Porsche.

legzr1

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I’m a confirmed super bike rider and love what they can do but age, old injuries and change in ‘circumstances’ mean that I’m now bikeless for the first time since I was 14. I’ve kept my leathers and other gear but if I don’t get another within 2 years I’ll lose my hard earned NCD and that will make insurance an absolute joke.

So, Porsche....

My mates had posters of Ferrari’s, Lambo’s and other exotic stuff on their walls as kids. Me? The 911 Turbo. I’m in my early 50s now but I’ve only been driving 7 years - I needed a car licence when made redundant back then otherwise I probably wouldn’t have bothered. Being older than my driving instructor and examiner (by decades rather than years!!) was a strange feeling...

My first car was a 2.2 diesel Civic. It was ok. Then I thought sod it, we’re not on the planet for long so, with wet ink on my licence I ignored all the warnings of chocolate engines, massive upkeep costs and high maintainence and bought a Porsche 911 - a guards red 996.2 3.6 Carrera 2 for those interested. Rather than a long run down of the trials and tribulations I will simply say (with the help of a great independent garage) regular maintenance was no more expensive than the Honda and things like (considerably larger) brakes were actually cheaper. Maybe I got lucky but I had that Porsche for almost 4 years, took it from 120,000 miles to almost 160,000 without any engine issues and when it finally left me it was still a fit motor capable of surprising a few of these new Golf R / RS3 things.

And then it happened. Car in front, young lad, Skoda diesel with blacked-out windows decides the road behind is clear and reversed into me. Takes out bumper, wing, bonnet rad and condenser - £8500 for parts + fitting + paint = write off. Car has gone and I received a cheque for £300 less than I paid for it. Bit of a result to help the pain.

So, sold the bike, had a bit of savings + cash from the 996 (and I’ve got another vehicle for everyday use) is would be daft to get another Porsche  wouldn’t it? Been there, done that, try something different? 

Yeah, that was the plan. Then a car came up for sale. The car I had on a poster when I was 13. Well, not quite - a flat nose 930 Turbo goes for around £125,00 now so #&@* that! No, a more modern equivalent but it’s a 911 and they all look the same right?

This isn't a ‘ look at me’ post. A brag. A desire to be noticed. No, it’s a ‘I can’t believe this is sat on my drive’ post. A ‘I’m nowt special, I graft hard, but want to share my delight’ post.

Ive caught the Porsche bug. There’s something about them when you drive them - a ‘connection’ for want of a less naff description.

Im happy. It’s everything I expected (and more). And, this side of a GT3 or GT2RS it’s the best I’m going to get without a lottery win.

Ill try attaching an Image (not my forte...) but it’s a Black 2007 997.1 Turbo with a sports exhaust, BMC filters and a very mild map taking it over 500bhp (they’re 480 standard and the new map from the previous owner was more to clean up the curve after fitting the exhaust and 200cel cats so a very modest increase in power but a bit more torque). I love it. In comfort without sports setting and no overboost its a nice, comfortable place to be. Almost Audi like (strange that...). Press sports button, boot it at 2000rpm, any gear and it’s a schizo-manic bastard and you really need to concentrate - once moving, it’s mad and reminds me very much of the bikes I know and love with the way it can pass four dawdling cars and pull back in before the first car has noticed something has passed (when conditions allow natuarally).

Thanks for reading,

A happy Legz.

Oh, the in-car stereo/sat nav is shit. No, actually, it’s SHIT!!  Bose can kiss my arse. Weirdly, my 17 year old daughter thinks the booming one-note drone from the subs is ‘cool’. No. It’s not. When funds allow it’s the first thing to be changed. Well, after the tyres. And the mod to the suspension. And the.....

6A39466A-AE8C-4A09-9C5C-3B73FB070473.jpeg

 

Carrington

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Looks and sounds fantastic (if a bit of a handful  :D )! I must go and have a browse on autotrader...

 
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Devil

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Good one, and well done to reach your dream!

You will love this car, and it’s so difficult to find anything better and I speak from experience!

Enjoy in good health!

( I had something similar for over 7 years so please feel free to ask any questions). 

 
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George 47

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Looks superb and I bet it drives really well. What I liked about my Porsche was the way everything just fell into place when driving. The gear changes were easy and smooth and variable steering just seemed to be just right.  It was easy to drive like the local vicar or his devil counterpart. I managed to get on a track day when a friend bought a new one. Wow trying a whole range of fast, bloody fast and super bad fast cars. It was utterly brilliant doing some really mad things like a super-fast launch to 120 and then full brakes to 0.  

You iz one lucky fella.

 
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legzr1

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This is a 1st gen 997 so pre-dates the PDK autobox (which are out of my budget by a significant amount) and has the Tiptronic S box from Mercedes. It’s a bit dumb at times quickly reverting to ‘granny’ mode after a couple of minutes of sedate driving but it actually suits the Turbo far more than it does in the n/a models. It’s got a lovely auto blip on dowmchanges and whilst it’s not as quick or clever as the latest dsg double clutch boxes it can be surprisingly quick when you start upping the pace. One niggle - in sport mode it’s a little eager to drop to first gear when second feels a better choice.

My favourite roads are bumpy, winding B-roads - I’m spoilt for them in the North East especially heading west or north west  - the Turbo has a wide arse compared to the Carrera bit it’s still small and narrow compared to other marques - I followed an R8 and Tesla yesterday and the sheer width of them made them a bit of a liability. But, that Tesla - Jesus, they can shift once the road straightens out !! 

I’ve only had it three days but have some time off work and I’ve already covered 1300 miles going precisely nowhere just getting used to it. I’ve already made my first purchase - a DSC box of electronics to sort out the suspension - in normal it’s quite nice and fine handling but can be made to get a little out of shape on the roads I enjoy driving on. However, to get that extra overboost the Sport button needs to be used and this also turns the damping to 100% hard. On smooth or newly resurfaced tarmac it’s a revelation giving grip I didn’t know was possible enabling stupid speeds for congested roads. But, and this is what irks me - add a tiny bump, never mind a rutted well worn road and it becomes a little wild. I’ve read great things about the DSC giving much better control than the standard settings.

Fingers crossed it does the trick.

Far too hot to sit around so I’m off out again for a little drive - this thing has knocked years off me lol.

 

batteredhaggis

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Being older than my driving instructor and examiner (by decades rather than years!!) was a strange feeling...
Not quite as strange as discovering your driving instructor was the drummer for Sham 69!

Great car, love a 911. Enjoy sensibly etc.

 
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Devil

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Good luck with the DSC box, I never had the chance to try one out. The hard suspension setting is only really useful for track work, I always used to leave mine in soft (unless there was a chance of grounding the front lip!). 

 
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legzr1

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Good luck with the DSC box, I never had the chance to try one out. The hard suspension setting is only really useful for track work, I always used to leave mine in soft (unless there was a chance of grounding the front lip!). 
That makes sense - on anything other than billiard smooth roads it’s comically overdamped and this is from someone who’s experienced Ducati’s best attempt at teeth removal!!

Reports from users of the DSC module in the U.K. say it’s supple enough to leave it in Sport permanently which suits me as that overboost (with the little up arrow when active) is addictive!!

Im guessing yours had Sport Chrono too with that strange wart on the dashboard - I’m a bloke so haven’t even opened the manual yet so how does it actually work? I’m guessing  I’ll use it once then forget about it (a bit like the sat nav...)

 
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legzr1

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Looks superb and I bet it drives really well. What I liked about my Porsche was the way everything just fell into place when driving. The gear changes were easy and smooth and variable steering just seemed to be just right.  It was easy to drive like the local vicar or his devil counterpart. I managed to get on a track day when a friend bought a new one. Wow trying a whole range of fast, bloody fast and super bad fast cars. It was utterly brilliant doing some really mad things like a super-fast launch to 120 and then full brakes to 0.  

You iz one lucky fella.
I love the ‘feel’. Both of mine were tiptronic so I’ve never driven a manual but I just clicked within 5 miles of driving the 996. The 997 feels very similar with a more modern cabin. The 996 was hydraulic steering but I’m not sure if the 997T is electric or not - either way, it steers, grips and handles very well.

Ill be honest though, I miss that n/a howl up at 5000+ rpm and I think I slightly prefer the C2 steering but it can’t match the way this thing loads up, squats and fires out of the apex (all below 70mph...).

Ive done literally hundreds of trackdays on bikes - I’m seriously thinking of giving it a go in the Turbo. The thought of Jim Clark esses at Croft or Cramer curves at Donongton with the grip this can generate makes me smile. 

I think I’ll need a significantly bigger budget than that for the bikes though...

 

George 47

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Ah yes. I remember going onto one of the moors and arriving at the top, I looked ahead and as far as I could see there was no one else. Completely clear for miles, no sheep, no cattle no one. It would be impolite not to. The car could have gone even faster than I had the nerve to but by heck did it go and go. Not as fast as the track day with really, really powerful cars at dizzying prices. Oddly enough the fastest car was a hybrid luxury Porsche that went like the wind but was a bit soulless. But a really nice >500BHP sports car with a professional racing driver giving advice....wooh. Pity the Silverstone track days are expensive but it is great to have rich friends.

 
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Devil

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That makes sense - on anything other than billiard smooth roads it’s comically overdamped and this is from someone who’s experienced Ducati’s best attempt at teeth removal!!

Reports from users of the DSC module in the U.K. say it’s supple enough to leave it in Sport permanently which suits me as that overboost (with the little up arrow when active) is addictive!!

Im guessing yours had Sport Chrono too with that strange wart on the dashboard - I’m a bloke so haven’t even opened the manual yet so how does it actually work? I’m guessing  I’ll use it once then forget about it (a bit like the sat nav...)
The sport chrono does basically nothing apart from a manual lap timer function that you control with one of the stalks. However it does give you ‘performance extras’, such as overboost, dynamic engine mounts and launch control, well it did in the Turbo S, not sure exactly on your version. 

 

Devil

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Btw it’s well worth doing a Porsche experience day at Silverstone, if you get the chance. 

 

legzr1

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The sport chrono does basically nothing apart from a manual lap timer function that you control with one of the stalks. However it does give you ‘performance extras’, such as overboost, dynamic engine mounts and launch control, well it did in the Turbo S, not sure exactly on your version. 
Ah, the S - CC brakes too!!

Thanks for that. I’ve got the overboost (time limited on the non-S) but no dynamic mounts or launch control - I think they came with the PDK box and DFI engine.

 
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