Been out of internet range for a week or so.

Here is an interesting one:

The vehicle on the right is a 1989 rough and tough Toyota Hilux 4x4, King of the African bush. It has a steel ladder chassis, heavy axles, drive shafts and transfer box. Body made of heavy gauge steel plate.

What have these two very different vehicles in common ? No, I'm not talking about the color...



Ah - you guessed it ?

Yes, they both have exactly the same empty weight !

Rainier

 

Don't rely too much on the park assist. It did not technically fail to alert here as the lip cleared by 1/8" but still...

Note to self: The SPASM splitter makes a usefull bulldozer...

 

Yes, mine already has a "beard" of dangling plastic threads from all that scraping. I simply can't avoid some of the curbs here in California, even though I always hit them at a 45º angle... The good news though is that it's a cheap plastic part and the actual car doesn't "start" until much later, so no big harm done.

 

One of my biggest worries is lower ground clearance of spasm and pdcc car and above all my lip is body colored painted...I've gotta be very careful driving in freakin California....

 

Uh-oh, that might have been a bad idea. On the other hand, the mountain twisties around here are sometimes so tight, that I scratched my front bumper underside already multiple times on both sides. I decided to take it as a badge of honor

 

Very reassuring ...thanks

 

Agreed, painting the lip is a bad idea - I too have grown a beard of little plastic hairs from the odd contact with mother Earth.

I'm thinking of cutting a length of small diameter black irrigation tubing length wise and fitting that as "sacrificial" strip or have a look at the rubber places for a suitable, small extrusion that can be used here.

Of course I could just fit the normal, PASM lip but I kinda like the SPASM lip looks...

Rainier

 

Time for some more driving photos.
This post shows a few pictures getting to the Chapman's peak drive from Cape Town via the gorgeous town of Hout Bay.
Chapman's peak is one of the most spectacular marine drives in the World, about 10Km in length. The road was first opened in
1922 after 7 years of construction. It has since been closed for a lengthy time as rock falls and slides severely damaged
the road. It has now been reopened after several years of reconstruction as toll road asking a fairly modest $4 for the
privilege.
This drive is not about performance. This one is to be taken slowly and savoured...

We are traveling South from Cape Town along the Atlantic Ocean.


A nice drive along the coast on a perfect, curvy road and we are close to the Town of Hout Bay.


Hout Bay in the distance...


We have now passed Hout bay and are overlooking the bay towards the town.


The highest point and start of Chapman's peak drive. A stop here is mandatory to enjoy the view.


Let's get started...


The narrow road is carved along the steep mountain side.


Sun, Ocean, mountain, road and splendid flora combine into a staggering display.


Hmm, this car looks good on me...
One of the new Fiat 500 models pulled up next to us.


Nice shot of a portion of the road still to come...


Fun coming up...


Somebody asked why you can put the PDK into neutral by pulling both paddles.
Here is why: Windows down, pull the paddles, coast and floor it to redline and let go. The overrun is delicious. The
acoustics with this overhang ensure that you can be heard in South America. You could start a mountain slide. Oops - just
kidding...


Some more of that...


The end of the drive at the Southern part of it. This is "long beach". I think you can see why they choose the name.
Right - so what is the verdict? 991 on Chapman's peak.
You can't use the performance of course - every corner is monitored by cameras and your every move is followed by watchful
eyes. This is about enjoyment on another level - you enjoy the ride and the matching scenery like you would savour a good
meal.
You need a cab to fully appreciate this, the coupe is not the best choice. This is top-down driving at its best. For this
reason I will give this one to my MX5 as it has the electric folding hardtop. Of course, if my 991 would have been a cab the
verdict may have been different.

Rainier

 

Rainier amazing photos, Love reading about your little getaways / stories. Don't stop

 

+ 1. Stunning Scenery!!

 

Lovely environment!

ChuckJ

 

Thanks for posting! Stunning!

 

Nice! Didn't know that S.Africa was so beautiful! How's the weather like?

 

Wow what a perfect setting to enjoy your 991 in!
Thanks for sharing!

 

It's a big country with several climate zones. Here in the Western Cape the weather is mild all year around, warm and dry in the Summer (now), rainy seaon in the Winter. We can get snow high up in the mountains but low down the thermometer seldom dips below about 60F in the winter with daytime temps in the 68-74 region. Summer temps are usualy around 80-86 in the day with occasional hot periods of 95 or a little above at midday.
Overall a very agreeable climate.

Yes, the country has many very beautiful areas, far too much for me to capture on my little camera and post here - but this thread is for the 991, not the country...

Rainier