My cars

My car history

These are the cars I have owned in the past:

1987 – 1990 : Renault 4 – in red
This was my mother’s and she let me use it to drive to university. I loved it, with the cheapo “camping seats” and the big gear lever in the dashboard. Lots of space too.

Renault 4
1990 – 1997 : Ford Fiesta (mk1) – in metallic green
Also my mother’s car originally, but I drove it most of the time. Used it to go on vacation to France twice.
This was the car I had when I met Sytske. She was so happy to have a boyfriend that owned a car. We drove it to a scrap yard in 1997, that last drive is a story by itself

Ford Fiesta mk1

2000 – 2002 : Peugeot 205 – in dark green
Three years without a car, between 1997 and 2000. Syts and I lived in Amsterdam, had jobs in Amsterdam, no car needed. But then in 2000, Mark-Jan and I quit our day jobs and started Collectorz.com. Our first office space was in Hilversum, so we needed a car.
So we bought this old Peugeot 205 from the brother of Mark-Jan’s girlfriend. We used it for two years, then we sold it to my girlfriends brother. And he still owns it and is perfectly happy with it.
Personally, I never had feelings for this car, it was just getting us from A to B, nothing more.

Peugeot 205
April 2003 – April 2005 : Audi TT Turbo Quattro – in black metallic
Another year without a car. By then the Collectorz.com HQ had moved to Amsterdam, so I could use my bike to go to the office. And Mark-Jan and I started to make some serious money. Time to buy my first serious car, with my own money.

The Audi TT had been my dream car for years, since the presentation of the concept car in 1995. And now I finally could afford one. My budget was not large enough for a new one, but I found this two year old black Turbo Quattro version. Chiptuned to 250 bhp, sport suspension, 18 inch wheels, 0-60 in 6.4 secs, top speed 151 mph (240 kmh). Great car, I still love the looks of it.

Audi TT Turbo Quattro
April 2005 – February 2007 : Porsche 911 Turbo (996 model) – in silver metallic
After two years of driving the TT, I was ready for something faster. I did like the four wheel drive of the TT, so I started looking for a 4WD sportscar. Not much choice in that department though: Gallardo, 911 Turbo, what else?

So I got me this used Porsche 911 Turbo, the 996 model, four years old. 420bhp, 0-60 in 4.2 secs, top speed 197 mph (317 kmh). This was an amazing car: fast, comfortable and fit for day to day use.

Porsche 911 Turbo (996 model)
February 2007 – September 2009 : Porsche 911 Turbo (997 model) – in black metallic
I loved the 911 Turbo so much that when the new 997 model arrived, I just had to have one. And since it was a new model, it would have to be a new one. Very expensive upgrade, but it proved to be worth every penny. It’s faster, 0-60 in 3.9 sec, top speed 193 mph (311 kmh), it has tighter handling and it’s more comfortable too.
I didn’t make enough noise though, so I had my dealer fit it with a sports exhaust. More noise, more power, taking it to about 500 bhp.

Porsche 911 Turbo (997 model)

April 2008 – January 2010 : Lotus Exige – in Krypton Green
I have always loved the Lotus Elise and Exige, fun little cars. So in 2008, I started looking for a nice used Lotus Elise, because I wanted a convertible. But then I came across this Exige. Three years old at the time and yellow, owned by the local Lotus dealer as a demo car. They completely rebuilt it from scratch, with many new parts (including a new sports exhaust system) and since it had to get a new paint job, I could choose the new color myself. And I went for Krypton Green

Now an Exige is something special: it weighs only 850kg and has a 1.8 liter, 192bhp engine. The suspension is superfirm. And it comes with a removable hard-top and a soft-top. This car is all about fun. It’s fast, it’s agile, it looks fantastic, especially in this color. And the noise it makes… that never fails to put a big smile on my face
But it is a very basic car. There’s no comfort or luxury whatsoever. Hard plastic racing seats, very firm suspension. No air-conditioning, no electric windows, no sat-nav system.

Lotus Exige - with hard top