California dreaming! We head to America to test two of the best hot rod 911s from the legendary R-Gruppe.

Driven: The Editor has just got behind the wheel of the Panamera

    August 2009 edition
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  914/6
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Next Month in 911 & Porsche World
Thunder saloon: The full verdict on Porsche's four door Panamera
993 GT2 v 993 RS
Karl Ludvigsen column
The world's best restored 356
Front-engined Ultimate buyer's guide
Jacky Ickx interview

Septrember 2009 ISSUE ON SALE 6th August 2009


Editor's Book of the month!


Porsche 917 - the complete photographic history

Glen Smale


Published to mark the 40th anniversary of the 917's race debut and containing some 900 photos from many key sources, including the Porsche archive itself, this book also benefits from a strong historical narrative and from input by engineers, drivers and others who helped create and immortalise the 917. Pricey, perhaps, but at 500 pages you won't find a more comprehensive photographic account anywhere else. The book was reviewed by the editor in the August 2009 issue of 911&PW

More...



Get your  Euro Car Parts catalogue


Euro Car Parts new Porsche Parts & Styling catalogue is now available. A comprehensive catalogue covering 356, 912, 914, 911, Boxster, 924, and 944 models, the products are sourced from Dansk.  If you would like a free catalogue, simply click on the link below, write Euro Car Parts/911&PW in the subject line, and put your full name and address in the email.
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DRIVING THE PANAMERA...

I've just come back from Germany having driven the new Panamera. Now this is a car that I've been looking forward to driving for some time. In fact I've been looking forward to just seeing one in the metal for some time, and the first view didn't disappoint, but only from the point of it being rather imposing.

Porsche had 20 or so Panameras parked up in the Plaza outside Munich airport (right in the heart of BMW land), in a variety of colours. Make no mistake this is a very colour dependent car. Darker colours make it look even more slab-sided, while lighter colours work better. The front end is just too blunt and stumpy, while the rear is the feature I like the most, although some rather less charitable hacks likened it to a Chrysler Cross Fire.

Porsche have tried, as with the Cayenne, to integrate 911 styling cues, but it just doesn't work. It just looks stretched and contrived. The interior, though, works a lot better, with it's rear, individual seats and imposing sweeping console that runs front to back.


We bagged ourselves a Turbo - all £95,000 worth, with ceramic brakes and a full compliment of sporting extras. First impressions? It's an odd thing to pilot. Wider than a Cayenne, as low as a 911 and with a driving position that mirrors the 911s. But that's where the similarity ends. This is a big car and it doesn't shrink around you.


In turbo form it is, as you expect, mighty fast. However, I just didn't feel as connected as I would expect to in something with a Porsche badge on the nose. The steering in particular was a big disappointment - light and with little feed back. The air suspension has three settings. Normal is just too wallowy, while Sport stiffens things up and adjusts the throttle map and is probably the best compromise. Sport Plus is still quite acceptable depending on the road surface, but you'll soon tire of it hanging on to the revs.


What was missing from the experience? Well I think ultimate judgement needs to be saved until we can drive a Panamera in the UK, but really there just didn't seem to be enough Porsche DNA flowing through the chassis and steering. Thunderous and fast as it was, that just isn't enough. My full story will be in the SEPTEMBER issue.

 

Steve Bennett, editor,

911 & Porsche World



Inside the latest issue...
 


California dreaming

America's R-Gruppe is the ultimate race and hot rod look 911 club. Every year they gather to showcase some of the best 911s around and this year we were there to check out two of the best





Mid 70s 911s. Really that bad?

The mid 70s was a bit of  a strange time for the 911. American legislation dictated the impact bumper and some seriously detuned engines. We tried a 1975, 150bhp, freshly restored standard 911. Bad? No, just a bit different.




Take it to the bridge

The UK is just too small for a car like the 911 Turbo so we headed out to France, past Le Mans, despite it being the 24-hour weekend, and on the epic Norman Foster designed Millau Bridge that spans the tarn Valley. Epic drive, epic car.





Early Porsche v backdated

Early Porsche's have the look that everyone's after these days, hence the popularity for back dating later cars. But which better? A proper early car or a lookalike? We pitch four together.


New Mark Hales 'How to drive' tuition DVDs!


At 911 & Porsche World we are pleased to offer the ‘How to Drive’ range of track tuition DVDs from Mark Hales, 911 & PW’s resident pro driver and multi championship winning racer.
    The range so far covers Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Snetterton and Cadwell Park.
    How to Drive uses exclusive new technology, first to hover the viewer overhead and provide an overview, then to sit you in the seat and show you what the road really looks like. How to Driver takes each lap apart – slows it down, speeds it up and flattens it out wherever necessary – to give a better understanding of the track and how best to drive it. It’s like being out there, sitting alongside an experienced tutor, at a fraction of the cost.

How to drive DVDs are only £29.99 Including postage and packaging. To find out more and watch sample  clip, just click here




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For your peace of mind and to increase the security on Internet transactions this site includes 3D-Secure (like an online Chip and Pin). If you are trying to purchase on this site and have any queries or problems with this, just call us and we will be only too happy to help you out. Call 0208 655 6400 or email us direct

 


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