Warming to the 991!
Discussion
This morning I had the pleasure of an OPC day at the Silverstone Porsche facility driving the 991s.
To save you the full verdict, I thought it was epic!
Maybe this is due to the comfort/abstraction levels of my current 1M coupe, maybe I've been too long out of the GT3, but it was seriously impressive.
Objectively:
1) The manual gearshift was precise if a little less positive than the 997.1 GT3; to be expected given their respective likely usage profiles. The gearing itself suited the car's torque and power curves perfectly on track, although admittedly I didn't get any higher than 3rd.
2) The engine note is particularly entertaining, PSE works wonders on overrun with entertaining crackles. The engine itself, while no Mezger, is wonderfully vocal, linear in delivery up until that last 1000 revs where is gets it's second wind and yelps up towards the red zone.
I won't go on about the chassis as its been discussed ad-nauseum here and in mags.
Maybe I'm getting soft but I really enjoyed the car and have come away with a positive overall view of it.
I decided to book an 'RS evolution' day there as a little half day gift to me so will post up some comparisons then.
Happy days though; great way to spend a morning
To save you the full verdict, I thought it was epic!
Maybe this is due to the comfort/abstraction levels of my current 1M coupe, maybe I've been too long out of the GT3, but it was seriously impressive.
Objectively:
1) The manual gearshift was precise if a little less positive than the 997.1 GT3; to be expected given their respective likely usage profiles. The gearing itself suited the car's torque and power curves perfectly on track, although admittedly I didn't get any higher than 3rd.
2) The engine note is particularly entertaining, PSE works wonders on overrun with entertaining crackles. The engine itself, while no Mezger, is wonderfully vocal, linear in delivery up until that last 1000 revs where is gets it's second wind and yelps up towards the red zone.
I won't go on about the chassis as its been discussed ad-nauseum here and in mags.
Maybe I'm getting soft but I really enjoyed the car and have come away with a positive overall view of it.
I decided to book an 'RS evolution' day there as a little half day gift to me so will post up some comparisons then.
Happy days though; great way to spend a morning
Interestingly enough; speaking to the driving coach, the busy typography on the rear of the car is due to the Chinese market and the importance of financial status; ie to say to all and sundry 'I've got a Porsche'.
Rather a shame I feel. Hell if they're still good to drive, there's always the badge delete option.
Rather a shame I feel. Hell if they're still good to drive, there's always the badge delete option.
drpep said:
Carl_Docklands said:
Pep - do silverstone have any 991 cars with the Aerokit yet ?
Yeah they had an awesome looking one in Speed Yellow. It really looked fantastic; GT3 levels of' imposing'. I'm not sure about the rear spoiler though; end winglets look a bit naff.drpep said:
Interestingly enough; speaking to the driving coach, the busy typography on the rear of the car is due to the Chinese market and the importance of financial status; ie to say to all and sundry 'I've got a Porsche'.
Rather a shame I feel. Hell if they're still good to drive, there's always the badge delete option.
Really? My understanding was that the larger models were far more aspirational in China. Certainly when I visited Beijing I saw lots of A6 and A8s not to mention large SUVs. Rather a shame I feel. Hell if they're still good to drive, there's always the badge delete option.
Personally I quite like the "retro" PORSCHE lettering on the back of my 991. You can even have these painted in the same colour as the body which is quite cool. There's always the option of removing these altogether and replacing with something altogether different as I've seen some of the US owners do. Mind you they take modifications to a completely new level!
drpep said:
This morning I had the pleasure of an OPC day at the Silverstone Porsche facility driving the 991s.
To save you the full verdict, I thought it was epic!
Maybe this is due to the comfort/abstraction levels of my current 1M coupe, maybe I've been too long out of the GT3, but it was seriously impressive.
Objectively:
1) The manual gearshift was precise if a little less positive than the 997.1 GT3; to be expected given their respective likely usage profiles. The gearing itself suited the car's torque and power curves perfectly on track, although admittedly I didn't get any higher than 3rd.
2) The engine note is particularly entertaining, PSE works wonders on overrun with entertaining crackles. The engine itself, while no Mezger, is wonderfully vocal, linear in delivery up until that last 1000 revs where is gets it's second wind and yelps up towards the red zone.
I won't go on about the chassis as its been discussed ad-nauseum here and in mags.
Maybe I'm getting soft but I really enjoyed the car and have come away with a positive overall view of it.
I decided to book an 'RS evolution' day there as a little half day gift to me so will post up some comparisons then.
Happy days though; great way to spend a morning
All due respect but they are your subjective, not objective, views.To save you the full verdict, I thought it was epic!
Maybe this is due to the comfort/abstraction levels of my current 1M coupe, maybe I've been too long out of the GT3, but it was seriously impressive.
Objectively:
1) The manual gearshift was precise if a little less positive than the 997.1 GT3; to be expected given their respective likely usage profiles. The gearing itself suited the car's torque and power curves perfectly on track, although admittedly I didn't get any higher than 3rd.
2) The engine note is particularly entertaining, PSE works wonders on overrun with entertaining crackles. The engine itself, while no Mezger, is wonderfully vocal, linear in delivery up until that last 1000 revs where is gets it's second wind and yelps up towards the red zone.
I won't go on about the chassis as its been discussed ad-nauseum here and in mags.
Maybe I'm getting soft but I really enjoyed the car and have come away with a positive overall view of it.
I decided to book an 'RS evolution' day there as a little half day gift to me so will post up some comparisons then.
Happy days though; great way to spend a morning
drpep said:
Interestingly enough; speaking to the driving coach, the busy typography on the rear of the car is due to the Chinese market and the importance of financial status; ie to say to all and sundry 'I've got a Porsche'.
the driving coaches don't even work for Porsche, they are like taxis, hired when needed by Porsche. your chap was proferring his own theory made more 'official' as apparently he's also in Porsche AG's marketing department.Chinese buy Cayennes and Panameras, not 911s. Sports cars are not an indicator of status in China.
drpep said:
I decided to book an 'RS evolution' day there as a little half day gift to me so will post up some comparisons then.
Happy days though; great way to spend a morning
Glad you had a great time - would be interesting to hear your opinion of the 991 after the RS course... Happy days though; great way to spend a morning
After driving the 991 Carrera at PEC I got out thinking how much better the 3.8 RS is as a drivers car. Much more feedback and much more involving than the 991. I hope the 991 RS will supersede the 3.8 RS properly.
SonnyM said:
Glad you had a great time - would be interesting to hear your opinion of the 991 after the RS course...
After driving the 991 Carrera at PEC I got out thinking how much better the 3.8 RS is as a drivers car. Much more feedback and much more involving than the 991. I hope the 991 RS will supersede the 3.8 RS properly.
DSM2 - you're quite right! I stand corrected.After driving the 991 Carrera at PEC I got out thinking how much better the 3.8 RS is as a drivers car. Much more feedback and much more involving than the 991. I hope the 991 RS will supersede the 3.8 RS properly.
SFO - Interesting; didn't know they were contract chappies. He was very good in all other respects nonetheless.
SonnyM - Can't wait for it! Think I booked it more out of wanting to get back into a GT3! It'll be an interesting comparison to make nonetheless, given I was happy as a pig in poop in my late 997.1 GT3.
DSM2 said:
drpep said:
This morning I had the pleasure of an OPC day at the Silverstone Porsche facility driving the 991s.
To save you the full verdict, I thought it was epic!
Maybe this is due to the comfort/abstraction levels of my current 1M coupe, maybe I've been too long out of the GT3, but it was seriously impressive.
Objectively:
1) The manual gearshift was precise if a little less positive than the 997.1 GT3; to be expected given their respective likely usage profiles. The gearing itself suited the car's torque and power curves perfectly on track, although admittedly I didn't get any higher than 3rd.
2) The engine note is particularly entertaining, PSE works wonders on overrun with entertaining crackles. The engine itself, while no Mezger, is wonderfully vocal, linear in delivery up until that last 1000 revs where is gets it's second wind and yelps up towards the red zone.
I won't go on about the chassis as its been discussed ad-nauseum here and in mags.
Maybe I'm getting soft but I really enjoyed the car and have come away with a positive overall view of it.
I decided to book an 'RS evolution' day there as a little half day gift to me so will post up some comparisons then.
Happy days though; great way to spend a morning
All due respect but they are your subjective, not objective, views.To save you the full verdict, I thought it was epic!
Maybe this is due to the comfort/abstraction levels of my current 1M coupe, maybe I've been too long out of the GT3, but it was seriously impressive.
Objectively:
1) The manual gearshift was precise if a little less positive than the 997.1 GT3; to be expected given their respective likely usage profiles. The gearing itself suited the car's torque and power curves perfectly on track, although admittedly I didn't get any higher than 3rd.
2) The engine note is particularly entertaining, PSE works wonders on overrun with entertaining crackles. The engine itself, while no Mezger, is wonderfully vocal, linear in delivery up until that last 1000 revs where is gets it's second wind and yelps up towards the red zone.
I won't go on about the chassis as its been discussed ad-nauseum here and in mags.
Maybe I'm getting soft but I really enjoyed the car and have come away with a positive overall view of it.
I decided to book an 'RS evolution' day there as a little half day gift to me so will post up some comparisons then.
Happy days though; great way to spend a morning
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