New Porsche 991 Test Drive Today
02-12-2012, 11:08 PM
#1
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Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Fairfax County, Virginia
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New Porsche 991 Test Drive Today
Today I got to drive a new 991 and broke my cardinal rule which is "Never Drive
Something You Can't Afford to Buy". There's a reason I have that self-imposed
restriction, and that's because now I am plotting some way to get a new Carrera
S with PDK. Bank robbery is not being ruled out...nor is selling my children to
a high bidder. Its that good.
How did lowly I, just a run-of-the-mill PCA member get a drive? Well, Tysons
Porsche had an unveiling party today of the 991 for PCA members in Vienna VA.
They had not one car to show, but four. Two were static in the showroom and two
were in the parking lot. There were so many people that wanted to drive one
that they used a lottery system, literally drawing names out of the hat. I got
lucky and my name was pulled from the jar.
I have owned (3) 911's before - my most recent of that series was a '96 993 C4S.
I've driven a lot of high-line cars over the years (nothing super exotic,
however) and I have to say this new 991 just blew me away. Its not just the
speed, but the GRACE of the car as it performs its task. This is by far the
quietest, smoothest and capable 911 I have ever driven. It feels very BMW-like
moving in traffic, and when the road clears and you can cut it loose, the
Porsche comes out of it in a big way with great and clear howling noises from
behind the headrest that make you grin with glee. There is no way in the
world my Boxster S sounds like this..no way.
With a little urging from the salesman ("feel free to see what it will do") I
ran it up to 110 mph off the freeway ramp as we blasted into the traffic lanes
on the Dulles Toll Road. It was....fantastic. What can I say? It flat out
nails a 10 out of 10 on the fun factor. It was only 30 degrees out today and VA
VDOT had put tons of pre-treatment for the snowstorm that never showed up last
night, so I was respectful of having summer performance tires on a car I did not
own and avoided pasting it too hard on the backroad corners as we came off the
expressway. But the 911 'gotcha' that was in all my old cars is
gone...banished. There's not a trace of it at all.
This was a PDK car. I'd never driven a PDK tranny and am a pretty die-hard
manual shifter guy. My mind was changed today and my next Porsche will have a
PDK. What a blast working the paddle shifter on the steering wheel...like a
video game and I found myself triggering it more than I need to just to hear the
computer controlled engine blips as it rev-matched. More Fun. Big Fun.
As I parked the car after the 15 minute test drive, I forgot all about my 987 in
the garage at home. It's yesterday's news and now I have a new love. I'm sure
there are ways to improve this car, but I honestly don't know what they might
be. Its as close to the perfect sports car as I've ever driven.
Photo taken by fellow PCA member as I buckled up.
Something You Can't Afford to Buy". There's a reason I have that self-imposed
restriction, and that's because now I am plotting some way to get a new Carrera
S with PDK. Bank robbery is not being ruled out...nor is selling my children to
a high bidder. Its that good.
How did lowly I, just a run-of-the-mill PCA member get a drive? Well, Tysons
Porsche had an unveiling party today of the 991 for PCA members in Vienna VA.
They had not one car to show, but four. Two were static in the showroom and two
were in the parking lot. There were so many people that wanted to drive one
that they used a lottery system, literally drawing names out of the hat. I got
lucky and my name was pulled from the jar.
I have owned (3) 911's before - my most recent of that series was a '96 993 C4S.
I've driven a lot of high-line cars over the years (nothing super exotic,
however) and I have to say this new 991 just blew me away. Its not just the
speed, but the GRACE of the car as it performs its task. This is by far the
quietest, smoothest and capable 911 I have ever driven. It feels very BMW-like
moving in traffic, and when the road clears and you can cut it loose, the
Porsche comes out of it in a big way with great and clear howling noises from
behind the headrest that make you grin with glee. There is no way in the
world my Boxster S sounds like this..no way.
With a little urging from the salesman ("feel free to see what it will do") I
ran it up to 110 mph off the freeway ramp as we blasted into the traffic lanes
on the Dulles Toll Road. It was....fantastic. What can I say? It flat out
nails a 10 out of 10 on the fun factor. It was only 30 degrees out today and VA
VDOT had put tons of pre-treatment for the snowstorm that never showed up last
night, so I was respectful of having summer performance tires on a car I did not
own and avoided pasting it too hard on the backroad corners as we came off the
expressway. But the 911 'gotcha' that was in all my old cars is
gone...banished. There's not a trace of it at all.
This was a PDK car. I'd never driven a PDK tranny and am a pretty die-hard
manual shifter guy. My mind was changed today and my next Porsche will have a
PDK. What a blast working the paddle shifter on the steering wheel...like a
video game and I found myself triggering it more than I need to just to hear the
computer controlled engine blips as it rev-matched. More Fun. Big Fun.
As I parked the car after the 15 minute test drive, I forgot all about my 987 in
the garage at home. It's yesterday's news and now I have a new love. I'm sure
there are ways to improve this car, but I honestly don't know what they might
be. Its as close to the perfect sports car as I've ever driven.
Photo taken by fellow PCA member as I buckled up.
02-12-2012, 11:32 PM
#3
I have that same rule.
I will try not to drive the 991 anytime soon
