Have you driven a 997? What did you think?

I know this topic has been covered before, both here and by the 997 guys. Still, I’ll indulge and beat it up some more.

I test drove a 997S this weekend. Although it was a fine automobile, the experience didn’t leave me lusting after a 997.

My 993 feels more visceral, tougher… more like a street fighter.

(Speaking of street fighter… I found a post in which a 997 owner – previously a 993 owner - likened the difference between a 993 and a 997 to that between a P-51 Mustang and a Gulfstream V. Although I’ve never flown in either, the comparison is certainly descriptive.)

The 997S with 355 horses, more advanced suspension and wider stance outperforms the 993 on just about every metric save soul.

The 997 gives the 993 a run for looks, but even there I give the nod to the more curvaceous 993.

All that said, eventually I’ll have to get a 997S for a daily driver.

And there’s the difference between lust and like… I really like the 997S.

 

Interesting, that's the same typical discussion over on Pelican between a pre-89 911 and 993.

I'm not a 996 fan. But my trip to the Porsche Factory and watching them make the 997 (especially the GT3) has left me favorably impressed.

 

Although I haven't driven one, the 997 seems to have much more soul than its 996 predecessor. Not nearly as much as the 993, but getting there. I would be willing to bet that if the 997 were handmade, ala the 993, it would recapture much of the soul lost in the Marque....

 

Tom - what's your definition of handmade? Today at Stuttgart, they do use welding robots on the chassis. But other than that, there is only one robot on the entire vehicle assembly line - for the windshield and rear glass. Otherwise, the car is assembled entirely by hand. And the engine is made by one guy - then test run to confirm it meets minimum specifications.

They hand beat the panels on jigs for an Aston Martin. That's cool. I really liked to brag about the handmade nature of my 87 Carerra. But with the tolerances required for modern suspension design (and fit/finish), it's hard to contemplate how to make production quantities of chassis without welding robots.

Watching one guy build an engine is definitely "soul". Watching one guy assemble tab a into slot b all day long is definitely Detroit Watching one robot assemble tabs a, b, c and d into slots a, b, c and d is probably Japan