You will totally have to excuse me if this is not the usual long review that I am capable of giving but with an 8 month at home (our 1st) and a pretty hectic schedule I barely found time to actually attend the event. I now know why all my friends with babies were always late to everything Spoiler alert; if you are ever going to attend any type of driving event in your life do yourself a favour and go to Camp4. Its the ultimate experience that pleases like no other - the best way to a learn a car is to drive it sideways! I never truly understood or appreciated the different dynamics of a rear, mid-engine, 2wd vs 4wd, until I attended this fabulous program. Porsche, like their cars, does not disappoint and after a full day of this I actually left satisfied with the amount of seat time in every car and all it did was made me want to back into one ASAP.

Our Camp4 was north of Montreal in a town called L'Esterel - never seen so much snow in my life and I am Canadian! The event consisted of an evening at a wonderful hotel (Resort L'Esterel) with dinner and food then a day full of driving separated by 3 unique exercises (stations) to teach you the cars, their separate settings (Sport, Sport Plus, PSM), and best of all how to go sideways. The entire day I had a huge smile on my face and constant giggles at each station. Truly amazing how Porsche has engineered the cars to react totally different depending on the combination of settings in each. The car we were all very excited to see and drive was the new 9914S. It was there in the stunning Platinum Metallic colour and the wonderful light strip - that alone worth all the pennies to anti-up to a 4(S).

For the most part the settings did the following:
Sport - meant the car was more responsive but you were still interrupted by PSM.
Sport Plus - had alot more response and drifting was very possible but once the computer detected a massive pendulum swing back of the rear it would interfere. It allowed drift but within reason.
Sport Plus with PSM Off - was totally amazing but required a tremendous amount of focus and fluid form to keep it drifting and hopping around.

The cars were so different with a surprising outcome:
991C4S - was magical and powerful. You felt in ultimate control and the 4WD was fun and electric at the same time. 3.8L was sensational as always.
991C2 - was the most fun car I have ever driven - the steering actually felt like it played around a lot more. The engine sound was raspy and overall fantastic package from Porsche
981Boxster S - was a very different car and I could feel the mid engine dynamics, it felt very light and responsive but I actually felt I could predict and control drifts better in the C2 then the Boxster (not sure why). The Boxster had the most chatty steering of them all with C2 second, and C4 slightly behind (I mean very slightly).

Probably the best part of this event was being around like minded enthusiasts. Its great to be around successful Porsche lovers - lots to talk about and made some great friends that I am sure I will reconnect again in the future. Only thing that surprised me was the amount of controversy the purchase of my M5 had with the group - guess we car lovers all have an opinion. Now the magic question, C2, C2S, C4, or C4S? Plan to do something this year - will update you when the trigger has been pulled! Until next time take care everyone!

More pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigkpho...7632805596935/

 

Reminds me of the saying... as much fun as you can have with your close on!!
Considering the circumstances... this is probably a good thing hehehe
Thanks for impressions and pics.

Cheers!

 

What a BLAST!! Thanks or sharing. I'm going to have to look into this. Would make my first trip to Canada a lot of fun.

 

It looks like it was a blast !! This keeps creeping up the bucket list ladder

 

Thanks for the write up & remembering to pull the camera out...I usually forget.

I read about this event a month ago & now I know what to expect when it's my turn.

 

Thanks for the write up.

Interesting take on which car is most fun. Sounds like PSDS on skates.

 

Thank you for the write up.

I have entered my 991 in a snowcross next month. While I have extensive road racing experience, I have zero snow racing experience. Other than power oversteer in my neighborhood.

I am very excited and a lot nervous that I am going to get crushed. The 911 have really wide snow tires (not really all that great for snow rally driving). I was out playing in a parking lot the other day. It is my understanding that the fastest way around a snow track is to initiate a slide before the turn. Using the sidewall to snow the car. Having it pointed in the direction you want to go and using power to get it there. On dry pavement there is enough grip to transfer the weight to the front under braking. Then with a slight turn of the wheel to allow the rear to yaw and power to keep in there. When I try this on snow all I get is massive understeer (more like snow plowing).

Any suggestions for anyone? Best thing would be to practice some more. Apparently everyone is opposed to me sliding my car around there empty parking lot. So that may not happen. It may trial by fire.

Marc

 

So most of the cars were on 19s with Pirelli tires???

Any on the 20s with Michelin Alpines, always heard they were better. Did you have a chance to try them both?