[spuggy]

Dennis, I went back to the UK for over a year and took my 911 with me. Drove it legally on US plates without re-registering it.

If it's the same in Holland (and I think it'd be pretty similar, as most of the law seemed to be EU law), the important thing to remember is that you're NOT importing the car, as that implies permanently importing it. If you did that you need to pass local inspection, register it to put it on local plates (which implies surrendering the title with the export Customs stamp) and tax/insure it - and THEN go through the reverse fuster cluck if you return it.

At least in the US, Federal/EPA regulations REALLY have the potential to ruin your day coming back, as even if most Customs folks think old cars are exempt, they're actually not (reading the regulations is quite scary). Re-importing the car also probably won't be easier if you're turning up with a EU-issued title (having surrendered it in the EU to register over there), as opposed to showing your locally-issued one with the local Customs export stamp on it on re-entry...

If it's a temporary import, it stays on the original plates, no need to tax it, no duty to pay and it's perfectly legal to drive on the road over there so long as you keep your state/province tabs up-to-date. Pretty much the same terms and arrangement as someone from France driving their car to Germany to live/work there for a few months.

You might need to do things like fit Euro rear lenses, use the city lights in H4's and disable the yellow marker lights to comply with local traffic laws. I had mine inspected as well, (even though UK law says nothing about it being a requirement), simply because it would have been easier than arguing with the Polizei at the side of the road.

Another advantage of sticking with your original plates is that you become pretty much invisible to the Police, unless you do something outrageous. They'll eyeball you with interest, but they really don't want to deal with the potential for lots of extra paperwork...

Insurance can be a pain, because most local companies will insist that you have to register it, that it needs to be on local plates or they can't cut a policy - which is actually untrue, but you'll never get to talk to anyone with the ability/authority to write the policy, so it might as well be.

I ended up using GEICO, who have an International division who started because they'd write ex-pat policies for military types - who also aren't required to register vehicles for temporary stays of a fixed duration. Expect to have to buy auto cover in whatever periods are usual locally (it's a year at a time in the UK) - but it's refundable when you return, of course. I also used them for the Marine insurance (in case the ship sinks, or the car falls off the dock).

Happy to share if you got questions.