jfischet

i've made this joke about smells in another thread but i'm doing it again...
"sometimes i put a few drops of oil on the mufflers of my 991 so it smells more like my 993."



truth though: the smell of an old air-cooled 911, with the mix of leather and oil is unique and the pinnacle of car smells. (if that's really a thing. haha)

Ironman88

I'll agree with you on that.

And the doors on this one do close like a bank vault.

Multimodal

I would not have guessed that hydraulic steering was the root of your complaint, but that’s an obvious one! Glad you found what you wanted.

E39to911

I think it is that and the doors like someone mentioned - love the idea of the odor that has been discussed on this thread, have not experienced that - but imagine it's sublime. I work in the airline industry, and imagine its like the smell of jet exhaust in the morning!

asellus

Yeah there's something very special about the old air cooled 911s. The 964 I grew up with had a very distinct scent, particularly in the interior, and my 991 had a similar scent. It's the leather (and the periodic conditioning). The engine smell is worse on the 991 though.

Multimodal

Did you notice the plinking of road debris/pebbles against the wheel well? That’s distinctive Porsche to me.

E39to911

I did not, but I know exactly what you are talking about as my BMW does that too.

Penn4S

I have a 991 Turbo S 2014 that doesn’t make one squeak or rattle and I have 51k miles on it. Drive it daily too. But it’s my 14th 911 and before that owned several other sporty vehicles, 2 TR6’s and several Z car generation’s, so I’m used to the way sporty cars drive. 911’s are certainly not going to ride like a 500 series BMW but then again who wants that in a 911.

Noah Fect

That the BMW likely devotes more of its weight budget to sound-deadening. More properly, to shaping the spectrum of the sound and NVH that makes it through to the cockpit. It might not actually be any quieter than the 911 if you drove around with an SPL meter. For that matter, it could just be running on quieter/newer tires.

I never said the E39 was lugging around a couple hundred pounds of Dynamat. Only that you could make a 911 just as quiet and substantial-feeling as the BMW with such a measure. Meanwhile, making the BMW drive like a Porsche will take serious re-engineering if it can be done at all.

911-TOUR

My 1995 993 was shockingly rattle free after 23 years when I sold it in 2018. Doors (like all air-cooled 911s) made this distinctive 'ping' when opend/closed - this is something that we lost in the transition to water-cooled cars. The smells in that old Carrera were also "unique" :-)

My Carrera T is every bit as solid after almost 5 years - but the sounds and smells are different. Absolutely no rattles though. Still in love.

Multimodal

Interesting… my BMWs (7 so far) have been too insulated to hear the plinking. I heard it right away in the 718 GT4 and Carrera T I drove, though.

Gripster

I had a 997.2 before my 991.1 and, honestly, the lightweight aluminum doors were one of the biggest disappointments for me. The 997.2 doors were steel and therefore heavier. The whole car felt like a Swiss Watch - quite remarkable.

The 991.1 is actually lighter than the 997.2, and the weight saving measures have an effect on the perceived solidity of the car. Plus the 991 is known for squeaks and rattles - I've bug hunted and resolved most of them, but I still get the odd one here and there over rough pavement. Usually when I'm showing the car off to a friend or relative!

If you're looking for that solid German car feel, you may be be disappointed with the 991 generation. I can't speak from personal experience, but I do hear from others that the 992 doesn't have some of these. Test drive a few and take your pick. These cars are otherwise absolutely spectacular. There is something so unique about a 911.

BSO

‘19 991.2 C4S 7mt no sunroof with 21k miles. On a really rough road I’ll hear interior noise but quiet the rest of the time. I ordered it and was built right before the 991.2 ceased production.

Consider this, my C4S gets 29+mpg on the road, will top out @around 190 mph but it’s perfectly tractable around town, it will move out from a dead stop at idle if you’re easy on the clutch and with Sport Exhaust it screams when wound out. What else do you want?

You really can’t compare your BMW with a 911. When I drive my Merc SUV with its cushy Michelins it’s a different world from the 911.

However, long trips in the 911 are blast and even after 6 hours I’m not tired, I’d take it cross country in a heartbeat. Use comfort tire pressure and the ride is more than tolerable.

If quiet is a must then try the LC500 you mentioned or a Panamera. Good luck.

Lee Rambler

my e37 z3m and my e46 m3 did. others weren't noticable. e46 m3 is different, but similar to a 911 in some regards - raucous, tractable when not driven hard - but screams like a banshee when you do. never got high 20's on the highway in my e46 though.

Ironman88

I would agree with this about the E46 M3. I had the same experience with mine. Such a great car. A money pit for me though.