11 Miles, 318 Turns, and 16-feet of Porsche Panamera Hybrid
Ever have one of those really crazy ideas that turns out to be hilariously wonderful in the end? I had one of those last year when I got my first full-week long test of a Porsche. The car in question was the 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, and I wanted to give it the most thorough performance test I could.
It just so happens that I had just met a large local group of Miata enthusiasts, and they informed me of a huge Miata gathering that takes place at the Tail of the Dragon every year. If you are unfamiliar with US129, Deal’s Gap, or the Tail of the Dragon, it is an 11-mile stretch of road in the middle of nowhere that connects Tennessee and North Carolina. In that 11 miles, there are more than 300 turns. It is a very tight and demanding road that has that perfect combination of no shoulders, and multi-story drops at nearly every turn.
I had never visited the Dragon before, so I thought the best way to experience the road was to take a 16-foot long hybrid and chase after a convoy of highly modified Miatas around one of the most technical roads in the area.
Yeah, I told you it was crazy.
Long story short, I had an amazing time, and until I managed to overheat the car’s oil and put it into limp mode, it was one of the best drives I have ever had. It may be huge, and it may be a hybrid, but it still says Porsche on the nose, and it handles like it.
As a bonus, I was the first person to ever use the freshly installed car charge at the t-shirt shack at the top of the run. I wrote about the whole ordeal last year for TopSpeed, so if you want more details on what happened that day, you can head over there to check it out.
Chime in with your thoughts on the forum. >>
Via [TopSpeed]
