beautiful build, tks for the pics

Nice toys, plane and a 991s

 

The 911 is made for the road. The 991 more than ever. So Porsche claims.
With that in mind I pointed the 991 towards Bain's Kloof, one of the most challenging driving roads and unofficial sports car proving grounds I have access to.
Bain's Kloof was completed in 1853 by Alexander Geddes Bain using convict labour. The pass was made for oxwaggons.
Nothing much has changed - other than a covering of tar. Good state of repair but narrow and very uneven.
The bench mark shall be my MX-5. The MX-5 is small, agile and features all-round multilink suspension lowered on Billsteins and 17 inch Potenza rubber.
The MX-5 does a magnificent job of the pass - really a fun drive.
I was sure the 911 was going to be a hand-full, perhaps better left to the big roads. After all, power is not much help here.

At the western start of the pass - ready to rock !
Bain's Kloof requires utmost respect. Get it wrong and it chews you up and spits you out sideways.
My wife got given the task of taking the pics. Not an easy job with G-forces and the bumpy road throwing her about.

The first part is civilized, not that you want to test those rocks !


About half way up the pass, a short leg stretch. By now I am wondering about my earlier opinion.
The first part of the road was smoother - I knew that. But THIS smooth ? SPASM is a sports suspension right ? Let's wait for the rough part of this road !

OK, we are at the top. SPORT mode - check. Suspension firm - check. PSE on - check. Foot down. The fun begins...


The road is very uneven all the way as can be seen in this picture. Traction is compromised. Don't get ****y !


Not much chance to go fast - blind corner follows blind corner.
You need to be able to brake to a complete stop in the distance you can see.
Rockfalls, troops of baboons or another Porsche coming the other way - you don't know...


Brake-brake-brake --- turn-turn-turnout --- POWER!!! Repeat. 10 miles of this. Boy, this is fun. I am alive !!!


A few (very) short straights and down goes the hammer...


What's behind that corner ? Endless blind corners. Approach fast, brake hard, look, clear ? Go ! Confidence in the 991 is growing fast. This machine is just marvelous.


Rocks all around. No time to admire the scenery. The PSE is roaring like a lioness on heat...


Whew, made it ! The other end is marked by the narrow one-car-at-a-time bridge over the river. Shall we turn around and do it again ?

OK, now let's get down to results. The PASM (in SPASM disguise) is the clear winner here. Absolutely flawless road holding. Remarkable. This they got right ! The 991 is planted, the chassis is sorted. Completely.

Compared to the MX-5 it feels like somebody has taken a giant steam roller over the bumps on this road. I did not expect this.

Very firm suspension, just as you want it from a sports car - but you can actually use your kidneys afterwards. It is never harsh.

Power counts relatively little on this pass - nice to get fast out of the corners but you have to brake almost immediately for the next one.
Brakes - well, they barely got warm - they are that good !

On this pass you can have fun with the 991 without even breaking the speed laws (well, -ish)...

This leaves me with just one point to make. I have thought long and hard about this one. As you know the 991 is often critisized for its electric steering. Yes, it feels dead. Even on the SPASM without the PDCC. I have to be honest about this.
But - it is not that easy. The stearing has wonderfull balance and an excellent ratio. Directional force feedback from the tires is really massive (but not overdone - it's just right). How can I put this ? With the MX-5 I can tell you the color of the pebble we just drove over. With the 991 I can't feel the pebble. But is that important ? I'm starting to think maybe, just maybe Porsche does have a point.
Did I miss the steering wheel kicking like a mule during this ride ? No, I did not - instead the 991 just goes where I point it - just a murmor in the steering wheel telling me about the surface. It's perhaps quite enough - proof of this is the maniac grin on my face as I attack yet another corner - truth is, I never even noticed anthing missing. Point and shoot - just like the camera taking these pics. Something lost ? Perhaps. Something gained ? Definitely !!!

So, for me - case closed. I like it.

Rainier

 

Great review Rainier!! Your wife's photographic acumen is incredible! And she's probably pretty brave also. I completely agree with your review of the electric steering.

ChuckJ

 

Thanks for sharing.....your a lucky man to have access to roads like that.

 

A 991 without roads like this is just like a fish out of water. I can't imagine buying a car like this without an ample supply of great driving roads to fully enjoy it.

Rainier

 

GREAT Review!! Thank You for taking the time to share, and to your Wife for the FANTASTC photography. Very much appreciated. Your a lucky guy! My wife would be Nagging me to slow down, while complaining She's getting sick and I'm threatening her life

 

Ditto for my wife...actually her lack of knowledge about cars has enabled me to get mine ....uh oh...oops!

Rainier: really enjoyed your post. You have a talent!! Enjoy this beauty in good health

 

Rainier, a wonderful post about your drive. The write up stupendous and pics simply wonderful. Thanks for posting.

 

My wife loves the comments. She recommends that you put a camera in your wife's hands and tell her to keep snapping away. That way she will be too busy to notice

We're off for breakfast now at one of our favourite wine farms and then we will take a scenic drive around the Cape of good hope. This will include one of the World's most awesome scenic drives (Chapman's peak drive) and we will of course take some pics for your enjoyment.

Rainier

 

I have been using the PDK in automatic mode up to now when powering through the twisties of our mountain passes. The PDK has been flawless - except for one occasion:

When powering out of a switchback hard (going up the mountain) the PDK unexpectedly down shifted with reducing steering angle (approximately 0.8-0.9G during the turn). The result was predictable: The back came out but before I could react or soil my pants the nannies took over with some hard action on the rear brakes - quickly fixing the impending doom. I got away without decorating the mountain slopes with Porsche parts...

My confidence in the PDK is slightly dented after this so I think it is perhaps best to switch to manual mode and use the paddle shifters when going up roads like this in a somewhat spirited way. I'll try this from now on...

Rainier

 

Most of the time the automatic mode is just fine, but I think if I'm on the edge, I'm going to make the choice. The nice thing is you can use both of them as the situation dictates.

Chuck

 

Fantastic pictures and documentary. What a lucky guy you are to have access to roads like that! Kind of a strange question, do you use 2 license plates in the rear? In the first picture of the rear of the car it looks like 2 plates side by side.

 

Our plates are wide but not very high - about the size of the holder you are seeing.
I'm still driving with a temporary registration, should be getting the permanent plates tomorrow. You can make out the temporary registration document stuck in the inside of the rear Window.

You can delay the registration for three weeks here. In this case I took delivery on 21 December 2012 but the final registration will read 2013. That makes a difference for resale (buying you a "virtual" year).

Rainier

 

Great story & pics! Cannot wait until I can tackle these kinds of roads in Northern Cal, from my test drive the 991 seems much wider than I'm used to for the narrow forest roads - so care will be in order....but it seems the sound of the PSE will make up for it....

 

Excellent thread, thanks for sharing!