LuxuryCarMagazine En Luxury Car Review and News
Like me, you probably had a poster of a Porsche on you bedroom wall as a young child. I myself had both a 930 Turbo Slantnose and a 993 Turbo with the caption: “Kills Bugs Fast.” Back then, I never dared to dream of ever driving a Porsche. I do know and it’s part of the job…
These days, well, I’m blessed to get to do my job but you too could experience what it’s like to push a 911 Carrera S or 718 Cayman S on a track. For roughly the price of a set of tires for the 911, you can spend two days throttling the throttle, mashing the brakes and exploring the limits of grip of some of the best driving cars in the world.
How’s this done? Simple. Go to Porsche Canada’s website, look up Porsche Sport Driving School, select the dates, pay the bill and wait patiently.
The Porsche Sport Driving School takes places at one of the best motorsports venues in Canada, the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, or CTMP. The actual driving takes place on the Driver Development Track, or DDT. Don’t go thinking that this track is for juniors. It was recently completely redone and poses numerous challenges thanks to many elevation changes, blind corners, multiple apex turns and yes, on the back straight, a solid right foot will have you hit 170 km/h if you line everything up perfectly.
Before you get to out and drive, the instructors need to have a word with you. They’ll start with the basics with an explanation of what a tire does with a friction circle graph. They’ll move on to vision, under and oversteer explanations, the driving line, braking, seating position, the works. You’ll be out of there soon enough and will get a chance to sample the cars. The Cayman and you will, among other things, work your way around cones where throttle control and vision are key. Later on, braking exercises with the 911 will give you glimpse of how powerfully the Carrera can come to stop.
More about the cars
Most that will sign up will leap for the 911 but be wise and warm up with the 718 S. The turbo 2.5-litre flat-4’s 350 horsepower not only sounds great but also gets you up to speed real quick. The mid-rear engine configuration means that the car is perfectly balanced, endowing it with a very forgiving and compliant chassis. Unless you make a bad mistake, I’m willing to bet that your personal driving limits will be reached miles before the car becomes uncomfortable. At some point, you’re likely to think to yourself that you’re not driving hard or fast enough. From the outside, I promise you you’ll be flying. This is how good the 718 Cayman S is.
The 911 Carrera is a faster car but requires more brainpower, and a little more finesse. The turbo 3.0-litre flat-6 pumps out 420 horsepower but the number feels more like 500. The rear engine layout affects steering the most, especially under acceleration. The tested cars feature 4-wheel steering that helps quite a bit. The weight transferring to the rear lightens up the front end so careful throttle and steering manipulations are important.
As you unwind the wheel, the desire to crush the go-pedal is impossible to resist. The addictive torque and ensuing stability beg you to push harder and harder – or at least as hard as the lead instructor will let you. At these speeds, approaching a corner requires stabbing at the brakes and even if you think you’re giving all you’ve got, she can take more. Always more.
One way or another, the PDK dual-clutch transmission is standard and does all the work for you. In fact, no need to use the paddles, especially if the idea is to go fast. By the end of Day 2, I’m convinced of one thing, one way or another: You’ll want to buy a Porsche.
These are Porsches after all. The 911 Carrera and 718 Cayman are brilliant track cars but importantly, they are also very adept at tackling the daily grind. This I know as it is part of the job…
This is the first edition of the Sport Driving School for Canada. It’s taken 10 years to get here and was worth the wait. Other programs are offered around the world so once you’ve completed the entry-level Precision class, you’ll be able to move on to the Performance level in Germany perhaps (other levels are Master/Masters RSR as part of Porsche’s Career Concept).
This driving school is open to all and includes a number of other activities. Details and pricing all available on the website.
