Porsche Fan Chronicles His 750k+ Mile Lifelong Journey
After growing up a muscle car fan, this longtime 911 Turbo owner found his soulmate and has been racking up miles in it ever since.
Long Term Relationship
Bill MacEachern bought his first Porsche 911 Turbo 44 years ago, which is an astounding thing when you think about it. And in the years since, he's racked up an amazing one million kilometers (roughly 750k miles) in that very same car, which is an even more mind-blowing statistic. So it's no surprise that Porsche visited with MacEachern recently to hear this amazing story.
Photos: Porsche
Defining Moment
Interestingly enough, MacEachern, a Toronto native, wasn't a Porsche fan until later in life. "I grew up with American muscle cars," he admits. "In my younger days I had an Oldsmobile 442. It was fine for drive-ins and stoplight drags, but handled like a milk truck." That affinity soon changed when he test drove a 911 back in 1970. "I couldn’t believe how agile, well constructed, and poised the car was. And comfortable, too, despite the compact dimensions and impressive performance."
Photos: Porsche
Turbo Revolution
MacEachern soon purchased a 911 as a company car. But it wasn't long after that when he had yet another revelation. "In 1972 I saw a Porsche 917/10 for the first time at a Can-Am race. Turbocharging was the new way to go—it seemed like rocket science at the time," he said. So when the 930 came along, MacEachern was quick to order one finished in Midnight Blue with a cork interior.
Photos: Porsche
Taking Delivery
MacEachern took delivery of his Turbo in 1976, and it was the 350th one built. Driving it home, he soon put the first few miles on what would become his life-long love affair. In fact, the Porsche had around 2,700 miles on it before he married his wife. And close to the 4,000-mile mark, he decided to take the 911 on its very first road trip.
Photos: Porsche
Road Tripping
"My first major road trip took me across Ontario and Quebec to a Trans-Am race in Trois Rivières," MacEachern said. And that was just the first of many such long journeys. Over the following decades, he drove the car to all sorts of famous North American race tracks, racking up hundreds of thousands of miles in the process.
Photos: Porsche
Life Changing Events
Over this time, MacEachern undergoes quite a few life changes. One of his sons joins the family business. The other becomes bitten by the racing bug and enters his first race in 1981. But with over a half-million miles on the clock, MacEachern gets into an accident when an SUV driver makes an illegal turn. Regardless, he simply gets it repaired and back on the road.
Photos: Porsche
Still Going
Today, MacEachern's beloved 911 Turbo has 779,000 miles on the clock and shows no signs of slowing down. He continues to drive his Porsche every day, including on long-distance trips. And he can't imagine doing it in anything else. "The 930 was just such an amazing watershed machine. Porsche Turbos have set new standards of excellence as both racing machines and high-performance road machines. And they’re still a one-of-a-kind thrill to own and drive today."
Photos: Porsche
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