Thanks, good points. I agree with 23 hp being relatively unnoticeable. I'm curious how the alcantara interiors stand up, compared to leather, over time to the daily wear and tear, especially steering wheels and shifter *****. I like the looks, but would be fearful of the added upkeep that might be necessary to keep it looking good.

 

Hi Ken -

In my experience of having suede/alcantara interiors (not Porsches) the material holds up very well with much less maintenance than leather. It also stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The downside is you don't get that wonderful leather aroma you get with a full leather interior.

 

You either love or hate alcantara ... there is very little middle ground. Well I lied, I do know that many like it for the roof but not elsewhere. Yes it does hold very well and there are some dedicated cleaners for alcantara. I too love leather and am a very strong believer in natural leather is your car is going to be a keeper as it wears very well. My favorite being Carrera red and natural brown. Da Hapa and Adias know all too well about these two colors.

 

Gave you some positive rep. You deserve it ordering a new 911

 

That's interesting. I never thought of the natural leather as having better wear characteristics than the standard. If it does, it may be worth the extra coin as I agree, an interior that withstands the test of time is valuable. +1 on full leather. My previous 997 didn't have it, my current one does. Didn't think it was a worthwhile option until I lived with it for a while, and yeah it's pretty wild that it still smells like fresh leather after nearly 20k miles!

Re Alcantara -- I like the look and the feel but like Ken, I wonder about the wear. Especially since sometimes on the track we run in the heavy rain with windows down...

+23hp -- I think the enthusiast coming from a .2S can probably feel it, especially for the lighter 2WDs, but without the PSE and other GTS goodies it wouldn't be worth the premium.

 

As for how this car is different than just optioning up a regular 997, I am not sure it is really different. It just has all the performance gadgets I want, is not a GT3, and is not a turbo. I got a nice Panamera Turbo a couple of years ago and it made me want a pure sports car. But at least for now I didn't want a turbo. I just want to learn to drive it properly and then see where it takes me. This is not a daily driver but I wanted it to be comfortable enough to drive around on the street.

I am also getting some Fuchs PG1 wheels and am thinking about some brake upgrades purely for reasons of improving the unsprung weight.

thx

 

Congrats! Can't wait to see some pics.