The Porsche 911 (997)

The Porsche 911 has always been and always will be an iconic symbol of automotive history, which has stood out like a Caucasian person in Box Hill. That frog-like shaped body has remained with the 911 since the beginning of time and thus has created a legend in itself. The downside however is that the 911 has never been a radical car that boils your blood whenever you look at it, something like a Lamborghini or a Ferrari will do. I remember when a woman pointed out to a 911 and said “Oh that’s a nice VW Beetle”. But if you’re like me, and consider other features of the car besides its looks, then you’ll find that the new Porsche 911 is more than meets the eye.

Gladly, our generous friends at Porsche lent us the Carrera S model. At first glance, the new 997 model comes in looking…well…basically like every other Porsche 911. Styling by de ja vu. Put it next to a 996 and you’ll admit it’s like looking at the Olsen twins. The only noticeable difference is the new oval headlights, which I must say are far more attractive than the headlights with overgrowth the 996 had. The interior is typical Porsche with an abundance of leather and aluminium; it’s stylish but nothing over the top and flash. The new 997 also comes with new gadgetry such as satellite navigation and commlink, whatever that is. But my favourite part of the interior is the steering wheel. It’s fat and chunky, the way a proper sports steering wheel should feel, it’s almost has thick as Mark Chong’s hair.

Firing up the 3.8 litre flat six is a reason to wake up every morning. The sound is purely mesmerising, and it gets even better as you work up the gears during acceleration. And speaking of acceleration, by God does this thing GO! Let me just give you the figures to illustrate it. 0-100 in 4.5 seconds. You couldn’t even say the type of train ticket you want in 4.5 seconds. Ummm, zone 1 and 2, errrrrrr, 2 hour, ahhhhhhh, full fare.

The ride of the Porsche is rough to say the least. Driving this car over everyday potholes and tramlines, you’ll soon start to know what it feels like wrestle with Zangief and E Honda. It’s as uncomfortable as wearing a pair of red Speedos at a crowded beach at Lorne. This car just wasn’t made for everyday commuting; you’d be better off with a BMW 330ci and pocket the change if you’re looking for a car to simply pose around in.

But, once you find the roads of Dandenong and start driving it like a racecar, it all starts to make sense. The amount of grip this thing has is astonishing! You’ll swear that it’s driving on Tarzan’s grip. It goes wherever you want it to go with no under or oversteer and it just feels planted to the road like our fat man at a Hungry Jacks booth. Driving this car hard and fast is so easy, even your mum could drive this around the Nurburgring in less than 9 minutes.

Overall I think the new 911 is a magnificent car, it has everything that you would expect from a Porsche and much much more. $200K isn’t just buying you a fast car that looks like a frog, it’s buying you a piece of history, a legend of motoring history.

8/10

-PWL