Porsche 992 C4S: an engaging drive…
Parked next to my 993, the 992 is a big car. A good-looking car too, every angle kind to it, some details a masterclass, like the front for example: the hood’s shut-line continues forward, eating into the front bumper by a centimetre.
A minuscule amount on something so big, but it nods to the 911s of old with their curvy wings holding bug-eyed headlamps – this car is pretty much flat nosed, but creates an optical illusion of those early icons. Inside’s just as pretty.
Turn off the large telly running half the length of the dash, a control centre for things like the Sports exhaust and navigation, and you are left with a sleek and elegant masterpiece. This one belongs to Porsche GB, mine for the best part of a week, and destined for some serious (ab)use finding out if it’s as good as it looks. But where to take it in the depths of winter?
A decade has passed since I met the lovely Renée on Valentine’s day. I’d bought a yellow diamond ring on the way home from a meeting in the City a few weeks earlier to ask the big question. I’m a shy person, so the thought of taking her up the OXO Tower and performing in front of a surprised audience held no appeal.
Somewhere quiet by the ocean was deemed ideal, an impromptu trip avoiding suspicion. London to Cornwall, and back again, in one day – surely an easy task for a 992!
Leaving early while dark, we missed the traffic, but pace is heavily regulated by cameras along the M25 and M3. Once we exited onto the A303 the car got into a stride, the dual carriageway sections a perfect place to discover how much grip this car has. Even with a 450bhp engine sitting at the rear, it enters and exits roundabouts at serious pace without drama.
The electric steering feels connected directly to the wheels, the car moves around a bit as you push and provoke but never in a way that feels out of hand, and is fun to hustle along.
As the road swapped from dual to single carriageway, occasionally throwing up those third lanes for letting faster traffic pass, the rocket ship pace of this car was evident. The previous-generation 991 hides its turbochargers – not this car; you hear them whistle, and you feel it in your stomach as they thrust 1,600kg of 911 down the road.
Passing the ‘Welcome to Cornwall’ sign earlier than expected, a decent coffee was soon in our hands. 300 miles in and the 992 has been brilliant. Just one criticism: the ride is brick hard, even on its softest setting, and the whining about this from the passenger seat started just an hour in. It is noisy too, but I don’t mind that. The 992 had got us here before Storm Dennis and we were sipping flat whites by the ocean while the weather remained mostly dry, hoping that the forecasters had it wrong.
The full feature of this memorable drive is presented alongside 116 pages of high-end Porsche content all delivered to your door as part of our lavish magazine dedicated only to the Porsche 911. You can also download a digital copy with high definition bonus galleries to any Apple device or Readly, Amazon, Zinio and Pocketmags.
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