I went on the test drive at Millbrook this morning; there's no doubting Porsche's commitment to promoting this thing, there were 7 cars, no change from £1m. It was a well organised session, the 90 minutes was split into road driving from the meeting point to Millbrook, the Alpine handling section, straight line acceleration and object avoidance under braking, launch control and several laps of the banked circuit at speeds up to 135 mph.
It is of course an extremely accomplished car; fluid handling, amazing acceleration, fabulous braking; that feeling of security and capability which we know and love. Not a hint of body flex, no creaks, rattles or anything and road noise seemed better supressed than on my 997.2 turbo. I think the car looks great in the metal, broad shouldered with the rear track noticeably wider than the front; the standard turbo wheels are good to look at and after all the hassles of the centre lock wheels might be worth considering.
I don't have much experience of the 991 but I'm afraid it left me a bit cold; impressed certainly but uninvolved even as the thing is hurtling you down the high-grip straight. You can almost feel the car shrugging its shoulders after coming to a halt and asking "OK, what next?".
Some things really grated. The car felt quite soggy in normal mode and the instructor I was with didn't want me to try sport mode which in my car livens things up considerably. The auto off is terrible. Comes on every time you start the engine and is much too ready to shut the engine off, even while queuing at a roundabout. Who cares about fuel consumption when this thing will depreciate as fast as it will? Other things, I think the centre console is a mess, especially ahead of the gear lever and at the back there's a bunch of switch blanks which is unforgivable for a car at this price level. That rear switch panel should be available with the just the right number of switch positions for the options selected. Then there are the chrome decorative strips on the door panels, ideally positioned for your boots to scratch them as you get in and out. It's all a bit bling, IMHO.
In the end, the likely £90k cost to change from my car will kill any desire to own one, not to mention the continuing £1000+ per month depreciation. There will be some here for whom that is insignificant, sadly, I am not among you!
It is of course an extremely accomplished car; fluid handling, amazing acceleration, fabulous braking; that feeling of security and capability which we know and love. Not a hint of body flex, no creaks, rattles or anything and road noise seemed better supressed than on my 997.2 turbo. I think the car looks great in the metal, broad shouldered with the rear track noticeably wider than the front; the standard turbo wheels are good to look at and after all the hassles of the centre lock wheels might be worth considering.
I don't have much experience of the 991 but I'm afraid it left me a bit cold; impressed certainly but uninvolved even as the thing is hurtling you down the high-grip straight. You can almost feel the car shrugging its shoulders after coming to a halt and asking "OK, what next?".
Some things really grated. The car felt quite soggy in normal mode and the instructor I was with didn't want me to try sport mode which in my car livens things up considerably. The auto off is terrible. Comes on every time you start the engine and is much too ready to shut the engine off, even while queuing at a roundabout. Who cares about fuel consumption when this thing will depreciate as fast as it will? Other things, I think the centre console is a mess, especially ahead of the gear lever and at the back there's a bunch of switch blanks which is unforgivable for a car at this price level. That rear switch panel should be available with the just the right number of switch positions for the options selected. Then there are the chrome decorative strips on the door panels, ideally positioned for your boots to scratch them as you get in and out. It's all a bit bling, IMHO.
In the end, the likely £90k cost to change from my car will kill any desire to own one, not to mention the continuing £1000+ per month depreciation. There will be some here for whom that is insignificant, sadly, I am not among you!