HEFIVEcarsmovequickly across country,
chasingthesettingsun. The convoy stretches
andcompactslikea slinky spring as the
roadcontourseastwards, climbing out of
riverdrainagesandover the rolling crests of
MountPleasant.It doubles back and gets even
twistier,theskynowimperceptiblygraded shades of umber,
dustfilteringthroughtheironbarks, the cars ahead just
silhouettes;crypticoutlinesphasing in and out of the dazzle.
Upfrontis theunblinkingtail-light bar of the new Porsche
911,thebunched-upbottle-rocketshape of the Jaguar F-Type
SVRandthere,mostincongruousof all is the low and long
LotusExigeSport410,itshigh-mounted wing, extruded
doormirrorsandfatreartyreslooking like something from
theGTEgridatLeMans,landedhere in country Australia,
dodgingechidnas.
I’mina Porsche 718 Cayman,while squinting through
thecloudbehindis a Mercedes-AMG C63 S, its toothy
grilleloomingoutofthedustvortices like Hannibal Lecter
ona gurney.We’retired,dirty,windburnt and happy, after two
daysinthesefivecoupes.Whilethey may appear a disparate
bunch,there’sa verypragmaticreason for them being here.
HavingdrivenPorsche’snew 992 on Aussie soil, we’d
cometotherealisationthatnothing would beat it head on,
sowedidn’twanttowasteyourtime with that. Instead,
wewonderedhowconvincingwerethe alternatives if you
wanteda coupemorehardcorethan the 911 Carrera; or more
liveable;ormoreaffordable;ormore extrovert. So that’s why
we’rehere,bumpingalonga narrow mountain road trying to
crosstheBlackSpurbeforenightfall.ACCORDING TO OUR VBOX data logger, it takes the 911
Carrera 4S just 3.4 seconds to reach 100km/h. That’s quicker
than a 997 GT2 RS. It demolishes the quarter mile in 11.6s
and does so with no histrionics. Switch it into Sport Plus,
flex onto the brake, jab the throttle pedal to the floor and
sidestep the stoppers. The Sport Chrono-equipped Porsche
hooks up cleanly, sending drive to all four tyres, the eight-
speed PDK transmission blat-blat-blatting up through the
gears. Job done. The Cayman is similarly undramatic, beating
its published 4.9sec to 100km/h by a couple of tenths. The
Jaguar delivers a whole lot more drama. Foot on the brake,
load up the torque converter and let it go. The combo of
all-wheel drive, bellowing V8, keening supercharger and a
wriggling wheel make the 3.7s to 100km/h seem even quicker.
It weaves under braking from 220km/h, its more softly reined
1705kg clearly apparent.
The Lotus and Mercedes require a bit more work to
launch cleanly. The AMG C63 S has a sophisticated nine-
stage traction control system and a Race mode. None of it
helps significantly to get the car off the line, the 4.0-litre
twin-turbo V8 and launch control combo flipping a coin and
landing you with either unproductive wheelspin, or stabbing
traction-control interventions. Try to drive it away rather
than rely on the launch control and it’s just not that quick.
A best of 4.4 seconds comes after multiple attempts. The
least powerful car here, the 220kW Porsche 718 Cayman,
would monster this 375kW Mercedes nine times out of ten
away from the traffic lights.
The Exige Sport 410 is a milestone vehicle. It’s the first
manual car Wheels has strapped timing gear to in our 66-year92 whichcar.com.au/wheels
COMPARISON /
911
GROUP
TEST