The Siding, Winnaleah, St Mary’s Pass: names that conjure images of speed and daring; iconic cars tackling iconic roads on Targa Tasmania. Cars like Porsche’s 911; drivers like the great Jim Richards — who’s won seven Targas in the event’s 13-year history. So what better way to test this latest generation 911 than to throw it over these roads on the way to keeping an appointment with Jim himself at Baskerville Raceway near Hobart?
Some accused the outgoing 911 of selling out. Water, not air-cooled, it was deemed too easy for mere mortals to drive. Porsche could have stuck by its guns, building automotive animals only the fortunate few could tame. It would have closed its doors bloody, but unbowed — an exhilarating footnote to history.
Instead, it built the Boxster; the Cayenne and a more accessible, but no less exhilarating 911.
The improvements have been legion, obtained through painstaking attention to detail rather than sweeping changes. The car’s a bit stiffer, a touch wider and the steering’s slightly more direct. The least immediately obvious addition is the hydrophobic glass on the side windows — water just slides off. The most obvious? The choice of two engines — the 3.6-litre six, joined by a 3.8.
I ease into the drive with the 239kW base engine doing its stuff behind me. More refined the car may be — less likely to lead with its tail perhaps. But I’m still gloriously aware that the rear wheels are out to party, a flick of the hips slinging the car round corners, weight down low as tyres cling and the engine slings me forward, engine sounds bouncing off rocky walls as we pass. Where previous generations were tail-happy, here that rear-engine, rear-drive format just sharpens the handling edge, the barrage of electronic aids only cutting in at the point of terminal embarrassment.
Touching the coast, we pass through St Helen’s towards St Mary’s Pass. I’ve swapped to the 3.8 in six-speed manual form with its 261kW and the promise of 0-100 in 4.8 seconds. Third offers the cream of the torque at just over 100. I’m playing footsie with the throttle as the car dances through the roller-coaster road, climbing into snow. There’s a squawk from the radio as the leading car skids — the snow’s frozen, but Porsche’s Stability management (PSM) catches the slide.
You expect superlative road-craft from the car. Sure, the optional sports suspension that lowers the car 20mm hardens ride considerably. But the standard version balances performance with comfort and the PASM active damper control available on the 2S goes further. ‘Normal’ is comfy without being too soft; sporting tightens the whole set-up to a degree few will have the skill to fully appreciate.
Even fewer will test the limits if they’ve added the Sports Chrono package. Use it to hone the already razor-sharp throttle control; turn up the heat on the stability management; alter the shift pattern of the Tiptronic and use it to monitor lap times. Once at Baskerville, I studied the graphs of Jim’s laps to mine, but they weren’t on the same planet. He barely seemed to be concentrating, too busy telling me how much he enjoys this magazine when he visits New Zealand.
At least my times were better in the car fitted with the $18,000 ceramic brake option. A 911 is no slouch in the stopping department — but these ceramic babies are something else, and they cut unsprung weight just sufficiently to crispen turn-in response. Walther Rohrl took a standard Carrera 2 round Nordschliefe in 8.15 minutes. An S with PASM in neutral in 8.05, and with ‘active’ selected in 8.02. Then he opted for Sport Chrono’s magic and blitzed it in 7.59.
A better 911 might have seemed a pipe dream. But it’s here.
Specifications: Porsche 911-997
Engine: Rear-mounted, water-cooled, six-cylinder Boxer engine
Capacity: Carrera 2, 3596cc; 2S, 3824cc
Max Power: Carrera 2, 239kW @ 6800rpm; 2S, 261kW @ 6600
Max Torque: Carrera 2, 370Nm at 4250rpm; 2S, 400 at 4600rpm
Bore/stroke: Carrera 2, 96/82.8mm; 2S, 99/92.8mm
C/R: Carrera 2, 11.3:1; 2S, 11.8:1
Transmission: Carrera 2, six-speed manual; 2S, six-speed manual with X-Tend clutch (five-speed Tiptronic auto optional)
Tyres/Wheels: F/R; Carrera 2, 235/40ZR18/265/40ZR18; 2S, 235/35ZR19/295/30ZR19
Suspension: Front: MacPherson strut, rear multi-arm independent suspension on five arms (both with active control on 2S)
Brakes: Ventilated cross-drilled brakes, ABS, ABD
DIMENSIONS
Lenght/width: Carrera 2, 4427/1808; 2S, 4427/1808
Height/WB: Carrera 2, 1310/2350mm; 2S, 1300/2350mm
Track F/R: Carrera 2, 1486/1529mm; 2S, 1486/1511mm
Unladen weight: Carrera 2, 1395kg; 2S, 1420kg
PERFORMANCE
0-100kph: Carrera 2, 5.0; 2S, 4.8
Economy: Carrera 2, 11.0; 2S, 11.5
NZ Price: Carrera 2 $208,000; 2S $236,000 (Tiptronic add $8000)
