Porsche Experience 9/18/24

[wtwo3]

Was invited out to the Porsche driving experience on 9/18 at the autobahn country club in Joliet, IL. Figured I'd give my thoughts - I've had my eye on getting into a 911 at some point (however distant that may be).

I got to drive lead-follow on the track the 718 GTS 4.0, 992.1 Carrera T, Macan GTS, and the Cayenne S. There was also autocross in the Taycan, but I did that last year and it was incredibly boring so we decided to skip it this year.

First up I drove the Macan GTS. I drove the Macan T last year and wasn't impressed by it at all. The GTS is a totally different beast. It felt so good on track - I was super impressed on how it rotated through the corners, for an SUV. The interior was also much improved over the previous one - much better quality materials. If it wasn't so tiny I'd strongly consider a Macan GTS as a family SUV.

Next I drove the Cayenne S. I have to say, the new Cayenne is a major improvement over the previous generation. Much smoother, better quality interior, and it felt a bit faster as well. It's still not really fit for track duty - the weight was just too much for the chassis to handle and I found myself really fighting it in the corners. But the level of refinement and overall comfort/smoothness of it was a pleasant surprise for me.

I then drove the 992.1 Carrera T. I was expecting it to feel a bit slow, but I was pleasantly surprised, it felt "quick enough". The level of grip were very impressive, and it felt incredible on the track. Telepathic steering, great turn-in, and just an overall joy to drive.

Lastly I drove the 718 GTS. Now this was a big surprise. Almost immediately going into the first corner you could really feel the difference moving the engine to the middle of the car as opposed to having it in the rear like in the 911 did for the sharp turn-in and rotation. Dare I say, it actually felt better on the track than the 911 did That being said, I'd still pick the 911 over it. It just has a certain place in my heart that I don't think the 718, no matter how good, would be able to fill.

Last year I walked away from the event thinking the 911 was the only Porsche worth buying and everything else was just a decent car with a Porsche badge slapped on to it. This year, with some of the updated models, I felt like Porsche's entire lineup was compelling.

[tturedraider]

Free or paid? If it was free I’m going to be very upset.

[Humdizzle]

awesome. and both the 911 and 718 specs are great. I think i would pick the cayman over the 992T maybe even the S just for the NA 4.0.

glad to hear the macan is a beast. we are currently shopping for a GTS. How would you compare it to a G80 xdrive in terms of inputs (steering, suspension, brakes, transmission feel) ?

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

Free or paid? If it was free I’m going to be very upset.

Free . But invite only

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

Free or paid? If it was free I’m going to be very upset.

Free, dealer invites you. I did one last Fall at Summit Point WV. Really fun experience since you get to drive different vehicles. I drove the same cars except we had a Taycan instead of a Cayman.

Which reminds me, I am going to SC to use up my multiple BMW driving vouchers from ordering the M Driver package.

[chassis]

Great review, thanks. Agree with all of it.

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

awesome. and both the 911 and 718 specs are great. I think i would pick the cayman over the 992T maybe even the S just for the NA 4.0.

glad to hear the macan is a beast. we are currently shopping for a GTS. How would you compare it to a G80 xdrive in terms of inputs (steering, suspension, brakes, transmission feel) ?

It's hard to compare the Macan to the G80, they're very different. Obviously one's an SUV and one is a sports sedan. The G80 would make light work of the Macan. But if I was to focus on steering, suspension, brakes, transmission....

Porsche in general provides a bit more steering feel. Part of that is just simply down to better EPS tuning, and IMO part of that is also the steering wheel itself. These super thick BMW steering wheels might look nice and feel nice at first, but they rob what little steering feel they would have. So steering feel goes to the Macan... but the g80 is every bit as responsive to steering inputs.

Suspension, again is difficult to compare because it's an SUV vs a sedan. For an SUV the Macan does an incredible job and feels nimble on the track.... but it's no comparison to a sports sedan. The G80 will feel flatter in the corners, turn in will be sharper, and it won't get unsettled from imperfections on track. The Macan will undoubtedly exhibit more body roll, and a busier suspension as it tries to handle its extra weight and ride height. So not really a fair comparison but I'd give it to the G80.

The Macan brakes are really good, surprisingly good. But again the G80 has phenomenal braking as well. I'd give it a tie.

Transmission - now this is an interesting one. I have a 6MT G80 so obviously that isn't comparable... I have tracked an 8AT G80 before, so just going off memory here. The PDK in the Macan IMO is far superior. I kept it in automatic mode on the track, and I was shocked at how well it maintained the correct gear... almost as if it was reading my mind. Braking before a corner, it would downshift to the exact gear I myself would have put it in had I been using the paddles. It was a special experience. The G80 8AT on the other hand I felt like hunted for gears a lot more, and was easy to get caught in the wrong gear coming out of a corner resulting in some pretty catastrophic lag. Obviously some of that can be mitigated by using the paddles, but auto for auto, I felt the PDK was far superior to the ZF 8spd in the G80. Now I haven't tried a G80 with the CS software programming on it - I've heard that solves a lot of the issues with gear hunting and being caught in the wrong gear.

[alex2364]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

Free . But invite only

Originally Posted by c1pher

Free, dealer invites you. I did one last Fall at Summit Point WV. Really fun experience since you get to drive different vehicles. I drove the same cars except we had a Taycan instead of a Cayman.

Which reminds me, I am going to SC to use up my multiple BMW driving vouchers from ordering the M Driver package.

How do you get on the invite list? Make nice with your local Porsche sales person?

[dgoldenz]

Originally Posted by alex2364

How do you get on the invite list? Make nice with your local Porsche sales person?

I get invited to Aston Martin and McLaren stuff and have never bought anything from either one. Just tell them you’re interested give them your info and eventually they start inviting you to stuff. Some good food and drink at these events too usually. I’m going to a McLaren Artura test drive thing tomorrow.

Ferrari does this a lot too but they haven’t invited me to anything yet. Jerks!

[wtwo3]

Originally Posted by alex2364

How do you get on the invite list? Make nice with your local Porsche sales person?

Pretty much. Express interest in purchasing one, build a relationship with a dealer. I'm probably not in the market for at least another few years but as long as I show interest I'll probably continue to get invited.