James Bullen
Model 991 50 JAHRE Year 2014 Acquired 2022 Model 992 GT3 Year 2022 Acquired 2022 Model 996.1 CARRERA CABRIOLET Year 1999 Acquired 2022
The brighter days and warmer temperatures have meant that getting out and about in the cars, especially the GT3 on its Michelin Cup 2 tyres, has been easier. Naturally, this has led to me getting to know the car better, which has helped build a stronger understanding of this platform’s capabilities.
A lot of this ‘education’ came courtesy of the team at CAT Driver Training, which is based at Milbrook, Bedfordshire. Having booked the Performance Driver track day earlier in the year, I was looking forward to the day itself coming around and wasn’t disappointed. Jo, Lynne, Colin and Paul put on a fantastic day and manage to balance classroom-based theory with plenty of track time by varying the driving activities and explaining the essentials before letting attendees put it all into practice.
Importantly, drivers are only allowed behind the wheel after some engineeringbased explanations are given, to aid the learning of key principles and set expectations before experiencing the effects of the lessons. This sounds long-winded, but the reality is that it’s a great way to get the jist of things before travelling around the high-speed and technical areas of the facility at speeds into three digits. Regarding the venue itself, there are some truly outstanding features at the 50-plus year-old Milbrook
Proving Ground, which is used regularly by car manufacturers and component companies to test new concepts, technologies and prototype vehicles.
Our group comprised my 911 GT3 and four mid-engined Porsches: three Caymans and a Boxster. On seeing my fellow participants’ rides I started to think I’d brought the wrong car and that maybe the GT3 might be the wrong weapon for the famed Alpine course (aka “Britain’s Nürburgring”) or the Handling course that provides the climax to the day, but I needn’t have had any concerns. The car performed brilliantly and as the hours went by, I learnt more about its grip limits and handling characteristics than I had in the past five months of ownership.
While I wasn’t the most consistent driver around the Handling Circuit, I was the fastest as the GT3 did its thing and stuck to the twisty sections like steel to a magnet, although Carrie Mason’s GT4 came a close second for outright pace! I enjoyed the experience so much that I’ve already booked a follow-up course focused on Over Grip and Drifting, and am pretty sure I’ll be back for more after that, too.
Last year I had the chance to place a deposit on the 992 Carrera T, a model I came close to ordering in 991.2 guise some years ago. By the time spring came around I was contacted by Rob Hawkins at Porsche Centre Hatfield to invite me to confirm the final specification for the build, which as things stand is set for June.
This is never an easy process, but with Porsche it’s made even harder because certain elements you’ve been keen on are suddenly delisted from the configurator.
The main issue with this build, much like the 992 GTS I previously owned, was that the colour I’d intended to order was removed from the palette. When you’ve specified a particular configuration both externally and internally around a certain colour option, it’s frustrating when that’s no longer available and there’s nothing else like it on offer.
While I could have pursued the Paint to Sample route, the fact that this would have added significantly to the cost and incurred an unspecific build and delivery time frame made this option untenable. So, with a change of colour the spec is locked-in and I’ve been invited back to Porsche Experience Centre Silverstone to try the ‘T’ with the drivetrain configuration I’ve ordered. The countdown is on until I take delivery on what looks to be the run-out model of the first generation of the 992 series of Porsche 911s.
In other news, we’ve been adding some miles to our rejuvenated 996 Carrera Cabriolet of late, as we put the final touches to the car ahead of what now looks destined to be a short period of ownership. Selling the Zenith blue Cab has always been the most likely outcome, and with a couple of existing Porsche owners keen to take a look (and drive), it could be heading for a new home before too long.