oshuwah

NICE! Ok, so the ONE thing I did not spec (which I wanted) was the EU delivery. I had big plans to do a road trip from Germany > Switzerland > Northern Italy to the new Porsche Experience center (then drop the car in Italy). BUT for whatever reason I could not spec it. My dealer said they were not doing EU delivery right now due to Covid? My one consolation is I won't have to worry about driving a non-PPF'd car around. I'm a little OCD and would have worried about scratches etc. My thinking is I could still do the trip and just rent a car. We just came back from a two week trip in switzerland and norther italy two months ago. It was epic.

Gr33n

RHD indeed! You are given the option, but I've been out here so long that I'm used to it (though I suppose I might prefer LHD for a manual). It also makes life easier when going through the drive thru or a parking garage - or one of the pesky toll booths in the countryside that still requires cash payment!

Gr33n

Yes, it seems all the German automakers allow you to choose RHD or LHD. I have some friends who are into importing American cars that are all LHD. For me it's just about practicality, and over more than 13 years here I'm more used to the RHD experience (always takes a few days to adjust when I'm driving back stateside).

aggie57

Interesting, must be one of the few markets where you get a choice. I’m like you, ambidextrous when it comes to driving cars. The worst part is walking up to a car and having to remember which side to get in - that can take a couple of days to adjust to.

Having said that, my 911 is manual and it did take a few weeks to get comfortable shifting with my right hand.

pesos

Did you have trouble getting an allocation here? I am considering doing the same (though a manual LHD)

AJ_Tokyo

Hi @Gr33n , congrats on putting in your order! I hope you are able to get confirmation on an allocation as soon as possible - the Japanese dealers seem to be pretty good with communication on that front.



I too pulled the trigger on a 992 GTS here in Tokyo; I actually did the obligatory “comment on my build!” thread here on Rennlist as it seems almost a rite of passage:

https://rennlist.com/forums/992/1270...king-soon.html



Unfortunately I didn’t get much traction on it since my allocation was for a September lock date and November production slot (later pushed back to October lock and December build), and since most Rennlist activity is from the US and GTS allocations hadn’t been released in the US yet, most people were simply incredulous of the allocation and there wasn’t much feedback on the build itself.



Regardless, build locked on the 10th of October and is still sitting at a week 49 build, so likely delivery here in February or March depending on shipping schedules, so it will be one of the first GTSs to be delivered to customers in-country.



Interesting to see you went with RHD - I did too, since I could only get an allocation for RHD and the smaller pedal box on RHD doesn’t bother me as much with this car being PDK. On my current Boxster GTS 4.0 and previous M2 Competition (both manual), the combo of RHD with the smaller pedal box and 3 pedals definitely had a negative impact on the driving experience. That said I agree with you on the pros and cons of RHD vs LHD, and with allocations already hard to get on 992s anyway, the thought of adding 2 years to the wait just for LHD on a PDK meant that when an allocation came up for a C4GTS in RHD I jumped on it.



Once my car is delivered you are welcome to take a look at it in the flesh!

You’re the only other person I’ve seen here ordering a 992 GTS in Tokyo so when you get your car we should do some touring out to Hakone or something.

I read your story on in the new members area and it was very moving.

I wish you the best luck with a quick allocation and short wait!

AJ_Tokyo

Hi pesos, just to give you my experience I can say that, like everywhere else in the world, allocations are hard to come by in Japan, although there seems to be anecdotal evidence that Porsche is prioritizing high-margin trims right now (dealers are getting more GTS allocations than base Carreras, for instance).
Right now, my educated guess for a new order on a RHD GTS would be approximately 18 months from request to delivery.
Allocations are given 3 times per year for Japan, and I believe the next round is February, so essentially you would have to see if your allocation is granted in February, and if not then in July, and if not then in November, etc.

As for LHD, my understanding is that from about 10 years ago Porsche now treats Japan as a RHD-specific territory like the UK, so while they technically offer LHD here it requires a LHD-specific allocation and those are only granted once per year as a special order. So I would expect at least an additional year to be added if LHD is required (since, if Porsche doesn’t release LHD allocations but does release RHD ones, which is what will happen most of the time, a customer who ordered after you but in RHD will be given an allocation before you can get one). The best advice I can give is to speak to your preferred dealer and ask how many orders are awaiting allocations for your preferred combination of trim and LHD and then you may be able to estimate the wait time for an allocation.

Finally, apologies if you already knew this, but for 992s imported to Japan only the Carrera 2 GTS coupe is available in manual.
No S models, and no cabs or Targas (GTS or otherwise) are available in manual; it’s quite limited compared to the US or UK.
Also my dealer informed me that transmission choice is a specific allocation request; when the dealer requests the allocation he will need to specify MT so that can also affect wait times for allocations.

I hope this is helpful!

LSM111

Just wondering out loud. You can spec a non S turbo likely within 5-10k of your gts.

Do you prefer GTS?

AJ_Tokyo

Hi LSM111, that’s a great question.
Due to the way pricing is set here in Japan, the GTS is much more of a total discount than it is in the US (although the prices across the board are much higher in general).
So compared with an S for instance, the GTS specced similarly is quite a bit cheaper (even not including Sport Design package in the calculation) making it a very attractive proposition.

Compared with the non-S Turbo, I agree the since a lot of what I specced is standard on the Turbo, I did consider making the jump up to the Turbo, but there were 3 mitigating factors:
- With local pricing, the delta between my spec GTS and the Turbo the way I would want it was still around 4 million JPY
- I like the standard Carrera body style looks with no side intakes and the smooth rear end without the spoiler, plus the 5cm difference in body width does make a difference in Tokyo with the many mechanical parking garages we have to use
- Most importantly, I had been waiting for news of an allocation from my dealer for almost a year, and the GTS allocation fell in my lap so given the state of wait times tight now I figured a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush — it could be another year before a Turbo allocation became available

Honestly with the narrow streets and low speed limits we have here, the power of the Turbo is completely unnecessary (even a base Carrera is probably too much), but I do go to the track a few times a year (Fuji, Suzuka) so I figure the GTS will be a good balance for daily and track.

LSM111

sorry this was meant for OP not directed at you

LSM111

Just wondering out loud. You can spec a non S turbo likely within 5-10k of your gts.

Do you prefer GTS

AJ_Tokyo

Ah, apologies @LSM111

oshuwah

GREAT QUESTION. It's all in how you spec them. I've built everything from Base to Turbo S on the configurator trying to find the sweet spot without compromise on spec. Each model Spec'd with my preferences if available (i.e. truffle brown, aventurine, CCB's, RWS, PASM, etc) has about a $20k swing between models. For me to go from my GTS Spec to a turbo (NON S) would be a $22k delta. Too much. AND I don't like the wing. At all. I like the smooth low-key wingless look. Here is my turbo spec and it's $207k: http://www.porsche-code.com/PNTAGXJ6

Note turbo can actually add Paldao on the trim (and can't on the GTS). LOVE the trim (seen it in person). So I actually saved money on the GTS by spacing the leather trim (free) but that's the only thing missing (IMO).

LSM111

Cool. You have a great build. Congrats on your GTS. Mine comes in March - Jan production

Gr33n

Thank you so much, I would love to come check it out since there are no actual GTS's to test out in country (at least as far as I can tell). I have put in a request with the new Experience Center in Kisarazu to ask if/when they will have a GTS on site - I have heard that SA's often invite you to take a test drive at the local EC once you pony up the deposit, but wasn't offered anything (also noticed that EC delivery was not an option in the Japan configurator - any idea about this being something you can add on?).

Definitely gotta do some touring - my wife's family has a weekend place in Hakone so we head up there often. Will be a heck of a nice change hitting those roads in a 911 versus my current SUV! Perhaps we can grab a coffee sometime and talk cars, must say I've become completely obsessed since putting the deposit down and my wife is getting pretty tired of hearing about it!