Kensington in London and Frogner in Oslo have several similarities.
Quiet residential areas close to the city center that attract people with good incomes. Both areas were developed in the era before mass motoring, so that almost everyone has to park along the street. You don't have to walk far to spot a Porsche, BMW M series or classic vintage car. This year's cold Easter did not tempt anyone to take out the vintage car yet. At Skillebekk I found a stately Alvis TD21 Drophead Coupé. Large British car with a 3 liter inline six. There are cars that can safely be characterized as a gentleman's car and are mentioned in the same breath as Jaguar and Bentley. Only Anglophile car enthusiasts here at home know about the brand. As far as I know, no importation of Alvis into Norway was ever established.
991, please
I find several Porsche 911s in the streets. I feel slightly blasé. It is difficult to decide which 911 I should photograph. At the housing estate on lower Gimle, I found a 911 from the last generation (991) that came in 2012. Well, a 991.1 – not the very latest, 991.2, – although there is little difference in appearance between the two. Porsche, with the internal designation 991, is built on a completely new platform compared to previous models (997). With a longer wheelbase, it looks significantly better with larger wheels than its older brothers. You don't think about it until you've seen several Porsches. At Frogner you can.
I choose something in orange
I am photographing an orange Audi TT S. Orange, yellow and red cars stand out among today's gray tones. In the TT S version, more power is extracted from the 2,0 TFSI engine. 272 HP and 350 Nm from 2500 rpm means that the Golf-based car can live up to its fresh image. Frogner appeals not only to rich people, but also to artists, actors and artists - people who stand out as individualists. I wonder if you find a higher proportion of orange, yellow and red cars in Frogner than elsewhere in the country?
A rare find
That people at Frogner are more concerned with aesthetics and artistic values is evident when I pass a Citroën CX. A CX with plates is almost impossible to get hold of today, even in Citroën's homeland, France. I know because I have been on the lookout several times. This is one of the last, - a CX 25 GTI. It has conventional round instrument bells, but hydropneumatic suspension. A real Citroën. It's amazing to think that this great design dates back to the early 70s.
The Porsche 911 has a distinctive, somewhat strict design
I notice how well the simple and clean design suits the strict architecture at Frogner. The buildings from the 20s and 30s are free of the decorations and extravagance of the turn of the century. The silhouette of the 911 is also free of frills, if you ignore the painted brake calipers. Although, they signal well function and not decorations? German-inspired architecture from the interwar period fits well as a background for this great 911 (also a 991.1). The background would also have been well suited to a black vintage wagon with a split rear window, too.
So if you don't have time to go to Kensington to look at great cars and architecture, you can just go to Frogner 🙂
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