stout

A very few quick pics out of the phone, since I got hammered for a wall of text last time...

Trackside press conference @ O'Dark Thirty > an intriguing lineup outside, no keys inside > the 992s ready to go > mountain passes outside of Valencia > perhaps the most interesting slide from the Powerpoint presentation, which highlights where the 992's dash philosophy came from, and how the 996/997/991 "vertical" setup was an era all its own (and perhaps one unlikely to be returned to).

Ikone

Chalk looks great.

That was the same even that Mr.JWW was at. Had posted the youtube link earlier. He also loved the car.

stout

Ha, that feels like a looooong time ago—they literally threw every editor in the building onto Bimmer's masthead to beef it up...in reality my contribution (other than the original idea for a better BMW magazine) was very, very small. The big lifts belong to EICs Jim Resnick and Jackie Jouret.

Yeah, let's go back in time when I wrote that the 991.1 GT3 was a fantastic technical achievement but also the first GT3 I had no interest in owning. When it comes to street cars, I am no stick, no sale—but this is a very personal preference, and was noted as such in a sidebar to that story because I felt it needed to be separated from the road test/review in Pano.

In fairness, I gave him warning that was coming down the pike. To his credit, our relationship got better, not worse. That, in my book, is professionalism. Professionalism that opens a two-way dialogue I feel lucky to be engaged in.

So far, no dice but will try to track down someone qualified to speak to that. They usually send 4-5 specialists (engineers), and you get the ones you get depending on which wave you go on—and there's no way you get to speak to the hundreds of people behind these cars. Still, the ones you usually get to speak either know what you're after or can get the info.

Put in a request, but all cars present have leather seats. Sorry!!

Me too. Was a bit worried!

^ For all of the above, I wouldn't jump from a 991.2 in the right setup. For me, "right setup" includes a manual gearbox and there's none of those handy. But the dynamic progress is nonetheless clear. Some of this also has to do with aesthetics, which are for me a mixed bag (love the rear flares, in particular, less so the ends)—but then, aesthetics are a highly personal thing and I had a very interesting 30-minute interview with designer Matthias Kulla, a real car nut who always leaves me with a lot to consider and think about. This conversation was no different, and I appreciate his forthright nature as well as his enthusiasm. Very much one of us.

Northquest

911boy

Amazing Pete. Thanks very much .

Freddie Two Bs

I was hoping you'd come to the rescue of us luddite haters with a nasty review. Oh, well. I'll get my coat.

chuckbdc

ROFL

MaxLTV

Good review. I expected as much - Porsche are masters of optimization, as they showed by making .2 noticeably better than .1, so the .35 (as Pete put it) should be even better. The only thing I worried about was the extra weight, but looks like it was compensated for well.

ipse dixit

disden

that chalk car looks awesome. thanks for the insight, thinking about getting one. Its been awhile since I have strayed from the GT cars...kinda curious now.

Thinc2

Thank you for the detailed and honest and insightful write-up. That is a ton of great information.

Needsdecaf

stout

You're welcome, and I'm not so crazy about the new shifter but also finally understand the logic behind its size (and thus design) where there was just a bit hole there before. As for the drive mode ****? It looks cheap to me, but mainly due to the white writing on it. I don't love the keyless go "key", which feels more like a headlight switch to me than the weighty, well-sprung switch in the 991.2. But I suppose there are those who will hammer on the 991 ignition switch for the loss of the feeling of metal teeth sliding into tumblers. The more things change…

Yeah, sorry they didn't have one of those. A very nice guy there asked for me, but no dice. There are more details I need to get down (and will try to), as I didn't write this as a finished piece—more of a download.

After the messaging in both LA and Stuttgart/Zuffenhausen—which seemed to put a priority on the size of the screen, the apps, going more digital, etc.—I went into this pretty concerned. But, three or four bends into my stint on the mountain pass seen above, I knew that real enthusiasts were still behind the handling and other driving dynamics...

Two thoughts occurred today, while chasing a 991.2 GT3 RS around the track in a "mere" Carrera S: Pre-991.2/3.0:

1) there was no way a Carrera-line car could give a GT3 of any stripe a hard time out of a turn—and now the 992 Carrera S with a so-so driver (me) can actually make a pro/instructor in a GT3 of any stripe (much less an RS) who knows the track work to stay ahead. But the Carrera S's 7:25 Ring time is evident on a normal track, and its torque out of turns changes everything.

2) Aside from the forthcoming 992 Carrera 7MT, this is the "starting point" for the rest of the 992s. Remember the Carrera GT's Ring time? Or the 991.1 GT3s?

There's a lot of "it depends" aspects to a jump like that, in my opinion. But...I think that kind of "rethinking" began with the 991.2 Carrera in some setups.

You are most welcome!

Good question. I am sorry I don't have much of an answer for you, as that kind of feedback is the stuff I pick up in daily driving, and I can think of very few cases today where it was "daily driving" low-speed maneuvering. Maybe 2-3 times, and while it was fine, I wouldn't want to render that a judgment (good or bad) on this based on such limited exposure.

Benedict14

tstafford

Great write up. Figures that Porsche would make a great thing even better!

The 991.2 C2S is an awesome car. IMHO they nailed the performance/luxury blend for many, many buyers. Sounds the 992 just continues that evolution bringing even more refinement.

I'm sure I'll ultimately own one but I'm not feeling a strong enough itch to put down $$$ quite yet.