PH Blog: why base-spec 911s rule
Garlick took the 911 C4 GTS out and, hand on heart, would rather a Carrera 2 - here's why
I can vividly remember my first 911 experience. It was a 1989 Grand Prix White 964 Carrera 2 with a blue leather interior and my drive of it took place in the summer of 1994. I was trying to sell it at the time, and was on my way to show a potential buyer. He didn't buy it, but was a fool for not doing so as it was that drive that cemented my love of the 911 and at the time I wondered why you would need anything more from a car.
Since then I have been lucky enough to drive all manner of 911s, Boxsters and Caymans. I've even owned my own Boxster S, and I still can't shake the opinion that the lesser the spec, the better the Porsche. My most memorable drive in a Cayman was in a flat red 2.7 with a five-speed manual and 17-inch wheels. It was purity defined and offered a drive that bettered many cars costing twice as much, including the Cayman R (in my opinion).
The same is true of the 911. Never have I enjoyed a drive as much as I did when behind the wheel of a 2WD Carrera S. It has power, poise, great balance and everyday usability that is unmatched. This weekend I used the Carrera 4 GTS Dan took to Germany last week which is an utterly superb car, but is it £10K better than a standard S? I'm not so sure that it is.
I'm not knocking anyone who buys a GTS, Turbo, GT3, GT3 RS or GT2. In fact I applaud your commitment to the 911 cause, but with each wheel size increase, power upgrade or suspension change the purity of the base car is less easy to exploit.
If you can drive a car hard then a GT2/3/Turbo is hard to beat, but for 90 per cent of us mere mortals a base car does all you need more often than not and that's why Harris has a 4.0 and I'd be happy with a 2 S. It's not often you can say that about any car regardless of price. Long live the base model!
Garlick
Speed and grip gets boring after a while.
Which is why my dream car would be a Zonda rather than a Veyron.
Which is why my dream car would be a Zonda rather than a Veyron.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APbrjvadVA0
time seams to be repeating itself, new 911 comes out, jurno's rate the base model over all but the GT and RS models
Think of the Harris Merc video on spacesavers - lower the limit, increase the fun.
[Loads of grip and speed does not equate to fun in the long term. Yes it is fast, but it is also very predictable.]
i have to agree with this - which is why i'm selling my mountuned Focus RS, and buying a 350z - the focus is rapid, no denying that, but i find myself going too fast in a straight line in order to get any fun from it.
I'm hoping that in a rear wheel drive car, i can have more 'fun' at slower, less licence risking, speeds...
Which is why my dream car would be a Zonda rather than a Veyron.
A regular dose of classic cars solves this. Plenty of speed+ less grip + more noise = more fun.
Anyone out there fancy lending me their keys?
Or find a nice friendly chap with a Porsche who wants to swap cars for a weekend, like I did in my £12k cultural exchange thread - I swapped my sport 160 Elise for a 911, and really enjoyed the Porsche.
that cant be bad - its a standard 2S with about 30 more BHP - still 2WD though
You could say, what about a 2S with another 30/40/50hp or with a closer box or tricker suspension too, but for me S = perfection.
I'm sure the 2 GTS is great (really great), every 911 I have driven is, but I'd save the cash and would be very happy with my 2S.
Presumably - and I have never driven a 911 to find out - both cars would have similarly meaty tyres, or does the Carrera 2 forfeit a couple of inches laterally and vertically?
Unless you get into an older 911, all newer versions are going to be "over-tyred", right?
I am assuming here that it is predominantly the tyres / wheels that are making the difference, or does the 4WD system also corrupt the cars purity?
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