I am writing this to the attention of the detractors of alt.autos.porsche: I have maybe posted once or twice to this group, but I feel that the disservice that the agitators who have chosen to camp here are paying deserves a word or two.
I automatically give preference and the benefit of any doubt to someone who has a history of making helpful, informed comments in NGs. Devils944 is an example of someone who, to me, is helpful.
Agititors, please go away. You are not convincing anyone here of anything. Your efforts are wasted.
I'll tell you why from my point of view:
Porsches - You either get them, or you don't.
I really like Porsches. In particular the 911. I think I was 13 years old when I saw my first 911. That mysterious car appeared to be so different from anything else I had ever seen. It captivated me instantly. That very day I said to myself I would own one someday. I could go into pages of writing about each car that I've had the privilege to own, but I'll try to describe...
First, let me establish: I don't know and don't care what my 911 will do from 0-60 MPH. Nor do I really care what it's skidpad G's are or what it's top speed is. To compare it to a chart or another car has absolutely zero value to me.
Second, you have to experience really driving a Porsche, when you are in the element to appreciate it - relaxed and no one to distract you (speaking to the 356, 914, 911, 912, 930,
928, 944, 951 cars that I have either owned or driven). They cannot be trapped in words. And I'm not even talking about going fast.To attempt to sketch these cars by describing the 0-60, skidpad or whatever numbers you select is akin to describing the statue of David by only listing it's height, and stating that there are plenty of taller statues. Or critiquing Starry Night for having too many brush strokes.
Have you ever seen how Fuchs makes alloys? It's pretty amazing. Also, try picking up a lug nut sometime :) I have been to the Porsche factories in Stuttgart and also Uusikaupunkti (sp, i'm sure). I also have worked restoring Porsches, Ferrari, and Jaguar. I have spent time in the shop of a man that specialized in performance 911 engines and took a ride in a light 2.8l twin-plug 911. Let me tell you *that* was an eye-opener. I went to the 24 hrs of Daytona and helped in the pits with an entry from the same mechanic. There is a reason that Porsche wins Daytona and wins Le Mans year after year. You see, Porsches are typically built with a 50 to 100% engineering allowance above rated capacity for many of it's core components. Then they are tested and retested to the nth degree.
Right now I could buy just about any new car I want.
I chose a 911.
The interior and ventilated leather Recaro seats are flawless. The doors shut gently with a clean and precise "click" followed by the faint, lingering sound of a piano string being plucked. Have you ever looked at the gauges on one? They are a functional work of art. The size, placement, font and operation of the VDO gauges are simply perfect. The overall size and weight of the 911 is also just about perfect.
It is compact, lithe, powerful and beautiful all at once. It also has
*character*.To drive one is evokes an emotional response. The directness of feel is always present. The 911 feels *alive*. It gives back what you put into it.
The absence of an engine's mass in the front makes for a razor-sharp steering feel. A one-degree turn of the wheel provokes an immediately direct and linear response in turn from the car. It is taut and precise.
If you study pictures of the air-cooled engine flat-6 engine and transaxle, as I have done they appear to have been vacuum-formed over a mass of steel and alloy muscle. It is pure function. The quality of casting and machining of the parts throughout the engine, suspension and body visually exceeds most vehicles I have encountered. The distinctive mechanical and organic blend of vibration and sound of the engine reminds me of a rubber band under tension, there are no discrete steps to shrinking it or stretching it, it provides feedback and tension all the way from idle to redline. Part of the symphony of sound comes from the impeller sucking in over 1000 liters of air per second, part of it is the absence of a water jacket around the cylinders, part of it is the timing chain and valvetrain.
The remaining auditory seasoning comes from the intake and exhaust. I can hear all of it. It still raises the hair on my arms 20 years later.
The brakes? Direct, linear precise, powerful. You can modulate any amount of pressure you want and the car will deliver an equal amount of stopping power. They are second to none. I remember once riding with a friend in his 951 and didn't have my belts on yet. He stepped on the brakes
*hard* and most of me was instantly packed into the passenger side footwell.My 911 is tight, with not so much as a squeak or rattle anywhere in the interior. Everything shuts and opens exactly as a new car would. When you drive it you *feel* the road. I know this all sounds corny but each road surface, asphalt, concrete, rough asphalt, wet, dry, snow is transmitted back to the hands and backside in a hundred continuous little tugs. The suspension follows the road, contacting every nuance.
My 911 had one previous owner, it came to me with *all* service records since new, owners (including numeric gear ratios, torque and power graphs) and warranty manual, window sticker, even the paint chip sample color booklet that the orginal owner picked it's color from.
The car I'm describing was made in January of 1983 and now has almost
220,000 US miles.The engine has *never* been opened. I have owned it since 1995 and it has
*never* failed me once. My 911 has always been garaged, and it's exterior is in very good condition too. I recently had the entire underside steam cleaned while on a lift and the entire underside is now cleaned up as new.It and all other Porsches I have owned have lost virtually zero value (maybe $5000 dollars over 20 years) from purchase to resale *including fix-up costs*, not including gas and oil. Of course I do all work myself, and have developed an eye for picking good values. This 911 is currently appreciating in value and costs less than 2/3rds of the other cars on the road.
Did you ever own a go-kart when you were a kid? This a a grown-up's go-kart :) If it were larger, or heavier, sprung differently, appointed or shaped differently, or had a V8 then it wouldn't be the same.
I grin when I look at it, and grin wider when I drive it. This makes my 6th Porsche, 4 of which were 911s.
So, you either get it, or you don't. Listen to "Spirit of the Radio" or "Red Barchetta" if you understand what it's about and it strikes you, then you might see what I see in these cars.
If you don't then you should vote with your wallet and buy another type of car. I hope you do/have done. That's all the better for me since there will be one more of these gems available should I want it. I intend to keep this car for a lot longer, but I've also have a fondness for the 951, so don't buy any of those either :)
P.S. Sorry for my long disseration, but I just got back from driving my car and it's put me in a good mood.
H