a car is stored for the winter, it ran flawlessly — flawlessly fast!

The Porsche racing heritage was readily apparent in this car.

Rennsport — Renn is short for Rennen, German for race — was the appropriate name, all right, as 600 fine examples of Porsche race cars were here, some so rare they were flown in from Germany.

One star was the Spyder 550-04, an aluminum-bodied race car that competed in 1953 — just two years after the marque entered motorsports.

Others included the first Le Mans-winning Porsche, Number 23. This 917 originally was coaxed out of a museum with a reported $4.5 million (U.S.) cheque, then restored for an additional $1 million.

Many forms of racing were represented at the reunion, but most of all the gathering was for fans who drive their cars daily, and the grassy infield was soon covered with customers' cars. Our cars were the only Ontario-plated ones I spotted in our paddock.

More than 300,000 Porsches have been sold in North America in the 20 years the company has been here.

* The picture of the Ferrari Versus Porsche set - http://www.cartoonsbybooth.net

This bash made me realize a key part of Porsche's special appeal: the ease in accessorizing; Porsches cry to be personalized. Companies involved in the aftermarket for the brand are many. Thanks to everything from body kits to engine changes — including a small-block V8 in one case — the individuality of each car emerged.

"Most people buy the cars to drive them," Cleland remarked.

His generation of Porsche, with traditional air-cooled engines, is more personal to drive than many other cars of that era.

And drive we did — up on to the famous speedway's banking in touring laps that raised more than $8,000 (U.S.) for charity. I was in heaven.

I was drawn to the 356 — the first model ever produced bearing the Porsche badge. The original car from a Stuttgart museum, the one that debuted in June, 1948, was on display for all to see.

Included with the past was the present: the new Carrera GT was there to be seen and, for a lucky few, experienced.

Porschophiles from around the globe, including comedian Jerry Seinfeld, were on hand for this "Ferdinand Festival" (who can forget the founder of all this auto magic, Ferdinand Porsche).

I was struggling in my faithfulness — can I be both a Porsche and a Ferrari fille?

Who better to answer that one than Belgian Jacky Ickx, a Le Mans winner in a Porsche 936 and a former Ferrari factory driver? How did he deal with his almost equal time spent between the two car manufacturers?

It was "easy," he told me. "Drivers want to drive — all else is secondary."

Another former racer on hand, Englishman Brian Redman, had a similar response.

He said he had paid allegiance to many car companies over his career. Whoever paid him for doing what he loved — racing — received his loyalty.

Suddenly, it seemed to make sense. It's not the car I am addicted to, but the joy of driving it, and Stuttgart steel is not a bad way to go.

Have I converted to Porsche after the Rennsport Reunion? Maybe. I wouldn't kick a 911 out of the garage for being dirty. While I don't wear Porsche-designed sunglasses or speak German, I have developed a deep respect and affection for the brand, its history and its future, both on and off the track.

Ferdinand Porsche said it best: "The Porsche, as I have always regarded it, is more than simply an automobile. It embodies my philosophy of freedom, of individual progression, serving mankind without burdening it."

If you want to be in a Porsche posse to next year's reunion, here's my advice:

Pack light, be prepared for racing tales taller than the "whale tail" common on Porsches and observe the speed limit (speed traps flourish).

And remember that if your driving partner says he's bringing a CD of bagpipe music, he may not be joking.

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