The wee hours of last Saturday morning were foggy, frosty — entirely reasonable conditions for people to retire from the planet's issues and stay in bed. But sometimes the world offers you trade, and being thrown the keys to a brand new Porsche ranked as a fair exchange for a few hours of lost sleep.
On the surface, the fact that dinky little New Zealand has one of the highest concentrations of sports-car and supercar ownership in the world is a strange one.
But remember, we're the pioneers of throwing our bodies off bridges with nothing but bungee cord for support. We're a nation of thrill-seekers, adrenaline junkies. In some ways our love for fast, loud, thrilling cars makes perfect sense.
Last Saturday, Driven was invited to take part in Porsche's Global Sportscar Together Day 70th anniversary celebrations. Here, we were arrested by the sight of 200 Porsches of all shapes, ages and sizes.
The anoraks will note that Porsche was founded 87 years ago. True, but it wasn't until 1948 that Ferry Porsche released a little car called the 356.
Contrary to the tanks they had been designing earlier, the 356 was a compact, sleek little sports car. Yes it leaned in part on the Volkswagen Beetle, but it's considered to be Porsche's first car. The one that kick-started the legend.
It's a testament to the 356 that so many are still on the road. There were almost a dozen at this event — from wonderfully mint examples to Angus Cooper's beautiful, bespoke “Coopster”.
They were supported by an almost complete Porsche ensemble. Nearly every major model from the brand's 70-year sports-car history was present; each generation of 911, 944, Boxter, and new models like the Panamera Sport Turismo and the 718 Cayman with which I'd been entrusted.
Some cars were clearly weekend warriors at best; pristine and clean. Others looked to be definite daily drivers, characterised by carbon-dusted wheels and paint chips — worn with pride like battle scars.
This gathering was simply one of the many unfolding in unison all over the world, and one of several in New Zealand.
We started at Smales Farm on the North Shore before crossing the harbour bridge in convoy; passers-by double- then triple-taking at the deluge of German sports cars. The end point was the Viaduct Events Centre, where some of the convoy's best and brightest would park inside.
It gave me a chance to reflect on the 718 Cayman — my little companion for the day.
That mid-mounted 2-litre flat-four engine tucked behind the seats has caused a bit of a ruckus in the short time it’s been offered. And I can see why.
It’s a bitter-sweet thing, turning up at a venue where nearly 199 other Porsches lay dormant — knowing yours is one of the few that doesn’t carry the six-cylinder tradition forwards. The sceptics are right about one thing; it doesn’t necessarily feel or sound like a Porsche creation.
It’s harsh, gravelly. A jab of the throttle can return one of a hundred reactionary noises.
But boiling down Porsche and its rich tapestry to one single engine format does nobody in this story any justice. And it’s a signal of progress that this Cayman is probably capable of taking on most of the cars here. I expect on a particularly wiggly back-road it’d almost be the quickest of the lot.
A lighter engine means even better balance in a car that was already considered to be one of the best drives in the world. And although the way it conjures its 220kW of power isn't quite as silky smooth as its forefathers, it acts like a sledgehammer all the same. And mated to Porsche's optional PDK system, it can turn any twisty road into sports-car Nirvana.
In other words, it's a real Porsche.