Fortune favours the Rave | PH Footnote
Cars and coffee isn't complete without a green GT3 - soon we can add a PH x Rave blend to the equation, too
If cars have become a more serious hobby for some over the past 20 years or so, the internet offering up a whole new world of experiences, expertise and expensive accessories, then the same is absolutely true for coffee culture. Maybe more so, in fact. Not so long ago Gold Blend was the good stuff, saved for when your Mum had friends around. Now we’re a nation of arabica-swilling, light roast, single origin obsessives.
That’s an exaggeration, but you get the point. Coffee is a bigger deal to a lot of us than it was in the past, and we’re willing to pay that bit extra for something extra special to kick start the day. Or the middle of the morning. Or the afternoon. We spend more on equipment, be it just a cafetiere and grinder, or a V60 Dripper (what a Volvo collaboration that would be), a bean to cup machine or a La Marzocco masterpiece; we spend more on actual coffee beans, and we definitely spend more on takeaway coffees, probably than ever before.
We at PH are just as guilty as many others of overindulging our respective coffee habits. We’re also famous (we like to think) for our Sunday Services, which certainly wouldn’t be the same without a coffee. So, with a little help from our friends at Rave Coffee, we’re going to be making our own PH blend. The beans should be online and available to purchase by the end of July, and it will be on sale at Annual Service, where Rave will be in attendance as our official coffee partner. We can’t wait to share it with you. Hopefully it’s enjoyed by the wider PH community as much as it was by us.
To get things just right (or what the team believed was just right), we had a cupping day at Rave. The idea was to taste coffees from different regions, to experience the difference that climate, altitude and roasting can have on taste. It was a fascinating process, proof (if any further were required) that, despite looking very similar, not all coffees are the same.
Which sounds a lot like the general approach to Porsche 911s (the segue had to come some time). Everyone likes a Porsche sports cars in the same way that everyone likes a cup of coffee, but most would struggle to tell apart a Carrera S from a GTS; ditto a South American coffee to a South East Asian one. It takes some awareness and experience to identify the subtle (or not so subtle) differences, which is exactly what PH is all about, and it makes the experience even more enjoyable as a result.
We’re some way from being coffee experts, of course. But we knew a few things about cars. And even in a Touring spec that most wouldn’t notice, another green 911 like another black coffee if you will, a GT3 remains a very, very special sports car. The drive to Rave on the best roads possible was the closest thing to a Sunday Service run we could do, with even better coffee than usual at the end. And a totally full industrial estate as a reminder it was definitely still a work day.
Even after prior experience, it’s a shock to discover just how raw and demanding a GT3 can be. Just as a GT3 always has been, of course, yet all the more noticeable as the rest of the world becomes so sanitised. It’s noisy, it’s firm, it never truly relaxes - it’s a properly demanding six-speed Porsche, albeit one with a digital revcounter and lane assist.
But the effort is absolutely commensurate with reward. Drive it well, think about your inputs and immerse yourself in what the car is doing and the GT3 is truly exhilarating. Approach it as you would a turbocharged, automatic Carrera and it’ll probably frustrate. But as the rest of the 992 range becomes ever simpler to go really very fast in, so one that requires a bit of skill and patience to get the best out of is more memorable than ever. It’s like crafting your own cappuccino against grabbing a can; very different means to very similar ends (coffees and Porsches won’t be discussed at such length again, promise).
The irony of taking a GT3 to Rave is that the feel, sound and speed of 9,000rpm 911 are pretty exhilarating on their own. No further stimulant is really required. But fear not: we know plenty of PHers arrive at Sunday Services in cars just like the GT3, and some more intense again. So we’ve chosen a bean profile designed for milkier drinks (because they’re popular), rather than something specifically for espresso. There really has been some thought and consideration gone into this. It’ll be competitively priced, too, which is still more than can be said for some Porsche options. But if you want the rush and the fizz that only a great sports car (or a triple shot) will deliver, the GT3 remains incomparable. Just as was the case when cappuccinos came in sachets, actually…
SPECIFICATION | PORSCHE 911 GT3 (992.2)
Engine: 3,996cc, flat-six
Transmission: 7-speed PDK/6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 510@8,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 332@6,250rpm
0-62mph: 3.4 seconds (3.9 manual)
Top speed: 193mph (194mph Touring)
Weight: 1,439kg (DIN, 1,420kg with Weissach/Lightweight)
MPG: 20.5-20.6
CO2: 310-312g/km (WLTP)
Price: £158,200 (price as standard; price as tested £203,714, comprising Oak Green Metallic Neo for £3,235, Interior with extensive leather items black with contrasting colour GT Silver for £1,017, Rear seats and heated front seats NCO, ISOFIX fastening system for £154, Lightweight Package (Roof made of CFRP, painted in exterior colour, Lightweight door panel with door pull handle in visible carbon, Shortened GT-specific gear lever, Lightweight package logo in front of gear selector, Carbon interior package Lightweight Sport bucket seats (foldable), Anti-roll bars and coupling rods on rear axle as well as thrust field made of CFRP, 20-/21-inch Magnesium Lightweight Wheels) for £29,223, Protective Foil Front for £2,054, HD Matrix LED lights for £2,033, Porsche logo LED door courtesy lights for £154, Extended Package Leather with coloured decorative stitching GT Silver for £1,067, Lifting System front axle for £2,701, Chrono Package with Porsche Design GT Clock for £1,468, Brake calipers in Black for £708, Light Design Package for £431, Bose Surround Sound for £1,269)
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