Evening all, been a while since I posted on here since having my last 911 back in 2010, a 997.2 Turbo. Here's a quick picture of collection day for old times sake...
More recently progressed through a few AMG's (SLS, GT etc) and then a gen-2 R8 V10+, a spectacularly good car but for two things - an appalling (almost undamped) low speed ride and horrendous durability / reliability. I've gone through two in the last 12 months, the first one was replaced after 6 months and the second one behaved even worse than the first. Shame, because as something that feels really special and have a wow factor every single day (when it was working) I've not experienced better. Interesting reading some threads on here where some are considering a new R8, and I totally get why because it's certainly more of an event than most 911's ever will be.
Anyway, back to Porsche, having got my wife a Cayenne S diesel last year which was faultless, and just about to swap that for a new Macan Turbo next week, I'm feeling the Porsche bug again and thought I may as well swap my sports car for one that'll hopefully work everyday. Which leads me onto the 911, and the dilemma a few weeks ago was 'which 911'?
A Turbo S makes the most natural replacement for the R8 in terms of performance, but I always remember not actually liking my previous 997 Turbo as much as the Carrera's of their time.
And so it proved with the 991, after having a 991.2 C2S demo for a weekend followed by a Turbo S test drive at Silverstone, I'm afraid to say that I just found the C2S so much more enjoyable.
Sure, the C2S was nowhere near as fast as either the Turbo S or the R8, but it's as fast as anyone can really go on the public road (and I say that with utter conviction even coming out of a 600+hp car). It's also so much more 'drivable' on our congested, broken and heavily legislated roads and it can be revved out properly without needing to see 150 on the speedo; it's just a more feelsome experience more of the time. The new Carrera turbo may 'only' rev to 7.5k but it's more than the full-fat Turbo and, whilst the R8 revved to 9k, you try holding it anything above 7k for any period of time....you can't, it simply revs too fast and goes too fast!
I was also super impressed with the PDK, which is notably smoother than the Audi's DCT. The new chassis tech fitted to the demo cars I drove was astonishingly good; the rear wheel steering is spectacular in how it almost eradicates the 911's natural tendency to initially understeer, it makes the car über stable at speed and it just adds to the whole experience. It's also my first experience of PDCC and I must say, I do like the totally roll-free body control.
I was expecting to be a bit non-plussed about the new turbo engine, having had many turbocharged cars previously and never being that enthralled by them (BMW's newer M cars, AMG GT etc.). Coming out the spectacular N/A V10 in the R8 just added to the 911's uphill battle. But I'm VERY impressed, it's easily the best turbo I've driven by a considerable margin - throttle response is good and, crucially, it's consistent. OK, it's not spectacular because you can feel a momentary (and I mean split-second) delay when coming off then back on the throttle, but neither is it a detriment to the experience. But even better is that inside the car, it still sounds pure Porsche flat 6 - it has that hollow howl we all love, but maybe the volume is at 9 instead of 10 in the N/A cars.
Shame the sound is less spectacular on the outside, but then that's maybe the price for what was a very strong performance - I didn't feel I was lacking anything despite being 150+hp down on what I'm used to, however that'll be because the 911's power in the 3-6k rpm range will be very similar to, if not more than, the R8's at similar revs (where the extra power is at the top end where it was rarely driven). 25+mpg was also rather pleasant after being used to <15mpg.
So, Carrera it is then, and I placed an order for a C4 GTS a few weeks ago and am now just waiting for a build date.
I must admit I'm having second thoughts about choosing the 4wd version, because I do want a balanced car that can move around and I don't want an understeery car. It might sound like I should just save £6k and go for the 2wd but I went for a C4 on the basis I really like the light bar and it will enable deployment of it's power more of the time on our wet, greasy roads.
I also enjoyed the Quattro drivetrain in the R8; it was a very good system with an electrically-controlled centre diff allowing anything from full front to full rear wheel drive. I understand the 911 system is very similar, and the videos I've seen / the road tests I've read suggest the 4wd Carrera is definitely not prone to undertseer and can rotate with the best of them, however I welcome opinions from C4 owners.
Spec is a touch indulgent and currently sits as follows:
Carrera 4 GTS PDK
Carmine red
Black 20" centre locks
Alcantara package GTS Carmine Red
PDCC
-20mm PASM sports suspension
Rear-axle steering
Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake
LED main headlights
Porsche Entry & Drive
ParkAssist (front and rear) with reversing camera
Privacy glass (rear side windows and rear window)
Fuel filler cap with aluminium look finish
Power steering plus
Adaptive cruise control
Lane change assist
Speed limit display
Dimming mirrors and rain sensor
Light design package
GT Sport steering in leather
Heated multifunction steering wheel
18-way adaptive sports seats plus
Seat heating
Smoking package
Passenger footwell storage net
Steering column casing in leather
Sports seat plus backrests in leather
Extended interior package door panel in leather/alcantara
Sun visors in alcantara
Illuminated stainless steel door guards
Burmester
In the meantime, the R8 has sadly gone so whilst I wait for the 911 I've bought myself this Boxster S. It's in such good condition, almost new in some respects, and it makes a nice change to have something a bit older and down to earth (is it wrong I'm probably enjoying this more than the R8 ?). However it'll probably be my wife driving this as she's likes the whole cab thing (I'm not a fan really) and I'll happily run around in her new Macan
More recently progressed through a few AMG's (SLS, GT etc) and then a gen-2 R8 V10+, a spectacularly good car but for two things - an appalling (almost undamped) low speed ride and horrendous durability / reliability. I've gone through two in the last 12 months, the first one was replaced after 6 months and the second one behaved even worse than the first. Shame, because as something that feels really special and have a wow factor every single day (when it was working) I've not experienced better. Interesting reading some threads on here where some are considering a new R8, and I totally get why because it's certainly more of an event than most 911's ever will be.
Anyway, back to Porsche, having got my wife a Cayenne S diesel last year which was faultless, and just about to swap that for a new Macan Turbo next week, I'm feeling the Porsche bug again and thought I may as well swap my sports car for one that'll hopefully work everyday. Which leads me onto the 911, and the dilemma a few weeks ago was 'which 911'?
A Turbo S makes the most natural replacement for the R8 in terms of performance, but I always remember not actually liking my previous 997 Turbo as much as the Carrera's of their time.
And so it proved with the 991, after having a 991.2 C2S demo for a weekend followed by a Turbo S test drive at Silverstone, I'm afraid to say that I just found the C2S so much more enjoyable.
Sure, the C2S was nowhere near as fast as either the Turbo S or the R8, but it's as fast as anyone can really go on the public road (and I say that with utter conviction even coming out of a 600+hp car). It's also so much more 'drivable' on our congested, broken and heavily legislated roads and it can be revved out properly without needing to see 150 on the speedo; it's just a more feelsome experience more of the time. The new Carrera turbo may 'only' rev to 7.5k but it's more than the full-fat Turbo and, whilst the R8 revved to 9k, you try holding it anything above 7k for any period of time....you can't, it simply revs too fast and goes too fast!
I was also super impressed with the PDK, which is notably smoother than the Audi's DCT. The new chassis tech fitted to the demo cars I drove was astonishingly good; the rear wheel steering is spectacular in how it almost eradicates the 911's natural tendency to initially understeer, it makes the car über stable at speed and it just adds to the whole experience. It's also my first experience of PDCC and I must say, I do like the totally roll-free body control.
I was expecting to be a bit non-plussed about the new turbo engine, having had many turbocharged cars previously and never being that enthralled by them (BMW's newer M cars, AMG GT etc.). Coming out the spectacular N/A V10 in the R8 just added to the 911's uphill battle. But I'm VERY impressed, it's easily the best turbo I've driven by a considerable margin - throttle response is good and, crucially, it's consistent. OK, it's not spectacular because you can feel a momentary (and I mean split-second) delay when coming off then back on the throttle, but neither is it a detriment to the experience. But even better is that inside the car, it still sounds pure Porsche flat 6 - it has that hollow howl we all love, but maybe the volume is at 9 instead of 10 in the N/A cars.
Shame the sound is less spectacular on the outside, but then that's maybe the price for what was a very strong performance - I didn't feel I was lacking anything despite being 150+hp down on what I'm used to, however that'll be because the 911's power in the 3-6k rpm range will be very similar to, if not more than, the R8's at similar revs (where the extra power is at the top end where it was rarely driven). 25+mpg was also rather pleasant after being used to <15mpg.
So, Carrera it is then, and I placed an order for a C4 GTS a few weeks ago and am now just waiting for a build date.
I must admit I'm having second thoughts about choosing the 4wd version, because I do want a balanced car that can move around and I don't want an understeery car. It might sound like I should just save £6k and go for the 2wd but I went for a C4 on the basis I really like the light bar and it will enable deployment of it's power more of the time on our wet, greasy roads.
I also enjoyed the Quattro drivetrain in the R8; it was a very good system with an electrically-controlled centre diff allowing anything from full front to full rear wheel drive. I understand the 911 system is very similar, and the videos I've seen / the road tests I've read suggest the 4wd Carrera is definitely not prone to undertseer and can rotate with the best of them, however I welcome opinions from C4 owners.
Spec is a touch indulgent and currently sits as follows:
Carrera 4 GTS PDK
Carmine red
Black 20" centre locks
Alcantara package GTS Carmine Red
PDCC
-20mm PASM sports suspension
Rear-axle steering
Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake
LED main headlights
Porsche Entry & Drive
ParkAssist (front and rear) with reversing camera
Privacy glass (rear side windows and rear window)
Fuel filler cap with aluminium look finish
Power steering plus
Adaptive cruise control
Lane change assist
Speed limit display
Dimming mirrors and rain sensor
Light design package
GT Sport steering in leather
Heated multifunction steering wheel
18-way adaptive sports seats plus
Seat heating
Smoking package
Passenger footwell storage net
Steering column casing in leather
Sports seat plus backrests in leather
Extended interior package door panel in leather/alcantara
Sun visors in alcantara
Illuminated stainless steel door guards
Burmester
In the meantime, the R8 has sadly gone so whilst I wait for the 911 I've bought myself this Boxster S. It's in such good condition, almost new in some respects, and it makes a nice change to have something a bit older and down to earth (is it wrong I'm probably enjoying this more than the R8 ?). However it'll probably be my wife driving this as she's likes the whole cab thing (I'm not a fan really) and I'll happily run around in her new Macan