It’s a rainy day in Paris, but for me, it’s perfect for photographs. I meet Olivier, a marketing and art director for Eastpak, who owns a very outstanding Porsche 944 Rothmans. Despite the bad weather, we had a lot of fun taking pictures with a perfect background, the beautiful architecture that characterizes this amazing city. 

Normally, I send a couple of questions to the car owner that help me to create a story about him and his car. But in this case Olivier replied in such a perfect way that I want to leave his answers as they are because his text about the car makes you feel his passion for cars better than my own words could.

“Two years ago, I had a crush for the Porsches 944, I found them unfairly unloved and I found the pace yet very interesting, well identified in the 80 ’s. First of all, I looked for a 924 Carrera GT. But prices suddenly doubled in almost a year, so I turned to a Porsche 944 ROTHMANS. This car has seductive characteristics.”

To give you a bit of context about this model: The Porsche 944 Rothmans is the work of importer SONAUTO who created a limited edition of 100, a special series whose name will pay tribute to the main sponsor of Porsche and to the victories of the championship of endurance 1983 and the Paris Dakar 1984.

This series was delivered in May 1984 in alpine white with a striping in the colors of the cigarette (Blue gold and red). It carries a body kit that gives it a more racing look and inside, two bucket seats with ‘tennis’ type upholstery, a beige carpet, a sport steering wheel and a numbered plate – another peculiarity of the 944 Rothmans.

“When I set out to look for this very particular model, given the little copy built, it was not a simple thing! I peeled the ads in France for several weeks but without success. The two autos that I found were either restored from A to Z (and this is not what I like) or in a very bad state, without documentation, because the 944 were abandoned too much And have often undergone transformations. Difficult to find a copy in a beautiful original state. And the price difference between a model in ‘average’ state and a very good state is proportionally very low given the rating of the car.”

“Very curiously I found my rare pearl in Germany (where it was a car delivered exclusively by the French importer). It was a German merchant who sold the car of his best friend, a passionate collector. The car had been preserved in the best conditions! A juice of impeccable origin. The car has never been repainted! Its interior is like new.”

Of course Olivier is not the first happy owner of this beautiful car. He explained that the car came with a very detailed documentation of its entire history. He even has the original order form at SONAUTO of the first owner who owned this Porsche from 1984 to 2008.

“It is a very rare thing to find a car over 30 years old with a clear history. Personally, I am very sensitive to the STORY TELLING of a car! This adds an important added value.”

Ever since he was a young boy, Olivier has been passionate and involved in the world of cars. The first car he ever got was -fortunately- a Porsche 911 2.0 s Targa from 1969 in orange tangerine.

“My parents got acquainted around the car racing late 60’s. My father and my mother ran in Rally. My uncle was a very recognized car dealer in Paris and the Paris region. So as soon as I got my license I started looking for a 911. And at the time the most affordable were the old ones. For example, a 911 2.0 cost the equivalent of 15,000 euros.”

He would love to own a Lancia Stratos, Ferrari F40, Porsche 930 Slant Nose or 935 and a Porsche 959.

“I like sports cars with an atypical design, is a kind of piece of art typed racing”.

Nowadays Olivier is working on a cool project called ANYWAYS. Of course it’s related to the world of cars. I can’t wait to see more.

“Since a few months, I decided to create an entity, a kind of label with which I can share my passions for cars, design and street culture with my friends, my loved ones and also with all the enthusiasts. This entity is ANYWAYS, it also refers to my passions for skateboards, surfing, snowboarding and sexy girls. It’s a bit ‘How to embellish a RIDE with style’. It’s a bit like that DNA from ANYWAYS.

“In my work, I have the chance to meet great artistic talents as haute couture designer ALEXANDRE VAUTHIER with whom I share many passions. The idea of working together came naturally, around a simple discussion. I offered him to make an ANYWAYS skateboard and he offered to make a VAUTHIER sweatshirt. It was an opportunity that was completely part of the ANYWAYS concept.”

Currently, Olivier is working on the creation of a visual campaign for this collaboration with great talented directors. The release is scheduled for Spring 2017. For more news on ANYWAYS check out the official website anyways.shop

Follow him on Instagram: @stjours