Long Read - a bit of creative writing

[twobone]

OK...so it was written when I owned a 911....but substitute Se7en for Porsche and Chapman for Norbert Singer and we are still talking the same language:

 

DOES YOUR PORSCHE DREAM?

 

It’s a strange question. Of course she doesn't dream. However you and I know that these are not just mere cars. They are an assembly of components crafted over decades of careful thought by engineers whose passion and mission is to deliver performance when combined and driven hard.

 

If your car does not actually dream, then I'd like to believe that the thoughts and experiences of those engineers are part of the potential energy that exists within your Porsche. If you remember your high school physics; potential energy is the stored energy waiting to be released. The classic example is the energy in a pulled bow. Your Porsche has potential energy stored from 70 years of focused engineering. If you can't connect with my analogy, then perhaps you've never taken your Porsche to a track day or I’m a nut.

 

I recently returned from a track day at Calabogie hosted by Bruce Gregory, one of the track owners. It was an amazing day. A key element of the Calabogie experience is the welcoming environment. The staff is there to make your day a success and it shows. Bruce took the time to talk to us about turning his dream of opening a track into a reality. Not an easy task in our “nanny-state”. The hard work paid off and what a dream job he has. Bruce spent as much time as we did on the track in his 996 GT3. A few comments about the track. It’s an automotive treasure and an instant classic. Nestled in the woods near Ottawa, it’s far from the commercialized concrete jungle of the GTA and better for it. The track is five km long, with 20 turns, sixty five feet of elevation changes and perfect driving surface.

 

Getting back to the theory of “the spirit within” a Porsche. You may remember my story in February of 08’ about importing my 84’ Carrera coupe from a PCA member in Florida. I’ve continued the previous owner’s hobby of car detailing; hand rubbing several coats of sealant and wax onto her since the snow melted. Working on the exterior and interior up close has given me a deep appreciation for the craftsmanship put into these mid 80’s hand built 911s. Car detailing is however, a slippery slope. The danger is in thinking of your Porsche as only a thing of beauty. Norbert Singer didn’t work so hard on the racing development of the 911 just to have you park yours in the garage. Over the winter I made a commitment to myself and my car that I would get her out and exercise some of that engineering at the track.

 

Taking your Porsche to the track is to me, like graduating from Porsche high school and starting a Weissach PhD. I spend most of my idle time (aka the GO train commute) reading about Porsches. Last winter, I consumed at least twenty five Porsche magazines along with Vic Elford’s Porsche High Performance Handbook and Paul Frere’s Porsche 911 Story. So, I have a fairly good grasp of each mechanical component including its development history and the theory or black art of 911 handling. Unfortunately, very little of that conceptual understanding can be experienced on Ontario roads. It’s only at the track where the history and the spirit of a Porsche comes alive.

 

About 30 kms into my track day at Calabogie, the car and I settled into a rhythm and dialogue. The quality of the car’s feedback, the performance of the brakes and the eagerness of that flat six reminded me that my car is directly related to countless 911s that ran and have continued to win endurance races for over 40 years. I connection allowed me to relax and feel the parts moving in unison. As I transitioned into turn 6 (Big Rock), I could feel the suspension compress as the torsion bars twisted, a millisecond later the steering lightened ever so slightly as the rubber molecules lost their grip on the hard asphalt and all four tires began to slip in unison as I “tracked-out” towards the next apex. It’s in that one and a half second that the Porsche legend and my car came alive for me.

.

 

 

Another moment came as we speared down the front straight, the track wet from a recent thunder. The sun was now high in the sky and a mist rose from the warming track. We were following a bellowing black 997 4S. Its wide rear haunches sent up twin matching vortexes of spray that sparkled like diamonds. As he passed the kink, I watched his spoiler slowly lift into the slip stream as its electronic brain decided to increase the level of down force. A moment of automotive and visual perfection. Game on then! My car and I were eager for the chase.

 

Sadly my third magic experience of the day is shared only by the lucky few who own a GT3. Bruce took me for a few hot laps in his 996 GT3. He must have thought I was scared silent, because I didn’t speak a word for the full 10 minute lap session. I just wanted to absorb every sensation that comes with track time in a GT3. If you know your Porsche history and the lineage of the GT3 motor, you cannot sit in a GT3 when it’s pulling hard and not be transported into the cockpit of a GT1 racecar at LeMans. The linear and never ending pull of that motor combined with the sound of all those exotic metals meshing in perfect unity at 8000 RPM is the holy grail of engine experiences. Add to that the physics defying handling of a GT3. When Bruce really leaned on the brakes, the G forces were so great that it felt like I was standing upright on the floor boards even though I was strapped tight in a five point harness. The way the car drifts in perfect harmony without body roll or any sense of nervousness is a testament to the performance driven development focus at Porsche. Even though we hit 240 km/h on the back straight and were taking turns at 120 that you and I would take at 50 km/h in our family car, I never felt a hint of fear. I knew the car was a perfectly honed system in the hands of an experienced driver.

 

So I’ll leave you with these thoughts and opinions. If you own a Porsche and don’t take it to the track, you are cheating yourself of a quintessential part of Porsche ownership and you are not being fair to the spirit of your car. You are also, in a way being disrespectful to the engineers who worked so hard designing your car to perform. It’s like buying a Picasso and leaving it wrapped in brown paper in your basement or capturing a cheetah and keeping it in a cage. Let me next address your fears. It is extremely unlikely that you will crash your car at the track. The handling limits of your car are so far beyond your current capabilities, that the margin of protection is huge. How do I know? I was driving as hard as I dared and I was passed by everyone like I was standing still. It is the experienced track drivers who strive to push beyond their cars exceptional limits that I’ve seen put it into the guard rail. Secondly, your car will not explode or leave you stranded. Your Porsche is over-engineered and designed to be experienced on the track. My car never runs better than after a day at the track.

 

These last few days I’ve been torn. Part of me wants to get out in the garage and wash off the brake dust and polish the paint back to a shiny luster. Then I look at the streaks of dust running the length of the car, the splattered bugs on the headlights and reflect on the track scrubbed tires and pause to wonder what does my Porsche want? Does she want another night to dream?

[MHKflyer52]

twobone,

 

A good read you have writen....I also like to belive my 914-6 dreams as I do about those fleeting moments that one becomes part of the machine.