First Off The Line

We often find these days that supercar manufacturers are making smaller, harder, lightweight versions of their existing models, to appeal to a new breed of petrol head. This 21st century maniac is unconcerned with price, is unphased by the mere limitations of speed. He wants thrills, spills, and the overwhelming certainty of an impending accident. Step up the car makers. In the past few years we have seen this lightweight supercar industry spiral out of control, we have the Aston Martin DBR9, their hardcore racer for the road, costing just a little bit more than the average jumbo jet. We also have the ridiculously long-winded Lamborghini Gallardo Superlagerra, a car designed not only to impress the female members of any group with its space-age looks, but also to entice any males in the crowd with its ravenous engine. But there is one supercar maker that, to my mind, is one of the best, they have given the world one of the most successful and fastest cars of all time, the 911. Porsche then, know how to make a proper car, so surely they can make a lightweight version of the 911, to appeal to the new money of today. Well they’ve given it a go, and god, they’ve done well.

The engine of this £95,000 911 is a flat six, producing 415 bhp. Now normally for a supercar that isn’t really newsworthy, it’s about average, and when compared with others such as the Ferrari Enzo or the Bugatti Veryon, it’s not even that much. But remember, this 911 is the RS model, and that stands for Rally Sport. This means firmer suspension, stronger traction control and a lot of scaffolding in your back window. All this adds up to a 0-62 time of 4.2 seconds, and on the right road, on the right day, you’ll be nudging 200mph. Now that is fast. But the thing i really like, nay, love about this car, is that it is just designed for the track, I mean yes, you could drive it on the road, and there you are limited to 70mph at the most. Porsche have designed this 911 from the ground up as a track day car, they have aimed it at only a small section of the market, those people with more money than brainpower, and with more brainpower than common sense. In short you would have to be completely and utterly barking mad to buy this car, and that is why it works so well. Because if you have that sort of money you will be taken for the ride of your life in one of the fastest and the best looking supercars money can buy.

What Porsche have created then is quite simply the perfect supercar. But, will this be enough o put them on the top of the supercar ladder forever? I’m not so sure. You see, what we want nowadays is not a car that can only be used on the track, or can only be used after 25 minutes spent priming the fire safety system. We want affordability, speed, and most of all practicality. I’m sorry but a car that can only really be used on the track is just not going to sell. It may be one of the fastest, it may be one of the best, but what matters more, shaving a few seconds off your favourite lap time at your favourite circuit, or having a car that isn’t sitting in the garage for eleven and a half months of the year. All this aside however Porsche have made one hell of a car. The ride is said to be smother than most baby’s behinds, and on a clear day, nothing can compare to the thrill of this 911. The noise coming from that exhaust is seconded only by the songs of angels, and the looks are enough to charm the pants off even the classiest of women. Porsche’s new pimp mobile has already hit the shelves in Europe, and whilst they might not be flying off like hot cakes, the people that are buying them are sure to be happy. Because truly, nothing beats the thrill of a Porsche. It seems then that this large, serious, German car company has done something quite unprecedented. They haven’t just made the car, they’ve given it a soul.