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Invitation to drive the Porsche Range

C

circleace

New member
Hi all. Got an invitation to drive the Porsche Range today and wondering if anyone has done this before. Its a whole day thing and I am allowed to take someone with me. All this free of charge and wondering whats the catch??
Put myself down for the 15th Dec...anyone else going?
 
I never usually get any of these invites, the Turbo one is the first I've had in 4 years [&:]

garyw
 
No catch , just lots of Porsche hospitality and a fun day. No hard sell, they just want to show off the model range in the hope it sows the seed of desire , to change to a newer model at some stage in the future. Consider yourself lucky, the experience you have as a courtesy would cost about 400 if you paid for it yourself !
 
Just got back from today's Experience.
This is what you get to do.

Cayman and Boxster (S and non S) PDK and manual.
Circuit: Kick plate and ice hill.
Time spent spinning in circles [:D], about an hour.
You get a chance to drive all versions if you wish. One Cayman had PCCB fitted, never got to drive this one but could not see the point of the PCCB as there was no track driving involved with these two models. Only downside could be that 2 punters share a car, so your passenger is not a Porsche instructor. However, it may be the quality of the car's control systems or the skill of my co-driver, but never got nervous whilst he was at the wheel.

 Cayenne/Panamera (S versions)
 Cayenne
Circuit: Off Road
About ½ an hour spent on the off road track in total, but there are 3 punters and a Porsche driver. So you get about 10 minutes on a short off road course. I am not interested in this model but I have to say it is impressive driving though 3 feet of water, climbing very steep hills 1 in 2, and going round corners with 45 degrees of lean.
Panamera
Circuit: Public A and B roads around Silverstone village
About ½ an hour. Again 3 of you share the time so you get about 10 minutes each at the wheel. This I found to be the most disappointing part of the day as I wanted to take the car around the track. On public roads with 3 others in the car I was not going to push it. But, later in the day there was a Panamera on the handling circuit; maybe you just had to ask.

911 "" Carreras 2 and 4[/b] (PDK and manual)
Circuit: Handling circuit and low friction. About an hour. This time it is just you and a Porsche driver.

Fitness Centre [/b]
 You get a health check (body weight fat and muscle content etc.) plus eye sight and speed reaction tests. This was more interesting than it sounds as the staff were excellent at taking you through the results and providing some advice on how to improve your results.



Overall, I found it a very enjoyable day. Who wouldn't; I got to drive most of the Porsche range at no cost.

However there were 4 very slight disappointments for me;
1. Not driving the Panamera on the track.
2. No Turbos to drive.
3. Not able to do power slides in a 911 with the stability controls turned off. Looks like I need to book a proper course to learn this.
4. I have been to the Centre twice now and both times I could not get the tyres to squeal around the handling circuit. Must try harder next time.
 
3. Not able to do power slides in a 911 with the stability controls turned off. Looks like I need to book a proper course to learn this
Click to expand...

well worth it for smiles and learning!![:D]

best day out ive had yet!!
 
I don't think they want you drifting your way around the handling circuit - the Armco's too close!
 
Thought I would give you guys my feedback on my day driving the range. Really enjoyed it. Basically uknick's comments above summed it up quite well but the highlight for me was the Panamera surprise, surprise! Awesome car. GT when you want, Sports car when you want and the interior is superb. There is a thread here someone about someone living in Silverstone Village who mentioned about the launch control going on outside his house and the G-Force thats gets you when you do this is unbelievable. Cannot see the point myself as you would never use it, but what a toy!! Also as a previous Cayenne owner, seeing what it can do offroad, be it only for a few minutes is amazing. But how many Cayenne owners really take it off road? Not many I bet. The new Diesel Engine in the cayenne is fantastic which I never thought I would say but you would never know it was one. The Torque in the thing is immense. Drove a 911C4S with the PDK and feels great but as previously mentioned many times by many people, you need it for a while to really see the whole package. Didn't like the buttons to change up and down and they really should put a proper paddle-shift in all models rather than just the Turbo. Does anyone know if they are? Also saw a beautiful Carrera RS which was parked outside and a lovely Sportsmatic which was absolutely in mint condition. Wish I kept my old one now as apparantly, they are worth quite a bit now. All in all a nice day. Did I learn anything about the range? Not really but the good thing was that not once was there a sales pitch. Wouls I do it again? Yes, but only if it was free. It cost around £900 to do what I did. Rather use the £900 towards a Panamera in a few years!!
 
I think the view is that paddles will be available across the range. I can see no possible reason why they shouldn't - unless they have a warehouse full of steering wheels with buttons to shift first! Shame they don't let you loose in the Turbo though..............[;)]
 
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