historythathaseverdippedintothethreesto 100km/h. In an age
whenwe’regettinga bitblaséabouttheludicrous acceleration
figuresofelectricsportscars,that’sstilla mighty achievement,
especiallyona daywhenthestripwasn’tatits grippiest. And who
wouldhaveeverimaginedthata CamryV6would make the Lotus
thebest-soundingthinghere?
Roundonetothe 911 then.At$281,100before options and
on-roads,theCarrera4Sis themostexpensivecaronthistest,
soit doescarrya certainlevelofexpectation.Butthenwehave
alwayshada certainexpectationofthe 911 and,asidefroma
blipin 2008 whenthe309kWAudiR8andthe357kWNissan
R35GTRmadethe265kW 997 CarreraS looka bitpassé,it’s
liveduptothebilling.Butwherethe 997 wasanevolutionof
the996,whichfirstlaunchedmorethana decadeearlier,the
992 is box-fresh.
FinishedinoptionalCrayongreywithoptionalRSSpyder
Designalloys,it packsrealvisualpunch.Thewidebody
992’sstanceanddetailingis a gooddealmore,shallwesay,
aestheticallyconsideredthanthesoapbar 911 Carrera.Anold
boystandsnexttoit inEildon.Wemakeeyecontactandhejust
smilesandshrugs,a wordlesscompactbetweenusthatitsbeauty
hasovermatchedhisvocabulary.Theinteriordesignlanguage
is similarlyslick,withmetalfinishes,pianoblackandcool,
understatedlines.Itstechnologyandmaterialsarea bigstep
onfromtheoutgoinggeneration,butsometestersfeltthe992’s
ambiancelackswarmthandsoul.
Therearea coupleofergonomicglitchesthathavebeen
wroughtinthenameofunderstatement.Theouterpairofthe
classicfive-dialPorscheinstrumentpackareobscuredbehindthe
wheel,andthemanettinoswitchnolongerindicatesata glance
whichdrivemodeyou’rein.
It’sphenomenallycomposedona testingroad,though;almost
toocompetentatbroadlylegalspeeds.Bothengineandbody
controlimpressinequalmeasure.Theturbocharged3.0-litre
powerplantfeelslikea babyGT2motor,gutsyfrom2000rpm,
drenchingthecabinwitha barrel-chestedbassnoteatfour
thousandandreallystartingtosingfromfive.Stepoffthegas
sharplyandthere’sthefainttwitterofwastegatechatterbut
theoverridingimpressionofthisengineis strength.It ladles
relentlessslabsoftorqueatitsfatEagleF1sand,inSportPlus
mode,thePDKtransmission’slogicis nevercaughtonthehop.
Zuffenhausen’srobotis smarterthanyou.
Thenthere’sthecar’scomposure.Onroadsthataretight,
bumpy,coldand,attimes,coveredina mutinousfilmofsomething
biological,the 911 notonlyfindstractionbutremainsimplacably
planted.Mostcarswiththiszero-hysteresisbodymovementfeel
inertandaloof,yetthe 911 communicatesitsintentionsclearly,
althoughyourmeterneedstotuneintoitsmillimetricfrequencies.
We’redrivingontheFraserParkRoadwhichpetersouttodirt
tracksomewhereonLakeEildon’swesternlittoral.TheF-Type
SVRrequiresconsiderablymoreuser-interventionthanthe
Porsche.Theride,whichjostlesandnigglesonthefreewayroute
outhere,suddenlyseemstoosoftforthistortuousroute.Take
a momenttoresetafterthe 911 andit startsmakingsense.You
needtoallowa littletimefortheJaguartoleanintoa corner,to
settleontoitsspringsandthenit communicatesclearly.
Thechassisletsyoufeedpowerearly,thehammeringreport
ofthe5.0-litreV8crackinginpre-apex.It’sbesttodriveonthe
paddlesasthetransmissionwilloftenkickdowntooaggressively,
butit’sa hugelyrewardingprocess.Gripoutofcornersis strong
andthebrakepedalofferslong-travelmodulation,butafter
the911,thesteeringlacksthatinstantsenseofconnection.The
F-TypeSVRis a fascinatingthing.Brutallyquickcrosscountry,
it’sexcitingandeffectiveinequalmeasure.It’sthemostpleasantF-Type’s sensual curves are
given the SVR hooligan
treatment, with big wing
and raucous quad pipesLotus shifter is not a piece
of modern industrial art
from the Guggenheim,
but it darn well could be94 whichcar.com.au/wheels
COMPARISON /
911
GROUP
TEST