Like father like son – Jeff, Stuart & a 993 Carrera RS

We at Elferspot Magazine are always happy to talk to Porsche enthusiasts from all over the world about what sparked their passion for Porsche sports cars. After all, it is often precisely these stories that connect us enthusiasts and lead to many friendships over the years. I recently had the opportunity to speak to a very special father and son duo. Jeff and his son Stuart Colomina have an inseparable relationship. They are car nuts in the best sense of the word. In this awesome interview they told me why they bought a Porsche 993 Carrera RS sight unseen via Elferspot and shared their initial experience with me.

Hi Jeff & Stuart, nice to meet you! Where are you from and how did you end up there?

Jeff: Hello Richard, nice to meet you, too! My name is Jeff Colomina, 60 years old. I am a trained accountant and now sales executive for a software company. I grew up in Michigan, then moved to Arkansas and worked my way further south to Texas. For my entire professional career, I lived in Dallas and still do. The coolest answer on why I ended up here, would probably have to do with Tex-Mex and Margaritas. But to be honest, I came here for work and stayed since then.

Stuart: I am Stuart Colomina, now 23 years old and recently started my career as an accountant. As a side hustle, I do car photography and I am living in Downtown Dallas. Me and my dad are sort of best friends, I’d say.

What got you into cars in the first place?

Stuart: I’ve been a car guy as long as I can remember. Dad and I followed a very specific Saturday routine for the last fifteen years. After breakfast we’d head to the local Lamborghini, Ferrari and Porsche dealerships and visit the parking lots. We’d always do some form of car spotting or window shopping there. On Dad’s 50th birthday, I saw a Gallardo Spyder and completely fell in love with it. The staff wanted to transfer the car to another dealership and on the impulse of the moment to celebrate my old man’s birthday he bought himself his very first exotic… that day was memorable and the rest of it is pretty much history.

I’ve always been interested in cars and have a lot of like-minded friends. To be honest, what really made me a car enthusiast was my son. I wanted to share something with my kids, find something to build a lifelong bond with them.

Jeff Colomina’s answer on why he became a car guy in the first place

It all started with a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder…

Jeff: As Stuart mentioned, we were told the Gallardo Spyder could not stay and would be transferred unless I pulled the trigger. In the spur of the moment, I put down what felt like a mortgage and got what was at the time my “dream car”. That is where the ownership experience was kicked off and our story of being hands on with our poster cars began.

I’ve always been interested in cars and have a lot of like-minded friends. To be honest, what really made me a car enthusiast was my son. I wanted to share something with my kids, find something to build a lifelong bond with them. I could see Stuart becoming a petrolhead as he grew up. Even at a very young age, he was already able to identify cars by their headlights and later by their sounds. And that day, as Stuart mentioned, turned out to be a very special one. We purchased the Lamborghini and that’s really where the story started. After a couple of years owning the Gallardo, we subsequently enjoyed the Ferrari experience with a 458 Italia, 458 Speciale and 488 GTB.

That’s a heartwarming story, you two! What happened next?

Stuart: We really have a strong bond between us. Growing up, dad and I would always watch car related YouTube videos throughout the week after the school homework was completed. We both loved the old Top Gear, Shmee… you name it! After watching these videos, we often found ourselves browsing through the ads of cars for sale online. It wasn’t until my 16th birthday, that our dream trip of attending car week in Monterey, California became a reality. What should have been a one-off trip turned into an annual ritual.

It always starts the same: driving Pacific coast highway and browsing parking lots of some of the finest golf courses in the world. Over the past nine years of attending car week, we have found ourselves soaking up the views at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, The Quail Motorsports Gathering, Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, car auctions, etc. To this day, car week is still a yearly pilgrimage to the beautiful, scenic seaside towns of Monterey, Carmel and Pebble Beach.

I do not think there is a more perfect backdrop to host these spectacular car shows. I truly cannot wait to bring my junior on the trip with us someday. Car Week has been a place for us to spot auto unicorns and create amazing memories with my old-man. 

But why did you become interested in an air-cooled Porsche after owning the likes of a Lamborghini and several Ferraris?

Jeff: You know, I was lucky enough to own a few more sports cars over the years. After the Gallardo, I owned a couple Ferraris. But to be honest, I always felt that manual cars were so much more involving and fun to drive. Especially the air cooled Porsches are a way cooler experience than any modern supercar.

Stuart: We went to Laguna Seca at one point during car week and there was a car, which blew our mind. There was a Porsche 993 GT2 on display. We both haven’t seen such a thing before. That outrageous yellow car sat there and we both asked ourselves: What on planet earth is that? Afterwards, we did some research and found out, why we haven’t seen one before: These cars are so rare. Only 57 road legal cars were built for the entire world.

What impressed you the most about the Porsche 993 GT2? Did it have an impact on your next purchase?

Jeff: What attracted us most, was the look of the big wing. With its air intakes you immediately got the impression that this is a serious bit of kit. It was a radically looking thing, completely track focused. At first glance, you could even misjudge it as a kit car with its bolted on fender flares and the huge rear wing.

Stuart: I really loved the air intakes as well. That was one of the reasons why we headed straight into the 993 RS adventure. You know, dad already had a Porsche 930 Turbo at that point. So both of us lusted after a naturally aspirated car. After doing some research, we settled on the Porsche 993 Carrera RS, as it was a manual N/A car with that fantastic rear wing. To add things up, this model was never sold new in the US, which made it even more interesting.

A Porsche 993 Carrera RS can’t be found around every corner. Where did you find yours?

Jeff: When we did our research, we came across Elferspot. Since then, it’s sort of a daily routine to check for new Porsche 993 Carrera RS models on your platform. And to be honest, the hunt is almost as exciting as the drive… One day, we saw this Grand Prix White 993 RS at DAVID Finest in Hamburg, Germany. As we wanted a yellow or white car, which wasn’t thrashed at a track, this car was an instant match. It had originally been sold in Japan and then imported to Germany in 2015.

But this was a bit of a challenge. We both had never seen a Carrera RS in person and had no experience in terms of shipping, import and so on. On top of that, all the documentation was either Japanese or German. As we both don’t speak a single word in either of those languages, we had to rely on Google Translate. After we went through the paperwork, we had to find a trustworthy mechanic to do a thorough pre-purchase inspection.

The guys from DAVID Finest Sports Cars were really professional helping me through the buying and shipping process. Even though we were separated by 5,000 miles and seven times zones.

We found an experienced mechanic from the Hamburg area and he checked the car meticulously. He performed a compression test, leak-down test, measured the paint thickness and so on. After sending a lot of videos and photos back and forth, we were convinced, the car was healthy. We agreed on a deal in June 2022. And then the waiting time for the probably most anticipated delivery in our lives began.

Wait, you guys have never seen a Porsche 993 Carrera RS in person and then bought a car sight-unseen from another continent? That’s amazing! What was the delivery like?

Stuart: We were both so excited… The wheels alone are a piece of art! We were consuming every bit of YouTube content about the 993 Carrera RS in the months before delivery. And in preparation, I had to learn how to drive a manual. During a family holiday in Italy, we therefore explicitly rented a manual car. And back home, we used the Porsche 930 Turbo for some driving lessons. As this car’s gear lever has a very long throw and the car is generally quite hard to get in gear, it was learning to drive a manual “the hard way”.

When the car was due to be delivered, I felt like a kid on Christmas eve. I couldn’t really sleep, was anxious…

Jeff Colomina

Jeff: When the car was due to be delivered, I felt like a kid on Christmas eve. I couldn’t really sleep, was anxious… After all, it took almost six months from the initial inquiry to the delivery. The truck driver initially stated that he would be here on Sunday morning. Then he rang and delayed it to Sunday evening and later in the day, he scheduled it for Monday morning.

When he finally arrived on Monday at 9 am, it was raining. But when he dropped the car off, I thought “Damn, this looks good!” and couldn’t take my eyes off it. The truck driver helped wipe the car down, after having parked it in the garage. I just admired the car for an hour and didn’t even drive it that day. I was completely blown away, as it looked so good in person.

What about the driving experience? Did the 993 Carrera RS meet your expectations?

Jeff: I more or less expected a very rigid, uncomfortable, track focused car. And what shall I say? It’s quite the opposite. This car is easy to drive and not uncomfortable at all. Its seats are so excellent, you can easily do a couple hundred miles in them, without getting knackered. It may “only” have 300 hp, but that’s more than adequate in such a lightweight car. It accelerates great, the clutch is light and the gearbox is a joy to operate. I’ve owned a couple of sports cars over the years and it’s safe to say that this one is the most fun car I’ve ever possessed.

Stuart: The driving experience is just amazing. There is a very nice road, only an hour north from Dallas. We went there in the RS a few weeks ago and it was the first time we could really see what this car is like to drive. Boy, was it an awesome experience. And the best thing about it is, that you don’t even need to go very fast, to feel special or have fun. However, if you put the pedal down, there is no unwanted vibration in the steering. Everything feels so analog. A backroad joy ride is best paired with the window down, in 2nd gear, and listening to “Life in the Fast Lane”. It is undoubtedly our favorite car.

What was your most memorable moment with the car so far? And what are your plans with it in the future?

Stuart: This car is a real head-turner. Every single time we go for a coffee run or a car meet, everyone is talking about it. Even if there are limited edition Ferraris or McLarens next to it, it gathers all the attention. When we attend a car meet with it, my DMs are always flooded afterwards. So for me, every drive in the car is special.

For its first show we took the Porsche 993 Carrera RS to a local Ferrari show in Dallas. Due to the fact the show is exclusively for Ferraris, we had to park in the back lot. To our amazement a ton of people in the show gravitated towards our car in the backlot.

Jeff: For its first show we took the Porsche 993 Carrera RS to a local Ferrari show in Dallas. Due to the fact the show is exclusively for Ferraris, we had to park in the back lot. To our amazement a ton of people in the show gravitated towards our car in the backlot. Even the Ferrari guys came over and said “You’ve got the most special car here”. Everybody came back admiring this little Porsche 993 Carrera RS. It was a very nice way to share the feelings of getting your dream car. 

Stuart: We don’t want to track it, but rather preserve it. On the other hand, we like to share it with the car community. Hence, we love attending car meets in it. This way, we can show the car and accumulate as many miles as we can. As in the end, it is not just about enjoying the car itself, but about making friends along the way.

As you now have found your dream car, what are your feelings about it?

Stuart: Dad and I watched countless YouTube videos, visited thousands of car dealerships, attended nine Monterey car weeks and did weekend drives for more than ten years. We’re having car related conversations literally every single day. With this very Porsche 993 Carrera RS we’ve now found the car that is truly ours. We’ve never seen one before. And in the end, it exceeded all our expectations.

Although the attention the car receives is fun, it is not at all the reason why we bought it. This 993 Carrera RS is so much more to us. Of course, there are more expensive cars, faster cars, but this one has opened the most doors! It is a very unique car, which made the hunt itself a real challenge. And the import process took quite some time, as well. In the end, it was about the journey we as a father & son duo experienced. These shared memories between us strengthened our bond even more. This is emphasized by the RS in a way that no Ferrari 488 could ever do!

Is there anything else on your shortlist?

Jeff: I wouldn’t say that I am actually in the market for another car. Especially considering that garage space is limited, I am fairly happy with what we got now.

Stuart: You know, the RS was the last thing, that it needed to convert me into a true Porsche enthusiast. Most of my friends don’t really get why, so I feel like a bit of an ambassador in that regard. I’ve been working for a year now and started looking for a Porsche 914. Its shape appealed to me and I would love to restore one at some point.

It was a pleasure to meet you guys. Thanks for sharing your inspiring story!

Jeff and his son Stuart aren’t your average father and son duo. They both love cars and share a common passion on an almost daily basis. Their story is heartwarming, inspiring and should encourage us to strengthen the bond with our own kids.

© for all images: Stuart Colomina

Meet our contributor

Richard Lindhorst is our chief-editor and lives in Northern Germany. He thinks about cars and bikes almost 24/7. If you’ve got a story for him, or just want to get in touch, feel free to contact him on his Instagram (@rchrdlndhrst).