Funny thing happened...

I have been wanting a weekend car for a while now, and after my 507 couple, I wanted to try something stupid fast. I wanted a 911 forever and almost leased a 991 911S, but felt it kinda like a nice version of my E92 M3.

When I first got the 507, I was like ok, this sounds good and is a little tail happy compared to the M3. Fun car, but not a 911.

Well, I decided you only live once and had the means to splurge so I got a 2012 997.2 911TTS. I figured a great car for the weekend, keep the miles to under 5K a year and I can resell pretty easily. This car is stock with the PDK transmission. It is truly stupid fast. Hammer the throttle and you feel like you are shot out of a canon. Scary.

Now, I use my 507 as my DD to work on a short mixed driving 20 min commute. Street, two lane highway, 4 lane freeway, etc. I love this car. I can't believe how much appreciate the sound of the motor, the steady torque, and the predictability of rear end. Even starting to appreciate the MCT more.

I am now worried about what to do when the lease ends on this thing. Wonderful car.

 

What to do when the lease ends?! Buy it! I doubt you would regret keeping a 507 as your DD for many years. Also, congrats on the 911!

 

If you can keep both and still stay afloat, then buy all means (pun intended)

 

Any pics?

 

You are appreciating MCT after driving a PDK car? Interesting.

 

I just sold my big turbo, built, 911tt to get back into a C. I have more fun driving my RS4 than a 700awhp Porsche. Don't ask me why, but I completely understand where you are coming from. I just don't have the means to have both the 911 and the c63 so I made the choice to go back to AMG.

It's a weird phenomenon.

 

I used to have a tuned 2012 997.2 TT with the PDK. Hated it. Felt numb. Too clinical and "safe" to drive. Very boring. Quick as stink though, ran 10.7 in the quarter consistently. Sold it after 8 months.

 

Jim, did you even get beyond that "safe" to drive.

It was insane, like it felt like you could literally do anything with the car. But as soon as you're beyond its limit your just along for the ride and what happens happens. So I hear at least. I never lost control, frankly I didn't have the ***** to push the car as hard as it could go. Mine was good for low 10's too.

 

No, I never went too crazy in it. It was always very planted. I think I would of had to of tried to make it lose control. That's one of the things I didn't like. It made me feel like I was just along for the ride and the car was doing all the work as if it didn't really need me except to push some buttons. Hard to put your finger on how to describe it. Just felt so un-engaging to drive and I got bored with it.

 

^ Ha, I know exactly what you mean. One of those things where you have to own a turbo to get it.

It's weird, I have seen people with GT3's say that once they bought a turbo they never looked back.

Then you have turbo guys that buy GT3's and never look back.

Or, you buy a turbo and decide to just move away from Porsche all together. Very weird driving experience.

 

That's because there's 2 distinct group of people when it comes to defining fun. One group of people love straight line speed, easy speed, stability, and those are the turbo guys. The other group doesn't care how fast the car is, but how fun it is to toss around an off ramp. Those are the GT3 guys.

For me, I'm the latter. I hated my 911TT in the summer, completely boring in the dry. If you're in the snow belt, I'd highly recommend the 911TT tho, I absolutely loved it in the winter where you can much more easily exceed the car's grip, and there's enough snow traction to get some speeds out of corners.

 

I'm in the same boat as you two. Had an 02 996TT with an EVO640 package, moton's, everything. Took 2 years to build it, drove it another year, sold it and bought my C63. I nearly crashed the Porsche a handful of times though. I agree with 1% over the limit and you're along for the ride.

 

I know how the two cars are and they attract a certain type of driver. I just find it funny that people usually end up changing their minds.

I'm in the snow belt, looking forward to the C63 in the snow. Should be fun!

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. I sold my 997.2TT PDK after only a few month. It was probably the least engaging car I ever bought. It was even boring in the corners. Driven at 8/10 it was pretty much idiot proof ... it didn't need any corrections from me. I could go so deep into a corner, stand it on it's nose, turn in and boot it out of the turn and the car felt like it was on rails. Well engineered I like, over engineered I don't. The car was fast, but lacked character.

 

 

I just think that the MCT works really really well in with the AMG V8. The car seems well thought out as a package.

 

I don't know how long I will keep the 911TTS, but for now, it is crazy having a car that fast. There is nowhere safe to explore half of the power besides a track.

 

Yeah, this cars scares me, but I have always wanted a 911, and having a TTS for the weekend is good enough. I really doubt I will ever look for a faster car though. Anything else above a TTS will be either way too conspicuous or impossible to drive. I am not a fan of getting an exotic for lots of "point A to A" driving.

 

I just find it all really interesting. I have always been a car guy, just not a "car" guy. I have been able to lease a bunch of stuff over the last 10 years, but being leases, I have never done any real mods. I am not a track guy, but I love in Norcal, with some really great driving roads. I don't do stupid stuff on the road, but I have my fun.

In the end, the C63, more than my other favorite previous cars (S2000, B7 RS4, E92 M3) , is a really well thought out and engineered package for the street. The low end torque is there, the mid range is there, it rev high, it is rear wheel drive, the exhaust is great, the steering is weighted and always alive, and even the MCT is good (though I suspect that has a lot to do with how wonderful the engine is).

That Chris Harris video is dead on. This engine belongs in a hall of fame. I cannot see a better street car. For staying within reasonable limits, it has to be the best car I have driven.

 

^It's funny you like the MCT so much. One of the bigger complaints I believe with the car. Especially the older MY. In my 09 I would tell it to upshift and then wait a few songs before it got the message.

 

It's definitely slower that the BMW DCT or Porsche PDK, but it does feel a little more mechanical and connected the engine. I have MY2014 so I am not if there was an upgrade...

 

^ Not really an upgrade, I would just say little tweaks of time to speed the process up a little bit.

My neighbor has an M3 with the DCT and it is so awesome.

My 911tt was a manual so no PDK for this guy

 

I thought the MCT was introduced to the C63 in 2012. The torque convertor and MCT transmissions respond quite differently. It's not dual-clutch, of course, but it seems to shift quickly enough in S+ or M. My complaints are with some of the programming decisions, like not being able to start in 2nd in M mode and letting the revs drop way too low without downshifting under light load in S and S+.

 

^ You may very well be correct. Probably are actually.

Still though, I've seen things for saying that people will click up to shift and there is still a delay. Could just be thinking of 08-11's though

 

Todays cars are very well engineered and stupid fast. They hide their weight and are very well balanced even at the limit. My 997.2 TT was a great car. It was just too easy to drive fast. No skills required from me. I like to be involved, be a part of the package, not let the car take care of "almost" everything. For a relative small displacement turbo the engine was very responsive. The PDK is one of the best transmissions and was very well suited to the engine characteristics. Same as the DCT on my F10 M5. A perfect package. The auto box in my CLK is crap compared to it. So is an MCT. No comparison. Silly argument. But my CLK makes you feel alive when driven fast.... I have to "earn" it. The 997 was just too good in what is does. Not a problem for most people, just didn't do it for me. I owned a few Porsche's over the years. Steering feel on the 997, considering it's still a rear engine layout, was excellent. Even at triple digits there was plenty of feedback on the wheel. Not as good of a turn in as my CLK, but both cars need to be driven differently anyway for obvious reasons.

The M156 is a great engine ... but it has it's limitations as well. It is very responsive and produces a lot of torque relative early in the rev range. It has good midrange as well, but is thin up top. Can't compare it to any TT ... not a fair comparison ... but there are other great naturally aspirated engines out there. The V10 in my E63 M6 for instance. No torque, ok midrange, but monster top end. My favorite thing was to roll into the throttle in 4th ... the sound it produced and the way it pulled all the way to 8200 was insane. The speedo moved almost at the same rate as the tach.

At the end, it depends on your personal preference which car "does" it for you, and which "does not".