I get the appeal of things from yesteryear. Their looks, their construction, their history. I especially understand why people love older automobiles. They’re more charmingly mechanical than the vehicles available these days. However, if you need to get to a strange place in a vintage car, such as a 1970s Porsche 911, its simplicity forces you to either use your smartphone for directions or fumble with an old-school paper map.
If neither of those options sound appealing to you and you want the look of a factory nav system in the dash of your P-car from a bygone era, Porsche Classic has you covered with its new navigation radio. The unit fits into your car’s DIN-1 slot and features a 3.5-inch touchscreen. “It bears Porsche lettering and is suitable for the sports car generations between the first 911 from the 1960s and the last of the 911 series with air cooling from the mid-1990s (993 series), including the earlier front-engine and mid-engine models,” Porsche states.
You can connect a variety of external music sources and – via Bluetooth – your smartphone to it. Porsche Classic’s navigation radio has a built-in microphone as well as an external mic. Its integrated amplifier can be connected to the loud-speakers or to the original stereo with an optional adapter cable. An 8-gig microSD card holds the regularly updated maps, which can be displayed in either two or three dimensions.
If you live in Germany, you can get one of these immediately for 1,184 euros ($1,341). If you live in the United States, you’ll have to wait until Porsches finishes testing the navigation radio for the market before U.S. availability and pricing is announced. No matter where you live, you can watch the Porsche Classic navigation radio in action below.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
