Porsche

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Monday – Sun Out, Top Down

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It’s been a long wait but the sun has finally got his hat on over the Cotswolds today – perfect weather for woolly chapeau and a Porsche 911 Cabriolet. And I actually have to drive to Banbury for a reason, so I don’t feel bad about leaving the office and ‘making progress’ in the Porsche.

I believe the sign of a great cabriolet is when it looks as good with the top up and is does down. With the Porsche it’s the other way around. The 911 is sensational roof on – and just exquisite with it tuck away under the automatic tonneau cover.

The roof mechanism is fast too and there’s a separate button for the wind deflector which keeps the draught away from the back of you neck and deadens the noise front the rear-mounted engine. Although that rather adds to the excitement…

One fact I have found about the 911 is that either the seats or my backside need a little extra padding. While the Porsche can be a very usable everyday car (unlike a Ferrari F430, for example), my bum is numb after 45 minutes behind the wheel. They are great sports seats for throwing the 911 around a corner, just not soft enough for a well-trimmed driver…

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Sunday – Sixth Sense

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I can’t help but compare our 911 to the Jaguar XKR-S we tested earlier this year. While the Big Cat has a much bigger engine, the Porsche feels more refined, agile and surefooted on the road – probably thanks to its smaller body dimensions and the addition of four-wheel drive.

For some reason, I’ve also found the 911’s seven-speed manual gearbox a bit tiresome around town. It’s not just the heavy clutch but using sixth gear and has become a bit of a struggle for me. I can only describe it as similar to looking for the gate to a reverse gear – tricky at high speed!

I thought the seventh gear would be fairly redundant in a car like this but you can cruise along a congested A-road in top gear with the engine still responding to the slightest tweak. A remarkable engine, it’s barely audible at cruising speeds, even with the sport exhaust in operation.

There still hasn’t been a chance to lower the hood, every time the sun comes out today it seems to be followed by a cloudburst! The acoustics of the hood are so good, I’ve almost forgotten this is a convertible…

 

 

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Saturday – Magnesium Sandwich Anybody?

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That’s right – every 911 Cabriolet comes with a magnesium sandwich as standard. You won’t find it in the glovebox but in the roof. One of the reasons why it’s so easy to forget this is a convertible not a coupe is down to the design of the electric hood.

Design in a 911 Cabriolet has always been incredible but this latest model takes it to new levels. Sandwiched between the fabric components of the roof is a layer of magnesium, which forms a coupe-style hard top when it is in place.

The result is minimal road noise but just enough to let you and your passenger enjoy the rasp from the 3.4-litre engine behind you. It’s nothing short of remarkable – although I’d dread to think what it costs to replace!

God decided to make it rain for the last 48 hours in the south of England, so that roof is staying firmly in place. My only problem so far? Remembering the seventh gear in the manual gearbox. To be honest, if I was buying I’d opt for the auto -a round the town you need Fatima Whitbread‘s legs to work that heavy clutch pedal…

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Friday – Look At Me!

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Just in case a 911 Cabriolet isn’t enough to get you noticed, Porsche has thoughtfully added the ‘Extrovert Button’. It’s right next to the gearstick and a quick press is guaranteed to turn every head in a 100 yard radius.

The sports exhaust system improves the car’s exhaust note by opening a flap in each of the twin exhaust system’s silencers. It turns the Cabriolet into a snarling beast – although why it’s not a standard feature on the latest 911 is rather surprising.

Shy, retiring types are unlikely to be driving a Porsche in the first place but having just returned from the Bath, I can tell you the 911 wouldn’t have been more conspicuous if I had Kate Moss siting naked next to me.

This latest version of the Cabriolet is around 60kg lighter than the old one and with a more powerful engine under the boot lid, it’s very fast indeed.

However, the best bit so far is the wind-blocker behind the driver’s seat. Wind-blockers are usually removed from a sports car and kept in the garage until the day you sell the car. In the 911, it pops up electronically from the hood well. Brilliant – and you can still hear yourself talking on the Bluetooth phone system at 65mph…