The Lion

Pete,

I’m shopping for a 911 as a previous owner of a 981.2S which I loved. I had until recently dismissed the new turbos and was looking at 7MT 991.1 either S or GTS. Now you have me thinking, so 2 questions for you or anyone else who has first-hand experience:

You have mentioned reservations about base brakes which I generally share but you also complimented them in your comments here. Is this a 9/10ths issue - would you really go PCCB even for street use?

You make glowing comments about the base 991.2 engine. I get the mid-range torque benefit but can that engine really be held up to the experience with NA? What do you find so special?

I’m looking for a direct, fun, engaging sports car experience. Performance is already more than sufficient in base so it comes down to emotion. Certainly I need to try one out myself (not so easy to find MT) but I’m very curious to hear your perspective.

Mike

sampelligrino

I'm not Pete nor have his expertise, but I do have personal experience with the 9A1 3.4L in the 991.1 base Carrera engine, and the 9A2 3L 991.2 base Carrera engine in my C4. NA admittedly has the better, raspier sound - but I found that the 991.2 engine is much snappier, maybe even angrier as two descriptors. Yes there is a "surge" and shove when the turbo's spool and kick in as you'll see in the boost display in the TFT, but somehow it still retains the characteristics of an NA engine that I can wind it out and still feel power coming up to redline. I also still find the sound to be plenty aggressive, it's just a different note. YMMV.

4pipes

I had a 2016 Cayman S manual and traded it for a 2017 991.2 manual. PM me if you’d like to discuss my experience.

911-TOUR

I have 16+ years of seat time in the a base 1995 993, so that's my NA comparison point...

The 991.2 base engine feels like a bigger, throatier, beastlier version of the engine in my car. I, for one, love it. 370HP vs 270HP helps as well. Turbo is there, and can be noticed from a slow rolling start, or if you are passing from high gear on the freeway. Above 4K on a backroad, it's invisible.

I will say this, driving the 991.2 back-to-back with the 991.1 - the *only* thing I like better about the 991.1 is the sound at idle. Everywhere else the turbo engine is more pleasing to me.

No, it doesn't sound the same idling in the driveway. However at speed, above 4K -- it's the same beautiful "chainsaw through a pillow" that its been since 1963. I love Porsches and have for all of my 40+ years. This turbo engine is a good one in my eyes.

cheers,

sean

Selo

Sean Spicer -
Do you specifically like the base .2 engine best, or do you like all of the variants.?

Bemo

@Sean Spicer, great review!

911-TOUR

Selo,

I like them both. One can tell the S is stronger, but its a much narrower margin base -> S than in years past.

cheers,

sean

911-TOUR

^^ Very Funny. (Like its the first time). :-)

Bemo

Well I loved reading your Real, not alternative, story and thought I'd comment!

K-A

96redLT4

Here is a question for you Pete. It looks like you guys had between 5-7 early production GT3/T cars, which by your account you drove fairly hard for a lot of miles. Did anyone have any warning lights, mechanical issues or were they mostly bulletproof? There are so many computers controlling these cars now....I had some early issues with an ebrake module in my 991.1 but otherwise it has been solid. I really enjoyed the info you have given us. Happy New Year.

Jim

911-TOUR

Walked right into that one :-) No offense taken....

...I'm going to go hide in the bushes now.

cheers,

sean

K-A

Hahahaha

Well played, sir.

The Lion

Selo

Most likely it all has to do with RPMs. When car mags test for 0-60 times, they're using launch control, so of course there is no lag. In the real world this just isn't the way there cars are typically used. At speed, and in a low enough gear, there shouldn't be significant lag, but if cruising at low rpm, it's going to take a pretty substantial blip to get the turbos to kick in, and then throttle response is going to have a lot to do with the overall efficacy of the maneuver. I haven't test driven the cars enough to really explore this. The knock on the S and GTS I've heard is that somehow the variable vane motors seem more unnatural and less linear. The NA character, according to some reports, seems to be better preserved in the base motor.