Can a car have personality?
This story begins with the man who lost it.
How is it pronounced? Tar-tza. It is a combination of the name “targa” and the word “rdza” (Polish for rust).
Tardza is a Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 from 1984. The original owner had a drug addiction. He lived in this car with his dog. I know he lost contact with reality. He lost his moderation. He lost the car. I don’t even know his name. I don’t know what happened to the man. I don’t know what happened to the dog. I know that the car had a collision that decided its fate.
A left fender dent. The owner couldn’t afford the repair. He had debts. He irretrievably lost the car.
In this unfortunate sequence of events someone took over the car. And I became to be the owner then. The car was in a deplorable condition. The interior existed formally. Useless. The same with clocks, wire harnesses, everything technical. Basically everything at all. I admired the rusty fender. I realized I can’t just rebuild this car in accordance to the original. It wouldn’t be fair. An idea arose. The Tardza name was formed.
I began to wonder how it all happened. Why did the man and consequently his car fall? I could only assume that the reason was running away from people, from chats, from solving problems.
No dialogue…
Dialogue became the keynote of the restoration. I decided to get all the parts by building relationships with others, that is, simply speaking, receiving for free, exchanging with someone for something and buying, of course. But not in the store. From a man.
The car came without any engine. But that wasn’t a problem. I bought it in Germany from a guy named Raimund. I met him on the day of purchase. We still keep in touch. The roof fabric is a gift from a friend, Maciek. Originally it was a military tent cover from the ‘70s. It was found at his parents’ garage. He made me very happy. I received other internal materials from friends from all over the world. For free, for a smile, for a handshake, for money or exchanging. Notice a bakelite socket from the ‘30s. Polish, from the interwar period. Beautiful. They don’t do those anymore.
Technically, #Tardza is a brand new car.
Each item has been opened, verified, cleaned, repaired or replaced. Besides lowering it is an absolutely standard car. The 3.2’s performance is super good. At least good enough for a project that is not about power, but about relationships between people.
I didn’t deal with mechanics personally. I am a designer. Most of the parts you see I designed and made myself. Notice I did many of these things for the first time in my life, like seats. I didn’t know I can do it. I did and they turned out perfectly. In addition, I changed their construction. Now they’re open at the back. I love to design, combine, give new form and meaning. Surprisingly the empty seats are very comfortable. They work like buckets.
There are some clever upgrades here but they are not important. It is important what Tardza means for me, for the car culture and for the world in general.
Tardza is a social project.
It has opened many conversations and friendships. I always say Porsche is a state of mind and a kind of thinking. This car is honest and free of any bad emotions. It opens people’s eyes and they respond by a smile. It is not as classically serious as the completely original one of the 10 ever built limited Porsche. It’s better because it raises strong emotions. It’s better because it raised from the ashes. Don’t get me wrong. I know this is a car. It’s not only the car, it’s a car. We can say the same about people. Every person is just a mixture of elements but at the same time everybody’s different.
A rusty fender survived. And it will stay at the place forever. It’s a monument reminding us of the past. It is like a sculpture or a scar. It tells us about pain that we remember. Pain that made who we are. We should remember the past. Who would we be if not the past?
Tardza today.
There’s a new chapter for Tardza and me. And Arnoldas from Vilnius, Lithuania who cares of Tardza currently. I made a new friend. Tardza needs Arnoldas to make this story last forever.