Car Club Spotlight

Ron Hoeberling

The Rollin’ Ranchers Car Club members have a variety of cars and one of the most recognizable is a Porsche, like Larry Hampton’s 2012 911 Turbo Cabriolet. (Cabriolet is another term for convertible.) The black paint with red interior is a real eye catcher. Porsche is known for their six-cylinder boxer engines, and this one is a 3.8-liter twin-turbo producing 500 HP with all-wheel drive and top speed of 198 mph.

This isn’t Larry’s first Porsche. When he and his wife Cathy moved to Robson Ranch in July 2013, he had a 2004 911 C4S Carrera with a 3.6-liter 325 HP engine. Carrera refers to the Carrera Panamericana border-to-border sedan and sports car racing event in Mexico during the early 1950s, which Porsche won. This triple-black Porsche (body, top, interior) was also a cabriolet.

In addition to owning two 911s, he also drives a PurpleLite color Porsche Cayenne with black and sand interior. This SUV shares its drivetrain with Lamborghini, Audi, and Bentley SUVs. Larry is also a member of the gun club and the Cayenne is helpful in getting members and their shooting gear quickly to and from the range. Plus, it serves as his grocery getter.

But Larry didn’t start his car pursuit with a Porsche key in hand. His car passion started as a 10-year-old boy during a ride in an MG TD owned by a friend of his dad’s. The sporty looks, the sound of the engine, and the thrill of the ride in a two-seat open sports car was all it took to spark his car passion. With a limited budget, he soon bought his first car, a Ford Model A. But that led to 60 more cars to date. These included a 1952 Crown Vic, 1957 Fairlane Police Interceptor, 1963 Pontiac Tempest LeMans (another racing event name) with a 326 cid V8, several Corvettes, several Mercedes AMG sedans, plus a couple of Cobra Mustangs. I think the message is, Larry likes fast cars!

You can see and hear more about the Porsche 911 and other cars at the Rollin’ Ranchers next Show & Shine in the clubhouse parking lot. Watch for our schedule in the HOA email for outdoor events and monthly indoor meetings.

The car club goal is to participate in car-related events or trips each month. Club members are kept informed of activities and events through GroupWorks and dues are $10 per year. For more information, contact Ron Hoeberling at [email protected] or 913-708-1908.