When an invitation to attend the reveal of the next-generation 911 Porsche Carrera arrived, I was up for the challenge.
I realized watching a silk sheet slowly slip off the latest generation of what may be the most iconic sportscar ever built wasn’t running a triathlon or rafting across the Atlantic.
My challenge would be attending the reveal at Porsche of Halifax without catching a serious bout of car fever.
The affliction, one that strikes reasonable people at random, could make the evening an expensive one.
The last time car fever surfaced was 15 years ago when I ventured into a Porsche dealership in Toronto and was broadsided by the fever. That bout resulted in the 2004 Carrera 911 that sits in our garage with only 14,995 kilometres on its odometer. That’s a whopping 1,000 kilometres a year on average.
No sweat, I could handle a little Carrera 911 temptation. I’d drive our like-new 2004 model to the reveal and Lisa and I would check out the eighth generation. Hopefully we would find ourselves nibbling on yummy canapés and sipping mocktails and fine sparkling waters while rubbing shoulders with fellow 911 aficionados.
But wait. The years are full of special days and some of us have one called a wedding anniversary, in our case, the very day of the 911 reveal at Porsche of Halifax. Ahh, 21 years of marriage and our celebration date is at a car dealership.
Promises of keeping car fever in check along with the fact Lisa was equally keen to check out the new 911 sealed the deal.
There was a good crowd on hand when sales manager Brad Sellars took the microphone. Two 2020 911s were in the showroom under silks covers surrounded by hushed tire kickers, waiting with bated breath. Even though they were covered, the iconic 911 shape of the Carreras was obvious.
A slight wave of fever flushed me as Brad Sellars went through a brief overview of the seven generations of 911 since it was introduced in the October 1964.
The crowd stepped back in silence as the silks were pulled off and it's immediately obvious why Porsche calls the 911 a “timeless machine.”
It really is an automobile of breathtaking beauty, class and style all in one package. I suspected there was plenty of fever ramping up in the room.
Lisa and I were at the rear so the first thing that struck me was the full-width LED taillight stretching across the rear of the car, apparently the longest in the industry.
If you see one of these come on, take note because there is a high probability the car in front can stop faster than what you are driving.
Visually, the 911 Carrera models are characterized by the same striking design cues as the rest of the model range, such as the clearly defined fender arches and front luggage compartment lid with a recess reminiscent of classic 911 models.
More symptoms of car fever surfaced; knot in the stomach, lack of concentration and, of course, all that rationalization. Sure, I will keep it forever. It will be a daily driver. I’ll put snow tires on it in the winter and drive it everywhere. All the time.
The base Carrera uses the same twin-turbo 3.0-litre flat-six engine as the 450-horsepower S model, but model-specific turbochargers reduce the horsepower to 379 with 331 lb.-ft. torque. Porsche claims that set-up, coupled to the eight-speed PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplung) transmission produces a zero to 100 km/h acceleration time of 4.2 seconds. The optional Sport Chrono Package drops that to 4.0 seconds. Quick.
Even without having driven the new 911, it didn’t take long for car fever to take hold. When I was told all new Carreras were PDK eight-speed automatics without a clutch pedal, the fever went into remission though.
On the drive home, as I slipped our 15-year-old six-speed Carrera 911 through the gears, I wished Lisa a happy anniversary. I confessed my brush with car fever.
The practically perfect eighth-generation Carrera 911 is the evolution of 56 years of design, technology and performance.
The sportscar has evolved into a luxurious and functional GT car that will out-handle, accelerate faster and stop quicker than ours. But I wasn’t ready to park the clutch pedal so I was safe.
“Well it’s not over yet,” Lisa laughed. “The seven-speed manual version is on the way within the next year.”
Now how many times will that tidbit of information creep into my subconscious mind in the coming months?
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