I am used to smells coming from my cars. What's odd to me is it coming from the back of the car.
The oddest smell? wet leaves on the exhaust! Smells like? burning leaves. You don't get that amount of road stuff in a front engine car. I also find that the engine get dustier. Lots of cleaning.

 

I love the smell of hot Porsche in the morning. Smells like........... Victory.........

 

My 997.2 PDK usually gets a clutch smell when I drive it hard on sport mode. Is this normal?

 

That's the smell of a a successful excursion.

 

I believe I know the smell you're talking about.

I agree it's not clutch or brakes, those are all unmistakable smells & generally not fragrant to most people.

I don't think it's cosmoline either. I always thought cosmoline smelled like crayons, which is a great smell, and my M Roadster & Z3's all had that smell.

This is more of a just, "Hot" smell. Not a bad smell, but distinct. Maybe more savory than sweet - spicy? It's hard to describe a smell that doesn't really smell like something else... I smell it on my car almost all the time, and maybe it's a combination of the hot tires and exhaust sitting right under the engine, but it's definitely distinct & consistent - so I'm going to guess something about your driving style.

You're not a real "I like to keep my revs under 3k all the time." kind of driver, are you?

(Lol)

As others have said, I think it does have to do with the engine being out back, and the difference in airflow to it. I think it's totally normal, and over time will become one of the many ways these cars get under your skin. As Magnus Walker, Jeff Zwart, and many others have said
"It's the sound. It's the SMELL of these cars that gets into you." It makes you want to just keep driving & driving.

I worried about it too at first, but oil levels, coolant levels, and performance of the car remain perfect, and no one at my shop or any other Porsche gathering has ever said, "dude! Why does your car smell like that?" So... It's got to be her own natural scent.

Agreeing with others, that's just your car's way of saying "Thanks for taking me out today."

What's great is I can look at a picture of my car & know exactly what she smells like...



here she is resting midway through our 1500 mile roadtrip last week...

Tick-tick-Vrooom!

 

I keep it under 4k until she gets up to 200 oil temp. Then I flog her a bit.

That picture is awesome. Really like the spoiler.

 

Yep that's exactly what I meant... I'm certainly the same way. It was interesting, on this road trip - typically I fill up & the computer suggests I will get about 247 miles out of the tank. The oil is generally between 212 (perceived) and 225° the whole time.

Once I got out on the road and tried 6th gear (for a change) it was offering more like 400 miles on the tank and the oil stayed just a click above 200° even when rolling into Palm Springs; which was at 108° - so, I do think the smell relates to the pleasure found in the revs even though I do still smell it after short relatively "low throttle" drives...

 

One step further. "Aporschelypse Now"

Kilgore: "Smell that, you smell that?"

Lance: "What?"

Kilgore: "That Porsche smell, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that (kneeling reverentially)"
.
Kilgore: "I love the smell of Porsche's after a hard drive. You know one time I went to the track for 12 hours. When it was all over I walked around my car. I didn't find one mechanical flaw, not one stinkin' mechanical flaw. The smell, you know that Porsche smell. The whole paddock. Smelled like (sniffing, thinking sadly yet fondly) . . .

Kilgore: "[v]ictory. Someday Porsche is gonna stop making these cars (exits stage right).

 

..should be.."Aporschelypse Now"

 

Smells like warm oil. OK, salad finished, lunchtime distraction concluded. Thanks, back to work.

 

PDK is about to grenade

 

Ain't no PDK business here.

 

It's her way of saying thanks for a nice drive. I imagine outside of the cosmoline the fact that our tires sling every piece of crap, oil, power steering fluid, trans fluid etc onto our hot exhaust gives it that distinctive smell. I kinda like it, my wife thinks that I am destroying the car and that it's about to catch on fire

 

PORSCHE PERFUME!

 

Thats exactly what I call it, Porsche Perfume, it's normal.