Driving Impression>> The 2009 Carrera 4 & The List Of 7

In the mid-90s, my wife and I moved to London to pursue a dream
of directing music videos in the UK scene. This of course, was not such
an easy manuever. It was quite a huge challenge to go to a large, foreign city to get started in a freelance career…. Pretty stressful times I have to say, although I wouldn't be where I am today unless I put myself through that hardship….

A particularly tough scenario I had to deal with
during this period of my life was, I had to endure seven whole years without driving, let alone owning a car. As an automotive enthusiast this
was pretty challenging to say the least. It was during this period of time that my dear
wife put a great idea forward to perhaps cheer up her then moody husband.

She told me that instead
of me just trying to build up our life to be able to afford but one
car, why not go for more? As some one that loves all things automotive
related, then surely I should own seven cars.. one for every day of the
week!

Ahhh
such a lovely lady….. might as well think big no? A great idea, although I never sat down and decided what these 7 cars should be until around a year ago.

Here is my list:

1969 Nissan Skyline GTR: Works Style

1953-54 Chevrolet: Traditional Kustom

Nissan 350Z: Stripped Track day car

Aston Martin V8 Vantage

Mercedes CLS: VIPed Euro

67-69 Ford Mustang: Ground up build on reproduction shell. Retro Trans Am street warrior style.

AE86: full TRD wide body as designed by Antonio.

I've also toyed with the idea of a 1936 Ford Kustom and a 1992 Honda Civic Si with this list from time to time… it's hard to be limited to only 7 cars!

Anyway, my wish list is now in a bit of a crisis…. I've realized that
I've completely forgotten about my old passion for the machines from
Stuttgart. Oh dear, oh dear…. What to do…

My rediscovery of the Porsche marque all started a few months back when we were planning out the Speedhunters Porsche month. We knew we'd be coming to Europe around the time of the Spa 24 hours and thought it'd make a great photographic story to do an automotive pilgrimage to see the remains of the old Spa track…. I'm talking about the old, the fearsome, 14km (8.8 mile) long high-speed road track which was in use from 1921 to 1978.

People say that Spa Francorchamps is one of the world's greatest racing tracks; well it is a pretty amazing place, but the old street circuit, now this is something else all together. Check the map showing the modern track in comparison with the old one. Can you imagine the speeds?

So we asked our contact at Porsche… "would they be so kind as to send a 911 to Spa to let us use in a photographic story around the old Spa
circuit?"

And the reply came back: "yes no problem, they'll deliver a car to the circuit…"

Wow!… they must like us huh? NFS Porsche Unleashed must have made a few long term friends in Stuttgart hahaha.

And so a few days before the Spa 24H race, we parked up at the cafe where the FIA had set up their press accreditation centre and waited for the Porsche to arrive. We ordered a few Cappucino's and sat outside, watching with bemusement while Antonio chatted with the Belgian girls working at the FIA press center.

… and then there it was! Straight from Leipzig in Germany; a pre-production 2009 new shape Carrera 4. Ahhh… fantastic… this was going to be a fine day.

This was the first time I had seen the re-styled 997 chassis and I have to say I absolutely love it. I am someone who thought that the 996 chassis was a bit of a step backwards from the 993. The introduction of the 997 fixed these sins, as it saw the return the a sexy, curvy waistline that 911s are so known for. The re-styling of the lights is even better imo, there is an elegance about them that brings the whole design together.

Opening the door reveals a beautiful stitched leather interior. Sliding into the seat for the first time I found that all elements of this interior was well beyond anything I'd previously experienced. It certainly was a major paradym shift from my Lexus IS that's for sure. One doesn't sit on the seats, you sit inside them. It's as if the seating position is the first point of attention that the Porsche designers have developed to directly pull you inside the driving experience. It envelops the body with a sense of ergonomics that feels utterly natural.

Have a look at the plate on the door sill… nice attention to detail…

So we headed out to find the remains of the old circuit… This is the Burnenville Corner.

I'd recommed to any serious fan of racing history to do the pilgrimmage to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium to marvel at the remains of the old circuit. It's absolutely insane to think that this was a place where people used to race cars. As I was driving the Carrera4 around the track I just could not beleive that 917s and F1 cars used to thunder around here in what seems to be a series of high speed 4th and 5th gear corners.

No wonder they had to stop racing here, any mistake was sure to be a fatal one.

Doing photo shoots on public roads, in foreign countries, is not necessarily the time and place to be able to get into a driving mode to get a feel for a chassis. You are too busy watching traffic and doing u turns to really get in to the spirit of driving. I spent the first part of the photo shoot just doing U turns keep driving past John Brook's manly 500mm camera lens.

I did though, manage to get a sense I was driving a complete design experience. Every element was working in perfect balance, feeding back through the seat and wheel to give the feeling the car was directly plugged into my cerebral cortex. Mmmmm…. perhaps more of these experiences are needed.

This bit of straight is the stretch from Hate de la Cote on the above track map.

I have to say, for the first part of the day, I was a bit nervous behind the wheel of the 911. I was the first time I've driven a car during a photoshoot and also the first time I've been entrusted by an auto manufacturer with one of their cars!… I also tend to be a wee bit edgy when driving abroad.

You know, I have a real problem with a lot of the new cars these days… in my mind there are far too many new models being introduced which are far larger and heavier than their predecessors. Do we really want cars that look like gas guzzling heavy-weights?

What I really appreciate about Porsche is that they haven't gone down this road with the new car. There is a design elegance about this car that really appeals to the eye. It has a sense of mobility and lightness which seem to be unique qualities in this particular era of automotive design.

I also appreciate that this car pays respect to its history. The spirit of all those Le Mans victories and racing lineage we've been featuring on Speedhunters this month lives inside this car. When you pilot this machine you can feel this lineage. No joke!

I am Steve McQueen… I am Steve McQueen… I am Steve McQueen… I am Steve McQueen… I am Steve McQueen… I am Steve McQueen..

You can see the guardrails from the old circuit still line much of the course. 

While attending the Recaro Days tuning event a few days later Antonio and I noticed that a few of the modified cars had full leather stitched interiors just like this Porsche. It's a design style that is much prefered to LCD screens and fiberglass subwoofer enclosers IMO!

Stretch tires have migrated to the Euro scene and by this same token I wonder if full leather stitch interiors will come across from the Euro scene to the JDMs?. 

Hmmm…. by this time I was starting to think to myself that my list of seven cars needs to be changed….

Having wet my appetite for the Porsche experience on their base 911 I can only imagine what it must be like to drive one of the high end cars!

And finally, we worked our way to where the old track meets the new. Ahead you can see the marshal post at Stavelot.

So I need some help here… which car do you think I should drop off my list of seven for a 911? And what 911 should it be?

A Rauh Welt tuned 930? Nakai-san said he is looking to start building cars in America.

A new shape Carrera?

A GT3RS?.. GT2?

And what would your list of seven be?

:Rod Chong

September Porsche Features

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1

It's funny, from the rear, it looks like a 996(yet MUCH more attractive), but from the front, it looks like a new 993. Brilliance. I wish they'd do something different with those rear lights though, update them a little more like they've done with the rest of the fresh model.



My list?



993 GT2 first and foremost



N2 AE86(similar to the one i'm building)



356 Spyder



Gemballas' Mirage GT, in satin white.



'94 JZS147 widebody



Z-Tune R34 track car



Need a daily too.. hmm.. Worked Ek9 for the hills?

2

Aston Martin DBS

1964 Aston Martine DB5

VIP Bentley Arnage (airbagged w/ dish wheels)

98' Spec Honda Integra Type-R

Honda NSX-R GT

1966 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350

Ferrari F430 Scuderia





3

Drop the Aston Martin and get a 997 GT3 RS !

4

Nissan Skyline GT-R r34 nur spec

Porsche 964 T

Dodge Viper

Honda Civic SI EG6

Ferrari 355

Jaguar XJ220

Toyota corolla GT-S AE86

5

nobody wants an M3 on their list? Sad day for the human kind

6

it depends what you want to do with it, if its gonna be a track car drop the 350 and get a track prepped gt3, if not then get a carrera 4s but i couldn't decide what to replace with it.



my list:

AE86 Trueno w/ gangsta fit equips

JZA80 Supra w/ gt47 turbo 3.4L stroker kit, stock body wxcept for TRD wing and titan motorsports carbon front lip

Koenigsegg CCXR

Top Secret R34 Gt-R

S13 w/ full Origin Lab Aero and Work Eurolines

S2000 w/ full Spoon Sports Catalog installed on black TE37 time attacks

Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead w/ custom eurolines b/c they only go up to 20" normally (also color matched face)



7

NSX GT1 LM, yep the car that broke down after 8 laps of le mans 24h in 1995, just got to make something similar to that...



Mazda RX-7 FC3S, maybe 20B.



Supra MK3 Turbo.



Porsche 911 GT2 similar model as the JIC drifter, can thank you guys for that one, never really liked porsche.



Silvia S13 w\ S15 Front and RB turbo-machine.



Honda CRX, which i hope to buy sonn, hopefully w\ VTEC.



Honda Ridgeline, to tow the track cars on this list

8

If i were a millionaire...... :)



hehe , the old " in my dreams " dilemna...., no , no and no , i certainly won't drop an Aston out of your list.

In fact , i will keep your list for the "morning cars" and then i'll choose 7 Zuffenhausen babies for the afternoon , simple !



1 : 908/3 bergspider = the mother of all racing cars !

2 : 935 kremer K4 = the 935 of the 935 !

3 : 934 RSR = because an ass need to be rounded !

4 : 911 2.7 RS = because when you own one of this , you don't care about financial crisis !

5 : 997 GT3 RS = just to be " up to date "

6 : 964 Carrera 4 = Just in case of snow on the road....

7 : the future LM GT1.......



PS : ROD , very very good article :)





9

boy, 7 is such a small list... it's like picking your 3 favorite bands.

even a list of top 7 cars from each continent would be tough,

liking everyone elses lists too

10

1. Porsche GT2 (993)

2. MK2 VW GTI

3. 1964 Lincoln Continental with the suicide doors

4. Audi RS6 Avant wagon (for my bicycles)

5. E30 BMW

6. Corvette C6R but since it's not street legal I'll take the ZR1

7. An Original MINI in British Racing Green with a white top and tan interior (As long as I can fit inside : / )



8. Optimus Prime, because I need somebody to trailer my cars to the track..... as long as he doesn't blow them all up in the process.

11

1. Amuse GT1 S2000

2. Honda NSX-R GT

3. R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R Z-tune in flat-black paint

4. Kid's Heart Sileighty

5. Authentic Panda scheme Toyota Sprinter Trueno (I love Initial D, is it such a crime? hahaha)

6. RE-Amemiya FD3S with stock twin-turbos

7. Mazda RX-7 FC3S with super wide RS-Watanabes

12

Ah man I have to put my list here too then. (Subject to change) haha.



1. Lotus Exige -for the raw driving experience/ track days

2. E92 BMW M3 -because it is probably my favorite new car

3. '73 KGC110 Skyline - One of my favorite cars ever

4. JZX100 Mark II Tourer-V (full interior, navi,)

5. C6 Corvette Z06 - I like Vettes

6. '70 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 - the coolest car ever. Aspen white please

7. Lancia Stratos

13

GANGSTERRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!! Rod, you gotta make that first photo your facebook profile pic immediately! Hot damn thats cool.

14

My list of dream cars:

1) 1973 Corolla SR 5speed (orange) US version TE27 with RS Watanabe R

2) 1973 Corolla Levin (orange) S48 Japan version TE27 with SSR Mk-II or? hmm....

3) 1985 zenki AE86 hatchback (red) with RS Watanabe Type R and/or Work Equip old style

4) 1986 kouki AE86 hatschback (red) with SSR Mk-III, Mk-II and/or Work Equip new style

5) Ford GT40 Gulf scheme old school, not the Ford GT

6) Newest generation Lexus LS600h, long wheel base, 4seat version with back massager and AC seats

7) Porsche 911 GT2 or GT3RS (orange. or silver with orange accents)



Well, I already have 3 on the list. Let me keep working hard and soon I'll collect them all!



15

PatDaly: dude, you WOULD get an Audi wagon for your fixed gear bikes... i'm rolling my eyes now. I bet you're gonna put a scraper bike in your 64 Continental huh! LOL scrapin on your scraper bike... your scraper bike, your scraper bike, you're scrapin in your scraper biiiiiiii......

16

Ford GT40 - gulf colors of course

E46 M3 - already own... Lucky me

84 911 Turbo - Best Looking 911 ever, dark grey with dark grey insert Fuchs rims.

67 Mustang - Fastback in highlander green on torquethrust rims... Bullet Baby!

288 GTO - An F40 with real style and way more rare

Audi S8 - Nothing says Love like a Q ship with a Lambo engine...

Any V8 Vantage - Either the 70's or the modern just pure sex!



Runners up

67 Chevelle SS - Because it is a great chevy...

e60M5 Touring - you need a wagon, really!

Ferrari 250 gto - does it need an explanation?

MB 300sl Gullwing... see above...

17

1. R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R built to Mine's specs - type 2 engine and full interior.

2. Mitsubishi Evo VI TME or IX RS with Group N specs, including anti-lag

3. Amuse Honda S2300 GT1 (the one with the NA engine).

4. Porsche 997 911 GT3 RS in orange.

5. Porsche 993 911 GT2.

6. Prodrive Aston Martin V8 Vantage.

7. E30 BMW M3 Evo 2.



Cars that didn't quite make it:

- Ferrari F430 Scederia

- Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera

- Porsche Carrera GT

- NA2 Honda NSX

- Audi RS6 Avant

-FD3S Mazda RX-7 built to Re-Amemiya specs

-E92/E46 BMW M3

18

Here is my list

Track car:Ferrari dino 206 sp or ferrari 330 p4 look quite the same,just depend how many millions you have to blow up

Daily driver:Mercedes 190e evo 2 with a good exhaust,new turbo and the stock rim in perfect condition with an refreshen leather interior

3.Lancia Stratos stock to have some fun on the gravel

4.Bugatti type 35 atlantic coupe or the type 41 Royale to go to the big event

5.Lotus type 79 The best F1 car ever dot!

6.Lotus Elan S4 in case that the ferrari brek down need another fun and good track car

7.The only car made by an american company that i like:Ford Rs 200 to see what it mean to be on the edge of death by driving a true fast rallye car from the golden era of rallying.(I do like also the ford gt40 but i dont consider it being make by ford)

19

Antonio- hahaha scraper bikes! I'd "murder" my Lincoln just because I know how much you love the term "murder" and then I'd have my scraper bike in the trunk.



I just hope next time you come to Detroit you're lucky enough to see the 1985 Caprice Donk that's painted bright red and yellow and has a McDonald's logo on the side and "I'm lovin it" on the trunk lid. Best part about it, I saw this guy in the drive through line at Wendy's!!! hahahaha



I'm surprised #1 on your list wasn't a baby blue Toyota Estima to keep your fixed gear bike in that you never seem to mention, lol

20

Can't believe I missed this earlier.

1. '50's F1-style transporter with modern mechanicals.

2. '98 Subaru WRC car tuned similarly to Stian Hafsengen's WRC Escort.

3. Dinan E39 M5 Touring (never made in production) - total sleeper

4. Lotus Sport Exige GT3

5. McLaren F1

6. Monster Tajima's latest Pike's Peak creation

7. DP Cars DP1

Subject to change and I don't feel like I have enough historic things...

21

1. Honda Integra Type R 96-spec (DC2)

2. Mazda RX-7 (FD3S)

3. Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II (BNR34)

4. Nissan 180SX [chuki] (RPS13)

5. [2008] Honda Zoomer

6. 1964 Chevrolet Impala [hardtop coupe]

7. Honda NSX (NA1)

22

I just lost my list of 7, i click submit and it was error something for a mili second , then its missing :(

23

anyway they're always in my heart.
2nd try of submitting
Here are my List of 7
1. Evo IX "white" daily driver to work and few groceries on the way...
2. EK9 Type R "Yellow" Movie nights with my wife and drive thru at MC DO
3. NISSAN GTR R32 "black" full striped RWD for track days Naturally aspired only, get the best out of it and have fun
This is hard picking 7 cars when I definitely dream for more hahah
4. Ferrari 250 GTO I've never been fun of this kind of cars but with the recent feature of speedhunters july 2017 "silver" 250 gto I must have one to drive thru mountain roads with my wife...
this is really getting harder and harder , Its like i'm cheating on girls when I don't pick them, this case cars hahaha
5. Project GTI of speedhunters "yes that exact red one" same car if I could please paddy hahaha
what else could I have a LOT ^ ^ this exercise is mind blowing FUNNN
6. I want the EVO of Suzy Wallace I will take good care of it with my soul and yes all of this List of Seven even thou the last one is not counted because not a car haha I will clean them on my own , fix them on my own as much as I can hahaha
its really hard to pick the last one but heyyy
7. Porsche 911 GT3 for my daughter , I want this to be her first drive. Some folks would say this man is crazy "AM I?" Porsche just gives the world , the human kind what you should have, ow NO what you MUST HAVE in your life. Its menacing that future of cars are coming but Porsche embraces it? Yes styling the technology but it never throws away the grass roots. What you Must have in a Porsche sorry but I can't call it a car because its not, Its a Porsche. To much words I want to say but a real enthusiast knows. and it will be a white one.

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