Its been a fantastic couple of years with my Gen 2 997 Carrera 4S. I bought the car as a daily driver as I have always admired the usability of the 911 coupled with (in my opinion) a gorgeous and purposeful shape. As I creep out of the house on a cold clear Sunday morning and see the wide rear flank protruding from the garage, that wide body wrapped around the 4 exhaust tips, I still get a warm buzz from the evolution of a 50Yr old shape. Blipping the smaller of the two buttons on the key the LED lights front and rear bathe the floor in light extending the courtesy of allowing me to see the vast quantity of crap my wife likes to "store" in the garage. The wide door swings open and the inviting hard backed sports seats prove as comfortable as they look, probably the best day to day seats Ive had in any car, although they do lack the drama of the Sabelts in the .R. Turning the key in the barrel the dash wakes with the normal illuminations and after a couple of seconds lights start to disappear as the ECU ticks through its checks. Clutch down and key turned again the 3.8L turns and catches emitting a bark and adopting a fast idle as the fluids start to circulate, far faster than my I always manage at 5am. I sit for a couple of minutes as the stark reality dawns that this will be the final blat for my and the Meteor Grey porker as I am trading it in in just 2 days...................what have I done. There is method to my madness however as Im not straying far and am actually remaining in the family, choosing to jump into the bed of her younger, hotter, sexier, more dangerous and expensive sister. Yes Carly the Carrera is making way for Tamara the Turbo (Never named a car and not starting now, purely done for the benefit of scribbling down these musings) So a final fling beckons in the form of a 400mile round trip to Donnington Park where I have been kindly offered a day of corporate entertainment for the British Touring Cars. Sadly the majority of the drive ahead will be on 3 carriageway M prefixed asphalt, but the plan is to sneak onto some more entertaining roads if time allows. First stop however will by coffee and bacon for me and Optimax for the car.........hopefully this will be a good day
The run from home to Cullompton services (supplier of Fuel for both me and the machine) takes about 10minutes and is a mixture of country lanes and a fast sweeping B road. The 3.8L engine needs about 90% of this before the oil temp is reading 90degrees, which has always been my self-imposed barrier of venturing past 4000RPM. Even with this in place the C4S is capable of making embarrassingly swift progress, but doesn’t allow the CarGraphic back boxes to find their voice. It does however mean that I can concentrate on the communication points of the car namely the gear shift, which it has to be said is sublime. The small stumpy gear lever terminates in a ball which is sized perfectly for grabbing the next ratio. I have found myself concentrating on the manual box over the last week which has to be down to the impending arrival of a PDK paddle shift. If I’m honest I am nervous of the change as the manual box is just stupendous, however the childish lure of launch control in the turbo was just too much to ignore. The 10minute drive to Cullompton again reinforces how essential the short shifter modification described by some of you on here is for my .R. With both Optimax brimmed and caffeine levels sufficient to ensure concentration is on point, we pull out of Cullompton services and turn hard left onto the North bound M5 slip road, with the sport button prodded, but sports suspension deselected (too harsh for most UK roads other than the stuff with Marshall’s next to it) the throttle and car sharpens significantly. By the time we merge onto the M5 third gear is stretched and progress can only be described as very brisk. The road is empty and open and continuing through the 3 remaining cogs, for just a short period (less than 30 seconds) the numbers get fairly large. With the very small, sensible and grown up, part of my brain screaming at me I back off and adopt a more sensible position on the speedo. The next 2½ hours consist of the M5 and M42 along with radio 4 or tunes streamed over Bluetooth. It’s easy, comfortable and completely hassle free. At times progress is in line with regulations and at times it’s not, but it does provide a fantastic platform for the 997 to demonstrate how simply amazing it is as being an everyday vehicle, that doubles up as a car that will keep up with most kit and also seriously entertain on track. I know that 911’s are not everybody’s thing but it is very difficult to find another car that will make progress like this, entertain and fit kids in the back. Donnington arrived and with the 997 parked up and ticking as the heat dissipates I prepare for the onslaught of noise and smells that race meets provide. Rather happily the support races consist of Ginetta GT4 cars and more relevant to this forum the Clio Cup. Lots of very tasty kit and even a Trophy!!!!! The racing was great but full attention wasn’t possible as business had to take priority. Everything however stopped as the touring cars emerged from the garages and onto track. The noise was something else and the racing really highlighted how Formula1 has moved further away from reality over the years, probably not a popular comment but anyone would struggle to convince me otherwise. The first corner provided at least 5 overtaking manoeuvres and by the end of race one it’s fair to say at least 5 cars had someone else’s paint somewhere, yet they still managed to finished. By 3.00pm I managed to make my excuses and hit the road. With Donnington Park shrinking in the mirrors I faced the usual battle of self-control that all petrol heads face leaving a motor racing event, SLOW DOWN YOU ARE NOT AYRTON F***ING SENNA. The short A road blat to the M42 was one that is burnt into my memory and again added doubt to the “have I really done the right thing replacing a manual with a paddle shift?????” The Motorway slog was again despatched with impressive ease by Stuttgart’s beetle copy. However boredom convinced me to exit at Bristol and seek out the A roads home. The next hour was everything that I adore about 4 wheeled life, heal and toe shifts, left foot speed reduction, picking the perfect line through a corner you can talk someone through in intricate detail, in short a perfect farewell to a much loved motor. In all honesty it’s a drive that is right up there with the best of them, although the emotion of knowing it was the last time may have added to the journey. It’s like going out for a quick beer with a mate who is moving away that turns into a cracking night. As with all mates there are things that annoy as well as delight, so in short….. LOVE the gear box Love the seats and position of wheel and pedals I’m just not sure the 911 looks right without a permanent spoiler (Cue the Turbo) When the spoiler is up you should be able to see it in the mirror. (Childish I know but you can’t see it in the C4S but you can in the Turbo. Probably just me but it’s always grated) The fact that you can’t put a full postcode into the SatNav is faintly ridiculous. It will be the same in the Turbo as it’s only available in the 991. F***ing TomTom and Garmin were doing this in what feels like 1980! BOSE are very good at making car stereo systems Putting shopping in the area under the bonnet will always feel special and does attract attention from people who aren’t even into cars 305 section tyres are very pricey but incredibly satisfying to see as they get stretched onto the rims. Love Meteor Grey with Silver wheels Farewell old friend I hope you supply the next owner with as many grins and stories as you have me. Sitting here I feel like I have split up with the girl you take home to meet the folks knowing that they will fully approve, and she will give you a naughty wink during Sunday lunch. Only to get together with her Step Sister who whilst being drop dead stunning and the undisputed night out and in of the century, is likely to cause a bucket load of trouble and may possibly kill you…………I can’t wait.
You are a very capable wordsmith, I don't get to read much of car enthusiast that know how to write properly. I bet Tuesday cannot come quick enough!
I work for a drilling company mate, so hardly car related!! I am however considering starting a blog about cars as I enjoy writing about them.
Thanks to your encouragement I have started a blog. It's obviously in its infancy (currently 1Hr old, but it will be improved with time etc!) Have a look at www.car-addict.co.uk and let me know what you think. I will be adding old and new drive reports in the next few weeks, any feedback good or bad would be much appreciated. If you can spread the word I would appreciate it. Rich
First impressions are really good. Already bookmarked and I look forward to reading your reports. You've a knack for expressive writing that petrol heads will lap up. Good skills sir.
