Sometimes you get a bit of a treat in this job. It’s all very well driving the latest Fords and Vauxhalls, Renaults and Citroens, Hyundais and Kias, but every so often, someone shakes the fizzy drink of life to provide a bit of a skoosh. Just such an occasion was provided by Porsche when they visited Knockhill last week.
80 years ago Ferdinand Porsche came up with the idea for a people’s car, the VW Beetle. On that basis it could be argued that 30 years later he came up with the idea of a people’s sports car. It was in 1964 that the first 911 as we know it was created and although the mind tricks they eye into thinking it looks very similar – if you squint a bit – that early car is hugely different from the current bearer of the name and number.
That early 911 was also something a bit special. It was quick and agile (sometimes too agile!) in motoring terms at that time and over the years the car and the engineering has been transformed. The fact that it is rear engined / rear wheel drive is just about the only similarity that has remained while the silhouette, although different, is unmistakable. And as for the noise, well it still harks back to when constipated bears prowled the woods.
And so it was only right that Porsche celebrated 50 years of 911 with a special anniversary edition. The bonus was that the company brought one up to Scotland for the nation’s motoring journalists to have a wee tickle on the tarmac.
To give it its full title, the Porsche 911 50th Anniversary Edition is a limited production model to mark 50 years since the company first unveiled its prototype rear-engined sports car back in 1963. It’s based on a Carrera S, but with a few styling tweaks and a handful of optional extras, and production will be limited to 1963 units. It’s also got a rather special price tag, starting from £92,257.
The car uses the wider bodyshell from the four-wheel-drive Carrera 4 to clothe the wider track and features revised suspension settings. Porsche Torque Vectoring, which includes a mechanical limited-slip differential, is standard fit and Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) adaptive damping system, is also included.
Under the tail is a 3.8-litre flat-six, which develops 394 bhp at 7400 rpm with a manual seven-speed gearbox although the paddle-shift PDK gearbox is available at extra cost.
Over and above the standard car, the most readily identifiable upgrades include the Fuchs-inspired 20-inch alloy wheels, darkened headlamp surrounds and some additional chrome highlights across its rump. And if you missed all those, the dash-mounted plaque proclaims its heritage.
Unusually, there was no ‘minder’. Often at such performance/expensive car drive events, journalists are accompanied by a ‘minder’, usually a professional driver from one of the many racing / coaching / professional driver companies around the country. This time there was none. We were handed the keys and sent on our way, and not restricted to the track.
There is just one wee tiny drawback to such an offer. When you drive a car this special and this good, the more you drive it, the more you want to drive it. That means you end up driving further than intended and then have to drive all the way back again. It’s at this point you notice the fuel gauge. Oops.
As already stated and intimated, the rear mounted engine lay-out led to some challenging, and sometimes dangerous, driving entertainment/involvement in those early days. It wasn’t just because of the huge lump of cast iron hanging out the back, tyres were narrow, compounds were hard, tread patterns rudimentary and suspension was rather more basic.
Fast forward to 2104, and you’d be hard pushed to realise that the engine was pushing rather than pulling and that the rear wheels were doing all the work. The handling has been transformed over the years so that even footballers can drive them (most of the time) without hurling themselves backwards over the armco.
Having said that, when you get the car wound up and aim it into corners, you do feel the back end move ever so slightly before settling. It’s all about weight transfer and momentum, but it don’t half feel good. In fact it’s addictive. And it all adds to that feeling of wanting to drive further than intended. And with almost 400 bhp on tap, it can be hurled along nicely.
All the while progress is accompanied by a delicious soundtrack, but there are a couple of buttons on the central console marked ‘Sport’ and ‘Sport+’. If the engine and drivetrain are the steak and chips, this is the salt and vinegar. The ‘Sport’ mode provides a sharper engine response and raises the rev limiter while the ‘Sport+’ mode triggers the ‘active exhaust’ system. This serves to heighten and intensify the driving experience. It makes you want to double de-clutch on every downshift, and if you miss one, it does it for you. Honest, if you try to change down with a single clutch pedal depression, the ECU takes over from the human brain and blips the throttle for you. Mad.
There are opposing views on manual gearboxes versus the paddle shift PDK unit. There is no doubt that the automatic ‘box is quicker, but from a personal point of view, it lacks the physical driver involvement that enhances everyday driving pleasure. The manual ‘box does not provide finger tip gearchanges. There is a bit of weight needed top push and pull, and it’s the same with steering and the brake pedal. Even with power assistance, the brake pedal needs a firm push while the electric steering is ideally weighted.
And therein lies the perfect driving secret. All of these controls are perfectly matched. They require thought and deliberation. But they reward the driver with instant response accompanied by an audible, but PC-inflicted subdued soundtrack that provides the marmalade on the toast of life.
Everything else is as you would expect. Comfortable, civilised, extremely quick and hugely desirable.
There are just three things in the way of acquisition. Price, fuel consumption – and the wife!