28 Hours in Deutschland With a Porsche 991 Carrera 4S PDK

"matt miller" (mattmiller1973)
11/24/2014 at 20:54 • Filed to: None

I recently got the invite to a birthday party for one of my all-time favorite car guys in Germany. So immediately after replying in the Affirmative, I called up my good friends at Porsche and asked if I could test drive a car. After all, I need to do research for my (as of yet unsold) new show, ``What Porsche Should I Buy?'' Unfortunately I only had two days in Deutschland — well only 28 hours, actually — but I put that gorgeous Sapphire Blue Carrera 4S to the test. After spending nine of those hours partying, six sleeping and two in the airport, I was left with a solid 11 hours in the seat. It ruled.

Speaking of the seats, they were upgraded Sport Seats Plus, and they are the first thing you notice when you get into a Porsche. They are small. But they're not uncomfortable, ganz im Gegenteil, they fit nice and snug. Kind of like a wet suit, they remind you that you are doing something sporty, but you could hang out in them for hours, because they also remind you that you are doing something awesome.

The second thing you notice is the sound.

The exhaust barks when you twist the Porsche-shaped key in the ignition on the left side of the steering wheel. It's so good that I got into the habit of seeking out any kindred bros on the street — bruder? — whenever I got into the car and then starting the beast before closing the door. So it would growl to life and they would give me a look that was like, ``Dude, awesome!'' and I would shoot back, ``Dude, I know. It rules.'' Before closing up and screeching away.

To be perfectly honest, I can't say for sure whether the sound is any more or less awesome than the sound of the Astons (V8) or the Ferraris (V12) that I've driven, but it's up there, and that's not bad company. I find that supercar sounds are like great sex — each time you drive a new one that blows you away, you're sure it was the best sounding car you've ever driven. So yeah, this was the best sounding car I have ever driven.

I should mention that this particular C4S came equipped with the optional Sport Exhaust package, which essentially makes the car louder — by adding a resonator tube to the intake? And throatier — by sending a little bit of unspent fuel into the exhaust? I don't really know the science of it, but it's an option you can't not check when you are building your irresponsibly expensive dream Porsche on the configurator.

After all, and contrary to what any Tesla salesman will have you believe, the sound of a car is one of the most exhilarating parts of the driving experience, along with the gassing, the braking and the clutching.

One of the other amazing options Porsche checked for this press-fleet monster was the Sport Chrono package, which adds not only a ``Sport'' button (now standard) to enhance throttle response and hold the gears longer in auto-mode, but also a ``Sport Plus'' button, which also tightens the suspension and spins the motor all the way up to the red line on heavy acceleration before changing gears. It's definitely worth the extra couple grand if you're already wasting spending the money on the PDK. Personally I prefer a man-tran but, you know, ``to each her own.''

One of the cool parts about driving on the German Autobahn — other than the fact that you can drive as fast as you want — is that most people there actually know how to drive. That is to say that most people in Germany realize that, unless you're overtaking, you should not be in the left lane. You don't see people getting on to the Autobahn and, like most of the drivers on the dilapidated highways of America, getting straight over into the left and promptly setting cruise control a few miles below the state speed limit.

On the odd chance that you do get someone dawdling in front of you (likely from Holland) when you're trying to keep the tach up above 200 kmh in a bright blue, 400 hp Porsche 991 Carrera 4S PDK, you can flash your brights at them and they'll move out of the way. It's miraculous! And when the Dutch driver in the 520d finally ashes his J and moves over, you mash the pedal back to the floor in your 911 and listen to the PDK wind up the engine in Sport Plus mode so that the exhaust literally SCREAMS at him as you fly by at a ridiculous pace.

In doing so you teach him the lesson that you rule and are not to be driven in front of again. He'll learn…

I was, in fact, winter - bereift , meaning it is ill-advised to drive faster than 240 kmh, and I rarely felt the need to do that anyway. But this brings me to the experience of burning rubber off of all four tires at once because this Porsche is, obviously, all-wheel drive.

One very cool feature you probably already know about on the new 991 is the non-analogue information display in one of the five gauges on the dash. It's like a round TFT screen that allows you to toggle between different displays of driving, communications and entertainment information. One of those displays shows you how much power the transmission is sending to your front and rear axles, in percentage terms. It's rad (no German pun intended).

But this all-wheel experience wasn't really all that awesome for me. In the tight corners and in roundabouts, that I intentionally took more than all the way around, it was hard for me to break the traction. I could not for the life of me get the car to oversteer, even on tight, wet B-roads in the thick fog of early morning (probably a good thing, in retrospect?). I was able to achieve a little bit of front wheel slippage under hard acceleration on the roundabouts, but only in the wet. That was fun! But for the most part, the 4S is too good at grip. Fck!

This leads me to believe that, when filming my future television (Internet?) show, the answer is likely to be only a rear-wheel drive Porsche. Is that the answer? I guess the only way to figure that out will be to see if Porsche can please lend me a Carrera S PDK the next time I'm in Germany on a wet weekend in November.

As far as the 3.8-liter flat six out back was concerned, it obviously ruled. I will admit that, when driving the base Carrera a few months ago in Orlando, the new, 350 hp, 3.4-liter boxer felt a little slow to me. I even wrote in to Travis to ask him what the hell, and he told me it just *felt* slow by comparison to what I normally drive (a truck?), because the mustachioed men in Zuffenhausen build such high-quality sportscars.

Travis is even more of a Porsche fanboy than I am. But I would say, if given the choice, you definitely want the bigger S engine. There is also a ``Power Pack'' option that adds 30 hp and $18,000 to the already $99,000 list price, but I'm not sure that 430 total hp is necessary. The new car's not *that* big.

I used to think it was a no-brainier to go for the GTS, before I got into this full-leather 4S in Frankfurt, the reasons being more about the interior and the wheels than the additional hp. The GTS is the only way to get the Alcantara (short of the PDK-only GT3), which I think looks sweet and I also fantasize will keep me planted in high-speed manoeuvers. Of course, back here in New York, I'll spend most of my time maneuvering very slowly to work on the West Side Highway, or home on the Major Deegan in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

But it turns out the leather is fine for butt-grip with the aforementioned Sports Plus seats *and* said butt is also kept appropriately cool and dry thanks to the ventilation, an option not possible with the faux-suede Alcantara interior. I also noticed that the full-leather Sport Design steering wheel felt good in my hands and wondered if the nubuck wrapped wheel would be to warm.

The 4S also comes with a wider rear-track, as do all GTS models, and I think it looks suitably badass. There are older Porsches that I didn't necessarily love with the bigger behind, like the older Turbos, they look a bit too showy and ridiculous to me. One of the main reasons I want a Porsche is to blend in to the average civilian (they only stand out to other Porsche lovers). But the 991 is already a pretty serious departure from the traditional 911, especially in the rear, and wears the extra badonkadonk with class.

This exemplar also changed my mind regarding color. I used to only want black, dark blue or grey for the above stated reasons of stealth. But this nice, loud, candy-ass blue gave me wood, and I don't even care who notices! It looks sweet with the yellow brake calipers, but I don't want those ceramic-composite brakes. They cost like $8,500 extra and apparently need to warm up before they bite. Mine bit perfectly and smoothly, each and every time, impressing me without fail, but I'm not exactly Hurley Haywood or Walter Rohrl. And because I'm not Patrick Long or McDreamy either, I don't need to spend that much on brakes.

Actually, an incredibly high-up and loaded, car-collecting-and-racing American auto exec recently told me all he cared about in developing a new sportscar was to match the perfect Porsche stoppers. He was talking about the regular ones on the S model, and they come in red, which is also a better color than yellow. Übrigens , the ceramics squeak.

By the way, nothing else in this car squeaks. The interior is so absolutely flawless, I instantly considered selling my home to buy one as soon as I got back to New York. I would definitely rather be in this car than my living room, because it's way more comfortable (though Steve would have a really difficult time fitting in the back seat), with such luxurious leather, and everything is laid out so perfectly you don't need to move an inch.

Steve:

All of the buttons and switches and little sticks that are normally so confusing in other cars are completely intuitive in this one. I didn't look at the manual once, nor did I need to use the BMW-style in-car computer-help system. I don't even know if Porsche has one of those, but this is the only car I've driven yet that's equal to or more pleasant than the Bavarians' now-ingenious iDrive (not including the best kind of cars, which have no in-dash electronics at all!).

And to those who bemoan the center-stack because it illustrates the Panamerisation of the 911, I'm right there with you. Fuck the Panamera! No matter how cool it looks, for a four-door sedan. Or how well it works, for a front-engined V8. It is not a 911. (I do, however, sincerely bemoan and the loss of the handbrake. Mourn, is really the right word. How am I supposed to do a sweet handbrake turn? It makes me want a 997.)

Have you ever noticed that every sportscar manufacturer in the world has to measure up to the 911? Even when that sportscar manufacturer is Porsche, all their other cars get compared to the Elfer . The Corvette has been fighting it in American car comparos forEVER. And when Jag's F-Type came out — ``Porsche-Killer?'' That's what the M3 has been called basically since its inception (also with the question mark). And everyone in Germany asked me that very same thing about the new AMG GT as well, ``Do you think it's better than the 911?''

I haven't driven the Merc, but was thankful to have read !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! because my answer was the same as his: it's not the same thing, they're apples and oranges. Stop comparing every other car to this singular wonder of the world!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

I thought about that the whole time I was driving this car back and forth from Frankfurt to Stromberg and Wiesbaden — this is a rear-engined flat six. It's the only rear-engined sportscar there is (no matter how many times people tell you Porsche engineers are making it bigger to squeeze the engine closer to the middle). And as such, it has a unique feeling when you're driving it, a feeling you've probably heard car guys try to describe a thousand times.

The Porsche 911 is simultaneously the biggest benchmark in automotive history and completely incomparable to any other car in the whole universe.

How sick is that, bro?

DISCUSSION (87)

All Motor Is Best Motor > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 21:08

Great review!

matt miller > All Motor Is Best Motor
11/24/2014 at 21:09

thanks, jesus, i can't believe you read the whole thing! ``it's so long...''

Conan > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 21:22

You've done your job. Now I want to drive some Porsche, any Porsche!

matt miller > Conan
11/24/2014 at 21:46

Thanks, me too. Not owning one sucks.

wbizarre - OEM fetishist > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 22:29

Kinja'd!!!

This whole picture looks like a rendering. I did a triple-take to discern whether it was a photo or not. That's a crazy-clean car.

joby > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 22:29

As a resident of San Francisco, the line "Personally I prefer a man-tran but, you know, ``to each her own.'' had a bit of a different connotation...but then I remembered this is a car blog. So I guess I prefer "Man Trannys" as well? My wife will be both confused and relieved.

Andrew T. Maness > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 22:29

"How sick is that bro?" should be Porsche's new tag line.

DrScientist > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 22:38

my one [theoretical] issue with the C4 and C4s and turbo models i suppose is the lost space in the frunk due to the front differential.

skiers refer to the "single ski quiver" or some such. the 911 can very well be the "single car quiver," but i'm afraid losing that space in the trunk might pull it too far away from that possibility. (no matter what people tell you, the awd system is not a necessity, even for snowy climes)

how am i supposed to cart all of my groceries home from the store?

edit: great review by the way! thanks! that blue is amazing.

Color-Commentary > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 22:40

Kinja'd!!!

Porsche spokes-dog? Autobahn roadside assistance? The factory option you get once you already have the matching luggage?

jalop1991 > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 22:41

I thought you meant douche-land.

Oh, wait a minute...

Conan > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 22:41

I bet they're tantalizing. "Have this amazing machine! Like it? Okay, give it back!"

DrScientist > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 22:50

Kinja'd!!!

i always feel like the black crests as opposed to the full color crest center caps are kind of a cheap-out, especially when youve just spent 8,000 on the ceramic brakes.

Blabla23 > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 22:52

Sadly the right hand lane is now the left hand lane in America: because people stupid. On my long drives the most open part of a 3 lane highway is the right hand lane. It drives me insane.

matt miller > DrScientist
11/24/2014 at 23:13

Yeah that is so weak. Stock stereo too, though it wasn't bad.

matt miller > joby
11/24/2014 at 23:17

Hahaha

matt miller > Andrew T. Maness
11/24/2014 at 23:18

I will promote!

matt miller > Color-Commentary
11/24/2014 at 23:18

I wouldn't trade him for a GT3

matt miller > Blabla23
11/24/2014 at 23:20

I hate it. It makes me long for a dictatorship.

66ChevelleSS > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 23:24

Sweet... I have to take issue, though, with your implication that some older Porsche turbos had a bit too much back side. Now, you other brothers can't deny...

FormulaArty > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 23:33

This is without a doubt the sexist blue I've ever seen on a car. First it was BMW's midnight blue. Next it was the 458's Abu DhabI (I think) blue. Now, you give me this.

I'm gonna need a minute... LOOK AT THAT THING!!!

Blabla23 > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 23:37

it drives me nuts, I think we already have that dictatorship

Kurt Roithinger > wbizarre - OEM fetishist
11/24/2014 at 23:40

to be honest, when i first saw that particular image my first thought was 'whoa! a modern remake of the renault alpine A110?'

maybe i need new glasses...

Spoon II > matt miller
11/24/2014 at 23:45

That may be my new favorite color for Porsches

FormulaArty > FormulaArty
11/24/2014 at 23:45

Kinja'd!!!

Side note: I love the headlight you guys always get of a Porsche. They make for beautiful, if unsuspectingly terrifying, phone wallpapers.

matt miller > Spoon II
11/24/2014 at 23:59

I'm trying to decide if it will still be sweet with the black GTS wheels.

gawdzillla > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 00:06

i love it

Manuél Ferrari > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 00:18

Such an awesome experience you had!

I agree that the sound of the car is VERY important. And I agree that the 991s with sport exhaust sound amazing!

If the 991 replacement goes turbo charged for all models (as sometimes rumored) then the 991 will be a future classic.

El-Verde > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 00:18

This is such an honest 991 review; I love it. It is very long, but it reads exactly like the stream of consciousness one has when driving a 911 for the first time or actually is thinking about buying one.

I cant stress it enough...your impressions of the 991 are dead on. It's an absolutely wonderful car that is a pretty significant departure from a vehicle that has hung it's hat on not ever being a departure. Some will love it, some won't. But it's generally better than any 911 ever.

I'm honestly not exactly sure how the Sport Exhaust works, but I can vouch for how awesome it is, and the fact that it burns more fuel when "on". It (along with the sport seats) is a must order option.

I still think every single episode of your show should end with a 997 C2S. I would love watching people try every Porsche and end up with that every time.

El-Verde > DrScientist
11/25/2014 at 00:20

The frunk is WAY smaller in the awd models for sure. As someone who takes his 911 to Costco... I could not live with it.

FrancoisVDS > DrScientist
11/25/2014 at 00:24

The winter tires Porsche sells only come fitted on their cheapest rims. It's a salt corrosion thing, they say.

matt miller > El-Verde
11/25/2014 at 00:25

thanks! i really appreciate it! so would you take a 997 c2s over a 991?

matt miller > FormulaArty
11/25/2014 at 00:28

sweet!

matt miller > El-Verde
11/25/2014 at 00:28

or do you already have a 991, having had a 997?

Mary, Mary, Knotty Pine > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 00:49

Great article. Thank you.

matt miller > Mary, Mary, Knotty Pine
11/25/2014 at 00:49

thank you for taking the time to read it!

SPNKiX > joby
11/25/2014 at 00:55

and then maybe regretful?

DoogieFullHouser > El-Verde
11/25/2014 at 01:37

The 2WD frunk is surprisingly big. My wife even (voluntarily) fits inside!

Kinja'd!!!

zenneth > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 02:03

He looks happy. It's probably becauae he knows you're happy.

WINGZERO > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 02:21

"Have you ever noticed that every sportscar manufacturer in the world has to measure up to the 911?"

This! So many Porsche haters out there and yet what's the one car people always Try to compare to The 911. Porsche has been very successful in nearly everything it's competed in.

Beef7up > 66ChevelleSS
11/25/2014 at 03:08

Yeah that was a butt too far.

maximum_sarge > DrScientist
11/25/2014 at 03:53

AWD is advisable if you live in the mountains where it both snows and remains cold (the roads stay snow-packed for six months). Even in the midwest snow belts, I think you'd still want AWD if this were your only car.

vaportrail > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 04:27

I drove on the Autobahn yesterday for the first time. Unfortunately in a rented Scirocco as opposed to my 911 Turbo located on the other side of the pond. The VW is a nice car that develops a case of the shudders exactly at 200KPH. Weird.

I can confirm almost all drivers are courteous and move right as quickly as possible, which is quite often not fast enough to avoid alarming the girlfriend, who is now the only policing authority I need to worry about. She did her best to let me have a great time.

I've been driving for 23 years and never in this time have I felt so free, like I am exactly where I am supposed to be. This is where all of my previous jail-prone freeway antics are LEGAL and respected by others. No self righteous, 'I've paid more taxes than you' octogenarians conducting self appointed traffic calming measures in the fast lane.

Berlin wasn't particularly good for us but the Autobahn makes a persuasive case for relocating to Europe. Prague is looking much better, although the roads aren't great and police are everywhere.

Next stop: Nürburgring

Andreas Reinhold > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 04:36

Be careful with your "lights flashing" on the Autobahn, it's actually illegal.

Torque Affair > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 06:39

Oh man..what a beautiful car.

NoahFect > Blabla23
11/25/2014 at 06:44

I suspect that's because the left lane is usually a lot smoother than the right lane, since the trucks tend to keep right. The US has basically abandoned its highway infrastructure, and some of those right lanes are in really awful shape.

Jonathan Harper > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 07:03

sounds like so much fun, you must know the right people at Porsche :)

MartinWantsBeer > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 07:05

Great write up, dude. I am glad you enjoyed your time on the Autobahn in my home country.

However, being a total party pooper, I got to give you a little advice:

DON'T EVER FLASH YOUR HEADLIGHTS IF YOU WANT TO OVERTAKE. It is considered assault by German police, and the tickets are pretty bad (for German standards).

As a good Autobahn fanatic, you should never: tailgate, flash your high beams, overtake on the right. You are only allowed to set the indicator, everything else is illegal. Granted, the tickets are pretty minuscule compared to draconic American punishments, but still.

I've actually heard a joke about driving on the Autobahn.

If you flash your high beams, it's considered assault and the ticket is 60 Euros and one point.

If you tailgate, it's considered assault and unsafe, which is punished with 100 Euros.

If you overtake on the right, it's considered very unsafe and therefore punished with 150 Euros.

However, if you buy blue lights, put them on the roof of your car and turn them in order to get people to move out of your way, it's a 35 Euro ticket. And the police can confiscate the blue lights. But you know what's the best option over here :-)

matt miller > maximum_sarge
11/25/2014 at 07:16

i hear very seriously conflicting opinions on this — do you say so because you've experienced a RWD p-car slidding around in one or more of these regions?

matt miller > vaportrail
11/25/2014 at 07:21

A-fucking-men, brother!

matt miller > MartinWantsBeer
11/25/2014 at 07:23

i also sometimes give people the finger.

John The Race Fan > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 07:57

Have you a photo or photos of said rad screen?

BZiel > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 09:03

Terrific write up for a terrific car.

The bonus is that I enjoy hearing about someone having a blast driving around my adopted hometown of Frankfurt. There are some terrific roads in this area where you can let machines such as this "stretch their legs."

Meatcoma > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 09:08

What a beauty!

DrScientist > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 09:22

the sport exhaust option is likely all the audio you'd need.

VinnieDeutsch > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 09:26

Dude...can we timeshare a 911? 997 GTS perhaps?

El-Verde > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 09:26

I thought I wanted a 991 4S, actually, because "dat ass."

Because of just about everything you mentioned here, after extensively driving several 991s and 997s...I bought a 997 C2S.

I didn't imagine my first Porsche would be used... But the RWD 997 was just more of what I was looking for.

DrScientist > FrancoisVDS
11/25/2014 at 09:27

i suppose that's reasonable for the wheels, but the center caps are interchangeable.

also, i've never bought a set of winter tires/wheels directly from porsche, but fitting them on their cheapest wheels for a practical consideration like salt doesn't sound like the porsche ethos to me. i'm surprised theyre not fit on a more expensive wheel with a double electro-plated anti-corrosive mega shield. come on porsche!

El-Verde > DoogieFullHouser
11/25/2014 at 09:28

Meteor Grey? We share taste in color, trunk size, and wife size, sir. You are now my friend.

DrScientist > DoogieFullHouser
11/25/2014 at 09:29

and imagine how many bodies you could smash in there against their will!

DrScientist > maximum_sarge
11/25/2014 at 09:31

i've not driven for 6 months of snow pack, but i have taken mine on multi-week trips to new england and toronto in blizzard conditions. i've never encountered a problem with excellent snow tires.

DrScientist > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 09:34

in 4 years of ownership, i've never had an issue with unintended loss of traction over snow, fresh up to 6 inches, and packed (albeit at low speeds) on less well-traveled roads.

the weight over the rear end and a solid set of grippy snows has instilled more confidence than many of the other cars i've driven in such conditions.

DrScientist > El-Verde
11/25/2014 at 09:38

i haven't actually spent much time with an awd 911 frunk, but ive stashed nearly ten 12 packs of coke in there. (my lady friend loves soda)

Paullubbock > DrScientist
11/25/2014 at 09:42

Always take the C4, C4s and T. Usually wider hips and the technology that ties them to that original legendary 959. Groceries be damned.

DrScientist > Paullubbock
11/25/2014 at 09:44

the wider hips are on the S and turbo models only, no relationship to the drivetrain.

philipilihp > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 09:47

Don't be jelly of the Dutchman's 520d. It's the sensible choice, okay??

barreto > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 09:47

A whole paragraph on the seats and not a single interior picture?

El-Verde > DrScientist
11/25/2014 at 09:48

The AWD frunk is significantly smaller, but WAYYYYY less deep.

I know to some reading this it will seem ridiculous that a 911 owner may choose his 911 based on a 9 cubic foot frunk vs 5...but in terms of usability it's amazingly different.

All of the luggage for my last trip fit in there. Never would've in a 4.

Ferguson, Turd Ferguson. > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 10:17

Hmm. You ask the hard questions.

I'm going to say that I would prefer the alloy colored wheels. As much as I love black wheels, I think you would lose some of the contrast with that great blue paint.

Ferguson, Turd Ferguson. > NoahFect
11/25/2014 at 10:18

I agree. I drive to-and-fro Seattle and in my Mini S I get pulled all over the place on some of the rutted highways. The small track width really gets grabbed by the ruts.

Blabla23 > NoahFect
11/25/2014 at 10:21

I don't think it has anything to do with that, I think it has everything to do with the stupidity of the drivers and their lack and care of knowledge that the left hand lane is for passing.

gla2yyz > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 10:32

Nice review! It reinforces my belief that instead of changing cars every couple of years I should just keep what I've got now for a while, save my shekels, and buy a used 997 C4S with a manual. If I get a roof rack, a Thule, and some snow tires I'd have all the car I'll ever need.

maximum_sarge > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 11:50

I lived in San Diego when I had my 997 C2S. I grew up in western/northern Michigan, and have lived in Jackson Hole for years, where we get up to 700" in the mountains and the roads stay snow-covered for months on end. I wouldn't have the patience to deal with RWD in either place. I do, however, limit my SUV choices to vehicles with 4x4/2x4 transfer cases because it's a lot of fun to have RWD... but when you want to overtake someone on a mountain pass, pull out in traffic, etc... the roads are snow-covered for far to much of the year to do without AWD. My cars in those places have been AWD, and I wouldn't put up with RWD through a long winter.

If you live where snow comes and goes, the roads dry out or melt, and the snow is just there for a few days off and on, maybe. But snow packed roads for months on end? I just don't have the patience to deal with RWD-only.

maximum_sarge > DrScientist
11/25/2014 at 11:54

Like I responded above (or maybe below?) I can see putting up with RWD when you're only going to be in the snow a handful of times over the winter. It snows a lot and is very cold all winter where I live, and many of the roads are snow packed from November to March or April. With mountain passes and canyons in every direction, I can't see having the patience to live with RWD. It's fun, but it's nice to have AWD when you're in any kind of hurry (pulling out in traffic, overtaking on mountain passes, etc).

matt miller > barreto
11/25/2014 at 12:10

i only snapped the pics as an afterthought at the airport... i was pretty focused on loving the driving. i cannot overstate how much i enjoyed it.

matt miller > John The Race Fan
11/25/2014 at 12:11

i do not, because i was mostly just driving and drooling. the pics i took were just in the minutes before giving the car back and getting on my flight to new york. should have taken more! dammit...

matt miller > maximum_sarge
11/25/2014 at 12:14

i do have a big pickup with 4x4 for the snowiest day, so i think i'll go with the RWD. but i have to admit being tempted byt the 4. i just think it would be such a bummer in the summer...

LA90049 > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 12:24

I love this article. That is all.

adonyc2014 > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 12:47

Pretty car. But seriously, those badges on the rear have got to go. They completely mar the clean lines.

FrancoisVDS > DrScientist
11/25/2014 at 13:17

I think the fancy coloured center caps would be especially sensitive to salt.

Also, I'm basing this on experience from aPorsche dealership in Belgium after a tire needed replacement on a Carrera 4, which is when they suggested a winter set.

Euro Porsche is not like US Porsche. People buy them here because they are fast cars with less inflection on status ("less" but status is still important).

maximum_sarge > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 14:54

If you have a 4x4, I'd get the RWD car for sure. The only reason I can see having an AWD Porsche is if you really live where it snows all winter and only have room for one car.

wango31 > gla2yyz
11/25/2014 at 15:28

I did this a few moths ago and am loving it. I'm in the semi-frozen north that is Calgary and we've already had a fair amount of snow and ice. The C4S is remarkable good in the snow and ice - a bit tail happy at times but loads of fun.

gla2yyz > wango31
11/25/2014 at 15:34

Excellent! If it can handle Calgary then Toronto is a Sunday drive. I have a Magnum R/T as my year-rounder (and a Madaspeed Miata for the summer) so I know all about tail happiness. Good to know the C4S is up to the job for winter.

Aaron James > WINGZERO
11/25/2014 at 17:17

Anyone who hates the 911 has never driven the 911.

Stig46 > matt miller
11/25/2014 at 21:39

I'm gonna be real, I didn't even read the article, but that particular shade of paint is probably my favorite color for a car ever. Anyone have the specific name of this color?

matt miller > Stig46
11/26/2014 at 06:54

Sapphire Blue Metallic

Sheriff Of American Douchetown > matt miller
11/27/2014 at 01:00

Yeah, but, Ferrari and Corvette and Viper and, uh..did you see that Interstellar? I mean, jeeze, what am I, a special relativist astrophysicist?!? C'mon, bring it in, up top.

Kinja'd!!!

Spoon II > matt miller
12/02/2014 at 14:17

I'm going to go with a definite yes!