This Porsche 996 911 Turbo Has Accumulated a Whopping 700K Miles
This Porsche 996 911 Turbo has 700k miles on the clock, but its owner isn't done racking them up yet.
Going For a Million
The Porsche 911 has long been known as a reliable machine capable of giving owners many miles of trouble-free service, which can't be said of most other sports cars out there. However, we rarely see 911s with huge amounts of miles on the clock - certainly not many that have crested the 700k mile mark, which is precisely the case with this 911 Turbo owned by Tom Thalmann.
Photos: Tom Thalmann/Instagram
Falling in Love
Thalmann has long been documenting his journey toward a million miles on Instagram, but also recently conducted an interview with the Wall Street Journal that sheds a little more light on this fascinating car and the man that owns it. There, the Rhode Island resident - who is a biotech consultant - revealed that he originally fell in love with the 911 when his parents' tax attorney used to pull into the driveway in one.
Photos: Tom Thalmann/Instagram
Long Wait
Thus, when Thalmann made it to high school, he knew that he eventually wanted a 911 of his own. However, it would be years later before that would actually happen, as is usually the case. That search ended in 2003 when he spotted this silver 911 Turbo at his local Porsche dealer, at which point he stopped to inquire about it.
Photos: Tom Thalmann/Instagram
Straight to the Top
Thalmann asked the dealer's mechanic "Have you seen anything about this car I need to worry about?" The mechanic replied by saying 'This car is bulletproof. Just change the oil. That’s all you have to do.' "When I told the salesman that I wanted the 911 Turbo, he said, 'Most of my clients are repeat customers and they keep trading up to the Turbo. But not you.' "I was going straight for the top," Thalmann noted.
Photos: Tom Thalmann/Instagram
Just Go
While most people would use something like a brand new 911 Turbo as a weekend warrior or even a track day car, that wasn't the case here at all. "Now nearly 21 years later, this car is still my daily driver," Thalmann said. "It has over 700,000 miles, and I have calculated that I have spent 1.33 years of my life in the driver’s seat going an average of 60 mph. When I am not going to work, I love the experience of getting in the car and just going. I will go out for a gallon of milk and return two hours later. I will find some restaurant and stop for a bite, and chat up some people about the car. They’ll hear the mileage and go, 'Wait, how many miles did you say?'"
Photos: Tom Thalmann/Instagram
Winter Beater?
As one might have guessed by now, accumulating this kind of mileage in any vehicle means that you typically drive it year-round as well - even in the winter, in Thalmann's case. "If you have never put snow tires on a 911 Turbo and taken it out in 10 inches of fluffy snow, you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s probably one of the most capable snow cars I have ever driven," he said.
Photos: Tom Thalmann/Instagram
Not Going Anywhere
Regardless of the many memories he's made in his 911 over the years, Thalmann has grand plans for the future, too. "I have made friends with some people at the Porsche factory in Germany. When I get to one million miles, my dream is to ship the car back to where it was born, let them do a restoration dance on it, and have them put it in the Porsche museum for however long they want," he said. "Then I will take delivery of my new million-mile Porsche and drive it for three months through Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. I’ll have it shipped back to the U.S., and I will drive it until I can’t drive anymore."
Photos: Tom Thalmann/Instagram
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