I'm not normally one to churn through cars. I owned a Supra Turbo for 16 years before I bought a Panamera S e Hybrid in 2014.

The Panamera was a mistake for me. Too large and too slow, and if I must be honest, visually unappealing. I traded it for a 991.1 4S cab 18 months ago.

I really like the car, it's a joy to drive, and it's been very different owning a convertible.

Obligatory photos:


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And yet... and yet... I still find myself playing with the configurator, daydreaming a bit about what would be the perfect car.

I think I'd like to go back to manual transmission. My wife has a manual 981S, and I found it surprisingly fun to drive, the last time I took it out.

I think maybe I'd like a Targa. The thing I like best about the cab is the amazing, all-round visibility with the top down. What I don't like is the restricted visibility compared to a coupe with the top up. I'm not a big fan of the looks of the ragtop compared to a coupe either. The big glass rear window of a Targa might push all my buttons.

I love the exterior color, but I'm not a fan of the beige. I really wish it were black leather.

I vaguely miss the sport chrono option on my Panamera. I liked the G-meter. Dorky and largely unimportant, I know.

I do like the AWD, and not just in winter. That surprised me. I wouldn't want to give that up.

As long as I'm daydreaming, I'd like the torque of a 991.2 GTS. Torque where I'll feel it regularly, not just in the high revs. Oh, and the steering wheel mode selector ****, and rear wheel steering just because I like the idea, not because I need it.

Mostly, though, it's the first three things, PDK -> manual, cab -> targa, and beige leather -> black (while keeping a metallic red or blue).

Targa 4S / 4 GTS manuals in colors I prefer aren't exactly common, though, so I think about maybe ordering a car. I could, I have the money. It just seems profligate, giving that my issues with my current car are minor little niggles, and I haven't owned it long.

So I think about maybe doing this in 2020 or so. But I still think about it.

 

I got an email from Porsche Beachwood yesterday with this in a video:
http://www.porschebeachwood.com/deta...-16594706.html
Targa 4 GTS, MT, Carmine Red. I think that's everything, correct?
Ask for Brad; he's been very straight with me since we met in '05.
Post pics please. I'm really enjoying my Targa.

 

That link is a Guards Red, PDK, Cab. Box ticking fail.

He wants Metallic, Manual, Targa.

 

To be fair to Keadog, when I looked at Beachwood Porsche, they do have a 2018 Carmine Red Targa 4 GTS manual. He just provided the wrong link.

That does tick all my boxes except metallic red. While my knee-jerk reaction to Carmine Red is I'd rather have a darker, metallic red, I've never actually seen Carmine Red in person. Some of the photos I've seen on the web have looked better than others, and colors do often look a bit different in person than in photos. I'd give it the benefit of the doubt for now.

Since it's a new car, I don't see the advantage over ordering. Ordering, I could get Sapphire Blue rather than Carmine Red, and I can spec what I want for about $9k less sticker. I doubt the difference in negotiation over would make up the difference, even for a car on the lot vs. an order.

On the positive side, it does mean that if I successfully hold off indulging myself for a few more years, maybe that car will be available used at a substantial discount then.

 

Tough crowd. Yeah, Penske changed their website and I failed in navigation skills.
There aren't that many Targa 4 GTS allocations available, I don't believe. And Carmine is a beautiful color in person. I'm not a red guy, but it's my favorite Porsche Red FWIW.
A couple years makes it a moot point because we'll be into the 992s by then and these cars won't be any good

 

pretty much!

 

Jeez Gus, your red 4S checks a load of boxes. Considering the cost of upgrading, I'd learn to live with it, unless you are loaded. I'd admit to going into the configurator myself and building my perfect GTS coupe, but it's just pure fun. When you really examine the incremental joy of a new 911 over your current car, I think you'll find it pretty expensive. The configurator is free, it's buying that will cost you. Config away.

 

Listening to you, it sounds like you need a Targa. I have a 981 Boxster S and a 2018 911 C4. I needed them both to fill my needs of a drop top, a coupe and a NA vs turbo w/low end torque.

I agree the 981 is a blast to drive.

Get the Targa. They all have AWD. The base engine is fast as heck so unless you need something faster (i.e. for the track), the base is fine. The base will be faster than your 4S and "feel" a whole lot faster with the low end torque.

 

I suppose it depends on your definition of "loaded." I estimate the upgrade would run around $70-$75k. I've got the cash 20x over, but I'm retired, so that's my source of income. My investments throw off about $70k a year, and my expenses are about $40k, so upgrading would eat about 2-2.5 years of surplus.

Which is doable, but a lot for what's probably a small increment in enjoyment.

The main thing is manual vs. PDK. I'm still uncertain whether I can't get some of the same feel as a manual by being more active with the PDK's manual mode. The other day I took it up to ~7000 RPM in 1st, which is something the PDK just won't do in automatic (since I lack Sport Chrono and Sport+), and that was rather fun.

 

You may be able to get the sport and sport+ modes flashed onto your car. Sport+ is very aggressive and quick if that's what you're looking for.

I don't think PDK in manual mode gets you there in terms of engagement, but it does probably get you a bit more than halfway. I love PDK but find a manual a little more engaging. PDK is faster, better for the racetrack, and better for daily driving uses. When driving simply for pleasure and no other purpose, a great manual would be better. I actually miss the hydraulic steering of the 997.2 more than a manual though.

If you want primarily a weekend or canyon road car you might want to check into the Boxster Spyders and the rumored GT3 touring package paired with a MT. Or an older generation 911 with less power so you can hoon about without causing trouble!

If you're going to a GTS or something like that, it's rather similar to your present "almost" car so consider purchasing used/CPO or leasing in case the itch isn't scratched - that puts you in the mindset of a well understood cost to trade cars again if you still don't hit the mark. And the new ones aren't too far off, so there's always waiting a few years and getting a new one then.

 

Playing with the configurator is how it all starts.

 

Spending retirement money is a tough decision, and your wife and heirs may have you committed or declared incompetent...

Your cab is amazing (i like the wheels and color combo), but if you want to do your own shifting, take a look at a base .2 (heaven help you) or maybe a .2S. I'd skip the Targa if digging into your cash is an issue.
One of best decision I make was the manual transmission on my .2. I almost could care less about any other option, but the sunroof.

 

@Gus - If you have the money and time then order it. Playing with the configurator, daydreaming, then ordering that car is what its all about.

Waiting for a 992 GTS is not a bad idea too considering you have a 991.1 right now and going from 991.1 to 991.2 isnt a big enough leap. imo, but itd be cool if you got a 991.2 Targa GTS though...

 

Do you have a 991.2? I think it is a huge leap. Electronics and engine. We can always wait for the next best thing......but then we will be waiting till infinity.

 

I don't want to own a Boxster Spyder. I don't like the roofline with the top up, and it's a manual roof so the energy barrier to putting it up / down is significantly higher. My experience with manual roofs is that I end up leaving them up all the time, which rather destroys the point of owning a convertible. GT4's are great looking - but at this point I definitely want a cab or targa, rather than a coupe.

991.2 GTS's are a very different animal from 991.1 GTS's or C4S's, because of the additional low-end torque. In the NA GTS the additional HP is all above about 5500 RPM, which is not someplace I usually am, and when I am it's only for a few moments. It's a difference that shows up far, far more on the track than on the street.

Not interested in a reduction in torque. It's not about revving, it's about the car pushing me back in the seat. Though I'll admit revving can feel faster even when it isn't.

Conversely, I'm not sure I need more torque. The C4S is pretty good in that regard. So why? The argument for a 991.2 GTS vs. S or base runs like this:

If I'm switching cars, I should be doing more than just going PDK -> manual. That feels insufficient to justify selling my present car, which is pretty nice.

I do think I'd like a Targa significantly more than the cab.
Used manual 991.1 4S targas in colors I like are pretty much nonexistent righ now. Heck, in any color they're very rare.
Used targas are pretty pricey, maybe 10% less than new.
No used candidates also suggests buying new.
If I'm going to spend the money on new, I need additional emotional justification for spending that kind of money.

It's not really a serious problem objectively. I'm ahead about $70k-$80k from where I was 12 months ago (I'm not at my desk and can't quote the exact figure). It's more a matter of how I feel I ought to be managing my money. Which is why I think I ought to be putting off doing anything about this for at least another 3 years.

While there are no heirs, I know I'd face an uphill battle with my wife. Though I might frame it as what would be her ideal 911 - she's into these cars, and she refuses to drive my current car because it's a PDK.

"Skipping the targa" destroys the point of doing this, which is going from near-ideal to ideal. It'd be 2 steps back while going 1 step forward. I want a cab or a targa, not a coupe, and at this point they're priced the same.

That's my impression as well. I test drove a 991.2 S last year, and it was really crazy fast. I just wasn't prepared to go new at the time.