Just rode in a 996 Twin Turbo

cowtown · 07-07-2003, 08:17 PM

My buddy came by a few minutes ago with his friend and the friend's new 996 Twin Turbo. The guy just sold his Z06 for an '03 Twin Turbo with 300 miles on the clock. He'd never owned a Porsche before

. Said his wife wanted something with rear seats for the kids, so he got this....

The guy was very nice, and offered to let me drive, which I declined. He drove me around some of the farm roads, and I have to say the thing is very impressive. Neck-snapping acceleration, impressive grip, and very composed and smooth. Unlike my quick but stripped-out '75, you could drive it to LA without losing your hearing.

A couple Yahoos in a slammed bumblebee Civic yelled something profane at us as we were waiting at a light. I'm told it's not uncommon.

But the car also felt HUGE and heavy, which I guess whould not come as any surprise. It felt (and the interior looked) more like my old '95 300ZX Twin Turbo than my '88 Carrera. The family relation just didn't feel very strong.

Nice car, though. I can't fault anyone for buying one.
But personally, I'll take a '78 Turbo and a rental property

Colin

mwbaum · mwbaum's Garage

You declined??

masraum · 07-07-2003, 08:26 PM

Quote:

You declined??

Hehe, I understand, but on the other hand....

cowtown · 07-07-2003, 08:29 PM

Yup, I declined. I had just met the owner, and would feel terrible if something were to happen to the car. If he were an old friend, I'd have absolutely no problem driving it.

mwbaum · mwbaum's Garage

I understand....just joshin ya...

motion · 07-07-2003, 08:33 PM

I have a couple friends with X50 TTs... they are impressively fast, but leave me feeling like I just drove a fast Japanese car. They are just TOO nice, I guess. No quirks, too much plastic, too quiet. No visceral sensations, except for when my butt puckers going around corners at 100mph in a 35 zone

TerryBPP · 07-08-2003, 06:18 AM

I drove one about a month ago. It was amazing. You have no idea what you missed.

Stuttgart951 · 07-08-2003, 06:52 AM

They are impressive. My first ride in an X50 was at the track with a very experienced driver... never rode in a car that made me feel weightless before.

Water... air... who cares - those things are 'stupid fast.'

cowtown · 07-08-2003, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by TerryBPP
You have no idea what you missed.

Ignorance is bliss...now I'll still think my cars are fast.

07-08-2003, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by cowtown
Ignorance is bliss...now I'll still think my cars are fast.

Exactly!

I drove a lightweight 300HP SC that made my Carrera 3,2 feel rather slow. Now I can't stop thinking about MAF kits, 3,4 cylinder/piston kits and I already installed SSI's

NYSCAR · 07-08-2003, 09:13 AM

Drove a new 03 non X50 turbo a few weeks ago...and I think they are almost too good. The thing handles so well that when you push the pedal to the floor around a corner, there's no 'oh crap' factor, it just goes! It's almost like watching a racing video on fast forward, no real drama, just all go. If you wanted a comfortable daily driver supercar that anybody can look like a superstar in on a track, you probably can't beat this thing.

motion · 07-08-2003, 09:44 AM

Michael, How do you handle being a passenger in a track car? Just the thought of it makes me want to puke. The thought of someone else being in total control of your life scares the crap out of me. When I'm a passenger in someone's fast car, I tell them right up front: "You go too fast and I'm going to puke all over your pretty interior". That keeps em under control.

ZAMIRZ · ZAMIRZ's Garage

There's a local guy out here shows up to the street races, anyway I bummed a ride home from him once in his X50TT w/bigger turbos, manifolds, the works under the hood and full H&R coilover suspension on top of that. The car's a tiptronic too. Man, this thing pulls so hard on the top end it's incredible, and with the tip you don't lose any boost between gears. He tached it up in 3rd and part of 4th and before I knew it we were doing 140 and were carrying on a conversation about the car at that speed too, very impressive.

07-08-2003, 11:27 AM

AAAARRRGGGGHHHHH

NOW WILL SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT "X50" STANDS FOR!!!????

Is it an option code? I have a basic 996 Turbo brochure, but see no options starting with an X.

ZAMIRZ · ZAMIRZ's Garage

X50 is a $17,000 option that adds basically a GT2 motor to the AWD 911 turbo chassis. Additionally, if you get the tiptronic the internals of the tranny are beefier too.

Emission · Emission's Garage

X50 package adds boost and horsepower.

(I'm sure someone else has a more official answer than that)

motion · 07-08-2003, 12:45 PM

Adds 50 HP.... 450 instead of 400 I believe.

Emission · Emission's Garage

For $17,000 you could add a nice SC to the garage!

Wil Ferch · 07-10-2003, 12:47 PM

I too drove a new-er ( 2200 miles) X50 TT Tip...and felt very much as motion ( Richard) felt. I had just come over to my friend's house through some country hills -n-dales roads with my 85 Carrera doing maybe 85 mph and feeling pretty good about it.
Once I strapped myself into the X50 Tip....I retraced my route back to my house, and thinking we were going "Fairly" fast...looked down on the speedo and saw 105 mph !!! Holy smokes, we were just "cruisin" !

Still....no soul...sad , really.

---Wil Ferch

Speedster94 · 07-10-2003, 02:04 PM

hallo
They are nice Cars but feel like a Mercedes or BMW and to make it worse , in a Test a SL 55 AMG took 10 SECONDS off the GT2 from 0-300
KM / 185 MPH . Now that is fast and in the AMG you can still sipp on your Coffee while you sweat in the GT2 .
harald