This is the first story that got published at my college's newspaper. Enjoy
In room 35 of Smith Hall, alumnus Steven Timmins , an owner of 20 Porsches and professor of mechanical engineering at the university, discusses his deep passion for high-performance cars, a love he has had since he attended St. Marks High School in Wilmington.
"I was fixing cars at Nick's Foreign Cars when I was 15 in high school as a mechanic and gained my passion for high-performance cars while racing hot rods at the time," Timmins said.
After high school, he attended the university, double majoring in accounting and finance. After graduating in 1984, Timmins worked as an accountant for three years before going back to the university to major in mechanical engineering.
"I actually declared myself as an undergrad of mechanical engineering, but at the time, I wasn't focused," he said. "I switched over to business because it was easy."
While at the university, Timmins started having trouble with his British sports car so he decided to look for a more reliable sports car instead. His search for a new car led him to his first test drive in a '84 Porsche 944. Timmins said he completely fell in love with the car.
"That single test drive made me a fan of Porsche," he said. "After my test drive, I immediately called my mother to help me with the loan for a car. If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't have become a fan of Porsche."
Within the year he bought his first Porsche, Timmins joined the Porsche Club of America. Throughout years of accomplishments in the PCA, his love for Porsches grew dramatically. He now owns 20 modified Porsches including a 1970 911 with a 3.8 liter and 375 horsepower that weighs in at 2,100 pounds, and a stock 2004 Cayenne Turbo. Timmins said he has sold at least 20 of his own modified cars to purchase more.
His love for Porsches became so strong he even used his 1983 Porsche 911 at his wedding.
"We took pictures of my wife and I driving in the Porsche, and my wife had her veil blowing in the wind," Timmins said.
Among his 20 modified high-performance cars, his favorite car is the car he used at his wedding. Years later, Timmins modified the car into a street-legal high-performance car. The vehicle has a 425 horsepower, 3.5 liter non-turbo engine running at 8000 revolutions per minute. He deemed it the Tealamonstre.
"The Tealamonstre is the fastest car I have, and the fastest I've gone in it was 170 miles per hour," Timmins said.
Over the years, his love of high-performance cars has garnered him many awards from the PCA. In 1988 Timmins was named Driver of the Year. After his first accomplishment in the club, he went on to become a two-time Delaware Region vice president, president and treasurer. Timmins has also been a classroom instructor of High Performance and Vehicle Dynamics and an event chairman of Virginia Internationaal Raceway Driver's Education. In 2007 he received a National Instructor's Certification and became Chief Classroom Instructor.
Every Porsche Timmins owns, except for the Cayenne Turbo, has an engine that he has built from scratch and fully modified. When Timmins is working on the cars, he said he feels like he is Dr. Frankenstein creating a monster.
"Right now, I'm working on making a GT3 from a 2001 Porsche 996," he said.
Apart from his achievements in PCA and his love for Porsches, Timmins is the adviser for the Society of Automotive Engineering and an IT/user services and information resource consultant. As a result of his busy schedule, Timmins cannot spend as much time on his vehicles as he did years ago.
"Between my job, the PCA and the family, I don't have the usual amount of time to work on the cars in my shop like I used to," he said.
Engineering professor fuels passion for Porsches - News
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