It's that time again.
It is time for a brand spanking new 911.
Now this car has been evolving over the last 49 years, which makes it when you think about it sound like some kind of super virus.
Anyway the 911 has pretty much been a benchmark sports car for all of its life even though back in the day it had a reputation for spitting people off mid-bend.
Now they're calmer, more manageable, more
precision.
The 911 used to be a staple of bankers and people who would rather watch burn than have a wee on but now it's the car of choice for the discerning car buyer.
I wonder if this is the all-rounder that everyone hopes it will be.
As you'd expect from a 49-year-old it has gotten a
little bigger over the years.
So it's longer and wider than ever before but the new 911 has kept a lot of the 911 hallmarks.
For example, this swooping bonnet lining rounded off headlamps.
They're still there present and correct and then well, you have this pretty iconic roof line and window detail.
That's pretty cool and then at the back, well, you still got some pretty kickass rear light clusters and the engine under the boot bonnet thing.
But again as you'd
expect with a 49-year-old its bottom has gotten a little lumpy, and I'm not a big fan of that but also it looks like it's wearing a flat cap.
Another 49-year-old trait but still a bit weird, but while the exterior hasn't changed too much, the interior is all changed in there.
Everything in here is all changed.
See, what used to be a giant slab of dashboard going straight down, well now it kind of swoops into the cabin, it has this nice little tray for your buttons and
everything within easy reach for the driver and the passenger.
Space-wise, you do feel as if you have a lot more room.
So after nearly 50 years of evolution, you'd expect this new 911 to be, well, the perfect driving experience and I'm pleased to report that it isn't.
One of the biggest concerns people have with the 911 is its steering isn't as evolving as its predecessors.
You see the wheel is now
electrically assisted rather than hydraulically.
So there is less feel as the electrics are too spongy, but there's a reason Porsche did that, economy.
You save a few MPG by going lekky which means it's cheaper to tax and to fuel.
And to be honest if you put the hydraulic system and the electric system back to back and put them in the hands of a normal mortal human being, I'll bet you any money they couldn't tell the difference.
350 horses are more than adequate
too.
I mean it's almost as quick to 62 as the old 911 Turbo.
There are 3 suspension modes: normal, sport, and sport plus.
Sport makes things a little sporty and sport plus, well, that's best left off in the rain.
Basically it turns everything up to 6,000 and this thing into an Exocet missile.
And don't forget the noise button.
One thing you must always inspect if you are looking to buy one of these cars is the exhaust note button because what that does is it turns it from a nice sort of
classy docile car that you can happily tread through a country lane or through town without causing any upset into a noise machine.
Oh, and we have a car equipped with a PDK automatic gearbox.
In town you need to cling on to get as far too long or it won't be able to make up its mind.
So you'll be doing 30 again.
Ah, 30.
You're on 5th.
Oh no.
Well, you're on
4. No.
Oh.
You put a little bit of gas on there.
Oh.
No.
In which case you definitely want 3rd.
Oh no.
You're actually on 5th because you're still doing 30.
Oh dear, and is very confusing and quite annoying.
People don't like sports cars because they're inefficient and bad for the environment and all that nonsense.
But this one comes with a 3.4-liter flat 6 engine but produces 350 brake horsepower, 288 pound feet of torque.
It'll do naught to
60 in 4.5 seconds.
It'll top out at over 175 miles an hour and it'll do 30-- well, more than 30 miles to the gallon.
And also emit less than 200 grams per kilometer of CO2 which means it's actually so reasonable to tax in a 911.
So is the 911
still the ultimate sports car?
Maybe actually, maybe, but i think it's more than that now.
I think it's more of a GT than it ever has been before.
It's bigger, so there's more space for your passengers and their thing.
It's more economical which means you can drive further on a single tank.
It's better for the environment which isn't really a GT attribute but it's still damn handy to have.
People might be de-crying the fact that all is not as much of a sports car as it used to be but sudden because all
it means is that the 911 has evolved a little early than we thought it would be and little further than we thought it would.
And that's not a bad thing.
It's not a bad thing at all.
