Remember when you were a kid and your parents told you money doesn’t buy happiness? They lied! They didn’t mean to lie but they did. You see Porsche is building a mere 250 911 Sport Classic’s priced at an eye watering $255,600! You see this car is a emotional purchase not a reasonably thought out purchase. You can buy a lot of car for that kind of cash but this, this is the Sport Classic. An extra 23 horsepower over a stock 911 and that amazing duck tail spoiler. They also throw in carbon ceramic brakes but that color….that color with the two tone racing stripes just finishes it off with the black wheels and the duck tail. Watch the video and listen to that exhaust note and the engine wind up. Just heavenly. Yes folks money may not actually buy happiness but it can buy things that make you happy and isn’t that darn close?
Another month, another gathering of man and machine. Of course I speak of Cars & Café, out at the AutoMotorPlex in Chanhassen. This month promised, as usual, to be eventful. I woke up a little early (4:40 am), as I did poor planning. I had not washed the 300ZX (note to self: next month wash the 300ZX before the morning of Cars & Café). So, I washed the 300ZX and popped off the T-Tops.
As I was cruising out West to meet up with my buddy in his S2000, I saw black sky in front of me – then lightning – and then I saw a car come over the hill with windshield wipers on (this was not going well). I hit the gas and made it to his garage with the 300ZX still clean and dry. We ended up taking his daily driver and leaving the 300ZX and his S2000 there, as it started pouring down rain right after I pulled into the garage.
Upon arriving, it was clear the rain, which was at this point a nice steady rain coming down, had affecte turn out. Nooooooooo I cried to the car gods. Luckily some of the cooler rides still managed to show up. As I was admiring a nice Ford F150 Lightning, I heard something loud pulling into the complex.
I turn to see a true hard core car guy (you would have to be) driving a Cobra in (remember no top) through the rain. Two Dodge GLH Turbos sat next to each other, both in ridiculously good condition. I also counted not one but two Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbos (I drooled a little). Quite a few Acura NSX’s showed up, along with a Lexus IS-F.
Two BMW’s caught my eyes this month. One was a early 90′s 540i manual white on black with only 28k on the odometer. The kicker? It is for sale and they are asking only $25k!
Someone buy that car or buy me that car! There was also a mid 80′s M6 in fantastic condition that caught my eye., along with an early 2000′s black Audi S8 that is a regular at Cars & Café. I just love that car!
So good story, I am walking by the club house and hear tires squealing like a burn out. I look around and am quite confused. Suddenly I realize that the sound is coming from behind this building in the VIP section. I go running through the crowd, and as I turn the corner I almost fall over.
This Lamborghini Miura owner clearly had put the car in reverse instead of first gear (as best I can tell from the situation). The car had gone backwards off the cement and onto the pebbles directly below. Part of the car definitely was resting on the cement. The tires were squealing and these two guys were pushing the back of the Miura trying to get it back onto the cement. Finally after a few minutes they accomplished this task, but not before you could smell the clutch and tires. It was quite a scene.
Also filed in the – ahem – interesting category, was the Toyota Camry Solara parked in the American muscle section. Hey at least it was on dubs! Sitting next to that was a Chrysler 300C. Not just any Chrysler 300C, but one riding on 24′s – and wait – it gets better.
The person had welded extensions (eyebrows?) onto the leading edge of the hood. You can still see where the person welded and sanded them. They were not painted yet (I am assuming they are going to paint them….at least I hope so). Let’s not forget the white Toyota Yaris hatch with lime green wheels.
Jensen
On the list of awesome cars I would include the RUF 911, Aston Martin DB7 Vantage, and a Jensen that showed up. The red GMC Typhoon that was for sale earlier this year was on hand, along with two Ford GT’s (they are Cars and Cafe regulars). A new Lotus Evora made the trip, along with a Ford Mustang Shelby Super Snake.
One of the cleaner Oldsmobile 442′s I’ve seen was on site as well. Obviously I have already mentioned the two Dodge GLH Turbo’s but I want to just mentioned them again in this section of awesome. Last but not least was the regular BMW 200ti. It is a work in progress, but hot all the same.
One cool thing was this garage that had a Corvette Z06 in it. Ok that car was nice but you know those bag chairs you take to soccer games and such? Well they had one of those. and then they had a ginormous one that was literally super sized. To get a idea of just how big it was they let me sit in it and I got a picture!
Overall the rain really put a damper on the attendance, or at least it felt that way. With most of the people clearing out before 10 AM, it had to be one of the shortest Cars & Cafés I have attended yet. Thankfully, the doughnut holes provided by Imola Motorsports stayed dry in the clubhouse.
Yes they were tasty,and yes I ate some. Just for the record, doughnut holes always seems to taste better when they are delivered in a BMW M5. I can not prove that, but that seems to be my experience. Here’s hoping for a dry Cars & Café next month!
Back in the days of yore if someone suggested there would be a Porsche SUV you would be laughed out of the room but not before getting slapped in the face. Flash forward to the current year and the best selling model in the Porsche line up is a SUV! Whoa how did that happen? It is simple really; a small 2 door car coupe/convertible/etc is not practical for everyone. To build on that success Porsche figured why not build a four door “sports” car. People seem to want to purchase a Porsche and some people care about practicality. The two combined equals a need for more then just two door sports cars. Now we have a new four door (it is really a five door but more on that later) Porsche sedan. The real question I had was whether the sedan was a true Porsche or does it just wear the crest?
The exterior of the Panamera is recognizable as a Porsche without question. The front end has styling elements that make it look like an enormous redone 911. The two round headlights have LED strips hanging below them on the bumper. The LED strips are day time running lights and at night the same housing has another set of lights that come on. These act as fog lights or driving lights in a sense. The side profile has nice sculpting from right behind the front fenders down the side. The rear is what is truly controversial. Let’s just get something out of the way quickly. I like this car. I like the way it looks. I am apparently weird and I am ok with that. Ok now moving on, the rear is what some call hunch backed or carrying too much baggage. Some are saying it is droopy. Call it what you want but I see Porsche design in it. This car is nothing short of huge. It is right around the size of a BMW 7 Series, Mercedes S-Class and Audi A8 to mention a few. Technically speaking the Panamera is a five door since the rear does not have a trunk lid rather a rear hatch. The quad exhaust peak out from the rear to remind you of the power that lurks in the engine bay both on the naturally aspirated V8 and the Twin Turbo V8.
The interior is not quite as controversial as the exterior. It is pure sporting luxury. The seats are comfortable and supportive. They hug you in all the right places. These are not barcaloungers and no they will not massage you. They are meant to hold you in place firmly. The center console between the driver and passenger runs the length of the car. In the front it rises up and meets the PCM (Porsche Communication Management System). This design cue is somewhat similar to the center stack in the Carrera GT. That center stack houses a dizzying array of buttons though they are all clearly marked and clumped together by function. The PCM is a touch screen along with plenty of buttons to choose from to help operate it. This was definitely a complex system but I was able to use it without the owners manual though others in this segment have easier systems to operate. The interior fit and finish is definitely without question up to Porsche standards if not raising the bar within the company.
The engine in this car was a 4.8 liter direct injected V8 pumping out 400 hp and 369 lb-ft to all four wheels. Since this was a Panamera 4S all wheel drive was standard. The one choice transmission was Porsches newer PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplung) dual clutch transmission. Launch control is activated by pushing the sport plus button then hitting the brake and then the gas. You get a visual confirmation launch control is activated and let go of the brake. You will hear a noise and then suddenly all four wheels grab the pavement and launch the car. You are thrown back into your seat as the car launches hard and fast. (PSA – Do this on an empty road two lane road). You can use the transmission in full automatic mode or shift yourself using the buttons (hate those things) or by moving the gear shift to the manual gate. The 911 Turbo is getting true paddles this year so hopefully they will trickle down and replace those buttons. The car without question handles like a true Porsche. Yes I have driven a different Porsche recently and yes, this does handle differently. It is a big car, but with that said, the faster you go the smaller the car seems. It shrinks as you go around corners and off ramps. It shrugs off speed. Handling is very impressive.
The particular Panamera 4S I was in had quite a few option packages. I will skip going through them all though the options rang up to a total of $17,550. That was on top of the base price of a Panamera 4S which starts at $93,800. When all is said and done the total sticker price out the door would be $112,325. That is a lot of coin, but the reality of it is that the Panamera is in the thick of it with the rest of the high priced luxury cars.
The original question was whether the sedan was a true Porsche or does it just wear the crest? This car is a true Porsche. Sure manyPorschephile’s will say this is not a true Porsche because it weighs nearly 4,300 lbs and has four doors (by the way, that is light for a car this big). My only question to them is: have you driven one?While it will not be for everyone the reality of it is simple, higher volume selling vehicles like the Cayenne and possibly the Panamera help keep the lights on for future development of lower volume cars like the 911 and whatever the next halo car might be.
Full Disclosure- The review vehicle was provided by a local Porsche dealership
Peter Cheney just lived every auto journalists and auto bloggers worst nightmare, a press car crash. Only this was not just any crash. This happened to be a $180k Porsche 911 Turbo. His son accidentally launched the car through the garage door when showing the car to his friend in the garage. Not knowing how to operate a manual transmission car he pushed the clutch to start the car. At this point he let off the clutch and the car launched through the garage door building a large amount of force in a mere four feet. The son apparently turned on the car to show his friend the infotainment system. Mr. Bye the Porsche rep apparently quietly surveyed the scene and then told the son, “Stuff happens,” he said. “We’re glad you’re okay. This is only a car. You don’t need a lecture. You already know.” Pretty impressive stuff. He is right, it is only a car, a mere $180k car. That said, Mr. Bye is correct, the most important thing is the son is fine and no one was hurt except the car and the garage door.
