My Porsche experience
My Porsche experience isn’t as extensive as I wish it was. Being only 26 I am super privileged to have even sat in a Porsche much less owned 2 of them. Here is a quick history of my 911 ownership:
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| 2001 996 (sold) | 2007 997 S (currently drive) |
I don’t consider myself a Porsche fan-boy/girl because I do acknowledge there are other great cars out there for daily driving and the track. I am biased of course, because I love Porsche very much but I do understand other cars exist in the same universe, hehe 
. My track experience is limited due to my lack of funds currently and the track events I did were all in my Mini Cooper S with JCW package. So I can’t wait to take the 911 (black one) on the track. I feel that it is important to take a car you love to the track and go to the next level in your relationship with the car. There is a special bond between car and driver once you have tracked it that you can’t get driving on the regular roads. However, I am intensely in love with the 997S even though I haven’t gone to second base with it, hehe. This is all just from driving it around to the store and on road trips, etc. That’s pretty amazing to feel such a strong bond with a car you have only experiences 1% of, I can’t even imagine what I will feel after I go to 1 event with it, I will be sure to write about it, of course .
I didn’t drive the 996 much, it didn’t have PSM and I was just learning to drive stick shift at the time… and then it was sold in order to save money. But I did ride in it a lot and it was some what of a local celebrity around where I live, because it had straight pipes (no muffler) and sounded like a GT3 cup car. I used to fall asleep riding in it, to the sound of the exhaust. It was so relaxing and nice. The squeal of the track pads when they were cold was also nice too, ahh .
The 997S is a very different car, it is way more calm, almost cold in compared with the 996. The 997S doesn’t like to get out of sorts and feels very stable for everyday driving, assuming you are used to driving a sports car I guess… I drive it a few times a week to get groceries and go to movies. But since I moved so close to work I don’t drive much at all, sad. I wasn’t able to really bond with the car until I started taking it for short motoring trips (3o mins or so) around town by myself, just me and the car, and nice music too. These motoring trips, as well as my frequent trips to the grocery store might seem like nothing, but they have allowed a very strong a special bond to form between my and my 911 that I never thought possible.
What is behind Porsche?
What do I think of when I drive my car? What words come to mind? What does the car say when I drive it?
The words that come to mind are: magnificent, un-compromised, real, complete, exceptional, sharp, delicate, as well as super strong. It is not pretentious and not showy, and it is not trying to be anything it is not. It is kinda delicate when you drive it on every day roads with bumps and in parking lots, because it is not made for such things. It isn’t trying to be a daily driver all terrain vehicle (mud, gravel, dirt). I respect it intensely because I think it is the only “real” car I have ever driven. It isn’t a toy like a Mini Cooper, or an M3, or even Lamborgini Gallardo. If you fuck with it, it will fuck you back. This comes across loud and clear from the car. It is very obvious that there are for real consequences if you go fast and don’t know how to drive or you drive it like a jackass. It rewards a talented driver, and a delicate driver, and it likes to be treated with respect and care.
Now I am talking about the kind of delicate touch someone like Michael Schumacher has when we drove his Ferrari, he would go fast and bash the car to hell, but he still never failed to give it super smooth loving inputs. The 997S really responds to this too (so did the 996 and I’m sure all Porsches). I love this about the car, perhaps it appeals to my female nature? . I am a no-bullshit kind of person, I don’t like for a car to lie to me and make me feel more secure than I am or make me feel like I drive great if I don’t. This is also part of the 997s’ “realness”. When you are driving at legal speeds around town and you take an on ramp wrong, you unwind at the wrong time or come into it too hot, it screams at you to tell you that you did something wrong and it didn’t like it and perhaps if you continue to do that it might spin or you might crash if you go faster. It is like an early warning system and it doesn’t hide things or lie to you. I can respect this. Life is full of people bullshitting you, or putting on a face, or acting political, or having an underlying motivation for everything… it is so refreshing to have something in life that doesn’t bullshit you! .
I have never spun the 997S and since I haven’t taken it to the track yet there is a lot of uncharted territory there, but I can feel how special it is. All of what I just said is amplified considerably when you go about 4 or 5K rpms. Everything gets very serious very fast when the revs get high. But, if you keep them to 4K, it is totally civil for driving around town, how cool is that?
The 997S isn’t perfect, because the engine is in the wrong place. It is inherently imbalanced and not the best idea of how to make a car, especially a fast car (race cars aren’t rear-engined, they are mid-engined) but taking that into consideration all of the engineering to work around such “limitations” or I guess you can call them “features” of the 911’s chassis is spectacular. This allows the 997S to stop like no other car and it gives the driver a truly one-of-a-kind drive.
When I drive the 997S, it says to me “Fuck mediocrity. I stand for something. I am real. Everything fake can go die, I really don’t care”. Something along those lines .
Stark contrast with the world
The 997S is such a stark contrast with the world, and with humanity. Humans are always finding new and creative ways to kill, hurt, and keep other humans down. They are always finding ways of reducing things to their least common denominator. That is all “culture” really is, a collection of prejudices, rituals, and actions of a group of people from some point in time reduced to the least common denominator. If you don’t agree with me here or don’t get it, think about it for a while and perhaps you will, but I digress .
I almost forget sometimes that the 997S is a machine made by people, but these people are not normal people. Those few special people that work for Porsche and that produce such things as the 911, are not like most humans. They are exceptional. I can’t imagine the magic that goes on everyday in the Porsche facility. The 997S is a by product of people who who do not compromise or cater to any focus group. They understand passion, hope, and the human spirit and somehow magically engineer this into a car, amazing… If only more people could contribute positively in this way, the world would not be the same as it is today. Hopefully, I can be one of those special few people too in my own way .
Me and my 911
Often times when I am very stressed out, and things are bothering me, and life is really getting to and it seems the weight of the world is on my shoulders the 997S is one of the things that gets me through hard times. I go and drive it and it feels like a shiny beacon of hope and light in the world. It reminds me that all people don’t suck and that the work of just a few (Porsche employees) can offset the crap of so many people who cause hurt and pain. It makes me want to let go off all the bad things that have happened in my life and all of the things/people I am angry at and just bask in the pureness and bliss that is Porsche . It is like my therapy session, and I always come back feeling renewed and with new found hope. It reminds me that I can’t give in or give up and I must be myself and continue to seek the truth in all aspects of life and myself. It makes me want to be all I can be and discover all that I am meant to do with my time on this Earth. I want to be just like the 911 when I grow up, hehe .
What do you think? Is there a substitute?
Izabel,
very nice post. I became a fan of your website and continue to love the passion that you put in your writing. A couple surprises for me: how come you have never tracked your P-cars??? Your opinions about Porsches (and driving in general) look so true, definitive, and strong that I always assumed you have been out there driving them to the max for a long time! That goes well with the other surprise, though: you’re 26! I started this year at 38, so you have 12 years ahead of me to fix this major flaw in your life. Just don’t wait any longer. Go for it! Now!
I have tracked my 2006 997 C4 coupe (which happens to be my first P-car) twice (Thunderbolt on 4/18, Watkins Glen on 5/25-26), and have more 3 events scheduled for the next couple months (Watkins Glen on 6/22-23 and 7/31-8/2, Lightening on 6/26-28). Both times on the track were a blast, and I agree with you that it completely changes your relationship with the car. Driving on the street is like flirting with your car, and you’ll both get bored and loose interest if you wait too long to move on to the next stage. I have let that happen between me and my previous drive, a very nice 2008 BMW 335xi coupe. Driving on the track, in contrast, is like having hot sex with the car. And driving a P-Car on the track is like having hot sex with Gisele Bündchen =) I guess I’m in a kind of honeymoon with “my Gisele”, and we both can’t get enough (the good thing is that my wife doesn’t even mind! lol)
I hope we’ll soon see you “give some” to your nice 2007 997S and tell us everything about it here – with details!
Hi Alexandre,
Thanks and I am so glad you enjoy the site!!
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. My opinions of driving and Porsche are true and real, i am not just making it up. I dont think you can fake something like that. I connect with cars and i understand all the things that make them special, and can feel how sensitive and high strung and badass they are, they are truly amazing. I have been to the track many times, and i drive my 911 and lots of cars around on curvy mountain roads all the time. I have been driving since i was 16 so i guess not too long. But of course i didnt have fast cars when i started out, i wasnt born rich unfortunately, heheh 
. It is really a factor of money, if i had more money i would have more fast cars and be at the track everyday all day:).
I tracked my Mini CooperS JCW but since selling it I havent tracked the 911 because I have been saving money and too busy. I do plan to do it this yr though. I have wanted to for a long time
LOL, i love your analogies for driving on the street and track!! Hilarious!!
. I do kinda disagree that not driving a 911 or a fast car (the 335 is VERY fast, i have driven it) on the track will cause a person to lose interest with it or it to get boring. I cant imagine getting sick of a 335, it is a seriously fast, badass car, and it wants to be driven fast and furiously, hehe. Why didnt you like it?
I couldnt ever feel this way about my 911, or any 300+ hp car. They never get boring or old to me…ever. I cant lose interest in them if i wanted to. But, yes driving on the track is like going to second base with your car, it really forms a bond and gives you excitement that you can NEVER feel on the street. In a perfect would i would have a few different cars i would track and have a separate (daily driver) set for the street. But, i really don’t get sick of cars if they are truly amazing to start with like all Porsches are, esp 911s.
I am glad you and your Gisele are having fun together and bonding. I am also glad you wife doesnt mind, hehe. I will be sure to post pics and stories from my track day adventures as soon as I go. I have just recently got promoted at work and hope to make lots more money this yr, so hopefully more track events soon. But still, I LOVE driving to the mall and grocery store in my 911, i just love driving it anywhere at any speed anytime
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Izabel
Hey, I haven’t for a moment thought that you were faking your opinions about Porsches and driving. They do feel true, real, and passionate. I was just amazed by how you were able to develop them with little experience. You’re sensitive!
Well, I loved my 335 for quite a while, it’s trully fast and sexy, looks awsome, the steering feedback is great and tells you everything that’s happening with the car, accelleration is explosive from 2,000 revs on (which is different from the 911s and remarkable for a turbo engined car), and it is also quite forgiving when you screw up (while the 911s make it very clear they don’t like it when you unsettle them). Let’s call the 335 my Adriana Lima. Can anyone get tired of Adriana Lima? Well, eventually I did. The problem is that Adriana and I flirted every day for months, made out a little bit every other day on the backroads, but it became routine before we saw each other naked!
For me the analogy of a relationship with a woman really works. I do think you can keep it live, interesting, and hot indefinitely (I’ve been faithfully married for 10 years and fell in love with my wife repeatedly during this time), but you gotta do something different every now and then, invest time, energy, attention… and don’t forget the hot sex! 
I’m taking better care of Gisele than I took of Adriana, and I think our special relationship is poised to last much longer: I drive on more varied types of roads than I did with Adriana (do something different), I drive Gisele much more than I drove Adriana (invest time), I check the oil and tyre pressure every morning and install Pagid brake pads myself every time I go to the track (energy, attention) and… have I mentioned the amazing sex that we had on Thunderbolt and Watkins Glen?!
The analogy with sex and dating women has worn thin
. I think it makes sense up to a point, but the difference between a woman a car is that one is a sentient being, with free will, while the other is a machine that’s at your beck and call. The only reason your ‘relationship’ with ‘adriana’ didn’t work out, was not because she did anything wrong, or that there’s anything wrong with ‘her’, it’s because you didn’t ‘take it to the next level’. Again, the analogy began to outlive its usefulness and relevance a few paragraphs ago 
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I’m glad you’re enjoying your C4. It’s a fun car, that’s pretty easy to drive. If you want unforgiving 911 street cars try the Carrera S, GT3, and GT2
. The C2S is very aggressive and involving to drive, at any speed, especially as the revs rise. It’s not like the C2 or C4, or C4S… I love how Porsche puts such different character into these cars which are so similar… 911 TT are purely poseur mobiles in my opinion… they remove all the excitement from driving with the numb/feedback-less steering, and lame character of the car…
Take care
Nazmul.
Alex,
Thanks and I am glad you liked the article. I am sure my feels and opinions will evolve the more I drive but i am sensitive, in that i can pick up on all the things the car is doing and telling me. But I wasnt offended by what you said at all, perhaps you misread it. Not to worry.
After you describe the 335 it seems that we have the same opinion of it. I still cant quite see how you got sick of it, it seems like the perfect car. Also, it isnt too terrifying to drive while being hard core at the same time, a perfect balance. Plus the 335 is WAY more practical than a 911, with the back seats and truck and all
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Hi Alex
Great comment. Welcome to the DLG community
. Izabel hit the nail on the head with how special Porsche is. Here’s a commercial from a long time ago that hints at it 
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I love track driving, and while I love Porsche, I also love other cars and brands. There are so many great cars to choose from today, especially in the US market, that weren’t available just 10 years ago. I can’t wait to get an Audi R8 and take it to the track… and a GT3, and a GT2
. And the list goes on and on! However, as long as I get to go to the track, in whatever great car, I’m a happy man! 
Take care
Nazmul.
I was a rookie engineer when I bought my first “sportscar.” Then, 2 weeks after my 1967 427 Corvette Coupe was stolen I had the insurance check and bought my first 911. Recently I was in Zuffenhausen and witnessed the Aisin gearboxes from Japan being installed. Times change and Porsche has learned to combine the best of many different sources to build amazing machines with superb reliability. Yesterday, I enjoyed the Porsche sponsored day at Mid-Ohio. Rainy and cold, the new machines gave thrills to the drivers as the 7-speed PDK equipped machines with PSM tried their best to make heros of the drivers. I was stuck in a car with a rookie (from Germany) who was a terrible driver. He managed to spin 360+ driving the new Carrara S on the wet track into the grass. The instructors were baffled. Naturally, he was clueless about how he managed to do this. As a graduate of Bondurant, Skip Barber, and Track Time, I am a very lucky man with hundreds of track hours at Nurburgring, Sebring, Sears Points (OK, Infineon for you kids), Fuji, …. I have been blessed with global travel and decades in racing. I always leaned toward Porsche. I like the “power-to-weight-ness” of the brand. Today I am stuck on the mid-engine design rag top because I DRIVE my cars. It has a James Dean-ness about it. It is wonderful to have room for luggage while blasting around the country. Having been victim of car break ins twice in London, I like the security of the mid-engine design where your goodies are hidden, not sitting inside the glass visible to the eyes of the drug crazed thieves. During the Nelson Ledges DE last summer my little yellow mid-engine rag top was pushing a turbo 911 around so bad he spun out trying to stay ahead of me. Do not underestimate the capability of the Boxster in the hands of a driver who has been trained by Darren Law in private advanced lessons. Darren, if you don’t know, just won the Rolex 24 at Daytona driving a Porsche.
If you can afford it, get your Porsche on the track. Do a PCA DE weekend. If you like it, go to one of the schools I mentioned above for pro help in fine tuning your skills. You will be a safer driver and have more fun both on and off the racetrack.
Wow! Nice comment Rob
. That’s awesome that you’ve had so much track time at so many awesome tracks. If you get the chance, it would be cool if you could write about some of your European track adventures?
That’s great that you love your speed yellow Boxster and are experiencing it too the fullest! I used to have a 996 that I was really attached to a few years ago
. Sadly, I’ve not been able to replicate that…
Another great program that I recommend to anyone who’s reading this is the Porsche Driving Experience. Incredible doesn’t even begin to describe the quality of instruction… And with the Cayenne program you can do offroading as well
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Take care
Nazmul
Hey Rob,
Thanks for stopping by!!
. I am so sorry you have had a car stolen and also vandalized. Sounds like my luck with watches, i had a really expensive one stolen 
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Great story about your time at Zuffenhausen on the track:) I wish i could do something like that too. I need to so some driving and racing schools too. It is all the the plan, just need money
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I do like the mid engine Porsches, esp the Cayman S. I have only driven it once and i fell in love immediately, I just felt one with it. More than the 911, the 911 took some getting used to. I think Porsche had me in mind when they made the Cayman.
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I am REALLY looking forward to a PDE, and even though it is expensive it is worth it. Nazmul has been to a few of them and told me about it. I AM going to go. If I can just make some more sales commission!!
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Great comment and please feel free to share more track adventure stories and pics. I am sure you have lots. You can email them to and I can post them under your name, or i can show you have to write posts on here directly.
Best wishes,
Izabel
Nice post Izabel. I think Rob’s comments about taking some “expert” classes on trackdriving make sense. In fact I think if the government really wants safer drivers on the road, they should make all of the licensed drivers take a course in trackdriving (and pay for it of course). Needless to say this kind of training would need to be updated every 2 months or so to keep things safe.
Seriously, I would love to experience some real trackdriving, in a real trackcar under experienced supervision and coaching
Someday, I’m sure I will.
Keep up the posts and ignore comments without content like a certain individual made on LinkedIn. Some people think they make sense because they made one sentence. Comments should be more than just one sentence don’t you think?
Thanks Vincent!! Is there a track near you? If so you could take the BMW for a gentle drive at the track
. Or, you can do a track weekend where they will provide the car for you, there are lots of programs like that. I think Mazda does it and its not as expensive as a Porsche one. Have you looked into that at all? There is always karting too, and your son can come along:).
Thanks for your support as always
Izabel