This evening I did something I promised myself I'd never do... I drove a 911.

I met up with a friend who was eager to hear what I thought of his 997.1 Carrera and how it compared to the M3.

After the M2 Competition (ruined my life), I didn't want to "want" anymore cars, which is also why i turned down a spin in Maurice's Tesla 2 weeks after buying the M3 I just wanted to enjoy what I had. All the hype about Porsche steering feel got to me though, and without much encouragement really (let's be honest) I decided to go for it.

The 911 is a timeless shape, and in my honest opinion apart from the classic "whale tail" 930s, I think the 997 are the sweet spot in terms of design, analogue feel and daily usability, I find the 996 is a bit too dated and the 991/992 are obviously much more modern.









Walking around the car, it just looks so different from everything else around it, the signature "swoopy" roof, the "haunches", and peeking inside at the interior lay out and just how low the thing is to the ground gets you excited before you even get into it.

Sitting in the car, you really feel like your back side is an inch away from the tarmac, the driving position is spot on with the pedals, the dials, the arm rest, although... the steering wheel was too close to my leg in its' highest position (and the seat in the lowest position) even though I'm not particularly tall at 6 foot. The steering wheel also felt too big and a bit thinner than I would've liked. I did like the design and the fact it had no buttons though.



Having adjusted everything to my liking, I took off immediately noticing how much heavier the clutch is than the M3's, and going over the first bump I experienced that 911 "bob", I couldn't believe how pronounced it was actually. The ride was comfortable and well dampened if a bit wallowy with the suspension in comfort mode but was definitely welcome in the traffic on the way to better roads. It's also seriously quiet up to 5k rpm, as a civilised gentleman's car should be I suppose, very different from the ASBO M3.

So how does it drive?

The gear ratios feel equally spread out, which makes good use out of first and second but is particularly nice for downshifting and rev-matching from third to second. The gear actuation is a pleasure with a short but precise throw with a very satisfying feedback as it slots into gear, I'm not sure why but 3rd to 4th and vice versa is particularly satisfying. I remembered Hammond saying something about it being like loading a shotgun - something I've never done - but it somehow made sense. The throttle is responsive without being overly sensitive and jerky like on modern cars with "sport" buttons that have aggressive mapping. It's just right. There's low end torque but not a lot, it's a very linear power delivery to red line with the engine/exhaust getting significantly louder passed 5k rpm which adds to the drama of power building. The rear end has what feels like infinite traction with super wide tyres and the weight of the engine over it, and frankly that's probably a good thing!

The rear engine / rear drive experience...

Going around the first few corners felt so incredibly foreign, the front end is light and you just can't load up the front tyres if you drive the way you drive the M3, there's no grip, you feel it going wide for a second until it bites into the tarmac and goes around, you can't arrive at the corner at the "right" speed and accelerate around the corner like you would in the M3, you have to lift off/dab the brakes as you get into the corner in order to load up the front tyres, but then you're going much slower than you'd want. So ultimately I've found you have to arrive at the corner "too fast", dab the brakes to load up the front and get down to the appropriate speed, and THEN you realise how sweet this car's handling can be when you're willing to put in the work. It's extremely satisfying, but a bit tiresome if I'm honest, on a very twisty stretch of road I found I did this for the first 2 corners and then "gave up" for the next few. It will take time to recalibrate your driving to get the most out of this car at the limit.

I've also noticed the steering rack ratio is quite wide, which makes it lack that sharp and immediate response to steering input that you have in M cars, however after my focus shifted from the driving dynamics of a rear engined, rear drive car and we ran out of perfectly surfaced roads, my attention was drawn to "that" steering feel. It really is like feeling the texture of the road with your finger tips, and it's such a nice feedback to get through the steering wheel. Definitely a "nice to have" in any sports car, but perhaps it's blown a bit out of proportion by enthusiasts. The PASM suspension was set to the sport setting when the going got twisty, and you do feel a big difference in how tight the car becomes - there was much less bobbing and no wallowing, but surprisingly the car retained that well dampened feel, running over a drain cover that wasn't particularly flush didn't send any jolts through the suspension for example. The brakes didn't initially instil confidence as they aren't very servo'd but they are definitely up to job. It's a very involving car to drive, and I was pleasantly surprised that you can wind it up through the gears without hitting crazy speeds, I think I made my way to 4th (not to redline admittedly) on a motorway on ramp, looked down and I was doing 118km/h which would've been more like 180km/h had I done the same in the M3. Overall it felt like a real occasion to drive and was a very satisfying experience in a mechanical, analogue kind of way.

Getting back into the M3 was hilarious afterwards, everything felt soft and squishy, and it legitimately felt like I got into a 4x4 after the 911. It's kind of like when you get into a normal car after go-karting.

Bottom Line:

Pros:
-Gear ratios
-Gear actuation (and the short throw)
-Driving position
-Steering feel
-Sense of occasion (styling / interior etc)
-Ability to enjoy without reaching jail-time speeds

Cons:
-Sound (it's not just that it's not loud but, it's also not a very defined sound... just noise)
-Steering ratio is too wide
-Brake feel
-Rear engine / rear drive driving dynamics. Sure, you'll eventually get used to it, but I'm just not sure it's better.