Rendezvous

So determined were we to spend as much time in the 911 R as possible, we offered to delivery it back to Weissach personally. Anyone have a European atlas?

AROUND PRÜM, JUST ACROSS THE GERMAN BORDER, THE satnav gets rerouted. It’s not a difficult task – I just unstick the piece of paper. Instead of following the direct route, we’re going to take a detour onto the L16 across country. It doesn’t really matter if we reach Weissach at 11pm or 1am and driving all the way there on motorways in this car would be a waste.

The L16 wriggles and writhes through shady forests and sunlit fields. It’s wonderful to be released after the last few hours in Belgium. This feels like a sleepy part of the Eifel but that means no hubbub to disguise the R’s yowling on the approach to villages. The beautiful free-revving sound is irresistible and having three pedals and less sound deadening gives you every encouragement to exploit it. The lightweight flywheel rewards quick shifts and the short throw on the six-speed ’box is happy to help. Nailing a downshift in an R, hard on the brakes, is a spine-tingling experience. Two in quick succession is even better.

Having said it’s not a car for motorways, Autobahns aren’t just any old motorways. A snappy refuel in Eifel West, then it’s straight out onto two derestricted lanes weaving south at dusk. With fewer losses in the drivetrain thanks to the manual ’box, the 4-litre motor feels stronger than ever. With no rear wing you need to tread with more care through three-figure sweepers, but less downforce also means less aerodynamic drag and the result is a car that rips through its rev-range, even in fifth and sixth gears. Traffic is sparse and as a long empty stretch opens up we run all the way up to the magic double-ton. It may be the R’s claimed top speed, but it feels like there is rather more to come. Perhaps we’ll make it to Weissach before 1am after all.