d56tuye

83
Harold Gan
Perth and Sydney, Australia
@drivenbytaste
Model 993 C4S
Year 1995
Acquired JAN 2000
Model 993 C2S
Year 1997
Acquired JUL 2018
Model 993 C2
Year 1994
Acquired MAY 2018
Model 964 C2 FACTORY
TURBO-LOOK
CABRIOLET
Year 1993
Acquired JUL 2018
Model 996.1 GT3
Year 2000
Acquired APRIL 2019
My road trip to
Melbourne was
starting well. Very
well. And I hadn’t
even begun the
journey yet.
Here I was, a
week before the road trip was due to
start to reunite three of the four manual
Turbo-Look Cabriolet 964s in Australia.
I was nestled in the seat of my 964
TBL Cabriolet, following what can only
be described as a gorgeous piece of
Porsche’s more refined design, the 991
GT3 Touring.
A roughly four-hour drive had been
planned by my friend Shen, also the
owner of the stunning GT3 Touring that
graces this page. The route had been
meticulously planned to perfection
by Shen around the southern side of
Sydney, covering a mixture of gradual
curves cutting through lowland forest,
to coastal meandering roads through
towns, before exiting onto expressways
that would lead onto hillsides
punctuated by tight curve roads.
Midway through the drive Shen
requested that we swap cars so that he
could experience the 964 Cab, or was
it so that I could taste the GT3 Touring
through the right roads? Depends on
how you look at it, but let’s be honest,
it was so that I could experience the
Touring the way it was meant to be.
Slipping into the perfectly positioned
seats, the first thing to strike me was
just how far Porsche has come – the
centre console exhibiting all the mod
cons one would expect out of any new
car from any number of the top-shelf
luxury car manufacturers. But the
minute I cranked the ignition on, I was
reminded that this was no ordinary
luxury car, and the manufacturer was no
ordinary luxury manufacturer.
Depressing the clutch, I was
pleasantly greeted with a positive
yet not too firm clutch pedal that led
on nicely into a beautiful rifle bolt
engagement of reverse. Releasing the
third pedal proved that the clutch was
not going to be a monster to handle over
the next few kilometres, with a wellspaced
engagement point that did not
leave too much guesswork as to the bite
point, while also not having a minuscule
engagement point that can often plague
the more enthusiastic sport models.
Backing out onto the road, I was
soon reminded why the Touring is such
an appealing package. With no big hairy
wing to obstruct rear vision, I may as
well have been driving a base-model
Carrera. But the magic began the minute
I grabbed first and we began to make
our way out along the coastline.
Between sneaking glimpses of the
stunning scenery on my left and keeping
an eye on the 964 leading us onto the
next sliver of pleasure-inducing tarmac,
the loud pedal communicated to the rear
wheels with linear perfection. There was
no crazy torque curve to deal with in the
first millimetres of travel. Instead the
accelerator communicated to the engine
my intentions perfectly, much the same
way my 993 hot rod would. Only as the
revs crept up did the banshee suddenly
want to be let loose. And that was exactly
how it should be. The car did not feel
false in its communication to the rear
wheels – nothing was lost in translation
between my right foot and the sticky end
of the big rubbers out the back.
But it was when we reached the tight
hills of the Southern Highlands that the
Touring finally explained herself to me
with total clarity. Torque out of the tight
hairpins were combined with absolutely
monumental grip and poise. The car
was unshakable and inspired confidence
through ever-tightening bends, and there
was no need to go crazy to realise just
how special the Touring is. It’s the first
911 I have driven in a very long time that
actually reminded me of my 993 hot rod,
yet more capable. The size of the car
truly shrinking around me, the Touring
made me feel that the 964 Cabriolet was
actually a bigger car.
Stunning. That’s the only way to
describe the Touring. It’s the first new
911 in so many years to make me think
again about maybe getting into a newer
car. And it has looks to die for too,
perfect in every way without having to
scream out for attention. Shen, thanks
so much for the memories mate! What a
drive. What a car.