Author Archive: Gary Lea

Full Speed Into Summer

Greetings to all our wonderful Porsche family!

June certainly turned into an interesting month.

It started hot, cooled back down, heated up again, and then surprised us during the final week with temperatures dropping below 90 degrees.

Can anyone say “roller coaster month?”

WEBSITE

Our new website is officially up and running, and what an improvement!

We are incredibly excited about the launch and want to thank Farhaad Sheikh for all his hard work throughout this transformation.

As with any major project, it has been time-consuming, and we encountered a few roadblocks along the way. However, the result is a cleaner, improved platform that better represents our club and community.

Check it out at:

http://lasvegasporscheclub.com

We are still experiencing some delays with Desert Drives due to interfacing and hosting challenges, but progress continues. Be sure to visit [...]

Full Throttle into Summer

Greetings to all our wonderful Porsche family!

Just as predicted last month, May followed April in quick succession.

First, my apologies for the delayed newsletter last month. We experienced a few growing pains while implementing several changes at once. As with any project involving multiple moving parts, a few unexpected glitches appeared along the way. Thankfully, things are settling down, and we’re excited about the improvements ahead.

🌐 Website

Our new website has officially launched, and we’re thrilled with the results.

A huge thank-you goes to Farhaad Sheikh, who has done an outstanding job leading this transformation. The process has been time-consuming, and we’ve certainly encountered a few roadblocks, but the effort has been worth it.

While we’re still refining some links and activity pages, you’ll immediately notice a cleaner design, improved navigation, and a much more modern platform.

[...]

This marks the beginning of a monthly series exploring the evolution of the Porsche 911, tracing its origins from the early 356 models through each generation and culminating with today’s 992.2 series cars.

Gary Lea

Part One: THE BATHTUBS

Genesis in Aluminum and Air: The Porsche 356 A, B, (D), and C

Before the numbers became sacred—before the 911 became a silhouette recognized in rearview mirrors across the world—there was something quieter. Lighter. Almost uncertain of itself.

The Porsche 356 wasn’t built to dominate a category. It was built because Ferry Porsche couldn’t find the car he wanted to drive.

So he made one.

And in doing so, he set a pattern Porsche would follow for the next 75 years:
“If the world doesn’t understand it yet, build it anyway.”

My very first time to behind the wheel of a Porsche of any stripe was [...]

Greetings to all our wonderful Porsche family!

Just as predicted last month, April disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Spring is packed with exciting Las Vegas Porsche Club events, from HPDE weekends to scenic drives and coffee gatherings

🏁 HPDE

Our next HPDE event is coming up on May 17th and 18th, and there is still time to sign up for what is always an exciting and rewarding weekend.

If you’ve been considering attending, now is the time to reserve your spot.

HPDE is not about racing. It’s about learning how to drive your Porsche safely and confidently at speed in a controlled environment. Let’s be honest—very few people buy a Porsche without wanting to experience the incredible performance and handling these cars were built to deliver.

This is the perfect venue to do exactly that.

The program includes:

• A [...]

April Update: Full Throttle into Spring

Greetings to our wonderful Porsche family!

March came and went in the blink of an eye, and April looks like it plans to do the same. Is it just my old age, or is time somehow shifting into a higher gear every year?

🏁 HPDE

Our next HPDE event is scheduled for May, and registration is now open, so be sure to reserve your spot early.

We had hoped to run the course in reverse this time, but unfortunately, that will not be happening. No explanation, just a firm “nope.” That said, running the standard configuration won’t stop us from having another fantastic event.

Every time you get out on the track, you learn something new. I continue to be amazed at how much each session improves both skill and confidence. Those car control skills carry over directly into everyday driving and help tremendously [...]

🏁 Shifting into Spring: Track Days, Tours, and Club Gatherings

Greetings to our wonderful Porsche family!

The year is already off to a fantastic start, and it’s hard to believe we’re nearing the end of the first quarter of 2026. February brought plenty of activity for the club, with everything from track time to planning upcoming tours and drives. As always, it’s inspiring to see so many members getting out, enjoying their cars, and sharing the experience with fellow enthusiasts. The calendar ahead is packed with great events, and there is something for everyone whether you enjoy the thrill of the track, a scenic tour, or simply gathering with friends over coffee and great cars.

HPDE

We kicked off the year with our first High Performance Driver Education (HPDE) event on February 21–22, and it was a fantastic success. Our team continues to run a truly first-class operation, and [...]

We’re excited to announce that we are now accepting photos of our members’ cars for a brand-new feature on the club website.

If you visit the webpage, you’ll notice that the current header image shows my car. That image is not there as a personal perk. Last June, we were notified that several elements of our website, including the header, needed to be brought into compliance with updated rules. Unfortunately, that meant removing the drone footage that had long been featured at the top of the page, and it had to be done immediately.

As a temporary solution, I used a photo of my own car as a placeholder while we developed something better. That “something better” is finally here.

What’s New

The header banner will now showcase a member’s car on the home page of the website for two full months at a time. Each year, six members’ cars will [...]

What a fantastic day for a scenic 300-mile round trip through Death Valley and into Beatty, where we’d enjoy a delicious lunch.

It’s been four years since our last adventure, but plans are already in motion for another drive, with side trips to some of the other incredible spots in Death Valley.

We began our morning at the Bass Pro Shop parking lot on Blue Diamond, where we had 27 cars and over 30 people. The weather was sunny and mild, with a starting temperature of 50 degrees. The group was divided into two groups of 13 and 14 cars, respectively. I took the lead of the first group, while Reid Smith took the lead of the second group 15 minutes later.

We set off on Blue Diamond and headed “Over the hump to Pahrump.” Then, we turned southwest on Tecopa Road. There, we picked up Andy Weiss, who was patiently [...]

Greetings to all our wonderful Porsche family!

Welcome to 2026. As the world seems to want to spin out of control, our group is ramping up for a full year of fun and frivolity for our members!

December was a month of slowing down and getting ready for vacations and the holidays for most of us, and club events have been minimal. That being said, we are already looking forward to 2026. 

HPDE – We will be back to having four HPDE events this year, providing things do not change. Our DE group has done a phenomenal job with the three events we hosted in 2025, and I think we are all looking forward to adding back in a fourth event this coming year. I will tell you if you have never done it before. For various reasons, I highly encourage all of you to do it at least once this [...]