WestCan997

After owning many corvettes starting in 1989, I finally got around to buying a Porsche.

Last year I sold my latest vette and I had spent a good part of the winter driving my wife crazy by spending endless hours searching the internet and autotrader ads for my next car.

I had thought about getting a classic car but after going for a ride in my brothers 1965 mustang fastback it reminded me that old cars ride and drive like old cars.

I happened to be at a friend’s house who had a 2006 997 C4 cab that he imported from Texas a few years back and he mentioned that he was going to list his car for sale. I had never really thought much about buying it until a few days later my wife told me a guy I used to work who is only a couple years older than me has terminal cancer and is probably only going to last a couple more months. The next day I called my buddy and we got a deal done right there on the phone.

I picked it up on Friday so I havn't much time to drive it and here is the only pic I have until it stops snowing here.





Here is a pic of my last vette that had a significant list of show and go mods. Looking forward to modding the 997

shammerman

Both great looking cars !

Mudcat

Congratulations and welcome. Can't wait to see what you do with your new ride.

Rotmilky

Congrats, you car looks lovely.

I'd love to hear your impressions of how the Porsche feels compared to the Vette. I periodically think about adding a Vette to my stable of cars. I worry a bit about the contrast in the way the cars drive. My 997 really likes to understeer (heavy motor over the rear wheels, light front end). The Vette seems like it would be really like to oversteer (heavy motor over front wheels, gonzo amounts of power over relatively light rear). What's it like to go from one type of steering craziness to the other?

WestCan997

I know a ton about C4 and C5 corvettes but almost nothing about a 997. It's going to interesting learning the ins and outs of this car. Definitely have to get busy on ordering the standard list of bolt on mods plus the wheels have got to be powdercoated black.

Make a good garage mate to my DD mercedes

WestCan997

I havn't driven the 997 much but my first impression is much like the Mercedes where the the fit and finish is real good and the car feels solid compared to the domestics. After I get the first round of mods done I'll take it for a good rip but I doubt I'll track this car like I did most of the vettes. The 997 only has 15,000 miles on it so far.

Luxter

Yet 997 and SL (or CLS in your case) are remarkably different to drive.
Are you in C-town? If so, we have a small group of 996/7 owners and tend to get together on weekly basis, that is weather permitting. We even allow some Rrari owners to join too.

Congrats on very nice Arctic silver Cab!
Cheers,

Luke

jeffrec

WestCan997....welcome to the club and I love your car!!! I will be interested in hearing your opinion between the Vette and the 997. While the Vette may be faster in a straight line, there is nothing quite like the way the 997 holds the road on curves, like riding on rails. BTW...that is one sweet looking Vette you had!!!

door2416

Welcome to the club. Like you I have grown up on vettes. I still have a c6 grand sport but I don't drive it as much after I got the 997. Nice looking c5 and c4. As much as I love my vette I will have to admit the 911 is more fun to drive.

WestCan997

I know the feeling about not driving the vette much. I had the C5 for almost 9 years and put a total of 21,00 miles on it. Between all the other vehicles and the motorcycles it spent a lot of time like this

Renzsport

congrats! You made the right choice switching to Porsche Enjoy

1analguy

Any 911 even staying on the road on curves borders on being a physics felony. Decades of cubic development may have finally made a car with 2/3 of its weight on its rear tires into a good-handling car, but why would you assume that it's a better handling car than a modern, near 50/50 Corvette? Especially the OP's Cab...a car with about 1/2 the chassis rigidity of a late-model Corvette convertible?

1analguy

Could you elaborate a bit on the comparison of your two cars? I'm currently considering each of them for my next sports car, and I'm coming from a long history of Corvette ownership myself...

door2416

I don't push either car anywhere their limits so I may not be able to give a good answer. The vette feels more like a muscle car that has been refined. The porsche feels more nimble and I agree it feels like it handles better. I do have the all wheel drive c4 so I'm sure that helps. The porsche feels like a street legal gocart to me. I like both but my first love is the vette, but like I said the Porsche maybe more fun. In the end you are going to have to fiqure what you want and drive both. I don't like the fact that a new Porsche cost about 40k more than a new Vette. I just don't see that kind of a difference.

1analguy

Ah, but your impressions are valuable to me precisely because I'm in the same boat. When I was younger, I used to wring my Corvette's neck on a regular basis...but I'm in my late 50s now and haven't driven like that in a long time. Anything you have to say on day-to-day refinement/driveability will be most welcome...



These are the very things that I'm most curious about. My current Corvette is a C4 GS (so, no meaningful comparison to anything modern) , but a close friend has a no-option '09 C6 Corvette coupe that I've ridden in from time to time. Its drive train performance, handling, braking, etc., are all well beyond adequate. And, in spite of all the media's carping, I find the interior (and yes, even the seats) to be quite acceptable, too. The problem, for me, comes from the car's NVH. Maybe it's because I've gotten older, but it just seems too loud inside...and I'm not even referring to engine noise. The roaring of the tires runs right through whole car, and that's just with the every-day base tires on it. This was true of my first Corvette (a '70 coupe), it's true of my current C4, and it's still true of my friend's '09. It appears that the Corvette group's laser-like (successful) focus on all-out performance numbers has historically neglected some of the refinement issues, and there's no reason to assume that the new C7 will be any better in this regard. I'm very curious about how your 997 compares to your GS in the area of ride/refinement/NVH, etc. Does either of your cars have the optional adjustable suspension? Which of the two rides better, and which is quieter inside?



So, you don't believe the Porsche is worth any more, or just not that much more? Does the "Porsche tax" actually buy you any meaningful additional refinement?

Right now, I can buy a new, totally loaded '13 GS coupe in the low-to-mid $60k range (admittedly, due to the impending C7). If I decide that I'd rather have a nicely-equipped 997.2 C2S ('09 or '10), it's still in the high-$60k/low $70k range. Of course, the 911's depreciation curve has flattened slightly at this point...whereas the value of the GS, as a new (yet obsolete) car, will be in comparative free-fall for the next several years. So much so, in fact, that it may actually be cheaper in the long run to go with the now-slightly-more-expensive 997.2...