Oxfordshire roads are dry and there’s lots of winter sun around at the minute. It was shining down on Tuthill Porsche when I stopped by this week, and spotted a line of classic 911s at Tuthill’s Wardington workshops for servicing.

Porsche 911 Winter Driving

It’s always good to see older 911s on the road in December. Some rightly take advantage of the workshop availability and service discounts to be found at some Porsche specialists in the slower months of winter, as they just can’t bear to be without their cars. I can totally understand this.

Winter is all about “to use or not to use” for classic Porsche enthusiasts. Do you keep the car taxed and ready to go, and catch a few dry days through December and January, or does it come off the road at the end of September, and go back on the road at the start of April?

There’s a lot to be said for keeping the car ready to run all year around. Parking a car for six months at a time is no good for anything, and the cost of keeping it taxed is minimal compared to the joy of driving on empty roads over Christmas and New Year. Whenever they are working, I keep my cars taxed year-round.

No one with some Porsche blood flowing in their veins would refuse to pay £30 for a drive of their classic Porsche, to escape visiting relations on Boxing Day. Five of those drives and the tax is paid. Tuthill Porsche can steam clean the underside of a classic Porsche on their outside car lift, before protecting it with waxoyl to remove all worries of corrosion. On the worst days with salt on the roads, you just leave it in the garage.

Where the weather allows, I think keep the Porsche ready to rock over winter. Early 911s spent many winters ploughing through snow and ice, living the life of a daily driver. I’m not saying make it suffer through winter, but no sense locking it away for half the year, either.