Hello all

This is my first post and I am looking forward to becoming part of this amazing forum. I am posting in the 991 section since I have one on order, a C2S, due to arrive in December. Until then I am happy to read about yours!

In the meantime I can report on the Porsche World Roadshow which I attended yesterday, held at the Dubai Autodrome. What a fantastic day! Even as a track novice, it was just amazing. It was a packed event, from 9am till 5pm, and the pace was quick, both on and off the track. After the welcoming from the local dealer and an introduction to the team of international instructors, we split into groups of 12 and each group started on a different section of the programme. My first section was track driving in the 911's

The rules were simple; the instructor lead in a C4S and the rest of us had to keep up. He kept the pace pretty fast and communicated during the drive via a two-way radio in each car. There were two of us in each car: do two flying laps, driver swap, another two laps, then switch to the next car and repeat the process. The cars were as follows (in sequence):

GT3
Turbo S
C4S Cab
C2 Cab
Cayman GTS
C2S

We each hopped into the closest car, which just happened to be the Turbo S for me Talk about excessive, ha ha, on such a tight track (the long straight was not part of the drive, unfortunately. The power was just staggering.

Next up, the GT3... Much less of a kick up the back side, but so much more controlled, and as a track novice I found it much easier to maintain a smooth and consistently quick pace around the track. From pit lane exit, first gear...9000 rpm...bang into second...9000...bang into third... Those last 500 revs

Next was the C2S and I happy to say that I found it no less engaging than the previous two. In fact, I had more fun in the C2S because I had to drive so much harder to keep up with the previous two, and the few moments when traction was just about lost certainly had my heart racing!

Anyway, this post is getting long... After driving the other cars in the list above, we did an emergency braking test in a Targa 4S, then a timed slalom event in a Boxster GTS. I was amazed by the Boxster, what an incredibly fun car to drive fast!

After lunch we went out on the track in the bigger cars. Panamera Turbo S, base Panamera, two Macan Turbo's, Cayenne GTS. Quite a change from the 911's, to say the least.

Lastly we did an "off road" section in various Cayennes and then the instructors took us on some flying laps in the various 911's. Awesome, awesome day, thank you Porsche! I only had an opportunity to take some pics during the last part of the event, enjoy!

Cheers all

Will

 

Yes, more posts like this please.

 

What a nice comparison report on driving the various Porsche models on a track in fairly spirited driving. Shows that the fastest is not necessarily the most fun to drive. Porsche 356 owners have known that for years

 

Long post? What long post?

 

Well, since you (sort of) asked... Part 2 - The big cars

The first of the big cars I got into was the base Panamera. After spending the morning in 911's, Cayman and Boxster, this one felt GIGANTIC. I was following the Panamera Turbo S and there was no way I could even get close to it at any point in time, especially on the straights (obviously). It was a luxury spec car and, to be honest, it just felt wrong to be hurtling this around a racetrack. Next up was the Turbo S, behind the instructor in his Macan S. Now clearly this was also a problem, because at no point could I explore the full potential without getting too close to the Macan.

The Cayenne GTS was a revelation. I did not expect it to be so quick around the track. It was the last car in the queue, but I (subjectively) felt it was quicker around the track than the Macan. More planted. And it sounds great

I didn't enjoy the Macan Turbo with standard suspension that much. It had too much body roll and understeer for my liking, but the other one (with air suspension) was very differentl. It was quite quick and way more predictable through the corners. It also changed direction very quickly through the double chicane. All in all an enjoyable ride, but I suppose I expected more from the Macan. It is definitely no sports car.

In summary, the best part of an event like this is the opportunity to drive all the model variants in quick succession, under exactly the same conditions. I was surprised how different each 911 model was, i.e. Base vs S, 2S vs 4S, PDCC vs non-PDCC, etc. The differences were much more significant than I expected.

Will

 

Great read - thanks Will!

 

So, overall, which one would you say has the best AC?

 

None. They were all Euro-spec, not GCC spec like the ones sold here.