Z356

Full Report on the 918 Track Day at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, California. I have started a new thread so that I & other forum members that participated in the event can post their experiences or comments. I am not a 918 deposit holder. I was a guest of a long standing 918 deposit holder (Doug) and he chose to sign up for the first morning of the first day of the six day running event, which concludes today (I think). In retrospect, that was a wise decision (more on this later) to book the earliest 918 test driving session. Our appointment was for 9 AM on Thursday, Nov. 21st. We drove down (from California's Central Coast) the day before and stayed on Wednesday night at a hotel in nearby 'Indian Wells'. On Thursday, we arrived early at 'The Thermal Club', which is a private track near Indio, just east of the Palm Springs area. The general neighborhood (Indio & Thermal) is not upscale. The terrain is as flat as a pancake, although the beautiful mountains that flank Palm Springs are in the near distance. The gate to the facility is not yet finished and a private guard met us. He checked our name against the invite list and let us in. We were directed to a temporary Porsche Zentrum structure which was installed the day before at this unfinished track. The latter currently has about one fourth of its projected 4.8 track completed. http://www.thethermalclub.com/track.html The 918 test drive would take place in the finished part of the circuit - barely a mile long, if that - which is referred to as the 'Southern Palm Circuit' at The Thermal.

The temporary/portable 'Porsche Zentrum' had a reception area where we were greeted, right next to where a prototype 'base' 918 was on display. In the back was the work station of the 'Porsche Exclusive' representative in attendance (Melissa Witek from PCNA/NYC), and available were samples of paint, interior colors, 918 luggage, etc. Also at a nearby table was some nice fruit & yogurt available for 'breakfast'. The folks organizing this part of the operation were all PCNA staff. It was lead by Daniel Eastman*, who is the '918 Client Relationship Manager' at PCNA. He and his staff were there to provide answers to any questions we may have had. However, there was not an organized discussion or presentation at the Zentrum on any aspect of the 918. So if you didn't ask, you didn't learn anything. Neither Dr. Frank Walliser, the 918 project director, nor any other high ranking PCNA or Porsche AG official were present that morning at our event.

About one hundred yards away was the finished portion of the track where the 918 testing was to take place. The 918 chosen for track duty was not a 'base model' but the optional/lighter 'Weissach Package' spec vehicle. It was 'white', probably covered in a white 'film' as opposed to paint. We were officially designated as the 5th 'driver's group' scheduled for that morning's test drive, although I think we actually were the third group to actually drive the 918 on the track that first day of the event. As we left the Zentrum when our number was called, we were escorted to the track by a member (Lea Croteau) of the team responsible for that next portion of the program. This group comprised of the professional drivers of the 'Porsche Sport Driving School' based at Barber Motorsports in Leeds, Alabama. In addition, there seem to be some European Porsche factory drivers in attendance as well. https://www.porschedriving.com/Instructor-Listing.aspx

On the pit lane, we could see the 'white' 918 Weissach, several black Panamera Hybrids and a few Guards Red 991 Carrera 4S coupes. We were first asked to select loaner helmets and then Doug & I were handed to another instructor (Joe Rothman) who was going to take us out on the track in a Panamera Hybrid to get acquainted with the short 'Southern Palm Circuit'. Joe first drove the Panamera and then Doug & I took our turns. The Hybrid model of the Panamera was chosen because of its technological tie-in to the Hybrid 918. But in our opinion, this was a mistake. Its suspension was not particularly sharp and it didn't adequately prepare us for the driving adventure we were shortly to experience in the 918! I think a Panamera GTS would have been a better 'teaching' choice in anticipation of driving the 918 on any track. While we were driving around the short circuit, we would be on track at the same time as the 918 which was being driven at the time by another invited guest of the event. If the white 918, which always led by a Guards Red Carrera 4S driven by another 'Porsche Sport Driving School' instructor, was about to pass our Panamera, we were asked to pull quickly to the side to let them go by. This happened to us a few times.

Finally it was our turn to drive the 918. We were assigned to Cass Whitehead, the lead instructor of the 'Porsche Sport Driving School'. I have known Cass for a number of years and he was instrumental in my decision to custom order my '12 Boxster Spyder. I last spoke to him at the High Plains race track in Colorado during a Porsche World Road Show in 2012. I let Doug, the deposit holder, take the first rides with Cass (although Doug offered to let me drive it first). Cass drove the 918 first to teach Doug the driving fundamentals of this model and how to tackle the short track in this vehicle. Doug has been a 918 deposit holder since 2010 and was driven as a passenger on a prototype at a 918 deposit holder function in Las Vegas just last year. But this was the first time he, or any other deposit holder or prospective customer of the model, had actually driven a 918 at a track in the North American continent! But before Doug could take the car out on the track, Cass noticed that a red 'oil' warning light came on the 918's dash. This was a bad omen, in hindsight of what happened a few days later with this car. We waited while another driver took the 918 outside the pit lane and checked the oil. Luckily for us that day, the 918 was back after 10 minutes or so. Doug then took the car out for three laps. Time was running short so I was only able to do two laps. It was over in flash. When we finish our drive, it was just around 11 AM!

Near the lane pit area, there was another temporary Porsche building that acted as a shelter (should the weather turn) and a refreshment bar. Because we were so busy at the track, it was never used by anyone during our time at the track! In addition, there was a representative of the Michelin Tire Company with a small display of the special tires they have developed for the 918. Back by the temporary Porsche Zentrum, there is a permanent structure that housed The Thermal's owners 'club-house'. Porsche had set up a food caterer there that was preparing a sumptuous lunch for its guests at the event. If it was up to me, I would have spent all day at this event - talking to the Dan Eastman, Melissa Witek, the Porsche School drivers, the Michelin Tire guy, etc - and also to enjoyed all their generous hospitality. But Doug is not the type that likes to linger about too much...so we were back on his 'Racing Yellow' 991S cab shortly after we made a final visit to the portable restrooms (on a nicely air-conditioned trailer) behind the Zentrum which Porsche had also brought in for the event. As we were rushing out, one of the nice ladies on Eastman's PCNA staff brought to our car two 'goody bag' with parting gifts for those participating in the event. It included a nice 918 Spyder hat, a beautiful silver metal model of a 918, a carbon fiber pen and a few other trinkets. We also got the latest hard-bound copy of the 918 Spyder sales book. In our rush to leave quickly, we almost missed these 'presents'.

Within 30 minutes of our departure, while we were still on Interstate 10 by Beaumont way before San Bernardino, we ran into a torrential rain storm. And unfortunately it was heading in the direction of Palm Springs and The Thermal Club. I hope the folks attending the afternoon sessions were able to go out on the 918! And luck ran out on the event in the past few days. I heard that the 918 Weissach we drove on Thursday was sidelined with mechanical problems on Sunday and Monday (Nov. 24th & 25th), which apparently left all the invited deposit holders, prospective buyers and their guest stranded & deeply disappointed. Many had come from South America, Canada and other far away parts of the United States just to attend the 918 test drive! That is just a shame. Overall, Doug and I had a fabulous time at our morning session at 'The Thermal Club'. For me, it was a truly memorable event...since it's probably the only time I will ever get to drive a 918!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

*Daniel is also a driving instructor at the Porsche Sport Driving School!
**********************************************************
I am the author of these other threads at Rennlist:

'Custom Ordering' Thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/991/7085...e-and-you.html

'Visit to Zuffenhausen' Thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3/...a-991-gt3.html

'Boxster Spyder Total Production' Thread https://rennlist.com/forums/987-981-...er-spyder.html

'Boxster Spyder - Tale of a Custom Order' Thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/987-981-...tom-order.html

Z356

Additional photos tied to my post above.

bbs993tt

Thanks for the great write up about the event, but what about the car? How did it drive? Where y'all limited on what you could do in it? What are your impressions? Was all the weight noticeable? Did you wish it had a manual gearbox? Did it confirm your friends decision to buy one or does he want his deposit back? How does it compare to the CGT?

Sorry for all the questions but I was one of the ones that was uninvited and these are questions that I would have wanted answered.

ScottKelly911

Great write up Eduardo! Thanks for taking pix too. Now if only there were video lol btw very cool gift bag items!!!

Z356

I got a couple of minutes to write before an appointment, so I will complete my full answer later. Let me just touch on the question 'Did it confirm your friend's decision to buy one or does he want his deposit back?'

Doug is 100% on board and will proceed with his decision to purchase. His 918 is being built in January, so it will actually be among the first production vehicles scheduled to be built for customers in North America. Last year at the Porsche Parade in Salt Lake City, Doug had told me that PCNA would be asking him for an extra $200K plus to put on top of his already existing $200K deposit to firm up his 918 order. The initial $200K was put up in 2010 just after he was invited to see the prototype at the Jet Center in Monterey during the August Historics. He was on Porsche's radar because he had purchased a Carrera GT a few years before. This additional $200K+ tranche, plus his original $200K initial deposit, was expected not to be refundable once it was given and his order went 'firm'. But apparently Porsche changed its mind and never asked for that additional $200K+ tranche. And Doug indeed thinks that if he had changed his mind on Thursday, after his test drive at The Thermal, that Porsche would have refunded his deposit. I find all of this rather surprising. And Daniel Eastman was quite clear, in conversations with me, that they have NO DOUBTS that all 918 examples of this model will be 'SOLD' before long. I don't know if that is just bravado...or realistic marketing feedback (from all of the world markets where they are expected to sell this unique product) that is making them confident.

Saludos,
Eduardo

mousecatcher

thanks so much for the writeup and the pics! i'm sure rennlist thanks you for all the hits this thread is going to generate.

Z356

I was taking photos. Doug was supposed to take videos with his iPhone camera...but all he sent me was a clip about one second long. Hoping others that attended will provide more photos & videos. The sound of the 918 at full throttle was epic!

Mousecatcher: One of the perks if you become a paying member of Rennlist, as most of us here know, is that Super Moderator '911 Slow' will send you 25 cents for each 'view' your thread can generate for Rennlist & their advertisers. The money is deposited in a numbered Swiss bank account (or was that in Greece?) at the end of each calendar year. Just ONE of my Rennlist threads - Custom Ordering a 991, 'Porsche Exclusive' and You! - currently has in excess of 52,000 views! So I am presently allocating all of that projected income for a down payment on a 960 FeFi! Don't let the puny 126 views on this Thermal thread fool you. It has a lot of upside!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

Plastique999

Great write up!
Thermal is only an hour from where I live - would love to track there soon.

Also interested in hearing driver experience opinion and how it compares to the CGT.

Z356

MY IMPRESSIONS? The car is exceptional. But for the asking $845,000 for the base and $929,000 for the Weissach Package model, you expect that. Three motors (2 electric and the v8) deliver an aggregate output of 887 hp and 944 lb. ft. of torque. That is like nothing most of us have ever experienced. The ride was relatively supple and the brakes simply magnificent. After the first turn at the track on the 918, I loss my fear of not breaking in time, or making the turn even if still traveling at considerable speeds, or not hitting the apex that I was aiming at. It became easy. After each of these sharp turns, Cass Whitehead would say 'Now full throttle!'. And as I pushed the pedal down, the 918 would create a mechanical engine & exhaust sound that defies an easy description. Think of the sound of a military jet at your back. Then, when the accelerator was fully depressed, the aggregate power of the three variables on this Hybrid - electric motors, combustion engine and the electric boost - did their magic and you are literally projected - not merely driven - to your next destination on the track!

DID I NOTICED THE ADDED WEIGHT? No...and neither will you if you had 887 hp and 944 pounds of torque at your disposal on a vehicle weighting 3602 lb (DIN)! The base 918 Spyder (which we did not drive) is a heavier at 3693 lbs. To put these numbers in perspective, my current Audi R8 v8 Spyder (lard-city) weighs 3660 lb (DIN), about as much as a 918 Spyder. But my former Porsche Boxster Spyder weighted just around 2900 lb (DIN). Yet they are comparable in 'performance' because the 425 hp of the Audi helps 'fatty' keep up with the lighter Porsche with only 320 hp. One can only imagine what Porsche could have done if it had created the 918 with all the light weight components and that glorious 4.6 liter v8, but skipped the electric motors & batteries. That v8 generates 608 hp and 398 lb. tq. At 132 hp/l, it is the highest output of any natural aspirated motor in the industry today! But Porsche wanted to create a Hybrid for a variety of reasons on this model - which we can discuss later. But at least we should be optimistic in thinking that many of the light weight concepts developed for, and applied to, the 918 might one day be utilized to great advantage in the upcoming 960 model. And that mid-engine vehicle will have only a v8 engine!

DID I WISH IT HAD A MANUAL? No, you are simply going too fast to EVEN consider having to shift in a manual. And this from a manual transmission groupie! Every car I presently own - 911E, VW bug, Mini Cooper JCW & Audi R8 - is a manual. I am one of the folks at another Rennlist forum that has publicly stated that I wish Porsche would have offered the option of a manual in the 991 gt3 in addition to PDK Sport. But on this 918, I have no such misgivings. In my opinion, you couldn't possible adapt (physically or mentally) to a traditional manual transmission on this vehicle! It is not in the realm of possibilities. Trust me on this. Things are moving just too fast. Marty (Maltese Falcon), another Rennlister present that day at the event, did however play around with the special PDK transmission in manual shifting mode. I did not. But I will let him tell of that experience.

WERE WE LIMITED IN WHAT WE COULD DO IN IT? Yes, we were told to avoid crashing it, if at all possible. Interestingly, we were also told that the 918 does not tolerate well the track's curbs (meaning the white/red areas photographed in the first photo below). So we were to avoid riding over them at all costs as we approached or exited an apex. Finally, I didn't control the 'modes' on Porsche's version of the manettino switch on the steering wheel. It has four settings (E-Power, Hybrid, Sport Hybrid, Race Hybrid and the magical center 'Hot Lap' button). I was too concerned with getting my lines right that I never asked what setting Cass put the vehicle on. I hope it was at least 'Race Hybrid', but I don't know for sure. And was the magic red button pushed? I honestly don't remember. I'll email and ask him.

HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO THE CARRERA GT? The 918 has a MUCH more comfortable ride and supple suspension. That from my experience as a passenger in my friend Doug's CGT. The sound of the CGT's exhaust is pretty amazing, but the 918's is on a different league...or separate planet. Given the location of the exhausts on the 918, the sound is so close to your head that no other car in production today can match the auditory experience of this model at full throttle! The 918 sport bucket seats are very supportive, like those on the CGT. However, unlike those on the CGT or my old Boxster Spyder's 'gt2' sport buckets, the 918 driver's seat can now be adjusted up or down by an electrical switch. These special 918 sport buckets were designed by a friend of mine (a fellow R Gruppe) that works at Porsche Zuffenhausen on interiors - Thorsten Klein. Interestingly, the passenger bucket seat has no such adjustability due to weight saving considerations. Finally, I have no way to compare the 918 to the CGT as a driver. Nobody has ever let me drive a CGT yet. Not even my 'friend' Doug.

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

Hothonda

Eduardo the details & photos again make Rennlist the place to go for everything Porsche.

Thanks!

bbs993tt

Eduardo,

First, thanks for the thoughtful answers. Second, shame on Doug for not letting you drive his cgt. Kidding of course.

One last question if I may. We've heard about the lack of feel, lack of soul, emptiness etc. in many of today's hypercars and the cgt being the last (and best, most rewarding, imo) of the "analogue" era before they all went "digital". What is your take on how the 918 "feels"? Other than the epic sound, how satisfying was it to drive? Thanks.

W8MM

Now I know why my 918 Concierge disappeared without a trace!

I told him (among other concerns) that if my wife couldn't comfortably ride in the car, it was a deal breaker. She can't see out of my Carrera GT as a passenger without sitting on a pile of cushions -- at 5'0" tall, she's actually not that short.

No adjustable passenger seat for the 918 -- no deal.

mousecatcher

They've been saying it will have a boxer/flat 8 since January. Is it new news that it will have a v8?

zellamsee

[deleted]

Z356

You are welcome!

Mike: I am also very surprised that Porsche has decided NOT to offer a height adjustable seat for the passenger side. And for the very reasons you mentioned. Maybe they don't really understand how important wives are in our decision making process here in the US or who actually controls the purse strings for the funds we used to buy our toys?


Thorsten Klein has, in very general terms, described to me the objectives he & Porsche were hoping to accomplished with this new seat design! Among the most important was height adjustability, which is particularly important on this 918 because its seating position is 4 cm than in the Carrera GT. This, of course, lowers the center of gravity on the 918 and it also provides more headroom to the driver (e.g. for those very tall or wearing a helmet at the track). The height adjustability will also conform with the latest regulations, or those about to be imposed, by US NHTSA regarding seats in vehicles. That lack of height adjustability is ONE of the reasons why the optional factory Sport Buckets I ordered in my '12 Boxster Spyder (folding, w. air bags, non-adjustable, ref as 'gt2' type) are not offered by Porsche on its 991 or 981 US models, including its upcoming gt3!

Porsche must recognize that many of its 918 customers, like you, will request such height adjustability in the passenger seat! I would have thought they would have made it an OPTION, even though it adds weight and more electrical components to contend with. I tried to briefly scan the US Patent papers Porsche & Thorsten Klein filed on the 918 seat design. It is patent # D685586.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-P...&RS=PN/D685586

I can't seem to find in the patent disclosures the adjustability portion for either drivers or passenger seat. But maybe I am not looking in the right pages. There is still a possibility that with enough demand, Porsche will offer adjustability on the passenger seat of a 918. So call Daniel Eastman, the '918 Client Relationship Manager' at PCNA, and voice your concerns! Don't give up.

Porsche must clearly be working on a modified version of the 918/Klein bucket seat to offer shortly (in 2014?) in the rest of the model line. Here in the US, it will be first seen on the MY2015 991 RS next year. This development was confirmed to me in person by PCNA president Detlev von Platen in Stuttgart last April. The new optional bucket seats, a variation of the 918 seat we think, will then be offered worldwide as the replacement for the current 'gt2' type buckets which Porsche still offers on the 991 & 981 in markets outside of the US. I would only hope these new buckets offer adjustability on BOTH the drivers and passenger side. We don't yet know if they will fold like the gt2's, or be fixed like those on the 918. All, of course, will have the innovative new side air bags. In the past, I have asked Thorsten if he could share more information on this subject. Understandably, he has replied that he is not in a position to comment. And I respect that.

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

Mike: You might be getting a pm or email from John Weires as a result of a recommendation I made to him in the thread linked below. Perhaps you might be of help to him re: 'Signal Yellow' PTS. Thanks.

https://rennlist.com/forums/991-gt3/...lable-pts.html