Finally, it happened. I have been watching fast and fancy cars for an entire lifetime. Never had one, but a reasonably priced, good-looking, powerful and superb-handling car presented itself to me at the same time as a touch of personal financial success.

Not quite a year ago, I bought a 2014 Boxster S. This was my first sports car and the most powerful car I have ever owned. It came with a 3.4-liter engine producing 315 sea-level engine horsepower, and I added sport suspension, torque vectoring and a couple of other options.

Winter came, and I bought a second set of wheels with Michelin Alpin snow tires. I participated in Eiskhana — the Rocky Mountain Region Porsche Club ice race, in Georgetown, Colorado (elevation 8,530 feet).

Partly because of my experience on snow and ice while skiing, partly because of the car's traction control system and partly because of the great tires, I won in the Porsche no studs/two wheel drive class by about seven seconds. I beat about 10 Porsches and had a better best time than about 20 others — some 4wd and some studded. Too close for comfort.

I figured that if I would participate again, I should make some modifications to ensure or at least raise the probability of a second and more resounding victory next year. I contacted BGB Motorsports, LLC, an outfit in Ormond Beach, Florida, drove there and began a mechanical and mental adventure.

They ordered and installed a center radiator for more weight over the front wheels and, as I learned later, for better cooling. This weight would help with understeer. It was expensive and came in a huge box on a pallet from Allentown, Pennsylvania.

The box surprised me, but the BGB guys took it in stride. Inside the box were also two high-performance heads with large valves and super-smooth ports, different cams, an intake plenum, spark plugs, hoses, wires and more. I asked about these items, and they told me those parts wouldn't fit my 3.4-liter 981 engine.

It seemed like a lot of extra stuff to buy just to end up with an additional radiator. I found out the extra parts including radiator were for a 3.8-liter 991 Carrera S engine. What to do?

Not wanting to waste these extra parts — and not really knowing what to do with them — I drove from Ormond Beach to Sarasota, Florida in BGB's dually and picked up a new 991 Carrera S engine. I drove back to Ormond Beach and had the extra parts installed on the new engine and replaced my Boxster S engine with the modified Carrera S engine.

The four-year warranty on the original engine disappeared along with the engine itself. Poof! They called all the stuff in the box on the pallet an X51 Power Kit. I also bought some other stuff including two Fabspeed headers, two performance catalytic convertors, and mufflers and two BMC high-flow air filters.

The BGB people told me that the car would be considerably more powerful and faster. If I wanted proper stopping, they suggested I install some larger brakes. I agreed, and they installed two 991 6 Piston Calipers w/pads along with 340 mm rotors on the front of the car. This also adds a little extra front weight for handling on the ice. There is quite a contrast between the size of the front and rear brakes now, but the color matches. Very attractive.

I have since taken the car to a dynamometer and have 375 sea-level-adjusted rear-wheel horsepower, which I believe equates to somewhere around 430 engine horsepower. It took some serious tinkering to get everything right, and now I have more power and wonderful drivability. I get 20 around-town miles per gallon and 25 on the highway.

If you nail the car here, even at 5,280 feet, it lurches forward, wanting to break traction in the first three gears. If it were not for the traction control system, much of my motion might be lateral rather than forward.

I still have lots to learn, including how to drive this car around High Plains Raceway and Pueblo, but this was a great way to immerse my toes into the world of Porsche. I now understand the difference between a 981 and a 991 and hope to improve my seven-second victory in my class at next winter's Eiskhana.