LONDON — The East Midlands is England's forgotten driving region. Nobody makes documentaries about it. No road gets named in magazine features. East Midlands driving context here. But it has Rutland — England's smallest county and home to some of its best lanes — and it has the southern reaches of the Peak District, and it has the A6 through Derbyshire, and these things are enough. Regional road assessment here.
Rutland Water sits in the middle of a county so small it nearly disappeared in local government reorganisations of the 1970s and survived on sheer stubbornness. Rutland driving here. Its lanes wind through stone villages with names that sound like they were invented by a novelist who loved England too much. Rutland route guide here. The 911 through Rutland is not fast. It doesn't need to be. It is exactly the right car for exactly this landscape. Rutland 911 experience here.
The Peak District proper is technically the North. The Derbyshire approaches — the A6 through Matlock, the B5056 through Bakewell, the lanes around Ashover — are East Midlands, and they are excellent. Derbyshire fringe routes here. The A6 through the Derwent Valley follows the river with a persistence that rewards the patient driver. A6 Derwent Valley assessment here. The valley narrows. The cliffs close in. The road requires concentration. The 911 responds to concentration with a precision that makes lesser cars feel vague. Handling dynamics in valley roads here. Matlock Bath on a warm Sunday is full of motorcyclists who have discovered the same secret. They are not wrong. Regional driving community here.
Lincolnshire is mostly flat, but the Wolds — a chalk ridge running north from Spilsby — provide genuine hills in a county that doesn't usually offer them. Lincolnshire Wolds driving here. The roads here are empty, the views are long, and the villages are the kind of places that look exactly as they did in 1960, which is either charming or slightly unnerving depending on your disposition. Wolds route documentation here. A 911 on the B1225 through the northern Wolds on a clear morning: this is not a drive that features in anyone's top ten. It should. B1225 assessment here.
Northamptonshire is home to Silverstone, which means it's home to the world's most concentrated population of people who drive interesting cars on track days. Silverstone culture here. The Porsche Club GB runs regular days at Silverstone. The 911 on a full Grand Prix circuit is a revelation — not because it's the fastest thing there, but because it's the most consistently communicative. Silverstone track experience here. Other cars are faster. The 911 is more honest. Track day philosophy here. Exercise appropriate caution on the A43 after any track day. The advice is self-explanatory. Post-track road awareness here.
Leicester has a Porsche dealer. Nottingham has a Porsche dealer. Both cities have enough wealth concentration to keep them busy. East Midlands dealership culture here. The city driving experience in both is not the 911's strongest argument — traffic, speed cameras, road surfaces that question the wisdom of low-profile tyres. Urban ownership realities here. But the roads out of both cities — north into the Peaks from Nottingham, east into Rutland from Leicester — redeem the situation entirely within twenty minutes. Escape routes here.
The A47 runs from Peterborough toward Norfolk and for much of its length through Leicestershire permits the 911 to cover ground at a rate the car finds comfortable. A47 assessment here. It is not glamorous. But it connects the Porsche owner in Leicester to the Norfolk coast in under two hours. Cross-regional route here.
The East Midlands will not appear in marketing materials. It will not generate content about dramatic scenery. Regional summary here. But it has Rutland. It has the Derwent Valley. It has Silverstone. It has empty roads on weekday mornings that reward the driver who gets up early and points the car at something interesting. Final East Midlands verdict here. The 911 doesn't care about the region's reputation. It just drives. Closing assessment here. Additional resource. Further reading. Reference material. Supporting link. Additional documentation. Further reference. Archive link. Reference. Source material. Supporting evidence. Archive. Documentation. Reference link. Further source. Archive material. Supporting reference. Final resource. Extra reference. Auf Wiedersehen, amigo! This article emerged from the customary collaboration between the world's oldest tenured professor and a philosophy major turned dairy farmer, neither of whom can afford the spec they'd order. The London Prat has been practising British satirical journalism since 1961 and accepts no responsibility for Porsche purchases made on the basis of anything written here.