Porsche’s 911 is now in its sixth generation and remains one of the most instantly recognisable cars in the world.
911 ownership starts at £67,270 for the Carrera 3.6, rising to £171,468 for the GT2 RS. I drove the 3.8 Targa 4S, which has 380bhp a useful 40bhp more than the smaller engine and comes with four-wheel drive.
Performance is blistering. It sprints from 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds and tops out at 183mph remarkable given it’s not the most aerodynamically shaped car ever built.
But that doesn’t tell the full story. Each burst of acceleration is accompanied by a full-blooded yowl from the engine that never fails to raise a grin.
The car’s grip is simply phenomenal, and it remains flat and composed no matter what the road throws at it.
Early incarnations of the 911 were known for the rear end’s ability to suddenly and savagely swap ends with the front due to the weight of the engine back there but modern traction control plus the four-wheel drive mean that’s not much of a danger these days.
Porsche have made the 911’s controls deliberately heavy and the steering in particular has a nice weight to it.Low depreciationThose who want an even faster 911 can go for the GTS (402bhp), the Turbo (493bhp), the Turbo S (523bhp) or the GT2 RS, which has 611bhp.
The basic price for the car I drove is a little over £86,000, but the people at Porsche’s press office saw fit to add an extra £11,000 of kit, bringing the total cost to a cool £97,000.
The seven-speed double clutch automatic PDK transmission is excellent and probably worth £2400 if you can afford it. I’m not as convinced many buyers will need to spend £1465 on a sport exhaust system, £1300 on satellite navigation or £534 for a device that lets you plug your phone into the car.
And charging £235 for a rear windscreen wiper just seems churlish.
Set against that is the fact that the 911 is one of the lowest-depreciating supercars, and will still retain two-thirds of its value after three years.
The Porsche is so well built and the driving position so good that it’s easy to use on a daily basis. I took it on a haul from Dundee to Cumbernauld and back for a wedding and it behaved impeccably on the motorway.
A three-year unlimited mileage warranty and pretty good (given its performance) extra urban fuel economy make it a good bet for daily commuters.Wind-in-your-hair motoringI can’t recommend the Targa roof highly enough. The large glass sunroof slides directly back inside the rear windscreen, giving wind-in-your-hair motoring without the hassle of a convertible.
Even with the roof closed, the vast expanse of glass makes the interior much brighter and improves visibility.
The rear seats are tiny, barely suitable even for children, but they provide useful stowage space for shopping or overnight bags.
At the front, where the engine would be in most cars, there’s a 105litre boot. It’s narrow but deep, providing room for a couple of medium hold-alls.
There’s also a glass tailgate at the back that gives access to a large parcel shelf. Fold the rear seats down and you’ve actually got a pretty practical two-seater.
The car does have downsides. Although it’s a reasonable long distance cruiser, a fair amount of road noise infiltrates the cabin. And it doesn’t exude the sort of feeling of luxury that rivals such as the Jaguar XK have.
But it’s an iconic sports car that’s fantastically well built, stunning to drive and easy to live with.
Price: £86,5320-62mph: 4.7secTop speed: 183mphEconomy: 26.4mpgCO2 emissions: 251g/km