Ryan Tan (@porschefuel) Inspires a Whole Generation of Dreamers

Since Ryan was all of two years old, he already had an interest in cars.

From pointing out cars he liked on the road to naming car brands, he knew this was a deep passion brewing within. But there is one car brand that captured his imagination more than any other.

Ryan shared: “When I was a young boy, my dad passed down to me a scale model car - my very first - of a 993 C2 finished in mint green, which he had since he was a kid. I was too young to know it was a Porsche, but I loved it and still have it with me today.” Over the years, Ryan has amassed a huge collection of scale model cars - especially Porsches.

In 2008, Ryan saw the Porsche 911 for the first time in his life. “That was when I started following the Porsche brand and reading up all about it,” Ryan recalls. 

Ryan’s Porsche fascination grew over the next decade. He fed his curiosity by looking up the Porsche Car Configurator - and knowing the ins and outs of it. Specifying a car is a deeply personal decision, and for Ryan, it was the best way for him to build his very own dream Porsche, as well as helping others build theirs.

“I know the Porsche Car Configurator like the back of my hand. I’ve literally spent hundreds of hours on it to build each and every model,” Ryan quipped.

Ryan shared a recent meeting of minds with a 911 R owner, who was asking about a brand new 992 Turbo S and to help him specify it. Ryan, of course, relished the opportunity and helped him through the Configurator to build a GT Silver Turbo S with the Heritage Design Pack.

Due to a chance encounter while Ryan was looking for an internship, he was introduced to Russell Ng, a Senior Specialist of Lifestyle & Individualisation at Porsche Asia Pacific (PAP). Russell helped Ryan further his Porsche passion: from bringing Ryan to car meets to giving him experiential drives in his 718 Spyder, Russell devoted his time to help Ryan live out his dreams.

“I see a true aficionado in Ryan, and I want to help him enjoy Porsches as much as I do,” Russell said.

It was around this time that Ryan started his Instagram account, porschefuel. “I converted my personal account to something Porsche related, because I felt a sense of belonging to the brand. I also thought the name had a nice ring to it.” Ryan chose the name because Porsche fuels his motivation in life and keeps him going.

That was when Ryan started to meet more people in the Porsche world. “Russell was the anchor that built my confidence and interest to go for these events,” said Ryan.

At one of these events, Russell introduced me to Ryan. And then it clicked. Why not bring Ryan out for a Porsche-fuelled day?

We met at the Porsche Pop-Up store at Guoco Tower where Ryan is already a familiar face to the Porsche Pros Nycky, Eugene and Andy. Ryan used the Configurator to specify his dream Macan (to see his specified Macan, key in PRBZXJN8 here) - a GTS finished in Gentian Blue Metallic with some $80,000 worth of options including an extended two-tone leather package in Black and Mojave Beige, Carbon GTS sideplates, Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) Plus and Porsche Surface Coated Brakes (PSCB).

After some fun with the Configurator, what better way to live out the Porsche dream than with a drive? We collected from Porsche Singapore a Macan specified in a rather unusual colour - Copper Ruby Metallic - which I thought Ryan would appreciate. He said: “It captured my attention instantly, I felt like I was a kid in a candy shop!”

He spotted the car’s 21-inch 911 Turbo Design rims, gloss black badging and quad tail pipes in black - all part of the Sport Design Package.

The Macan is the Porsche he can see himself driving in the near future. “I love that the car’s handling and engagement is the sportiest in its class, aside from the fact that it’s also a very practical SUV,” Ryan adds.

On the occasion of Porsche’s 75th anniversary, Ryan inspires us to never stop dreaming. Despite his condition, he dares forward.

Ryan said: “Amidst the constant war with my body, I have never let Cerebral Palsy dampen my spirits. Whether it is going through childhood, or my schooling years, to pursuing my passion now, I make the best out of it.”

Just a look at his tricked out wheelchair would give a hint of how Ryan is taking things in his stride. It has genuine carbon fibre wheel arches, Porsche stickers and a Porsche Motorsport red-and-black colour scheme. He even customised shoes that had ‘3 RS’ stitched on them. His Apple Watch screensaver shows a macro shot of a yellow 718 Spyder - colour coded to his yellow strap.

Ryan already speaks of a future where he will drive a Porsche, especially with developments in wheelchair-accessible technologies. One day, he hopes to have his very own 911 R - replete with a manual gearbox, rear wheel drive and a naturally aspirated engine. He couldn’t help but mention one more car - the race-ready 992 GT3 RS - if he wanted to do track work.

“Mental Toughness is when you can find fuel in an empty tank. I’m porschefuel, and I’m one of the Dreamers.”

Photos by Horizon Drivers' Club

---

Selling your car? Whatever the reason, caryousell@carousell, sell your car at the highest price today.