I am basing my perceptions on my own reality after living with and driving the car every day of the week. Mind you I had a base 07' 997 and a base 09' 997, both of which were more satisfying to drive than this car. It's the lack of grunt and torque which kills the car. They should have never put a 3.4 in this car. The S should have gotten a 4.0 and the base a 3.8. I think Porsche has an aversion to having any base car with more hp than even an older 2005 S model. It is absurd how stingy they are with HP and I am quickly becoming disillusioned with the brand.

 

Cant argue with the lack of low end torque issue, I loved my 991 base, but coming from a twin turbo BMW F10 550i luxury sedan, my Porsche sports car felt slow as hell until it picked up revs, that was a huge disapointment, but still loved it as a whole package.
Dont know about the 997 base but I drove a 997.2S last week and it definetely had more low end grunt but it didnt "feel" as fast over 5000rpm.
You need to move on and get what makes you happy, I did.

 

Uh, 3.8 for the base and 4.0 for the S? Uh, have you driven the S?

Maybe you should talk to your Congressman who have put Gas Mileage restrictions on the Car companies cause certainly you'll get less mileage from a 3.8 and 4.0.

 

I bet the 3.4L N/A engine does not feel fast off the line even compared to the turbo 2.0L 4s you find in many entry level sport sedans like BMW, Audi and Caddy. But I decided to pay twice the money to get the base 911 this time, precisely because I don't like those 2.0T engines. I am used to my BMW N/A I6, that is how far I am willing to go to keep my engine N/A and high revving.

I understand more and more people now prefer low end torque, if so, it is a waste of money buying a base Porsche. Get one of these 2.0Ts and you will feel faster. Having said that, I am also concerned about the base 911 not feeling fast enough, which is why I ordered sport chrono, PTV Plus, PASM and paddle shifters

 

True, the 3.4 isn't the torque king, and frankly the S with at most 20% more at the low end and 13% max isn't the king either. American muscle cars and pretty much any turbos will give you much more at low RPM. For me at least, the fact that you can get great sound for an extra second or two while in a higher gear is a bonus, otherwise it would be a blip of sound and I'd be ridiculously over the limit.

Also totally agree with others as well about the quality/handling of the car taking some speed feel away. I had an old Corolla SR-5 hatchback when I started driving - get it to 75 and the whole car would start shaking, wind noise everywhere... Quite a feeling of speed. 70 really feels no different than 30 in the 991, but for a car that can hit 178, that's probably no surprise.

It might make sense for Porsche to do a 'DD' gearing package that would address the normal US market more - shorten the first few gears. Sure, top speed would take longer to hit, but the fact is that isn't what most of the cars here spend their time doing, and they might get a dropped 0-60 time to boot for people looking for numbers. Not that it would add low end torque.

 

A friend who has a N/A 3-series commented that my 3.4 has an impressive amount of low torque, so it's really all relative. But compare it to a turbo that has 250 or 300 at 2500 rpm, well, no, but I do really like the feel of increasing power as it spins up as well - it's a sports car high up, easy driver down low. Perfect.

As a bonus it's not called the Porsche LaPorsche, which really makes me happy too.

 

I am torn because I love the aesthetic appearance of the car and the interior. If you could drop a 997 GTS engine/tranny/steering in my rolling 991 chassis I would be in pure bliss. I have had two 997's so not sure I want to go that route unless it's a 2010 turbo or GT3 which will solve my power woes. It's just frustrating that Porsche CAN do more but they choose not to. For example the "power kit" costs about $1000 extra in parts. Why not make it standard on all S cars? Because they can sell it for an extra $20k later that's why. Porsche purposely under engineers the cars so they can sell us what the car should have been to begin with. The 997 GTS was what the S should have been all along. They held out until the very end.

 

A lot of good points made. It sounds like you should trade, after all these cars are expensive and you want to love driving something costly. I am reading this as you do not like the way the car feels, not that you are disputing the capabilities of the car (after all, it is proven on the track). I am one of those who LOVES the changes from the 997 ( i was dissappointed in cabin quality, cabin noise, PCM etc on the base 997, all of which are head and shoulders better to me in the 991).
That's why there is a whole world of choices out there, I think you know what you need to do, you just have to do it.

 

Of course, the base 911 is 500 lbs less, has lower drag coefficient, a 3.4 not 3.0, and goes 0-60 in as little as 4.2s rather 6.2s.

But you can see how such debate is even more visible in the BMW forums when the new 3 series has the 2.0T with more low end torque than the 911. Why in the world people still morn the loss of the 3.0 N/A I6 they ask?

 

Honestly, I don't know why you guys talk about low end torque with those Audi turbos. I tried out the 2.0T for a day and it was the biggest dog off the line. High end, it felt ok, but off the line, that thing dragged with no power at all.

 

I am not sure if this will make any sense but here it goes. I have owned a few very fast cars over the years. My latest is MY12 997.2 Turbo S. Even though most people would consider the car as fast as you would need to go. However after you drive it for a while and get comfortable with the speed and handling there comes a point that you get used to the speed. As a result you think...gee I wish this would go a little faster. Our brain adapts very quickly to it's surroundings. So one of the ways you can appreciate the speed of any relatively fast car is drive a slow one i.e. any 4 cylinder car with less than 200 HP. Once you get back into your 991 you will again realize how fast it is. Like other have said being fast in a straight line is not the true test of truly fast. It's a spirited drive where different curves and turns are involved. That's why you buy a Porsche. Enjoy your car. You very fortunate that you get to drive a 991.

 

Your base 911 has the performance of a 997 S IF you use it the way is was designed to be used. If you choose not to, why complain?

Porsche stingy with HP? You could have purchased and can at any time trade to a 991S and have a car that is faster than a Turbo of a few years ago and as fast as a 997 GT3 in every way and whenever you desire, get around 29 mpg on trips.

 

I think you make great points here. We do get used to the car's quickness and speed and thus tend to take it for granted. It is only after you go back to a "regular" car and try to do the same things that you realize how special the P car is.

 

Ok, I'll take it off your hands tromero for the right price!

ChuckJ

 

Pretty much sums it up.....well written, this is reality.