Balaclava's C4S European Delivery Diary
07-18-2014, 05:12 PM
#1
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Balaclava's C4S European Delivery Diary
OK, here it is: my European Delivery Diary. This is going to be relatively short (?), as I am only doing a brief 6-day trip, but I hope it might just push some of you to do ED even if you have limited time for any reason.
This Tuesday: Took the afternoon flight from Atlanta to Stuttgart, a quick 8 hour hop, easy enough.*
Wednesday: Landed at STR at 8AM, with 2 hours before my scheduled ED program at the factory. The cab ride took more than 40 mins, going around the city. German autobahns are nothing what they used to be: the short bursts of no-speed-limit sections interrupt much longer 100-120 km/h speed limits and frequent stau (traffic jam). Anyway, got to the factory well on time. The reception area is quite nice, somewhat like an airport lounge. It is right next to the demo room of Porsche Exclusive.
At 10AM, the factory tour started, with only seven in the English group. The tour itself is not _really_ good, I really missed seeing robots welding whitebodies and the paint shop, both greatly presented in the BMW Factory tour in Munich. Instead you get ladies sewing leather: not really high tech, although some impressive craftsmanship. No cameras in the factory, they even confiscate all mobiles.
Lunch in the Gästecasino of the factory: really nice, but could not care less about culinary pleasures just before delivery…
After lunch, still had some time to do shopping in the Porsche Boutique before finally meeting my car.
My actual delivery was pretty quick, was eager to just go driving and to learn and feel the car. I did ask about break-in, and got the following answers: “for American customers, we must recommend you to keep it below 4200rpm, for everyone else we suggest use it as you normally would: careful while cold, then flat out.” This just confirmed my earlier decision that I am not going to baby it too much, especially not while doing my trip in the Alps. Hit the rev limiter a few times every day for proper exercise.
At this time, my long-time friend joined me after landing on a different flight schedule. I parked the car just outside the delivery area, next to a Ferrari LaFerrari - I guess the owner was there to discuss his 918 purchase?
The Porsche Museum is a fascinating building, especially from the outside, but the collection is nice too. Here we run into Patrick Dempsey (911 GT racer) and were disappointed to find that no 550 Spyder was presented at the time. But we did see the 919 (or a model of it, I guess) - I look forward to seeing and hearing these at CoTA in September!
Stayed in the Steinberger Graf Zeppelin Hotel, it is OK, downtown is an easy walk and the parking garage was full of ED cars (M4, Mercedes AMG and quite a few Porsches.)
To be continued, comments and questions are welcome!
This Tuesday: Took the afternoon flight from Atlanta to Stuttgart, a quick 8 hour hop, easy enough.*
Wednesday: Landed at STR at 8AM, with 2 hours before my scheduled ED program at the factory. The cab ride took more than 40 mins, going around the city. German autobahns are nothing what they used to be: the short bursts of no-speed-limit sections interrupt much longer 100-120 km/h speed limits and frequent stau (traffic jam). Anyway, got to the factory well on time. The reception area is quite nice, somewhat like an airport lounge. It is right next to the demo room of Porsche Exclusive.
At 10AM, the factory tour started, with only seven in the English group. The tour itself is not _really_ good, I really missed seeing robots welding whitebodies and the paint shop, both greatly presented in the BMW Factory tour in Munich. Instead you get ladies sewing leather: not really high tech, although some impressive craftsmanship. No cameras in the factory, they even confiscate all mobiles.
Lunch in the Gästecasino of the factory: really nice, but could not care less about culinary pleasures just before delivery…
After lunch, still had some time to do shopping in the Porsche Boutique before finally meeting my car.
My actual delivery was pretty quick, was eager to just go driving and to learn and feel the car. I did ask about break-in, and got the following answers: “for American customers, we must recommend you to keep it below 4200rpm, for everyone else we suggest use it as you normally would: careful while cold, then flat out.” This just confirmed my earlier decision that I am not going to baby it too much, especially not while doing my trip in the Alps. Hit the rev limiter a few times every day for proper exercise.
At this time, my long-time friend joined me after landing on a different flight schedule. I parked the car just outside the delivery area, next to a Ferrari LaFerrari - I guess the owner was there to discuss his 918 purchase?
The Porsche Museum is a fascinating building, especially from the outside, but the collection is nice too. Here we run into Patrick Dempsey (911 GT racer) and were disappointed to find that no 550 Spyder was presented at the time. But we did see the 919 (or a model of it, I guess) - I look forward to seeing and hearing these at CoTA in September!
Stayed in the Steinberger Graf Zeppelin Hotel, it is OK, downtown is an easy walk and the parking garage was full of ED cars (M4, Mercedes AMG and quite a few Porsches.)
To be continued, comments and questions are welcome!
07-18-2014, 05:33 PM
#2
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Thursday
After an early breakfast, we were off to south. The first hour of so out of Stuttgart was pretty bad, lots of traffic. Quickly crossing Austria by Innsbruck, down to Italy through the Brenner. First fun drive: Passo di Gardena in the Dolomites.
Stopped for a short hike, then checked into the hotel near the Passo Sella / Passo Gardena intersection. After a surprisingly excellent dinner at the randomly picked Hotel Nevis in Selva Val Gardena, I decided we should go for another blast through the Passo di Gardena. With practically no traffic and the beautiful colors of the almost setting sun, this was one drive to remember.
A few first impressions of the car (991 C4S):
* Guards red is a strong color yet timelessly fits the 911 - at least to my eyes.
* Great seats (18-ways adaptable sports), useful sized frunk - for a sports car.
* This is a real sports car. I love my BMW 1M, but compared to the 911C4S that’s more of a sporty small car, although a really nice analog, raw one of those. The C4S is shockingly precise and obedient, the 1M is more playful.
* I miss the mid-range torque of the N54. Those with PDK might never realize that, but below 4000rpm, the 3.8 is just reluctant to do anything. With MT, that means you pretty much always have to change to 2nd gear to pass on two-lane roads.
* However, the 5k-7.8k range of the 3.8 engine is amazing. The sound, the pull, the way it builds up its power - mind blowing.
* BOSE is a waste of money.
* PSE is a MUST. If PSE “on” is not lout enough for you at 7000 rpm, well, then go aftermarket but for me, that’s just loud enough.
* Sport Chrono is a great even with MT. I usually enjoy taking care of heel-and-toe myself, but one can really get used to not having to worry about it. Sport Plus is just great, the car is far more alert and tuned to the driver.
Comments and questions are more than welcome! :-)
After an early breakfast, we were off to south. The first hour of so out of Stuttgart was pretty bad, lots of traffic. Quickly crossing Austria by Innsbruck, down to Italy through the Brenner. First fun drive: Passo di Gardena in the Dolomites.
Stopped for a short hike, then checked into the hotel near the Passo Sella / Passo Gardena intersection. After a surprisingly excellent dinner at the randomly picked Hotel Nevis in Selva Val Gardena, I decided we should go for another blast through the Passo di Gardena. With practically no traffic and the beautiful colors of the almost setting sun, this was one drive to remember.
A few first impressions of the car (991 C4S):
* Guards red is a strong color yet timelessly fits the 911 - at least to my eyes.
* Great seats (18-ways adaptable sports), useful sized frunk - for a sports car.
* This is a real sports car. I love my BMW 1M, but compared to the 911C4S that’s more of a sporty small car, although a really nice analog, raw one of those. The C4S is shockingly precise and obedient, the 1M is more playful.
* I miss the mid-range torque of the N54. Those with PDK might never realize that, but below 4000rpm, the 3.8 is just reluctant to do anything. With MT, that means you pretty much always have to change to 2nd gear to pass on two-lane roads.
* However, the 5k-7.8k range of the 3.8 engine is amazing. The sound, the pull, the way it builds up its power - mind blowing.
* BOSE is a waste of money.
* PSE is a MUST. If PSE “on” is not lout enough for you at 7000 rpm, well, then go aftermarket but for me, that’s just loud enough.
* Sport Chrono is a great even with MT. I usually enjoy taking care of heel-and-toe myself, but one can really get used to not having to worry about it. Sport Plus is just great, the car is far more alert and tuned to the driver.
Comments and questions are more than welcome! :-)
07-18-2014, 05:40 PM
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Very nice. First picture looks almost like an orange one. Have fun.
07-18-2014, 06:18 PM
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07-18-2014, 06:39 PM
#6
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Love your pix.
We were 50 km west of Gardena, in Merano, in May when doing our Euro Delivery.
Did you find out exactly which colour that 991 C4S was, in the Exclusive display area?
The LaFerrari must have been a surprise - there was a 918 in nearly the same parking spot when we dropped off!
Cheers.
07-18-2014, 07:24 PM
#7
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Thanks! Will do. :-)
Truly beautiful area, with great food and wine all around.
Unfortunately, I don't know. I really wish they had color samples of all the approved custom colors, but for some reason they are reluctant to offer that info. I can imagine some bright blue 911 in my distant future...
Unfortunately, I don't know. I really wish they had color samples of all the approved custom colors, but for some reason they are reluctant to offer that info. I can imagine some bright blue 911 in my distant future...
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07-18-2014, 07:26 PM
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Friday: This was an amazing day of driving, albeit rather exhausting. We only covered about 300 miles, but almost none of that on highways and plenty of pass climbing. Started with Passo Sella in the Dolomites (Italy).
After the Dolomites, headed to Bolzano and Merano. I decided to skip the Stelvio this time, which I believe is way overrated. Too slow, even repetitive sometimes, the road surface quality is far from perfect and almost always crowded. So, we continued in the valley of river Adige. After crossing the border to Switzerland, we continued on Route 28, across the 100-year-old one and only Swiss National Park. Here we stopped for lunch where a 430 spider parked next to me. Red suits them both, I believe.
Next stop: the lake at the top of Flüelapass. Spectacular scenery, a nice place for a short walk in the greens.
Now, in Switzerland you really have to drive different than in Italy. Speeding fines are pretty steep… However, the drive can still be enjoyed. Most passes have a 80km/h speed limit, just like all 2-lane roads, which is not much in the straights (what straights really?) but plenty enough in the corners. The custom speed limit warnings came handy to help me stop accelerating after corner exits…
After Flüelapass, we drove across the classy resort town of Davos but we had no time to stop, as we moved on to our final pass of the day, San Bernardino. Now, the nice thing about this pass that there is a tunnel under it and not much around. This means most travelers, even tourists, take the tunnel. It is far less crowded than some of the more well-known and “tunnel-less” passes. On the way up from the south, quite a few of the cars actually helped me to pass them. We overtook two silver 911s, whom we later met with at the top of the pass. A 996 turbo convertible, a 993 4S and a 996 4S coupe, all from France gathered for a quick ad-hoc mini meet. The drivers and the passengers were all really friendly and interested about the 991.
San Bernardino is also great because you really can hike around there without having to climb too much. We walked around for more than an hour to find ourselves completely away from any signs of civilization.
By sunset, we were settled in our hotel at the bottom of Gotthard and after a hearty dose of protein in the form of tasty rack of lamb, I started typing up these posts…
Comments and questions are welcome!
After the Dolomites, headed to Bolzano and Merano. I decided to skip the Stelvio this time, which I believe is way overrated. Too slow, even repetitive sometimes, the road surface quality is far from perfect and almost always crowded. So, we continued in the valley of river Adige. After crossing the border to Switzerland, we continued on Route 28, across the 100-year-old one and only Swiss National Park. Here we stopped for lunch where a 430 spider parked next to me. Red suits them both, I believe.
Next stop: the lake at the top of Flüelapass. Spectacular scenery, a nice place for a short walk in the greens.
Now, in Switzerland you really have to drive different than in Italy. Speeding fines are pretty steep… However, the drive can still be enjoyed. Most passes have a 80km/h speed limit, just like all 2-lane roads, which is not much in the straights (what straights really?) but plenty enough in the corners. The custom speed limit warnings came handy to help me stop accelerating after corner exits…
After Flüelapass, we drove across the classy resort town of Davos but we had no time to stop, as we moved on to our final pass of the day, San Bernardino. Now, the nice thing about this pass that there is a tunnel under it and not much around. This means most travelers, even tourists, take the tunnel. It is far less crowded than some of the more well-known and “tunnel-less” passes. On the way up from the south, quite a few of the cars actually helped me to pass them. We overtook two silver 911s, whom we later met with at the top of the pass. A 996 turbo convertible, a 993 4S and a 996 4S coupe, all from France gathered for a quick ad-hoc mini meet. The drivers and the passengers were all really friendly and interested about the 991.
San Bernardino is also great because you really can hike around there without having to climb too much. We walked around for more than an hour to find ourselves completely away from any signs of civilization.
By sunset, we were settled in our hotel at the bottom of Gotthard and after a hearty dose of protein in the form of tasty rack of lamb, I started typing up these posts…
Comments and questions are welcome!
07-18-2014, 07:30 PM
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07-18-2014, 08:12 PM
#11
Drifting
This is so amazing to read. I am picking up a 991 Turbo Cab in September and plan to drive through Switzerland into northern Italy, reading your posts gets me even more excited! Have fun and be safe.
07-18-2014, 10:37 PM
#13
RL Community Team
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Awesome. Thanks for sharing.
07-19-2014, 02:22 AM
#14
Great pictures Balaclava! What an incredible trip in a new Pcar. You really look like you know your way around, to avoid the crowds and enjoy the sights. The mini hikes etc really make it sound fun.
Jim
Jim
07-19-2014, 01:46 PM
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Great to see that many of you enjoy my photos and writeup, thanks for the comments. Here is today’s dose:
Saturday: This was a low-milage day as we stayed in the same country all day. Starting from Airolo (just below St. Gotthard) in Switzerland, the obvious first pass of the day was St. Gotthard Pass. Not really the most amazing drive: the road was designed for quite a lot of traffic, meaning mostly relatively wide turns and faster sweepers. However, the stop at the top was quite memorable because of museums, a fortress and plenty of livestock on the slopes, above 7000ft…
We moved on to the best drive of the day: Sustenpass. (Road quality is not perfect at the bottom, but gets better higher up.) Perhaps only because of luck with traffic, perhaps because of the flow of the pass, I could pass any “obstacles” quickly enough to truly enjoy the uphill drive. At the top we have seen quite a lot of interesting machinery. All kinds of bikes:
Even really old ones:
A nice Austin-Healey:
A BMW 328 (?) from the 30s:
And of course a beautiful 911C4S: :-)
Downhill we joined a pair of 997s to form a small group of Porsches, which turned heads all the way. (PSE helped for sure :-) )
Next stop: Grimselpass. Just the usual: great roads, breathtaking scenery.
Additionally, this pass has a pretty nice hotel at the top, so we could have a proper lunch before moving on to Furka Pass.
At Furka Pass after a 1-hour short walk we made a U-turn at Hotel Furkablick to continue to the last pass of the day: Nufenen Pass. Light traffic, slow enough road to enjoy below (or rarely slightly above) 80km/h. Strongly recommended. After our descend on Nufenenstrasse, we headed north through the St. Gotthard tunnel and checked into our hotel on the shore of the Vierwaldstättersee in Lucerne, one of my favorite cities anywhere. The view from my room:
As it is the Blue Ball Music Festival here today, just about now we are going to listen to some good music, have a few drinks and meet with a local friend of mine.
As usual, comments and questions are welcome.
Saturday: This was a low-milage day as we stayed in the same country all day. Starting from Airolo (just below St. Gotthard) in Switzerland, the obvious first pass of the day was St. Gotthard Pass. Not really the most amazing drive: the road was designed for quite a lot of traffic, meaning mostly relatively wide turns and faster sweepers. However, the stop at the top was quite memorable because of museums, a fortress and plenty of livestock on the slopes, above 7000ft…
We moved on to the best drive of the day: Sustenpass. (Road quality is not perfect at the bottom, but gets better higher up.) Perhaps only because of luck with traffic, perhaps because of the flow of the pass, I could pass any “obstacles” quickly enough to truly enjoy the uphill drive. At the top we have seen quite a lot of interesting machinery. All kinds of bikes:
Even really old ones:
A nice Austin-Healey:
A BMW 328 (?) from the 30s:
And of course a beautiful 911C4S: :-)
Downhill we joined a pair of 997s to form a small group of Porsches, which turned heads all the way. (PSE helped for sure :-) )
Next stop: Grimselpass. Just the usual: great roads, breathtaking scenery.
Additionally, this pass has a pretty nice hotel at the top, so we could have a proper lunch before moving on to Furka Pass.
At Furka Pass after a 1-hour short walk we made a U-turn at Hotel Furkablick to continue to the last pass of the day: Nufenen Pass. Light traffic, slow enough road to enjoy below (or rarely slightly above) 80km/h. Strongly recommended. After our descend on Nufenenstrasse, we headed north through the St. Gotthard tunnel and checked into our hotel on the shore of the Vierwaldstättersee in Lucerne, one of my favorite cities anywhere. The view from my room:
As it is the Blue Ball Music Festival here today, just about now we are going to listen to some good music, have a few drinks and meet with a local friend of mine.
As usual, comments and questions are welcome.