OK truth be told I wasn't really planning on buying the car but it was exactly one year ago on father's day that the wife let me drive a 911 for the first time and from that moment on, I had the fever. (funnily enough I drove a 996 cab my first time and I was still blown away with the throttle response).

I finally picked up my 997 S Cab in January so it was a long 6 month process for finding the perfect car.

So this father's day my wife thought it would be fun to see what all the hype was with the 991. We pulled into the dealership and sure enough there was an agate grey 991 S cab parked right up front.

10 minutes later I'm taking the car on highway runs with the porsche salesman who I could tell was just as happy to get out of the showroom.

My first take. This car is damn scary quick. The PDK shifter is everything everyone has said and more. It's seamless, quiet, and lightning quick. I can definitely see and feel how this is much faster than a manual gear box. I also like the fact that at anytime when driving in automatic mode, you just engage the "paddle" shifters and the car downshifts/upshifts without having to go into manual mode.

Another plus that I see with the PDK is that you can just mash on the pedal and the car will go right up to redline and perform the perfect shift every time and much faster than I can. I use to own a Honda s2000 so I'm used to pushing a car hard and to redline to get maximum performance (s2000's redline at 9k), but there is always that gnawing feeling at the back of your head when driving the car hard that If I misshift at this RPM I can seriously damage the engine or blow it up altogether.

So it's nice to have that peace of mind that I can just mash on the pedal and push the engine to it's limits without any risk of driver error.

There were also lots of minimal upgrades that I feel were more refined from my 997.

I like the integrated windscreen. It's nice to turn on/off porsche sport exhaust with a touch of a button (not sure if this is an option on 997's as I don't have PSE). I like how the onboard computer screen got it's own cluster on the dash. I even like how they added a clock on the sport chrono clock on the dash. (Seriously I don't know why they didn't make the sport chrono clock a little more functional than just a stop watch... yes it's useful on a track but the rest of the 365 days of the year it's an unused dash ornament)

Anyways, I walked away from the car thoroughly impressed and I admired much of the upgrades they did with the car.

Con's:

Not a fan of the big cumbersome middle console of the 991. The console actually reminded me of the s2000's console which is very wide and gives a more c ockpit feel when driving but also the feeling of less leg room.

I'm also still getting used to the front LED's. Still not sold on the styling of the front but I do think the rear LED's are sleek and modern looking. Very aston marton imo.

Final con though: I got out of the car and after talking numbers I just couldn't believe the out the door price. $129k! This 991 Cab S had every option I had but was 80k more than what I paid for the car. That's a pretty tough pill to swallow and I think will be a tough sell for porsche sales in the future. Sure it's a new car, but seriously I could get into a used ferrari f430 spyder at that price point so I'm not sure how they can justify the price.

In the end, I got back into the cab with my wife (and 2 kids ) and drove off for the rest of our father's day festivities feeling satisfied that my car isn't quite the car the 991 S is but I do have 80k left to still splurge on father's day. I went with the ribeye for dinner

 

How was the ribeye??? Hahahaha!!!!

 

Great write up. What did you think of the electronic steering system? Did it have power steering plus?

 

Hey, I had a ribeye too... without the 991 test drive before though!

 

Loved the write up! I am a current S2K owner (my second one) that has gotten the Porsche bug and am looking. I also have a wife and 2 small kids that are more than understanding that daddy needs to have his one toy and they have everything else, lol. My "dream" Porsche is at my local dealership, a 991 C2S in white with just about every option, but it has a sticker of $118K so umm yeah, not nearly in my price range. I'm looking for a clean 06 C2S most likely, which as you know is maybe a little more than 1/3rd what the new 991 would cost.

Curious though, not that you can realistically compare an S2000 to a Porsche, but how do you like the transition? I've heard the S2K's shifter/transmission is still better, getting that perfect "snick" when you shift between gears, but of course just about everything else goes to the Porsche. I'm assuming you feel the Porsche is worth the significant price jump in every way?

 

lol nice

 

A used F430 for $129K? I wouldn't touch that one. By me, good condition F430s are closer to $170k - $190K. Maybe a very rough F360 for $129K.

 

+1 (very rough)

 

I test drove a base 991 manual 7 speed and like how the clutch action was. Would have thought about a white base 991 cab 7 speed manual with min options.

did drive the 991S pdk on the track while at PSDS in April (even spun one on the skidpad (intentionally).

No ribeye though.

 

Thanks guys for the kind words.

I'm not sure what version of steering I had. Come to think of it, the steering seemed a bit detached compared to my 997. I completely forgot about making a mental note of the steering.

vbb - Comparing an s2000 to a 911 is not really much of a comparison. The 911 is much more of a sports car in every category that they really can't be compared.

Part of the agility I loved about the s2000 is it's light weight, but if light super cart handling is what I was looking for I'd get into a lotus elise. That being said the extra weight on the rear wheels plus the extra wide 19" tires give me plenty of confidence and grip when taking corners. The 997 seems to be pretty well balanced compared to the previous reviews I've always read on 911's of past.

The short shift throws on a s2000 is something very unique to that car and that's the only edge I would give that car but I suppose if you really missed it, you could get the SSK for the porsche.

My only advice would be that if you're worried about "missing" the s2000, I would opt for the cab vs a coupe. Regardless of what car you get, If you're a convertible type of guy that enjoys the wind and roar of the engine on full throttle with the top down, You will miss the s2000 unless you upgrade to a better convertible.

Thanks guys for all the ribeye comments haha, yes it was tasty.

 

Wow! $129K for a loaded 991S??!!

I paid $168K for Turbo S that is superior in almost every way! Makes me wonder how the new Turbo pricing will be when they arrive.

(you think the 991S is 'scary quick'... Imagine hitting the gas on a Turbo S PDK and getting to 60 a full 2 seconds faster!!

Spend a few extra $$ over the 991S and buy a used Turbo / Turbo S!

Sounds like a great day!

 

My daughter and I drove to the top of Mt. Evans for Father's Day (highest paved road in North America) and then went to my girlfriend's for a swim in her pool, filet mignon, corn on the cob, watermelon and hot fudge sundaes! My daughter was cold in her goose down on the top of Mt. Evans and it was in the 90's back in Denver.

 

Indeed it is. Compared to 997.1 car I have it is essentially a 80k engine upgrade. May be worth it but indeed costly