chuckbdc

Gary will have to stop to wash it eventually (again) and perhaps he will log in and tell us more.

Mike in CA

Waiting for the pics......

simsgw

Okay, okay! Calm down!

Last night: All alone?

With the trash? Daisy May was a little lonely. (Click for full size images.)

But today in the sunshine:











I'll report on the driving experience in the next note. Here are the high-resolution versions.

Gary

hockeyguy

Great pics! Gorgeous car.
The only thing I would have done differently is order yellow gauge dials. That would have been dynamite with the white exterior and black interior...

chuckbdc

Stunning. Natural leather, white dials and those wheels are great against the white body

Mike in CA

Absolutely beautiful, Gary! Can't wait to see it in person.

simsgw

You're right. Ran out of gas.

Nah, not really. Got tired before that could happen, but I did put another hundred miles of break-in on her. I began by modifying some of the default settings in the on-board computer to match my preferences. Then I changed the tire pressures to the correct values for 'comfort': 31 front and 34 rear. (Adjusted to standard temp of course.) The manual warns me those pressures are not safe above 165 mph. Fair enough. I promise.

Starting with the top down, I drove a combination of canyon roads and city traffic (Valencia Calif). Some random impressions with the old-man stuff first:

• Comfort Entry. Much nicer than I realized until I experienced it on that loaner Panamera. When you shut down, the seat and steering wheel move to positions that make it easier to get out (and later, back in). Works even better with a sports car. Okay, granted, I used to climb in and out of race cars, but that was then and my back is very much now.
  
• The Key Fob. Without my asking, the salesman tossed in a pretty leather key fob in a color that matches the car nicely. But I'm not sure I'll ever use it. This enter-and-drive feature turns out to be very nice for a guy who walks with canes. No fumbling around with two many widgets and not enough hands when I approach the car or leave it. I suspect the key really will stay in my pocket all the time, which makes a key fob into a waste of pocket space.

Now for the routine car guy items:

• Start/Stop. Let's face it. We hate this one for moral reasons: It's too much like a damned Prius! But I tried it just for objectivity and found it quite acceptable in city traffic. It never shuts down unless I fully stop and I seem ready to sit for a while. I didn't bother to analyse what factors add up to "he plans to sit for a while" but it always was right. It was quite good at knowing the difference between a traffic light and a stop sign. And the engine starts as soon as pressure slackens even a little on the brake pedal, so you never have a stumble when you move off from rest. If the Lexus unit is this well done, I'm sure you can't even tell the difference, but of course with a Porsche, you can hear that lovely exhaust note stop, and then resume when your foot starts to lift off the brake pedal. That's acceptable, and it isn't pushy. If I hit 'sport' even at a full stop, the engine re-starts immediately and never shuts down again. Now that I've tested it, I doubt I'll ever think about this feature again. It certainly won't bother me. When I'm relaxing in heavy traffic, the engine will stop when it's convenient and won't when it is not, and the rest of my sports car life will continue without interruption.
• Windows and heated seat.These made a big difference when the top was down. And the windstop completed the package. The car in this configuration is quite comfortable at low temps if you're wearing a sweater. I prefer to roll down the windows and fold the wind stop, and I went from a cold valley to a warm one, so I was able to drive both ways half an hour apart. But most of all I prefer being able to lower the top even in cold weather and this arrangement makes that possible.
  
• The Burmester.Took the time to find tracks to test it more than I could last night in freeway traffic. Played some Anthony Ventura and Mantovani cuts and then some Natasha Bedingfield and Dusty Springfield. I was seriously impressed. Hard to believe you can bring that kind of fidelity to the cockpit environment. I certainly would not have spent this much for a damn stereo when I was younger and my money had higher purposes, but I don't resent spending some this way now. Damn good unit if the price doesn't bother you.

Finally, it's a damn fine sports car, so let's talk about sports car stuff. Here are my initial observations as an enthusiast:

• That notorious steering 'feel'. I'd say the critics need more experience or less tension in their hands. Or both. I can feel the difference between this car and my 997.2, but none of the differences are bad, just differences. You know, like adjusting a car's suspension or changing tire models. I hate to insult anyone, but damn it, it's not 'numb'. That accusation is not even slightly justified. I am able to feel the change in pavement texture as I take her down to an apex. You can't do that with 'numb' steering. I concede that I can not feel the transition as I put a wheel across the paint line used in California to warn people about the end of the world near an apex. (I suppose that's what that line is for. Or maybe to indicate when a bicyclist is fair game?) In any case, I could not feel the paint line. It wasn't that thick epoxy layer of course. I can feel that with a bloody Lexus. This was just ordinary paint, but it does change the texture under foot slightly, and with race suspension you can feel a change that slight. I couldn't feel that with this steering, but I can feel the transition between different ages of asphalt, and different roller styles when they compress new pavement. Not, repeat not numb.
  
  I knew when I was hitting my apexes because I could feel the texture of the different road features at the apex of each corner. I also could feel the tires loading up and their response change as the g-loads rose. Sorry, critics, but that is what 'feel' means. Being one with the car and the tires. At least to me. I don't object to people preferring one car to another, God knows Alfa owners put up with the most amazing nonsense to enjoy the special feel of their cars. But I'm through keeping an open mind about this criticism of the new Porsche. It is different, but it also is a great sports car with wonderful road feel.
  
  I did note one aspect that may fool people with less experience. The new suspension and the new chassis do block mid-range vibration and shock impulses. You can roll across irregularities in the road without feeling the shock transmitted to the wheel. Normally, steering that provides the sensitive feel I just described also will slap your hands when you cross such crap. This car does not do that. (No, I don't know how they do it. I'd be guessing. I designed space ships, not voodoo stuff like suspension.)
  
  I am quite happy to keep the feel and give up the shock loads. My hands don't hurt in a 997 yet -- though I'm sure they will start to complain as I get older -- but my back has begun to object to a 997, and I suspect the reduced transmission of shock and mid-range vibration is what makes this 991 acceptable for my spine where the 997 was not. However they did it, I applaud the result.
• Cornering. This was a quiet day with novices cluttering the road (everybody else, that is) so I kept it down to comfortable levels. Coming home down a different canyon, I fiddled with that new g-meter and discovered my quiet, relaxed, road test had reached 0.94 g in right turns and 0.84 g in left turns. No wonder a couple of other sports cars had waved me by and then found they couldn't keep up. Normally, I won't allow that. If someone tries to follow, I just pull off because I don't want them over-driving their experience. But this time I was going so gently, yet having so much fun, that I figured they couldn't get hurt so I let them follow for a while. Will have to keep in mind how very quick this car is, and not do that again.
  
• Pirelli Tires. These are standard fitment of course, and I can feel the difference between them and the Michelin Pilot Super Sports I was running on my 997. I'm not prepared to say I object to the difference, I just feel it. Let's see how well they do in Winter rain and how they feel when worn a little bit. In fact, let's see how fast they wear.

Gary, still taking notes and will report more later

hlee1169

I agree totally that it is a brilliant car.

hlee1169

How do you rate the PSE?

simsgw

I agree with you both. Well, I think I agree about the yellow instrument faces, I never really considered yellow if I'm honest. Actually, I didn't control the dial colors. I specified certain mandatory features, certain things I'd like to have, and then let Auto Gallery pull up all the cars inbound to the U.S. with those items. I just picked from among four candidates they offered me that could be preempted and re-routed to California instead of their original destination dealer. I did order this car, but not from the factory. I guess you could say I ordered it from a ship. It's the pick of a ship.

I'm a little puzzled about one thing. The Sports Chrono dial is white, but the primary instrument dials are black. I thought white dials were standard on the S models. I don't mind these. They look good. I just expected white dials everywhere. Maybe the new standard is black dials with the S and the guy who spec'd this car had the same wrong idea as I had.

Not complaining, just reporting.

Gary

street rod

Gary did you get the 18 way seats? How did your back react to them?

simsgw

Forgot to mention that, didn't I? Yes, I love the PSE. It's just loud enough that I felt obligated to shut it down in that canyon when I'd pass through the California equivalent of Europe's villages. You know, a cluster of houses that have been built on slightly flatter land that somebody subdivided to quarter-acre sizes. (Most of the ground in our canyons is vertical you see. Picture the Blue Ridge Mountains of my family's origin suddenly got startled. Or an erection. Ahem.) Anyway, when I'd slow to avoid scaring the natives and spooking their stock, I'd also punch the PSE button to quiet things down.

The exhaust note is delicious with or without the PSE active, but it takes on a moderately ferocious sound with PSE on. Mind you, I'm limiting myself to 4000 rpm for break-in, so the real sound effects between the torque peak and the redline aren't in evidence yet. Oh yes! I did notice the change in PDK shift strategy with PSE active. It's like a brief growl of determination every time an upshift takes place with PSE active. A horse could be forgiven for thinking my car was about to pounce.

Can't wait to hear it at high rpm.

Gary

simsgw

I did get those seats. So far, so good. I hate to tempt fate by mentioning it, but I've kept the sheepskin and the eggcrate foam in the trunk where I tossed them when I turned in the Panamera.

Very comfortable, and so adjustable you're reminded of those fictional seats that mold to your body in science fiction tales. The nice thing is my lumbar got tired on this trip and my sciatic started bothering me, but the serious symptoms never appeared at all, although I've been driving the car for almost four hours with last night and today combined. The 997 could induce serious problems in less than twenty minutes on the road or in one lap on a track. (I simply wanted one damn lap without sliding around. I couldn't get even one lap feeling secure again.)

The lumbar ache will be something I can handle by adjusting the seat. The killer would be those other symptoms that I attribute to the vibration spectrum of the 997. They haven't appeared at all. (Knock wood.)

Gary

chuck911

Gary, have you tried an inversion table? Worked wonders on my sciatica.

simsgw

Sent you a PM, Chuck.

Gary