The middle of February would not be my first choice on the calendar to have an auto show in Canada, but the organizers of the Toronto show insist on this date to get car shoppers excited for the spring car shopping season. Unfortunately, the potential for unpredictable weather means a risky winter's drive from Ottawa. Normally a 500 kilometre trip via four-lane snoozefests called highways 416 and 401. However, a last minute change in schedules means I have a new Porsche at my disposal--time to break out the maps.
The day before was a typical Eastern Canadian February day: Blowing snow mixed with a touch of freezing rain. But it's sunny now, the plows have been out, so why not see if one can get from Ottawa to Toronto via, say, Ompah?
Both the Porsche rep and my Porsche Club friend warned me, "Wait until you fill it up for the first time." And sure enough, at my first morning stop to top up for the long drive ahead the guy taking my money behind the Auto Traders queried, "Who the hell drives a 911 in the winter?"
It isn't just any Porsche I am allegedly about to abuse. My test car is a loaded-to-the-gunwales new and improved 2005 911 Carrera S. Its 3.8-litre version of Porsche's aluminum flat-six makes 355 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque due to a bigger 99-millimeter bore, a revised exhaust, intake manifold, and combustion chambers. For 2005, the so-called base 911 Carrera (sans "S") gets an upgraded version of last year's 3.6-litre flat-six that ends up being 25 horsepower and 22 pound-feet of torque short of its bigger brother. According to Porsche, the S leaps to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds, bettering the base car by 0.2 second and topping out at 338 km/h. Figures which will be pure mythology on my planned route today.
Externally, the S is further differentiated by quad exhaust pipes and would normally have larger nineteen-inch wheels and tires, but Porsche, being Porsche, was smart enough to dress my S in 18-inch, Dunlop winter radials. I am truly thankful.
The screaming "All New 911!" headlines in other car pubs are a bit of a nose-stretcher as the 997 is more of a refinement of the 996 launched in 1997. Head Porsche penman Harm Lagaay's last attempt to modernize the classic 911 shape had Porschephiles storming the castle with burning torches. On the outside, with the 2005 model, the only body panel retained from the 996 is the roof. Porsche has gone back to the wasp-like hips and the more upright round headlamps from the much-loved 1993-1998 car. In the process, the new look helps distance the premium-priced 911 from the more affordable Boxster.
Despite the welcoming sun popping out from the morning clouds, the external temperature is still well below zero degrees Celsius. Warming up the car's fluids gives me a chance to familiarize myself with the 911's new interior. Right off the bat, you sit lower, and for the first time a 911 steering wheel tilts AND telescopes. Its just the right thickness too, not too fat like recent BMW's M car tillers. With more room down where the pedals exist, Porsche has managed to eke out a bit more head and leg space for the driver in what was already a comfortable cockpit. And unlike most of its competitors, the 911 offers good visibility to all quarters of the car.
My car has the six-speed manual transmission, so the multifunctional steering wheel gets redundant audio and nav controls (little rubber dials found on the wheel; tactility is excellent) instead of toggles a Tiptronic-equipped 911 would have. New driver instrumentation with both analog and digital displays, revised HVAC controls, and a huge Cayenne-like in-dash color screen dominate the centre stack.
The day before was a typical Eastern Canadian February day: Blowing snow mixed with a touch of freezing rain. But it's sunny now, the plows have been out, so why not see if one can get from Ottawa to Toronto via, say, Ompah?
 |
| (Photo : John LeBlanc, straight-six.com) |
It isn't just any Porsche I am allegedly about to abuse. My test car is a loaded-to-the-gunwales new and improved 2005 911 Carrera S. Its 3.8-litre version of Porsche's aluminum flat-six makes 355 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque due to a bigger 99-millimeter bore, a revised exhaust, intake manifold, and combustion chambers. For 2005, the so-called base 911 Carrera (sans "S") gets an upgraded version of last year's 3.6-litre flat-six that ends up being 25 horsepower and 22 pound-feet of torque short of its bigger brother. According to Porsche, the S leaps to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds, bettering the base car by 0.2 second and topping out at 338 km/h. Figures which will be pure mythology on my planned route today.
 |
| (Photo : John LeBlanc, straight-six.com) |
The screaming "All New 911!" headlines in other car pubs are a bit of a nose-stretcher as the 997 is more of a refinement of the 996 launched in 1997. Head Porsche penman Harm Lagaay's last attempt to modernize the classic 911 shape had Porschephiles storming the castle with burning torches. On the outside, with the 2005 model, the only body panel retained from the 996 is the roof. Porsche has gone back to the wasp-like hips and the more upright round headlamps from the much-loved 1993-1998 car. In the process, the new look helps distance the premium-priced 911 from the more affordable Boxster.
Despite the welcoming sun popping out from the morning clouds, the external temperature is still well below zero degrees Celsius. Warming up the car's fluids gives me a chance to familiarize myself with the 911's new interior. Right off the bat, you sit lower, and for the first time a 911 steering wheel tilts AND telescopes. Its just the right thickness too, not too fat like recent BMW's M car tillers. With more room down where the pedals exist, Porsche has managed to eke out a bit more head and leg space for the driver in what was already a comfortable cockpit. And unlike most of its competitors, the 911 offers good visibility to all quarters of the car.
My car has the six-speed manual transmission, so the multifunctional steering wheel gets redundant audio and nav controls (little rubber dials found on the wheel; tactility is excellent) instead of toggles a Tiptronic-equipped 911 would have. New driver instrumentation with both analog and digital displays, revised HVAC controls, and a huge Cayenne-like in-dash color screen dominate the centre stack.