Some people might think owning a convertible in Scotland is as useful as having a chocolate teapot.
The main reason for this train of thought is the fact that we don’t have a particularly warm climate or very many sunny days.
But Tim Erbé has a different way of looking at it.
The 45-year-old, who owns Logie House in Pitcaple, said: “I’m a big fan of convertible cars, especially in Scotland, actually. People joke, saying ‘Oh, what do you need that for?’ but I think the opposite – it’s to make the most of the days that are nice.
“I’ll take the roof off if it’s cold. It’s nice to get the sun. I’ve even driven it from Aberdeen to London with the roof off in the snow before.
“It was a few years ago now. It has heated seats and the heaters are brilliant so you can drive it. You need a coat and a hat on, but you can drive it around with the roof off in the middle of winter if you want to. You might look a bit stupid, though.”
Tim has definitely made the most of his soft top, a 1988 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet, since buying it in 1992 for £30,000.
At the time, he owned a standard 911 but decided he wanted a convertible for the summer.
“I used to go down to Cornwall a lot so I just fancied a change,” he said.
“I wasn’t really looking for that particular car. It just so happened that the only convertible the guy had in was this one.
“I think it was something in the back of a magazine and it was a dealer that I bought it from.
“I was looking for a convertible 911 and it was that, but I just hadn’t considered paying out the money for a turbo. But it was running up to the summer and I wanted a convertible so I just went for it.”
Tim traded in his standard 911 for the almost new convertible and drove it back home – an experience that left him hooked.
“It’s a completely different experience,” he said. “It’s so much faster than the standard car.
“I didn’t really know what to expect. It was just breathtakingly fast for something in the early 90s. That was one of the fastest cars that there was.”
Being only four years old and with only 12,000 miles on the clock, the Porsche was in great condition. It is one of only 100 made with right-hand drive.
The Porsche is certainly a beast in the power department, with a 3.3-litre engine, 330bhp and reaching 60mph from 0 in 4.6 seconds.
Tim said the top speed is about 174mph – which he experienced for himself.
“I have had it off the end of speed dial, which was about 175mph, when I was in Germany once,” he said.
“That was quite scary. It makes a lot of noise because it’s a convertible so I wouldn’t want to do that every day.”
For years, Tim used it as his daily car before retiring it in 2001.
The following year, it received a major service, including new injector lines, exhauster, turbo – even the air conditioning was converted.
In 2007, Tim took on a different project, this time Logie House, a grand mansion that was almost destroyed in a fire in 1975.
It was also around this time that the Scottish weather would turn on Tim, leaving him without his Porsche for about five years.
He said: “At the time, Logie House didn’t have a garage so the car sat outside and it was the wettest summer for years.
“It was the same year that Rhianna’s song Umbrella came about. It just rained every day for about four months and it rotted the roof.
“The car had to go in to the mechanics for a new roof and carpets. That was in 2007, and it was there until the beginning of December last year.
“I didn’t have a garage at the time so I wasn’t in a hurry to get it back. It went in just for the roof and carpets but it came out with everything done. New alarms, stereo, all the bodywork, engine, everything.
“It took me five years to rebuild Logie House into the 13-bedroom mansion that it is now and it took the guy five years to put my car back together.
“I kind of missed it but I was also preoccupied with the house. And at that point it only really came out somewhere specific, like going on holiday to Skye or France, but it was nice to have it back.”
So, having now owned three Porsches, what is his favourite thing about the marque?
“It’s very quick in a straight line,” Tim said.
“They are economic for that type of car, easy to maintain and just very reliable everyday cars. This car has never broken down on me.”
And it is definitely a car that stands out from the crowds – getting attention wherever it goes.
“It’s definitely a car that people stare at.”
Tim said he often found people staring in the window when it was parked.
“It’s mostly children these days that seem to like them,” he said. “And very often you find children’s fingerprints all over the windows.”
Tim will soon be adding another car to his collection, this time a Bentley Continental GTC that will be used as part of the wedding service at the house.
He said: “That will be nice for the brides – and I might borrow it the rest of the time.