His first Porsche – at 85

A dream is something worth hanging onto, even if it's a dream you've had for most of your life. Ask Adelaide resident Olaf Varley who, after decades of admiring the marque from a distance, has just bought his first Porsche.

Olaf bought the bright yellow, bog-standard Cayman as a testament to the fact he's now able to buy the car he wants, rather than the car he needs. "I've always had a passion for sporting cars in strong colours and always wanted a Porsche, but in the past I've had to make do with more utilitarian cars when we were bringing up the kids. Unfortunately they didn't have Porsche Macans then," he said.

Not an unusual story so far, except Olaf didn't quite fit the normal Cayman demographics: At his last birthday, he turned 85. From dream to realisation, the process took somewhat longer than the accepted norm.

Olaf isn't fazed though. Although he wonders why his first Porsche came so late, he's planning on savouring the Cayman over a long voyage sometime in the future.

"We are still getting to know each other, but we are getting on fine," he said. "My wife Ann and I are still to do a long trip, but we are working up to it, doing about 200km a week in the car. There's no rush."

The decision to order a base, manual-transmission, no-options Cayman must have created a few headaches for a German importer accustomed to selling vehicles optioned to the hilt.

"I've only ever driven manual gearbox cars and while everyone says the Porsche double clutch (PDK) gearbox is terrific, I wasn't planning to change the habits of a lifetime," he said.

Olaf took delivery of the Cayman on the last day of January 2014, eight years after the model first caught his eye when it was introduced locally in 2006.

"I had been walking into Porsche Centre Adelaide for around three years thinking about it, but when I saw the latest Cayman I knew it was time. I always liked the Boxster – it looked like the real sports car I always wanted – but when I saw the Cayman I thought 'that's for me' but I wasn't sure whether I should take the plunge," he said.

At age 85, it's a great thing to have a voyage of discovery ahead. May his road be long and fun-filled.