Talking Italian

Racer, road tester, instructor and scribe, Roberto Giordanelli has handled many exotic machines over the years. His current inventory includes a rare Porsche 968 Sport, and he also has a stake in an even scarcer 968 Turbo RS race car.

- Johnny Tipler

Roberto Giordanelli is a lovely guy who wears his petrol head heart on his sleeve – or his Sparco driving gloves at least; he’s driven more exotic machinery than most of us could muster in several lifetimes. He embraced Porschedom relatively late on, though. ‘It took me 50 years to bond with a Porsche,’ he declares, ‘so that tells you that I am not your average aficionado of things Stuttgart.’ After driving many classic cars and historic racing cars, it wasn’t until the early ’80s that he owned his first Porsche: a 912. ‘Someone told me they’d got a 912 gently rotting away in their garden, and I thought it would be a shame to let that happen, so I nursed it back to life, drove it around for a while and sold it on. As much as I like the simplicity of the 912, they’re just not fast enough.’ There’s no 911 in his back story: Roberto’s subsequent Porsche acquisitions have all been front engined: ‘In the early ’90s my activities shifted from classic car and race car engineering to being a professional test driver and writing for various performance car magazines. This got me into countless quick Porsches, including hot 911s and even a couple of 959s. It was around then that I bought my next Porsche, which was a 924 Turbo. I liked mastering the turbo lag and the sudden rush of torque, a feature that’s extremely handy when racing turbocharged cars. The 924’s handling also suited my driving style.’ Then, at the turn of the millennium, he swapped the 924 Turbo for a 944 2.7. ‘The 944 was civilised, nicely styled and could cover huge distances effortlessly. After a few years of enjoyment someone made me an offer, and I sold the 944, and then I had a Porsche-less gap of about ten years before buying my fourth Porsche, which was the red 968 Sport. This came about at the same time as I was racing and aiding the development of a client&rsq