Kind of like having a GT3 with a sunroof!

I agree with you 100%!

 

Santa Claus.

 

pssst... don't tell anybody. i open it up when no one's looking!


good one!

 

I don't exactly know what you are looking for, so I can not tell anything for sure... Do you want to buy the C4S for better traction? If you do, and planning to take it on the tracks I would say go with the C4S. If you are not going to the tracks, or will be driving in snow or anything like that buy a C2S.

If you are planning to fishtail with the car C2S does not have LSD, so it is really hard to...(the light front end does not allow the rear to loose traction, instead the head looses traction b/c there is no weight to keep the head still... ) Trust me I have tried to drift

PS: Please do not get angry b/c I tried to drift with a Porsche...

 

With two 967C and CS to test, I have found that there is a distinct tendency when trading lanes very quickly that the rear end of the car has a mind of itsa own. It will rock n roll (pendulum effect) and there isn't much you can do except hold-on.

You may read that the TLO is a characteristic of insane driving, over the limits, outside of any legal blah blah blah.

It takes some skill to drive the 911 smoothly, it can be quirky. With PASM and the 997 suspensions, there is much less than before which really aids in keeping your head in front of the car.

At street speeds the 997 still offers more inputs and decisions and won't get out of of sorts. But you do have to learn, or re-learn, to drive it near limits.

This may be a deal killer for me. I jumped into a Boxster and two Cayman's and immediately could tell where I am in the car. They are nearly as fast, faster in no worries driving and I can get PDK without having to pay an additional $X0,000s.

 

You're very correct that you do have to learn how to drive a 997, even with all the electronics in play. To most people who come to them after years in other cars that seems to be part of the pleasure.

Several comparisons of the Boxster / Cayman and the 997 have been written by various magazines. EVO did a good one (997.1 vs Boxster S) a couple of years ago. Their verdict was much as yours - the Boxster was much easier to drive out of the box than the 997 and was actually marginally quicker around a track. But they preferred the 997 because of the driving experience. I'd be surprised if someone doesn't drop in a link to the article.

I wouldn't worry about that "pendulum" effect you mention. That's simply somethinng you adjust to very quickly. Once you do you actually miss it when you drive something else.

 

Another consideration I and others may have is how many and what style drivers are going to pilot the car? I will have two others, an adult son and a wife, neither of which are skilled and neither will want to spend time learning the car. To dismiss them as always "under limits" drivers would be easy...if they were .

Another thing to think of is where is this car to be driven? in my case it will do time in flat Florida and curvy, hilly N. Georgia. The latter can be daunting with a lot of two laners and blind curves. Fun, yes, but not a place to lose a rear on a lift throttle.

 

Psssst.... I've owned setup M3s and the stock Porsche give your more confident in driving than a bimmer. You'll have to drive it to find out. Rear in the rear; Porsche has spent over 45 years developing suspension on this bad boy. Sure, the weight distribution tells a story, but Porsche's engineers have a story. If you are a good driver prepare to be taken by storm!

 

I wanted the sexier hips of the C4, but wanted the more arguably 'pure' experience of the C2 for my first porsche. Now that I've done the C2, I can get the hips if I want without doubting if I missed a more 'pure' experience.

As for S vs. non-S, just go S, I think given the difference in spec/price, its also arguably better value.

 

C2S all the way unless you live in the snow belt, which you don't. I've parked my car next to a C4S and the wider rear is only noticeable if you really look. Granted the wider rear does look better but it isn't worth what I see as the negative effects on weight, steering, handling of having awd.

 

I chose the S for the added hp, better brakes, and other performance upgrades over the standard C2. With that philosophy, there was no way I was looking at a cab or a C4 in any variant...heavier, slower, etc. I wanted the purest 911 exerience I could get in the, then, new 997...so in my mind, it was the C2S.

Everytime I see a C4 in Cali, I shake my head. Take a sports car, make it heavy and numb for the purpose of all weather driving (understood), but use it in California for fair weather driving. Sure, I'll pay 10k for less perfomance on a dry surface to gain better performance on a wet surface...but only use it when it's sunny. Better yet, give me the cab! LMAO.

J

 

How much $$ is too expensive? (What about driving a Cayenne S or Cayenne Turbo in the snow?)

I had my C4S in the snow (with snow tires) last winter, and will do so again.

This car isn't getting any more valuable and it's not going to be a collector's item.

I think it's funny to take my C4S out in the snow. With the tires and AWD system it just rocks and people see it and can't believe that a P-car can pull that kind of stunt.

 

Like everyone said it is a question of taste. The C4S looks better than the C2S but the C2S is cheaper. Drive both and pick whichever you like.

I have a C4 because I live in a snow area + I like to be able to accelerate without wheelspin or drama.

As for throttle lift oversteer, if you are driving a car to its limits at high speeds, that will always be the case regarless of FWD, RWD, AWD, sports car, family car, etc Thus a C2S will not throttle lift oversteer more than a C4S... If you lift the throttle while cornering hard, odds are, you will spin.