Everyone did such a good job at describing their experiences, I don't have much to add except, it's the most fun you can have with your clothes on or without (if you so desire)

 

Re the California - wrote a lengthy reply only to find out the hard way I don't have enough posts to PM. Send me a way to get in touch and I can tell you about it. Don't have the time now to do the review again.

 

Thanks very much -- I know from experience how frustrating that is. Sending PM now with my contact details.

 

I'm on my 4th Porsche and can honestly say that I've loved every one, but I have a particular affection for the 911s. I had the original Boxster S as my first experience as a Porsche owner, and absolutely fell head over heels for it. Not only was the craftsmanship and engineering so precise, but the experience you felt when starting the engine, hearing the revs and taking a corner at speed brought me back to childhood (which I've been in ever since). I regretted the day I traded her in, and sometimes still do (see her in my Album HERE).

After years of frustration, I convinced my wife to let me get a 911. I was lucky enough to find a fantastic deal on a 997.2S with PDK, and relatively fully loaded. I fell in love all over again. But this one was so much different than the Boxster. More visceral. More power. It required more attention when driven with spirit. It just made the experience of driving it so much more involving and satisfying that all I wanted to do was get back in for more whenever I got home.

And then the pressure of marriage hit, so we traded on a new Panamera S. While I won't ever whine about owning a Porsche, this one just didn't deliver the love for Porsche the way my 911 or Boxster had. It is a GREAT car, don't get me wrong. But it's L-O-N-G. It was a V8 as opposed to that wonderful high-revving BLAT you get from the Flat-6. You sit higher from the ground. I just didn't like paying that much for a car that I wasn't as interested in driving. Sure, it got a LOT of attention...but that's not why I drive a Porsche.

Which brings me to my newest Porsche: 2011 GTS. What a machine. It brings back those goosebumps every time I get to drive it. I'm looking for errands to run, instead of finding ways to collapse a bunch of things into a single trip. The sound is intoxicating, but makes you want more.

What's funny about this is, my wife had this deal thinking that I was too concerned with how I looked in my Porsche. I kept telling her that it has NOTHING to do with looks, but everything to do with DRIVING it. What's funny is that I rarely get a 2nd glance from others in the 911, but EVERYONE wanted to see the Panamera. I had women coming up every day wanting to see it. Not that that's a bad thing , but not why I bought it.

Not only is the 911 a wonderful machine that will make you giddy every time you drive it, but it's a damn good DD that will be as reliable as any other car you can find out there.