Picking up a 991 today for a ten day test
Discussion
A few more impressions. Took a few backroads I know, dry conditions, and put the full Sport + mode on, PDK only. It is quite transformative. Cornering is much more like a good mid-engined car than a 911, and it is very good. My RS might make it a the same speed, but the difference is that it would take a lot more skill to do it. The dual personality of the car is impressive. I think that Porsche managed to almost defeat the laws of physics with my own car, but on the 991 they simply used them. Its pretty easy to get the tail out my car, very difficult on the 991.
I will post some more pics and thoughts in the next few days, and also take a couple of the same drives in my own car to be able to get an immediate contrast.
I will post some more pics and thoughts in the next few days, and also take a couple of the same drives in my own car to be able to get an immediate contrast.
RDMcG said:
A few more impressions. Took a few backroads I know, dry conditions, and put the full Sport + mode on, PDK only. It is quite transformative. Cornering is much more like a good mid-engined car than a 911, and it is very good. My RS might make it a the same speed, but the difference is that it would take a lot more skill to do it. The dual personality of the car is impressive. I think that Porsche managed to almost defeat the laws of physics with my own car, but on the 991 they simply used them. Its pretty easy to get the tail out my car, very difficult on the 991.
I will post some more pics and thoughts in the next few days, and also take a couple of the same drives in my own car to be able to get an immediate contrast.
RD - I'm really enjoying this....thank you. Keep it coming!I will post some more pics and thoughts in the next few days, and also take a couple of the same drives in my own car to be able to get an immediate contrast.
PF
RDMcG said:
A few more impressions. Took a few backroads I know, dry conditions, and put the full Sport + mode on, PDK only. It is quite transformative. Cornering is much more like a good mid-engined car than a 911, and it is very good. My RS might make it a the same speed, but the difference is that it would take a lot more skill to do it. The dual personality of the car is impressive. I think that Porsche managed to almost defeat the laws of physics with my own car, but on the 991 they simply used them. Its pretty easy to get the tail out my car, very difficult on the 991.
I will post some more pics and thoughts in the next few days, and also take a couple of the same drives in my own car to be able to get an immediate contrast.
This is what us 991S owners already know I will post some more pics and thoughts in the next few days, and also take a couple of the same drives in my own car to be able to get an immediate contrast.
Now., some detail shots. The interior is really very well executed and feels like a quality product, apart from my previous comments about the cheap feel of the door of the upholders, as with previous cars. My single real irritation is the reflectiveness of the dash top on the windscreen...I hope they build the 991RS with a zeoo-reflective dash as the leather has a sheen in bright sunlight.
The contrast with an RS is of course, extreme, where Porsche tried to reduce the RS to the simplicity of a monk's cell ,whereas the and to bring the 991 has a feel of being very current. One caveat for me is that the electronics will become obsolete as they have with every car I have owned since about 1998, but for now, they are great.
Seat controls are infinite with nice switch gear -seats very comfortable for long distance with adjustable side bolsters.
Dash display is very crisp, especially the electronic displays
Centre console is well organized and intuitive, though If you smoke in your car ( I never do) the ashtray is so far back on the console that you need very short arms.
Door handles quite elegant
I love the thick steering wheel, and ordered it as an option when I bought my RS.2
My RS interior
Interior is overall a delightful place to be:
My RS interior
The contrast with an RS is of course, extreme, where Porsche tried to reduce the RS to the simplicity of a monk's cell ,whereas the and to bring the 991 has a feel of being very current. One caveat for me is that the electronics will become obsolete as they have with every car I have owned since about 1998, but for now, they are great.
Seat controls are infinite with nice switch gear -seats very comfortable for long distance with adjustable side bolsters.
Dash display is very crisp, especially the electronic displays
Centre console is well organized and intuitive, though If you smoke in your car ( I never do) the ashtray is so far back on the console that you need very short arms.
Door handles quite elegant
I love the thick steering wheel, and ordered it as an option when I bought my RS.2
My RS interior
Interior is overall a delightful place to be:
My RS interior
and then of course it the sense that its too big. I am getting used to it very quickly and it does not feel big, though the RS does feel small
..this is not a new thing and occurs every generation...
On the other hand, my RS.1 compared to prior generations...well....was not small:
However, its fairly light and I do not feel the car as being big when I throw it around, unlike the impression when I enter it.
..this is not a new thing and occurs every generation...On the other hand, my RS.1 compared to prior generations...well....was not small:
However, its fairly light and I do not feel the car as being big when I throw it around, unlike the impression when I enter it.
PorkaFly said:
RDMcG said:
A few more impressions. Took a few backroads I know, dry conditions, and put the full Sport + mode on, PDK only. It is quite transformative. Cornering is much more like a good mid-engined car than a 911, and it is very good. My RS might make it a the same speed, but the difference is that it would take a lot more skill to do it. The dual personality of the car is impressive. I think that Porsche managed to almost defeat the laws of physics with my own car, but on the 991 they simply used them. Its pretty easy to get the tail out my car, very difficult on the 991.
I will post some more pics and thoughts in the next few days, and also take a couple of the same drives in my own car to be able to get an immediate contrast.
RD - I'm really enjoying this....thank you. Keep it coming!I will post some more pics and thoughts in the next few days, and also take a couple of the same drives in my own car to be able to get an immediate contrast.
PF
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Absolutely understand that, and the Cayman ( especially the R) is a great sports car. I have no real insight into Porsche's thinking but my guess is that the demographic for the Caymans skews to either track people or a younger buyer. However, moving the engine forward and widening the front of the 991 have created a platform with a lot of opportunity. Compared to the ratty 911S I drove many years ago everything feels big.
I think its key to know why you are buying a car, and we are all different. I find the 997 fine, and obviously small compared to my more road focused cars like the M6, so I may be the wrong person to make that call
. Seriously though, there is no right answer here. I am going to keep my RS.1 and 2 pretty much infinitely and they represent for me the ultimate development of the primarily mechanical,high-revving, manual shift-only era of Porsche for road use. The 991 is so different that I do not regard it as a successor to the 997 in a linear fashion any more than the E type Jag was a logical development of the XK150. However,car companies are in business to make money, and for Porsche the 991 is threading the needle...too far to the traditionalists will not expand the appeal and too far to luxury will dilute the brand. My guess is that 95% of the people who buy a 991 have never even sat in.let alone driven a 911S........
RDMcG said:
Tony 1234 said:
The owners on this side of the pond know that sunglasses stop 95% of the reflection
Not quite..I tried that too. Reduces but not eliminates. However,I suppose I can try more sunglasses!....Tony 1234 said:
For me a prescription lens in Maui-Jim glasses circa £480-£500 does the job just fine.
I have a pair somewhere. WIll try. Its not a huge deal, but its the first Porsche where I have noticed this, and I do not wear sunglasses all the time. I have racked up about 1500km n the last five days is all sort of light conditions, so I do notice this.cayman-black said:
Those RS,s are just lovely ,the 7.2 interior is really nice. 991 Hmm. Better to ask how it compares to the M6?
Its streets ahead of the M6 apart from raw power. The M6 is great for hauling down the autobahn, where I ran mine a 200MPH, but its a heavy thing on a track and under braked. I like the interior though.(some might think mine is OTT). The 991 does not compare with the M6 and would eat it alive in any sort of twisty road in my view. Its just a much later generation of car. My M6 interior below:
991 is more functional although M6 seats are basically a tie for comfort.
You're right.
It is a very fine car, no question, but as RDMCG says, it is another model, like the E-Type compared with the XK150. personally I don't care how fast it is, because what I want is the sensation of controlling a rear engined 911, and this car is not going to give me that.
As to its looks, I feel that it is dressed up as a 911, for no especially good engineering reason, but rather to convince the traditionalists that it is less of a step forward than it actually is. I burned to own a 997. I dont burn to own this. It leaves me cold.
A Cayman is probably the way forward.
It is a very fine car, no question, but as RDMCG says, it is another model, like the E-Type compared with the XK150. personally I don't care how fast it is, because what I want is the sensation of controlling a rear engined 911, and this car is not going to give me that.
As to its looks, I feel that it is dressed up as a 911, for no especially good engineering reason, but rather to convince the traditionalists that it is less of a step forward than it actually is. I burned to own a 997. I dont burn to own this. It leaves me cold.
A Cayman is probably the way forward.
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff