Morning meeting held at A PIT Autobacs Shinonome
A PIT Autobacs Shinonome in Tokyo holds a morning meeting once a month on Sunday mornings, and the theme for 17 September 2023 was “female owners”, with cars of all genres from mini to American gathered at the venue from the morning. There was no specific content other than a group photo shoot, and the participants enjoyed relaxing and conversing with each other while looking at their cars. We spoke to some of the owners who caught our attention at the event.
Her brother’s influence led her to love Porsches
Ms. Raika, a current high school student, had just obtained her license two months before the interview. Her first car was a 1998 Porsche Boxster 2.5. Her father is a car dealer and this Boxster was originally a loaner car for his shop. So why did she choose a Boxster as her first car?
“My elder brother was a big influence, he started driving a Porsche 911 five years ago and I liked it. I really like Porsche design, and I’ve wanted to drive one since I was in junior high school. My dad happened to have a loaner car at his place, and I told him to keep it and not sell it. I also wanted to drive a convertible, so I chose a Porsche Boxster instead of a 911.”
“I get a lot of stares on the street”
She’s wanted to drive a Boxster for five years and finally got to drive one herself. How does she feel about actually driving it and what are the reactions of those around her?
“There aren’t many MT cars nowadays, and that’s what I like most about it. It’s not new, but that’s what makes me feel attached to it, or rather, on the contrary, I feel more attached to it if it’s a bit quirky. I had the chance to drive my brother’s 911, but the displacement and ride feelings are completely different, so I thought, even though they’re the same Porsche, they’re very different.”
“When I told my girl friends that I drive a Porsche, they were all over me. They say it’s cool, but when I drive in the city, I get a lot of stares because I’m a young woman, and when I stop at traffic lights next to them, they sometimes bend their necks up to 90 degrees and look at me like I’m crazy.”
Once-in-a-lifetime experience
By the way, what does her father think about his daughter driving a Boxster? We asked him himself.
“My view is that she only turns 18 once, so being able to drive a Porsche when she’s a high school girl is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so I think of it as a life experience too. I think there are interesting things that come from driving while she’s young.”
She has only been driving the car for two months, so she hasn’t done any customization, but is there anything she has in mind for the future?
“It looks plain and white, so I’d like to make it a bit more flashy. I also want to go to Hakone. I’m aiming to be Takumi Fujiwara when it comes to driving.”
translated by DeepL