A Stuttgart soiree
In July, Sime Darby Auto Performance organised the Porsche World Road Show 2016 at the newly resurfaced Sepang International Circuit for the media and its clientele, both current and potential. With such class-leading metal in each of the segments it has a hand in, every model bar the 918 was out in the sun for a variety of driving events. There was also exclusive pre-launch wheel time in the new 718 Boxster and 718 Boxster S, both packing downsized turbo four-cylinder engines.
Slaloms and synchronicity
We put the new 718 Boxster through its paces in a simple slalom, the lighter heart improving the already fantastic balance and turn-in with more torque accessible from lower down the rev range. The numbers tell a happy story, 35hp up in both to 300hp and 350hp respectively while the torque bump is an impressive 100Nm in the base variant and 60Nm in the S to 380Nm and 420Nm. The kicker is that this twist comes in at about 1,900rpm. Lag, then, is virtually nonexistent.
Out on the open track, head instructor Paul Robinson took us out in a guided convoy with car changes every other lap. The new Macan GTS – with its addictive soundtrack – and turbo-but-not-Turbo 911 Carrera S and 4S were part of the group, the latter two launched earlier this year with brand new 3.0-litre turbocharged flat-six mills. For benefits, see 718 Boxster i.e. faster yet more frugal.
When the road runs out
Ninety percent of Cayenne owners never take their cars anywhere further off road than a curb. With this exercise, Porsche proved that the Cayenne is plenty capable in the rough. The setup was a single file obstacle course without even the slightest possibility of getting stuck, but included the usual suspects: elephant steps, side ramps, and sharp hill descents and ascents.
Ride height adjustability and hill descent control which come as standard came into play, but we suspect it wont be long before Porsche begins offering these as some sort of optional off-road package, given how few Cayennes ever see anything but blacktop.
The icing on the cake
Of course, Porsche’s power pride this side of a 918 rests firmly on its 911 Turbo S. Sitting dead centre and pointed at Turn 15, a simple acceleration and braking experience in the beast was what lay in store for participants. Porsche’s official figure for the century sprint is 2.9 seconds, we were told that that’s a couple of tenths too modest. It certainly felt like it, the gorgeous Miami Blue Turbo S rocketing to 100km/h and back to a dead stop in just under five seconds -that too without launch control. This was more a matter of preserving the fresh tarmac; launch control would have mercilessly ripped it up.
The day ended with taxi rides in just about everything from this Turbo S to the Cayenne Turbo S, but we’re not talking racing line laps. With the stability control switched off, we drifted through the 15 turns of Sepang in what must have been the strangest assortment of body types the track has ever seen. This went on until an instruction came through the walkie talkie for the buffoonery to come to an end because we were leaving long black patches of rubber all over the place.
With the success of this roadshow, brilliantly organised with as much vehicular variety packed into one day, I look forward to the next one.
