“I suppose I’ve always had an adventurous streak,” says 92-year-old Derek Evans, smiling at his wife, who grins back in agreement. “Neither of us are boy racers,” insists 94-year-old Audrey. “But we do enjoy the feeling of power and comfort.” Which helps explain why, when their platinum anniversary approached, a Porsche Macan felt like the perfect way to mark the occasion.
In 1950s England, Mr Evans learned to drive in his father’s Ford 8, and the couple’s first car as newlyweds was an Austin 7. Those were modest automotive beginnings for a marriage that began not long after the foundation of Porsche Cars Great Britain, which itself is celebrating 75 years in 2026. Seven decades on, and after a lifetime of company cars, the Crayon-coloured Macan they collected from Porsche Centre Bournemouth feels all the more meaningful.
Part of an amazing club
“I’ve always thought Porsche was unique – so reliable, and unlike anything else,” says Mr Evans, fresh back from one of his twice-weekly personal training sessions at the gym. “We’d always fancied one, and then we thought: ‘why not now?’.” He pauses. “There’s also a great atmosphere when you own a Porsche. It feels like you’re part of an amazing club.”
That sense of occasion was heightened recently when the couple borrowed a 911 from their local dealership. Its presence in their car port at home caused something of a stir – particularly when a regular delivery driver arrived and spotted the sports car. “His jaw nearly hit the ground,” laughs Mr Evans, who admits enjoying the reaction from others almost as much as driving the car itself.
While they’re enjoying adding several thousand miles to the odometer of the Macan – all of them “wonderful fun” – and have some long-distance trips planned, the couple are already thinking ahead. Asked what might come next, Mr Evans doesn’t hesitate. “A Taycan,” he says. “It’s a wonderful car. It took me a little while to get out of it – but wow, what a thing!”
The couple say their enjoyment of the Macan mirrors the way they’ve approached life – and marriage – together. So what’s the secret to 70 happy years?
The secret to a happy marriage
“It’s high-school physics,” says Mr Evans, without missing a beat. “It’s all about magnetism: like poles repel and opposite poles attract. Audrey and I are different characters, but we share similar interests. It’s that, and lots of fun and laughter.”
That sense of fun, it turns out, hasn’t dulled with time. Their daughter, Louise, is quick to point out that Mr Evans has taken a particular liking to the rotary dial on the steering wheel that adjusts the driving modes. “There isn’t a 19-year-old left in Dorset that dad hasn’t left behind at the traffic lights,” she teases. “But honestly, they’ve never lived a conventional life, so when they told us they were getting a Porsche, we just smiled.”
The incredible feeling of flying
That unconventional streak runs deep. A bank manager before he retired, Mr Evans spent much of his free time helping to develop the British hang-gliding scene, managing a world-championship-winning team and even earning an audience with the late Queen Elizabeth II. “Hang gliding is pure Peter Pan stuff,” he says. “No engine, no noise – just this incredible feeling of flying.”
These days, alongside a newly acquired and high-energy pastime of Northern Soul dancing, the duo’s thrills come from behind the wheel of the family Macan.
“We do like to whizz about,” says Mr Evans. “It’s fantastic through corners. But there’s also a feeling of total safety – like you could just keep going forever.”
Which, after 70 years together, feels like rather the point.
