An Unforgettable Start in the Taycan

Her driving students appreciate this approach, but it’s not the only thing that makes learning at Øie Trafikkskole so appealing. Sonja Petersen offers driving lessons in a Taycan 4 Cross Turismo. “I had long dreamed of owning a Porsche,” says the 51-year-old. “And just before my 50th birthday, I discovered a Taycan in Volcano Grey Metallic on an Internet platform. It only had 27,400 kilometers on the odometer and was the exact car I’d been waiting for.” Petersen discovered the ad during a driving school conference in Trondheim. On her way home, she took a detour to Oslo to see the car and ended up purchasing it – without even informing her husband, Erik, beforehand. “It was obviously love at first sight,” he says with a grin. “Much like with Sonja and me.”

“I really like the Taycan’s design, so I don’t want to take away from it with lettering,” says Petersen. Instead, she acquired custom license plates featuring her middle name, “Øie,” on the white panel at the front and back, which is Norwegian for “eye” and the name of her driving school. In Norway, custom license plates like these cost around 1,000 euros and are granted for a period of 10 years.

But they make her Taycan stand out. Although, there hasn’t been much need to advertise for Øie Trafikkskole since she began using the electric sports sedan. “Everyone knows just about everyone else here in the area, so it didn’t take long for word to spread that I offer lessons in a Porsche,” explains Petersen. That message even made it all the way to Jens Aksel Jorde, who lives in Oslo some 200 kilometers away. The 18-year-old student and up-and-coming mountain bike professional had his heart set on driving lessons with Sonja Petersen. “Our family owns a cabin not too far from Fagernes. So over the past few months, I’ve used many weekend trips to the mountains as an excuse to take driving lessons.”

Jorde obtained his driver’s license just after his 18th birthday in January of this year. “As a driving school car, the Taycan was the ideal motivation for me. It was driving as I had imagined it – steering, braking, accelerating. Everything feels unfiltered and powerful – and as the driver, you’re right at the center of all the action.” Jorde is well acquainted with this level of focus from training and his competitions. He plans to compete as a Junior in the Mountain Bike World Series in Val di Sole, Italy, in late August and can now drive himself to the preparatory races in the coming months. His parents’ van has plenty of space for his bike and equipment.

Particularly in regions like the sparsely populated Valdres, where towns are far apart and the routes are difficult and often long due to lakes, gorges, moors, and mountain ranges, a car and a driver’s license can offer a whole lot of freedom and be key to maintaining any sort of a social life. Last year alone, around 70 people attended Øie Trafikkskole and then passed their driving test. In Norway, 16-year-olds are allowed to drive under the supervision of an adult who is 25 years of age or older and has had a driver’s license for at least five years. That’s how many teens first gain experience. This is followed by 19 mandatory hours of driving lessons at the driving school. Drivers have to get at least 38 of the 45 questions correct to pass the theory test, after which they can take the practical test.

Frida Grindaker-Ask and Margerita Sotomayor, both 18 years old and school friends in Fagernes, are former students. And for them, as for just about everyone else, driving lessons with Sonja Petersen were their first experience ever with a Porsche. “I was scared to start with, especially with such an expensive car. You definitely don’t want to break anything,” says Frida, recalling her unease when she first laid her hands on the three-spoke leather steering wheel. “But I got over it pretty fast because the Taycan is easy to control with just a little practice.” But according to Frida, there is one problem. After spending more than 20 hours driving a sports car like that, you have high expectations when it comes to cars. “And one thing is clear. I won’t have the opportunity to drive a vehicle like that again anytime soon.” Margerita adds, “Even in really severe winter weather, which lasts for months and months here in Fagernes, you feel safe in the Taycan.” As she says this, she gingerly guides the electric all-wheel drive with 300 kW over the snow-covered panoramic road that extends through the Vaset ski region some 12 kilometers west of Fagernes. Driving lessons in snow and ice, on winding roads and rough gravel tracks, with the winter sun low on the horizon, or in thick fog – that’s everyday life here. Petersen teaches in just about every kind of weather – the only exception is snow storms, when the snow hasn’t been cleared yet.

Sonja Petersen always pays close attention to road traffic. She doesn’t worry about an inattentive student scratching the vehicle. “I have the feeling that my students are especially careful when driving the Taycan. And there are always the pedals on my side, just in case,” she says with a laugh. After more than a year of outstanding experiences with the driving school car, there’s now an entirely different question on Petersen’s mind. “Eventually, my biggest problem will be choosing the next car.”