Perfect daily, ideal bicycle carrier – Anthony Richelot’s Porsche 911 SC

He says of himself that he is a simple boy from the Caribbean who is passionate about old designs. Anthony Richelot is an architect, a successful fixed-gear cyclist and a real inspiration. He travels all over Europe in his Porsche 911 SC with his wife, daughter and dog. He told me how it all began and how a budding petrolhead in the Caribbean was able to enjoy his weekly dose of car content before YouTube took off.

Welcome to the Elferspot Porsche Talk, dear Anthony Richelot. What should our readers know about you?

Hi Richard, thank you very much for inviting me! I was born in Saint Cloud in a suburb near Paris. I spent all my youth in the Caribbean archipelago of Guadeloupe with my mother. It’s a French archipelago in the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean. I later went to Paris to study architecture. Today I live near Geneva in Switzerland and drive a Porsche 911 SC with a 3.2 liter Carrera engine. I’m also a keen cyclist, especially on so-called fixies.

Where did your passion for fast cars come from? The Caribbean is not necessarily known as an insider tip among petrolheads.

My parents separated when I was two years old and my father went to Paris. As a young boy in Guadeloupe, I spent a lot of time in nature with my friends. There were very few cars in Guadeloupe back then, and certainly no sports cars. But I was able to visit my father in Paris from time to time during the vacations. That’s where my relationship with cars developed.

Paris had a great variety of cars. And my father actually had a different car every time I visited him. And they were always gray or black. His black Renault 5 was my first love, followed by a Rover, the first Megane RS and later a BMW. But it was my cousin from Paris who really got the ball rolling. Every time I visited France, we played computer games like Gran Turismo or Need for Speed.

How did that influence the young Anthony Richelot?

My mother didn’t think much of computer games and we couldn’t afford them. That’s why my interest initially shifted to skateboards. But as a skater, I was completely alone in our village. People thought I was crazy! Without a community, it was almost impossible to learn tricks. Because nobody could explain or show you things. The only chance was watching DVDs.

As I said, sports cars were a rarity in Guadeloupe. I never saw a Porsche there. But there was a ritual for me on Sunday evenings. The French car program “Turbo” was on one of the three free-to-air TV channels. That was my only opportunity to learn about Ferrari, Porsche and co. Every Sunday I would sit on the sofa and enjoy the show. That’s how my love of cars was born. Ever since then, I’ve dreamed of owning a Porsche one day.

What was it like for you to come to Europe?

I first moved to Paris after school to study architecture. That was in 2013. I was totally fascinated by the connection between architecture and aesthetics that I got to know in Paris. My penchant for beautiful, old things with history really developed there. As a young person, you usually have little money. But during my studies, I realized that you don’t need a lot of money to have beautiful things. Most of the furniture was found in the street or bought second hand furniture for my apartment. That saved money and I liked it much more than just buying new things.

In the beginning, I spent a lot of time in Paris on my mountain bike. But I quickly realized that mountain bikes didn’t really have a place there. I then talked to a friend about so-called fixed-gear bikes, or fixies. These bikes only have one gear and no freewheel. At first, I didn’t like the concept at all. But I got more into it and bought my own fixie. One day, I saw a group of 20 to 25 people with bikes after lectures. I joined them and was totally excited by the speed.

Shortly afterwards, I took part in a fixie race in Berlin and got a good result straight away. A sponsor then contacted me and I’ve been part of a fixie team ever since. Since then, we have taken part in most of the major competitions in Europe. I discovered that many cyclists also like old and classic cars. My friends from the bike scene often talk to me about Porsche and my friends from the car scene about bikes. In a way, the circle was complete.

Your first car was a classic Porsche. How did that come about?

The charm of classic designs and films appealed to me immensely. I’m fascinated by the style of clothing, the hairstyles… I also really like the interior design and furniture of the time. The same goes for cars. The lines of classic Alfa Romeos, Porsches and Ferraris are simply beautiful. That’s why it was clear to me that my first car should be a classic.

At first I wanted to buy a VW Beetle, but they were just far too expensive!

Anthony Richelot

At first I wanted to buy a VW Beetle, but they were just far too expensive! So I looked to see what Porsches were available for under 20,000 euros. Transaxle Porsches naturally caught my eye. At first I was totally hyped about the Porsche 928, I immediately liked the design. I then contacted someone on Instagram who had traveled the world in a Porsche 928. However, his experience made me a little afraid of the maintenance costs.

I then became interested in the Porsche 944, which I had never heard of before, let alone seen one. When I saw the first Porsche 944 S, I was immediately blown away. It looked great with its pop-up headlights and, as an S, it also had the engine power to match. That was exactly the car I wanted! That’s why my first car was a black Porsche 944 S.

How was the ownership experience with your first Porsche?

It was great at first. The car was interesting, powerful and, looking back, even a good family car with the two rear seats and the large trunk. I could also put my bike on the roof without any problems. But the car was very expensive to maintain. The Porsche 944 S has many specific parts. And because of the low production numbers (not even 13,000), they are correspondingly expensive.

But I wanted to do everything properly, not just cheaply. That’s why I spent another 8,000 euros on maintenance and repairs after the purchase. The problem, however, is that the cars themselves have a relatively low value. So perhaps it isn’t the best idea to invest so much money in them. But the Porsche 944 S was fantastic to drive!

Today, however, you drive a Porsche 911 SC. How did that come about?

In 2022, I moved to Switzerland with my wife and our daughter. However, importing a car from abroad into Switzerland is not easy and also expensive. So the 944 had to be sold first. I put it up for sale through a dealer. My dream had always been a Porsche 911 anyway, preferably an early G-Model, i.e. a 911 SC without fog lights. And preferably with a 3.2-liter engine from the later Carrera.

I was then offered a very nice 911 Carrera 3.2 in the PTS color Meteor Grey in autumn 2022. I had already paid a deposit for it, but I had to sell the 944 first. At the same time, the owner wanted to sell the car quickly, so no deal was struck. However, the workshop owner knew from our conversations that I wanted an SC with a 3.2 liter engine.

“This 911 found us.” – Anthony Richelot

Some time later, the workshop owner called and said he had THE car for me. He sent me a video of a blue Porsche 911 SC. It looked fantastic inside and out. But the best thing about it: it had an engine failure in 2009 and got a Carrera 3.2 engine as a replacement! That was the perfect coincidence! It wasn’t gray or black, but the bright blue looked fantastic on the car. This 911 found us. We sold VW T3 van and bought the 911 SC in July 2023.

But you didn’t just have a special idea of your car. The purpose of your 911 SC is also anything but ordinary.

My Porsche is not a collector’s car, but it doesn’t have to be. I wanted to drive it anyway. I’m not interested in how much the car is worth. A Porsche 911 has long been a dream of mine. And now I can live it out. We drove 5,000 kilometers in the 911 in the first month! These cars deserve to be driven.

“I drove 5,000 kilometers in the 911 in the first month! These cars deserve to be driven.”

Anthony Richelot

A car wasn’t built to sit in the garage. Instead, I try to create memories with it. We take the SC into the mountains, with the bikes on the roof or even camping with a roof tent. Our daughter and our dog are often with us, so we travel as a whole family in the 911.

What has been the best trip with the SC so far? Do you already have other destinations in mind?

One trip was truly incredible. Ferdi Porsche contacted me and invited me to the Giro di Mankei! He was delighted that we could bring the cycling and car communities a little closer together. There should be no barriers between cyclists and motorists. We all use the same stretch of asphalt and enjoy the view.

Greece is a place of great longing for me. I really want to go there by car. But I would also like to immerse myself in Japanese car culture. The roads there also seem promising. That’s why Tokyo is at the top of my list.

Do you have any other automotive dreams?

Yes, I’m completely stupid for Porsche in that respect. I would love a Porsche 912, for example! A lot of people don’t adore them, but to me, these cars are very special. Of course, the 912 has less power than the 911, but it’s still fun! With my wife, it’s a “battle” between the 964 and the 993. She loves the Porsche 993, I only really like it from the back and the side. Otherwise, I’d really like to drive a Safari Porsche.

If we go by aesthetics alone, I think the Porsche 996 is the most beautiful, especially as a Carrera 4S. I don’t like the later water-cooled 911s so much. I find the 997 and 991 generations a bit boring. However, the 991 is also the last real old-school 911. A lot changed with the 992, which is my favorite modern water cooled Porsche.

Anthony, it was a great pleasure to be able to talk to you. Thank you for your time!

For my part, see you soon!

© Anthony Richelot (@nthnyrchlt)

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).