911 for 24 hrs

[nickg]

I got a letter from Porsche yesterday offering me a 24hr test drive in one of:

carrera S coupe tip
carrera 4S coupe tip
carrera 4S cab, manual

 

[GRAV888]

I got a letter from Porsche yesterday offering me a 24hr test drive in one of:

carrera S coupe tip
carrera 4S coupe tip
carrera 4S cab, manual

Say you need to have all 3, one after the other to help you make up your mind

 

[Rose Chap]

Now that's what I call an offer!

I received a letter from Porsche the other day inviting me to try a Cayenne for 24 hours. Obviously I ignored it.

So which one will you go for? I'd be tempted to go for the Carerra S Coupe with the tiptronic. Is that flappy paddles? Does it blip the throttle on the downchange?

 

[gary350]

I got a letter from Porsche yesterday offering me a 24hr test drive in one of:

carrera S coupe tip
carrera 4S coupe tip
carrera 4S cab, manual

Got the same letter wonder how they got my name as I have no interest what so ever in their cars.

gary

 

[nickg]

I drove a 996 C2 tip a couple of yrs ago and was unimpressed with the gearbox (it was in fairness a rubbish test drive in mostly heavy traffic), so ideally i want a C4S manual - exactly what they're not offering!
will probably go for the cab as its got the manual box.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Fantastic!! Would be the 997 4S Can for me.

They ignore me in the showroom, nevermind write and offer 24h test drives!!

Is this through your local dealer or PGB?

 

[nickg]

Pgb

 

[mb240]

Do you have to be filthy rich to get offered test drives like that by Porsche I've never heard of that sort of thing before.

 

[Satch]

Do you have to insure it yourself?

Other "offers" like that turned out to be too much hassle in the end

 

[scotth_uk]

I drove a 996 C2 tip a couple of yrs ago and was unimpressed with the gearbox

Nick,

I agree with your gearbox comment. The 997 tip is also crap. Whilst it's great for automatic point and shoot, it's very difficult to drive the car in a 'manual' way. Was very ordinary trying to get it around the Nurburgring quickly. Also particularly bad for powersliding out of corners.



And on a related topic - some of you may remember a friend's friend who brought his 600hp 996 Turbo to Bruntingthorpe (yes, that Welsh bloke). He sold it with less than 10k on the clock back to a specialist dealer and as it turns out all of the enquiries disappear they advise it's a tiptronic.

Doesn't bother Welshy much though - he now drives a shiny new F430 Fezza.

 

[nickg]

Do you have to insure it yourself?

Other "offers" like that turned out to be too much hassle in the end

nope - insurance cover provided by them, and they even lock your car away in their service area overnight.

do you have to be filthy rich? - only to buy one.

 

[SportsCoupeRich]

i think the 997 tip isnt all that bad to be honest. its all about the speed you carry through the corner not how often you change gear...

 

[prprandall51]

Go for the Tip. It is important to see just how badly a Porsche can be messed around with in order to accommodate the requirements of Dentists' wives (apologies to JC).

In Putney, on a quiet Sunday morning, you can almost hear the sobs of Tiptronic owners when their Sunday Times adverts go unanswered for the seventh week in a row.

 

[scotth_uk]

i think the 997 tip isnt all that bad to be honest. its all about the speed you carry through the corner not how often you change gear...

Fair, but let's be honest - when you are exiting a corner and are accelerating hard you want the car to milk the rev-range, not change gear mid corner, completely upsetting the balance and loading of the car. That's what it did to me, over and over again.

 

[Dryce]

Do you have to be filthy rich to get offered test drives like that by Porsche I've never heard of that sort of thing before.

Clearly not.

Wifey got one. (Maybe she's hiding something from me).

 

[SportsCoupeRich]

Fair, but let's be honest - when you are exiting a corner and are accelerating hard you want the car to milk the rev-range, not change gear mid corner, completely upsetting the balance and loading of the car. That's what it did to me, over and over again.

I have given my fathers 997C2s tip a thrash around the ascari track in spain and never thought this was a problem, though I can appreciate the ring is slightly different in layout.

Ascari track is fun. My father actually owns a race team in the Uk so we blagged the track in spain as a 'marketing day' for a few hours.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

I also think the Tip box is fine too . I've only driven two 996's one with a Tip box and another with a manual box. I prefer the Tip box for lazy driving and especially for taking into the City..

 

[scotth_uk]

Hmm.. I was so disgusted/horrified by the functionality of the Tip that I think it must have been a dud. All I wanted it to do was hold a gear, but no matter which mode I selected, it just wouldn't play ball.

Sad for a car with low mileage.

 

[SportsCoupeRich]

possible that it had memory in it and needed a soft reset. My dfather tends to floor his on the motorway anf on the plains in spain fairly often (trips to madrid).

He has had 270kmh out of it iirc.

 

[scotth_uk]

He has had 270kmh out of it iirc.

I've had more. ;-)

<--- see comment under avatar. I have the photos too!

[For those arriving late, I don't own a Porsche, nor is this a "mine's faster than yours" comment. It's almost an 'in' joke.]