2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S: Introduction

[BMWDave]

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2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S: Introduction
Carrera in America: Kicking off a year with Porsche?s 911
MAC MORRISON
Published Date: 7/25/05
Nearly five years to the day after we said auf Wiedersehen to our long-term 1999 Porsche 911?a moment our executive editor described as ?a freakin? funeral??a reborn Carrera came to our fleet in full-on revival fashion. Staffers exchanged high-fives, low-fives, handshakes and knowing glances; we would have enlisted a local choir to come out for the party if parent company Crain Communications would have footed the bill.

Instead, the Porsche spent its first few hours as many surely do with their owners: One editor grabbed the keys and drove the 997 around the surrounding neighborhoods. Others walked around the car in AutoWeek?s subterranean parking garage and pretended to absorb all of its shapely beauty in the wholly inadequate light. Those who remained in the office pored over the owner?s manual, flipped to the page outlining the break-in procedure and... almost cried. ?Two thousand miles,? someone murmured, ?nothing over 4200 rpm. That?s cruel and unusual punishment.?

End of party, back to work.

Gloom did not linger as the reality of what awaited as summer bloomed sunk in. The sixth-generation 911 offers the visual dyna?mism and raw feel traditionalists lamented losing when the 996 replaced the 993.

Porschephiles have made much of Porsche?s return to ?round? headlights, but more appealing yet is the presence of those signature flared rear fenders; there is perhaps no other car we would rather sit behind in rush-hour gridlock. Or sit in: One editor has on more than one occasion gone down to the garage to do just that. He denies making vroom-vroom noises, though this is more likely due to his inability to mimic the flat-six?s exhaust note than a sign of some newfound maturity. Oh, he also has trouble matching revs on downshifts.

In a manner not necessarily the norm when it comes to our long-term testers, our 911 came equipped with every option requested. After succumbing to the 3.8-liter S?s allure over that of the 3.6-liter Carrera, it came down to details. As owners know, Porsche does not offer anything resembling a cheap option, and this Carrera?s $79,895 base price rose quickly.


We added interior-matching floor mats, 19-inch five-spoke wheels, sport shifter, thicker-rimmed steering wheel, sport chrono package, sport exhaust, 12-speaker Bose sound system and adaptive sport seats.

Our most controversial choice is the black metallic paint. Why black, wondered senior (more crabby) staffers almost immediately after the car?s arrival, bemoaning anticipated frequent carwashes. As one staffer says, ?Because it?s badass.? Upon viewing the car in person, no one really argues the point, but the fat Michelin Pilot Sport tires mean most automatic carwashes are out of the question, lest we risk damage to the pricey wheels.

At $90,555, our Carrera S is no bargain, and those who have no romantic notions regarding the Stuttgart badge whisper? ?Corvette? in the ears of those who do. Still, there are things about Ferdinand Porsche?s take on a proper sports car?the shape, feel, rear-engine layout?that conjure dreams of deep pockets. The 911 is predictably the most sought-after car in the office.

This is also the fastest car to reside in the AW long-term garage. We put it through our AutoFile test procedure, where it produced smoking results. Its best 0-to-60-mph time of 4.33 seconds came with almost no wheelspin (use a delicate foot to avoid wheelhop at all costs) when we engaged the clutch at 3500 rpm. That time makes the Carrera S the sixth-fastest car we?ve tested, and one of five Porsches to occupy the top six spots. The car returned remarkably consistent times; its worst was 4.63 seconds in nine launches, with six other times in the 4.4-second range.

We managed 12.95 seconds at 109.5 mph in the quarter-mile, good for seventh on the all-time list. Four of the cars that bettered it were?you guessed it?Porsches.

With stability management switched off and sport mode on, the car ran through the slalom at 47.4 mph and pulled 0.92 g on the skidpad, a tick slower and 0.04 g less than the lighter, mid-engined Boxster. Carry too much speed into the slalom and of course the car understeers, but it is also easier to get the tail out in the rear-engined Carrera.


It doesn?t take long to learn to use the rearward weight bias to your advantage, though caution is your best friend, as has always been the case with 911s. ?The Boxster makes anybody look good; the 911 demands you drive it,? said one tester. ?With suspension development over the years, it?s easier now, but you still have more ability and responsibility to steer it yourself than in just about any other car sold today.?

In fact, that?s why we opted for the sport chrono package and its accompanying sport mode feature. Pushing the button increases the electronic throttle?s response and triggers a less-intrusive stability/traction management mode; it allows you to enjoy yourself but remains in place to help if you go too far (if PSM remains on). The package includes a dashboard-mounted stopwatch, but while the onboard timer makes passengers smile and allows you to turn mundane errands into a game of beat-the-clock, the need to manually start and stop the chronometer via a steering wheel stalk limits its lap-timing accuracy.

Our 911 will not perform much track work, if any, over the next year, instead living its life with us on as many public roads as we can traverse. We will do so with a feeling of safety and security not long ago uni?magi?nable in a $90,000 car capable of such scorching, across-the-board performance. Part of that feeling comes from the knowledge we have Porsche brakes beneath us, though we have run out of superlatives to describe them. We?ll just say it?s comforting to know they are there if we ever find ourselves in a jam.

Otherwise, we plan to use them as seldom as possible.

[jadewolf123]

So sexy

[CaseyNPham]

I didn't read it but it's pretty ^_^

[Raza]

I didn't read it but it's pretty ^_^

I agree.

[BMWDave]

I like that particular steering wheel so much better than this one:

[Raza]

I like that particular steering wheel so much better than this one:

They're really similar.  I could take either one, but I prefer the triangular one.

[Tom]

So for the price of 2 Corvettes, is the S worth it?  

[BMWDave]

So for the price of 2 Corvettes, is the S worth it?

I dont know if its "worth it" per se, but if I had the dough, I would definitely buy one.

[Raza]

So for the price of 2 Corvettes, is the S worth it?

Yes.

Simply.

[R33 GT-R]

So for the price of 2 Corvettes, is the S worth it?

But you'll get 10 times the head in this car.  

[Tom]

So for the price of 2 Corvettes, is the S worth it?

But you'll get 10 times the head in this car.

Why would that be?

[TBR]

So for the price of 2 Corvettes, is the S worth it?

IMHO, most definitely but it is understandable that others might feel differently.

[BMWDave]

So for the price of 2 Corvettes, is the S worth it?

IMHO, most definitely but it is understandable that others might feel differently.

If I ever made it big one day, this is the first car I would buy.  I just love it.

[R33 GT-R]

So for the price of 2 Corvettes, is the S worth it?

But you'll get 10 times the head in this car.

Why would that be?

It's simply known as the Jedi Porsche Mind Trick, the Vette doesn't have it.  When a woman gets into the car it's comes over them suddenly, I think I'll give this guy some good head.