When I reach the largely Avis-dominated hire-car hall at Frankfurt airport and present myself at the desk I expect to be under special scrutiny by the staff. But I hand over two credit cards as a deposit and, having signed the usual paperwork, there is only an additional agreement to keep the car within the boundaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria to be signed before I'm handed the treasured silver key.
As I enter the multi-storey where the handover takes place, I see the Porsche - a top-spec, Carrera S - hunkering down among a row of rep-spec hatchbacks. The Avis staff give me a quick run-through of the car and the few tiny blemishes it has picked up during its short life. I pay close attention as, although there is no deposit, there is an insurance excess of €950, which the hirer is liable for should there be any damage to the car upon its return.
Pre-flight checks over, I lever myself into the fully leather-lined cockpit and fire up the naughty-sounding 3.8, 355bhp flat six and growl out of the car park preparing to make the most of the next 24hrs. First stop: Nurburg
I leave Frankfurt on the A3, merging into the evening traffic and heading for the fast lane with a definite sense of anticipation. Actually "evening traffic" sells it a little short: it's more of a high-speed street race. I'm soon given a traditional autobahn welcome, the archetypal Very Black Mercedes strafing me with a blast of its Xenons before hammering past. I was doing 140mph.
As much as I try to get up some proper speed, I'm continually hampered by the traffic, a sprinkling of rain and the constant changing of the speed limits - one moment the derestriction signs are in evidence, the next a strictly policed 80mph is to be respected. The 997 settles into a supremely confident gait, shrieking up the rev range one moment and then mellowing back into sixth gear the next.
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| Porsche-obsessed countryside |
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Surprisingly, it gets a fair bit of attention from other drivers, not something I was expecting for such a common sighting in Germany. It's good to see though, and reinforces the fact that Avis are onto a very good thing in this Porsche-obsessed country.
