Hi there
Arrived at Porsche at dinner time, was greeted by a lovely young lady and sat down in a waiting area where two customers quizzed me about the EVO X and how much they liked it and what I thought to it. They were waiting for something to be done with a 911, was surprised about 911 owners liking EVO's but Porsche themselves and the instructor also had a lot of respect for it, though mentioning GTR's seemed a bad word at Porsche which was met with silence, anyway moving on.
Sat down with salesman and he said what do I want and I told him how I'd got lucky to drive a friends 997 Turbo TIP earlier and loved it and that I *might* stretch to one used at the right money if they could source one around 50k with OPC warranty and to my surprise they said if I was happy with Cobalt blue they probably could do so as thats my favourite colour, but according to Porsche it was the least common colour. I said I wanted to check out a Cayman S gen2 and a 911 C2S.
Unfortunately they had no used Cayman S gen2 or a demo, they offered me a Boxster Spyder instead but I looked at it and said I want a roof so dismissed taking that out.
So they let me in the newest used Cayman S which was a 2009 manual with 290BHP, it had only done around 11,000 miles and felt very new. Driving this was very easy, infact the car was absolutely stunning to drive, it felt so pointy and very lively on its feet. The salesman took me around some excellent country twisty roads, roundabouts and dual carriage ways so I could really drive the car in all types of driving.
The steering on the Cayman S was razor sharp and I'd say medium ish weighted, I found the car superb and so so planted. The communication from the steering and all 4 wheels was immense and it really did make driving it a pleasure. The gearbox was simply gorgeous, changing gear and rev matching was a breeze. Performance wise the Cayman S needs revving, sub 4000rpm its quite flat but beyond 4000rpm you hear the engine come on cam and it pulls really well, infact when on the boil I was amazed by how quick this car was for a sub 300BHP car I've not driven anything faster. The Impreza I drove a few weeks back that had 330BHP would be left for dead by this Cayman S beyond 60mph as the acceleration once moving seemed very very strong, surprisingly good. Handling wise the car seemed perfect, I pushed the car a bit and really piled it into some roundabouts expecting it to push wide but nothing happened it just went where pointed with no fuss, the only issue was my body trying to fight the G-forces. The Cayman S seemed perfectly balanced no understeer or oversteer, I never found its limit so at the limit am unsure how they handle. But I was quite taken by the Cayman S it was easy to drive quick and it felt on rails and very much a drivers car full of communication.
The 911 C2S I got very lucky, a customer had booked driver truition with a Silverstone instructor but cancelled so the sales guy asked if I'd like to go on the driver tuition drive with the instructor in the 911 C2S, off course I said yes. Had a good chat with the instructor regarding previous cars, trackdays etc at which point he said excellent, someone who knows about cars and buys them to drive them, not pose in them. He gave me the keys and said I probably know where the better roads are so left me to drive where I wanted, so I took the country roads between Wilmslow and Macclesfield and back on some dual carriage ways with many roundabouts to play with. This was a 2006 911 C2S with Porsche exhaust. The first thing I noticed is the 911 feels larger car but still shrinks around you and sub 4000rpm the 911 had a lot more grunt without a doubt. Accelerating hard though the 911 C2S did not seem really any quicker than the Cayman S, power wise top end they felt similar, it was the 911's torque at lower speeds which was very noticable and out of corners in higher gears when not on the boil.
Steering wise the C2S had the lightest steering, still loads of feel and very sharp, but attacking narrow bumpy roads what I did notice is how the 911's front end got light/floaty, even sometimes skipping across bumps. The instructor said all RWD 911's do this and the tactic is to not fight it just be relaxed and go with it as the front end will never move much, they move around and its something you just get used too. At no point though in this 911 did I ever feel it was gonna kill it me, the rear-end always felt glued down, even when booting it in 1st off the mark and out of corners in 2nd gear, infact the instructor said I am impressed that an EVO driver is driving a Porsche so well and is not treating the inputs like a hammer such as most EVO drivers do, haha.
The winning point for me of the C2S was the noise, at 6500rpm the note from the cabin/exhaust was simply amazing, truly WOW. There was a long sweeper and the instructor said apply power at the start and don't let off and you will see the 911's party piece, the backend just gripped the tarmec and catapulted out the end at crazy speed with no issues, the rear was so planted. The gearbox on this was not as good as the Caymans but that could be the fact this car was 3-4yr older as well. In comparison between the 911 and Cayman S I'd say the Cayman S felt more go-kart like and actually felt like a better chassis and certainly better in tighter corners and once moving the fact it only had 290BHP seemed not to be an issue, it was certainly noticably quicker than the 330BHP STI I drove by some distance. The 911 though did have more grunt low down and up top I'd say it would slightly edge the Cayman S but not by much, the 911's party piece of acceleration of the mark in 1st gear, it just nails it down and goes, thats engine in the boot for you. The main concern was front-end lightness and it skipping over bumps and I think because of that the car does require a different driving style as the driver needs to drive the car to dial out that understeer.
Both the Cayman S and 911 C2S had the gorgeous turbo wheels fitted and both were Basalt black, looked stunning clean. The 911 had better looks, sound, grunt low down and better of the mark with handling that felt great especially when on the power out of corners with delightful steering. I'd say the Cayman S had slightly better weighted steering and felt more tighter in tight turns and roundabouts and its front-end never skipped over bumps and it never pushed wide and its rear-end never budged, but it had less grunt, did not sound as a good but seemed practically as fast once on cam (above 4000rpm) with a better gearbox. Plus the sound on cam was addictive so with a Porsche exhaust might be very nice.
The instructor did assure me new 911s are not like ones of old, if you hit brakes mid corner or have to adjust line they won't bite you like old ones would, but he did say driving a 911 too its true ability and well is a smooth affair.
I also got lucky to meet up with a friend who owns a 997 Turbo Tiptronic and he gave me the keys. Now some of the Porsche purist may find this surprising but I felt the turbo had the better steering feel and out of all three cars it had the heaviest steering which I liked, maybe this is the diffs in the front? However the car never once felt like it was AWD infact it always felt RWD and my god that bose sound system is bloody amazing.
I found the power delivery and performance mind blowing and its certainly more shove in your seat and far quicker than the EVO everywhere in the rev range. The only good thing about the tiptronic for me was traffic light grandprix, all I had to do was stomp the loud pedal and what felt like 2s we were doing 60mph, it was mind blowing off the mark and so easy. Booting it at 50mph and again what felt like 3s had you in license loosing territory and it felt damn quick too with the turbos pushing you back in the seat. Though out of all three cars the turbo sounded the tamest, very quiet in the cabin, infact too quiet for a car of this genre.
Now the 911 turbo is the only one I felt that rear-end move, I purposely found a corner that was wet and eased in the power and purposely got on the power a bit too early to see how the rear moved and as expected it stepped out and a quick flick of the steering it was all in line with no drama but a lot of fun, did I correct it or did the computer, who knows but it was fun and felt safe. On bumpy twisty roads the turbo did not seem to float/bounce on the front-end like the C2S did, infact the Turbo's front end felt more planted, I am not putting this down to the 4WD but to the extra weight of the turbo and more weight over the nose.
I've driven 3 cars, all with turbo wheels and feel for me out of the Porsche fleet its gonna either be a Cayman S gen2 PDK or a 997 Turbo manual. I am possibly dismissing the 911 C2S because I felt it did not feel particulary quicker than the gen1 Cayman S once moving and the floaty front-end was a little off-putting. I am not dismissing the 911 C2S and may arrange a test drive in another one before I dismiss them or even try the C4S.
Before I forget the brakes on all three were fantastic and so so feelsome, they were very un-assisted and felt great, at first they felt weak but because they are not over-assisted you do have to push quite hard at which point they are very strong.
I am looking forward to getting an extended test drive in the Cayman S PDK as with 320BHP and PDK transmission I think that will have the grunt/performance to beat a 911 C2S once moving and if anything it will only handle better been a newer car, but the Cayman S was an epic joy to drive.
If I can find a 911 turbo for the right money it will be my favourite choice, its got the looks, immense performance, traction and feels so damn quick so I'd not bore of a lack of vroom vroom and if I did the turbo is hugely tunable relatively easily. Porsche did confirm any turbo they supplied even if old would have 2yr OPC warranty which would cover engine, box, differentials, basically anything expensive that breaks as they did mention engines popping/breaking are 10k plus bills so that warranty is a must.
So if I can stretch it right now I am wanting a 997 Turbo manual in cobalt blue as its got the power and looks, the only area it might be a bit weak is real bumpy and twisty b-roads which would mean driving it kind of just how I drove the Mustang and learn how to drive it properly.
Though I am very interested to see how a gen2 Cayman S with PDK drives, with the PDK and extra power it could just tip me in its favour.
Tomorrow I am off to Middlehurst to test drive an R35 GTR and then next weekend an BMW M3.
Arrived at Porsche at dinner time, was greeted by a lovely young lady and sat down in a waiting area where two customers quizzed me about the EVO X and how much they liked it and what I thought to it. They were waiting for something to be done with a 911, was surprised about 911 owners liking EVO's but Porsche themselves and the instructor also had a lot of respect for it, though mentioning GTR's seemed a bad word at Porsche which was met with silence, anyway moving on.
Sat down with salesman and he said what do I want and I told him how I'd got lucky to drive a friends 997 Turbo TIP earlier and loved it and that I *might* stretch to one used at the right money if they could source one around 50k with OPC warranty and to my surprise they said if I was happy with Cobalt blue they probably could do so as thats my favourite colour, but according to Porsche it was the least common colour. I said I wanted to check out a Cayman S gen2 and a 911 C2S.
Unfortunately they had no used Cayman S gen2 or a demo, they offered me a Boxster Spyder instead but I looked at it and said I want a roof so dismissed taking that out.
So they let me in the newest used Cayman S which was a 2009 manual with 290BHP, it had only done around 11,000 miles and felt very new. Driving this was very easy, infact the car was absolutely stunning to drive, it felt so pointy and very lively on its feet. The salesman took me around some excellent country twisty roads, roundabouts and dual carriage ways so I could really drive the car in all types of driving.
The steering on the Cayman S was razor sharp and I'd say medium ish weighted, I found the car superb and so so planted. The communication from the steering and all 4 wheels was immense and it really did make driving it a pleasure. The gearbox was simply gorgeous, changing gear and rev matching was a breeze. Performance wise the Cayman S needs revving, sub 4000rpm its quite flat but beyond 4000rpm you hear the engine come on cam and it pulls really well, infact when on the boil I was amazed by how quick this car was for a sub 300BHP car I've not driven anything faster. The Impreza I drove a few weeks back that had 330BHP would be left for dead by this Cayman S beyond 60mph as the acceleration once moving seemed very very strong, surprisingly good. Handling wise the car seemed perfect, I pushed the car a bit and really piled it into some roundabouts expecting it to push wide but nothing happened it just went where pointed with no fuss, the only issue was my body trying to fight the G-forces. The Cayman S seemed perfectly balanced no understeer or oversteer, I never found its limit so at the limit am unsure how they handle. But I was quite taken by the Cayman S it was easy to drive quick and it felt on rails and very much a drivers car full of communication.
The 911 C2S I got very lucky, a customer had booked driver truition with a Silverstone instructor but cancelled so the sales guy asked if I'd like to go on the driver tuition drive with the instructor in the 911 C2S, off course I said yes. Had a good chat with the instructor regarding previous cars, trackdays etc at which point he said excellent, someone who knows about cars and buys them to drive them, not pose in them. He gave me the keys and said I probably know where the better roads are so left me to drive where I wanted, so I took the country roads between Wilmslow and Macclesfield and back on some dual carriage ways with many roundabouts to play with. This was a 2006 911 C2S with Porsche exhaust. The first thing I noticed is the 911 feels larger car but still shrinks around you and sub 4000rpm the 911 had a lot more grunt without a doubt. Accelerating hard though the 911 C2S did not seem really any quicker than the Cayman S, power wise top end they felt similar, it was the 911's torque at lower speeds which was very noticable and out of corners in higher gears when not on the boil.
Steering wise the C2S had the lightest steering, still loads of feel and very sharp, but attacking narrow bumpy roads what I did notice is how the 911's front end got light/floaty, even sometimes skipping across bumps. The instructor said all RWD 911's do this and the tactic is to not fight it just be relaxed and go with it as the front end will never move much, they move around and its something you just get used too. At no point though in this 911 did I ever feel it was gonna kill it me, the rear-end always felt glued down, even when booting it in 1st off the mark and out of corners in 2nd gear, infact the instructor said I am impressed that an EVO driver is driving a Porsche so well and is not treating the inputs like a hammer such as most EVO drivers do, haha.
The winning point for me of the C2S was the noise, at 6500rpm the note from the cabin/exhaust was simply amazing, truly WOW. There was a long sweeper and the instructor said apply power at the start and don't let off and you will see the 911's party piece, the backend just gripped the tarmec and catapulted out the end at crazy speed with no issues, the rear was so planted. The gearbox on this was not as good as the Caymans but that could be the fact this car was 3-4yr older as well. In comparison between the 911 and Cayman S I'd say the Cayman S felt more go-kart like and actually felt like a better chassis and certainly better in tighter corners and once moving the fact it only had 290BHP seemed not to be an issue, it was certainly noticably quicker than the 330BHP STI I drove by some distance. The 911 though did have more grunt low down and up top I'd say it would slightly edge the Cayman S but not by much, the 911's party piece of acceleration of the mark in 1st gear, it just nails it down and goes, thats engine in the boot for you. The main concern was front-end lightness and it skipping over bumps and I think because of that the car does require a different driving style as the driver needs to drive the car to dial out that understeer.
Both the Cayman S and 911 C2S had the gorgeous turbo wheels fitted and both were Basalt black, looked stunning clean. The 911 had better looks, sound, grunt low down and better of the mark with handling that felt great especially when on the power out of corners with delightful steering. I'd say the Cayman S had slightly better weighted steering and felt more tighter in tight turns and roundabouts and its front-end never skipped over bumps and it never pushed wide and its rear-end never budged, but it had less grunt, did not sound as a good but seemed practically as fast once on cam (above 4000rpm) with a better gearbox. Plus the sound on cam was addictive so with a Porsche exhaust might be very nice.
The instructor did assure me new 911s are not like ones of old, if you hit brakes mid corner or have to adjust line they won't bite you like old ones would, but he did say driving a 911 too its true ability and well is a smooth affair.
I also got lucky to meet up with a friend who owns a 997 Turbo Tiptronic and he gave me the keys. Now some of the Porsche purist may find this surprising but I felt the turbo had the better steering feel and out of all three cars it had the heaviest steering which I liked, maybe this is the diffs in the front? However the car never once felt like it was AWD infact it always felt RWD and my god that bose sound system is bloody amazing.
I found the power delivery and performance mind blowing and its certainly more shove in your seat and far quicker than the EVO everywhere in the rev range. The only good thing about the tiptronic for me was traffic light grandprix, all I had to do was stomp the loud pedal and what felt like 2s we were doing 60mph, it was mind blowing off the mark and so easy. Booting it at 50mph and again what felt like 3s had you in license loosing territory and it felt damn quick too with the turbos pushing you back in the seat. Though out of all three cars the turbo sounded the tamest, very quiet in the cabin, infact too quiet for a car of this genre.
Now the 911 turbo is the only one I felt that rear-end move, I purposely found a corner that was wet and eased in the power and purposely got on the power a bit too early to see how the rear moved and as expected it stepped out and a quick flick of the steering it was all in line with no drama but a lot of fun, did I correct it or did the computer, who knows but it was fun and felt safe. On bumpy twisty roads the turbo did not seem to float/bounce on the front-end like the C2S did, infact the Turbo's front end felt more planted, I am not putting this down to the 4WD but to the extra weight of the turbo and more weight over the nose.
I've driven 3 cars, all with turbo wheels and feel for me out of the Porsche fleet its gonna either be a Cayman S gen2 PDK or a 997 Turbo manual. I am possibly dismissing the 911 C2S because I felt it did not feel particulary quicker than the gen1 Cayman S once moving and the floaty front-end was a little off-putting. I am not dismissing the 911 C2S and may arrange a test drive in another one before I dismiss them or even try the C4S.
Before I forget the brakes on all three were fantastic and so so feelsome, they were very un-assisted and felt great, at first they felt weak but because they are not over-assisted you do have to push quite hard at which point they are very strong.
I am looking forward to getting an extended test drive in the Cayman S PDK as with 320BHP and PDK transmission I think that will have the grunt/performance to beat a 911 C2S once moving and if anything it will only handle better been a newer car, but the Cayman S was an epic joy to drive.
If I can find a 911 turbo for the right money it will be my favourite choice, its got the looks, immense performance, traction and feels so damn quick so I'd not bore of a lack of vroom vroom and if I did the turbo is hugely tunable relatively easily. Porsche did confirm any turbo they supplied even if old would have 2yr OPC warranty which would cover engine, box, differentials, basically anything expensive that breaks as they did mention engines popping/breaking are 10k plus bills so that warranty is a must.
So if I can stretch it right now I am wanting a 997 Turbo manual in cobalt blue as its got the power and looks, the only area it might be a bit weak is real bumpy and twisty b-roads which would mean driving it kind of just how I drove the Mustang and learn how to drive it properly.
Though I am very interested to see how a gen2 Cayman S with PDK drives, with the PDK and extra power it could just tip me in its favour.
Tomorrow I am off to Middlehurst to test drive an R35 GTR and then next weekend an BMW M3.
