Porsche is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, yet I can hardly believe the company was a mere 11 years old when my association with the marque began. I was invited by Dr. Hal Albrecht, sales promotion manager of VW Canada, to make a documentary from film clips shot at the season's races by the Porsche family. (In those years Volkswagen was Porsche's Canadian distributor.) Pleased with the results, Dr. Albrecht then offered me a job as his public relations assistant, which led to further involvement. As I was producing a motor racing radio show on the side, I got to interview Ferry Porsche, who founded the company and whose father, Ferdinand, designed the Volkswagen Beetle. When F1 drivers Olivier Gendebien and Jo Bonnier came to Canada to race RS60's and RS61's, I was their host and escort.

Because we were much involved in racing in those years it was my privilege to spend time with many of the greats who'd at one time or another been associated with Porsche. Roger Penske is a name that immediately springs to mind, as does that of Huschke Von Hanstein, then Porsche race director, and Wolfgang Von Trips, the great German racer whose horrific crash in the Mille Miglia brought an end to that legendary event. Eventually I was able to buy and race a Porsche 356B with some success in events for unmodified sports cars. My son can boast that his first car ride was in the jump seat of a Porsche, coming home from the hospital where he was born. And my last published test drive was a 2007 Porsche Targa 4S where I managed to achieve 156 mph on a local highway (deserted at the time, in case you're wondering). The perfect moment to retire with fond memories of Porsche and yes, I still like the 356B best.

[Photo shows Ferry Porsche, center, and Ferdinand Porsche, right, with their first sports car]