As we pressed on, I scanned the interior.
As we’d proven when loading up the photography gear, it’s no more compact than
other 911s - it just feels it, at first, due to that Panamera-style centre
console. Classic 911 drivers have no centre stack at all, and only gradually
over the generations did it appear and grow. Now, suddenly there’s a swathe of
architecture between you and your passenger, more than elbow height-tall, which
looks rather button-packed and will feel odd at first to every previous
generation 911 driver.
It’s only with time that you realise it’s
actually as practical as ever, that the driving position is still roomy and
multi-adjustable, and the sheer amount of stowage behind means the only way of
reaching back to move rattling camera tripods is to stop, unbuckle and lean
right back. Incidentally, the amount of camera bags we managed to fit neatly
inside the boot suggests the Carrera 4 still doesn’t mean any great loss of
capacity in the nose either.
The
Carrera 4 feels predominantly rear- weighted, only occasionally sending
noticeable torque through to the front wheels
This wasn’t quite enough to ease my
confusion, though. This felt, basically, like a strong, 911-esque 911, but one
in which I hadn’t tapped beneath the surface of. C4 meant no difference in
daily driving either, and the whole package had, dare I say it, not yet won me
over. “Would you buy one?” Ali asked me. Two hours into day one, I hesitated.
By now we were truly late. So when the
roads finally opened up and we eventually dropped into Wales, I stepped on it.
The first white and black stripe sign was the cue and, my goodness, what glory
emerged. It may be 400cc smaller, but this 3.4-litre engine is an utter gem.
I’d noted its lack of torque in town, but this is easily compensated for by the
electric energy above 4,500rpm and the brilliant wail it makes as it revs
harder. And rev it does too, right up to 7,800rpm, with every nod to classic
911s firmly in place. At last, we both agreed, this was more like it.
And so the real 991 C4 started to emerge.
Just as the weather turned nasty: perfect. Stopping for images made us even
more late (the results, I’m sure you’ll agree, were worth it), so I pressed on
some more, gradually stepping up the intermittent wiper speed, then onto
permanent, then onto high speed. Streetlights disappeared to leave the piercing
xenons brilliantly casting their arc of light ahead. Corner-turning lights
helped me see through bends, and at last the Porsche Traction Management was
given work to do.
Mid-Wales
proved the perfect environment in which to test the identity of the latest 991
What followed was an hour of becoming
absolutely convinced by the 991. As we neared Crickhowell, we had an idea -
head up the mountain and take a moody night shot, village twinkling in the
background. So I charged up the deserted, rain-lashed hillside, snaking through
puddles and umpteen running, gushing streams of water, peering intently at a
road I remembered as fiendishly twisting, but not quite sure in what sequence.
I was completely thrilled.
At the top, I grinned at Ali. Boy, this
car’s good. With utter rock-solid reassurance it had just handled everything
the elements had thrown at it, not once signalling me to change up and cruise
with hesitancy. Sport button firmly pressed, the noise had been deliciously
intense and, most importantly, never once was either my confidence shaken or my
purist ideals offended. The Carrera 4 had kept us engaged and secure without
once numbing the rewards. Amazing.
Those
stunning visuals from the front are textbook Porsche styling...
As we eventually reached and checked into
our hotel in mid-Wales, I found myself enthralled while describing to Ali at
great length what a drive that had just been, as we sipped a well-earned beer.
The night was spent listening to wind try
to blow the hotel down, getting soaked while trudging to breakfast and then
electing to wake the entire hotel up by firing the 991 before dawn had broken.
The noise it makes on a cold-engine fast idle, exhaust baffles seemingly fully
open, is brilliant. It puts you in the right mood from the start. Once the revs
dropped back to tick over, I selected first gear (it’s even heavier when the
oil’s cold) and pulled out... into rush hour traffic.
This was Brecon rush hour; hardly ant-like,
but it still proved frustrating. Nevertheless, I crawled along while the oil
warmed up before ceasing with the formalities. After all, we had a chassis to
discover some more.
…while
the connecting tail light is an equally arresting sight on the C4
45 minutes of Wales’ finest later, and the
discovery of last night had turned into conviction. Boy, what a fiendishly
accomplished car full of depth, ability and integrity this is. Carrera 4 means
10mm wider tyres and the wider rear track, on top of the constantly varying PTM
system we’ve covered in such detail here in Total 911. On British roads and
when combined with those winter tyres (which Porsche dealers will happily fit
for you) this equals an unarguable combination of security and confidence with
dynamism and reward helped further here. It’s still a compact, direct,
well-balanced and (importantly for purists) rear-weighted car, but one whose
front end will join in to scrabble you out of corners with foursquare effectiveness,
or ease in to add balance and poise through wieldy sequences too. You both
never really know the all-wheel drive is there, but at the same time you always
feel the benefits because it keeps the talented 911 neutral, no matter how
extreme the dynamic forces.
Admittedly,
the tech-clad center console takes a bit of getting used to
And the steering? No, it doesn’t writhe and
chatter at slower speeds like an older 911. Electronic systems simply don’t
allow this; they’re too ‘good’ for that. Add in speed and force, though, and
all the old 911 on-centre accuracy is there. It sharpens up, weight ENS and
even has hints of the old model’s squirm beneath your fingertips but this time
only when it’s an advantage.
Pleasingly,
the smaller 3.4-liter engine provides an enthralling driving experience
