Having not driven my 86 for a whole year, today was one of the postcard perfect days in CT, as I work in the Porsche world, I get to drive all the latest cars, I have to tell ya guys, nothing beats a strong running air cooled carrera, these cars do have way more soul then the new stuff. Honestly, to me the GT3 is really the only fun 911 left, the regular carrera and s model sort of bore me. The 991 should prove interesting but it's getting away from what this car is supposed to be about. I feel the cayman will fill the shoes of what the 911 should be in the coming years.

 

I'm surprised nobody replied to this, so I will: thanks for posting! Coming from a Porsche insider, it's a particularly strong vote of confidence.

There is something about these old cars, isn't there?

How'd your '86 treat you after sitting for a year.

 

The 997 ('09 C4S) is not fun to drive below 70 miles an hour. The car feels very heavy and insulated. However it comes to it's own during the spirited drives (on sport plus mode) on those wet twisty highway roads where there is a definite feeling of excitement with the security blanket of complete control. Thats when the steering, the suspension and the throttle reponse just lets you know that there is no substitute. I would bet that all my air-cooled friends would have almost as much fun during such drives while motoring my 997. I just wish I could have my friends here ( the WBs, helios, Ed Hughes, 500_19Bs ) drive it while I ride as a passenger (remember Ed that mercer way drive). I would have so much fun doing that.
The 3.2 on the other hand is so light, nimble and the steering is so much more talkative even in speeds of 40 mph and is much more enjoyable even in slow speeds and local commute. I would have thought that the older car would have needed the viagra (sport plus mode) to "come alive and perform" but it is the newer one who needs it

 

The new 911 (991) is 2 inches longer than the current model. How much longer do they think they can stretch this thing? It's getting silly what a behemoth it is becoming. Bigger ain't better, Porsche. Lighter's better, faster's better, but bigger sucks.

I wrote a long time ago over on Porsche Pete's Boxster Board that the Cayman would be the NA 911's replacement. You can only take the HP from the naturally aspirated flat 6 so far. (I suppose Porsche could go the V8 route for more displacement...) but, I think in not too long, the 911 Turbo will become the 911, the only 911 available. They're running out of room for HP increases in the NA series, so it will disappear. If you want a 911, it will be a Turbo. The Turbo's HP can be incrementally increased by 15 HP per generation almost in perpetuity, so there's lots of "growth" room for the Turbo. Then, the Cayman, which has more room to grow HP, will slot into the NA 911's old shoes. They've already trained the public to accept the pricing scheme of the Cayman.

Brett

 

Hi Helios,

It treated me well, it was on a battery tender and under a cover, I set the tire pressures and off I went. I think it thanked me for taking it out of the garage

I went to NY last night to see the 918 spyder, it was a private show at a private location, no camera's or recording devices were allowed in. Jerry Seinfeld I missed by about 30 minutes. Anyway, should be interesting to what everyone thinks of the car once released

 

To say a C2S is "boring" is absurd! I love the "rawness" of my 3.2, but I also love the way the C2S eats up the road and spits it out! You simply can't experiance that in the old cars, and that's why it's best to own the best of both worlds.

 

Air-cooled 911s are to Mary Ann or Betty as the newer 911s are to Ginger or Veronica

 

I love them all, wish I can have every model as they are all unique in their own way...

 

I always say the guys that don't like the water cooled cars are the guys that:

A) Don't own one

B) Haven't spent enough seat time in one.

I fully agree that the air cooled cars are wonderful.

But, put 4,000 or 55,000 miles on a water cooled 911. The magic is still there. Yeah, they are more insulated, bigger and heavier. But, in today's world of cars, the 911 is still the ultimate sports car. The Boxster and Cayman are great drives, but the 911 magic can't be found in either one of those cars.

Porsche won't let the Cayman replace the 911. Hence the lighter and leaner 991 that is due out soon.

Jay
06 997
90 964
84 3.2

 

Good points Jay. I owned an '87 911 for 9 years and enjoyed it. But I had had enough of the "raw driving experience." I bought an '06 C2S in July and have loved every minute of it.