Whoopsy:

So, I had a death wish late last night. It was torrential downpour and 6 degrees and I had this great idea to drive up to Whistler in the Aston  and grab the 911R back. I haven't touch the R in more than 2 months and sort of miss it.

Basically it was a back to back drive of 140km one way in the 911R and Vantage dogleg. Head 2 head so to speak.

The Vantage specific Pirelli Corsa (left rear and right rear are asymmetric and directional as compared to regular Corsas of the same size) absolutely hated the cold weather, temperature starts at 6 and drops to 0 by the time I got to Whistler. The traction control is pretty much on constantly whenever I press the gas pedal in the first 4 gears. The car absolutely was trying to kill me last night, except when it hits a puddle, then it actually has more traction than the Cup2s on the 911R, the tread pattern helps a lot in evacuating standing water. The Cup2s on the other hand had surprisingly high amount of grip on the damn/wet cold surface, except when they hit puddles and all hell broke lose.

Clutch effort is lighter in the 911R, and that shift linkage is second to none, night and day better than in the Aston. The centering spring on the shifter is spot on, the moment I pop it up from 2nd to go to 3rd, the spring lined it up perfectly and I spent basically no effort in finding the gate. In the Aston the worse shift is 4th to 3rd. The centering spring is basically non-existent, the moment I pop it out of 4th it centre itself on the divider between 3rd and 5th, so most of the time I would get 5th instead of 3rd, and if I spend a bit of effort to move the lever left, it almost without fail would slot into 1st, bypassing 3rd. To find 3rd gear reliably from 4th, the steps needed would be to go from 4th to 1st then 2nd and straight down into 3rd. By that time 3rd is no longer needed and 2nd is called for, so at times I just go from 4th to 2nd, forgetting 3rd gear all together.

Same road, same condition, same driver, I did the trip 20 minutes faster in the 911R than in the Aston. The 911R just made me feel so 'invincible', the car inspired confidence (well to be fair I am used to driving 911s). The tires also felt good in the cold and I can lean into them a lot more than I can or dare on the Corsas. But the trip in the 911R felt automatic. The car wasn't working me, I wasn't stressing it either. It seemed routine. 

In the Aston, it bites me while I slapped it. It was a fight, a fun fight so to speak. Reminds me of driving the Turbo 3.6.

I know everyone thinks the 911R is one of the most engaging modern 911s, but it feels too German so to speak. It does 'feel' more raw, all road noise, tire noise, water splashing in the wheel wells, the sand and pebbles on the road hitting against the fender I can hear all that, hell even the engine vibrates a lot more with the single mass flywheel. And the car feels lighter and is lighter, the steering feels better, (the electric steering in the 911R gave me more feedback than the hydraulic one in the Aston), visibility is much better in the 911R also. Oh and the wipers, those German really knows how to do it, the Aston ones became almost useless in the heavy rain. 

In the end, I still prefer driving the Aston. It's V12 sounded glorious, even with all the insulation on the car. It is the slower car, heavier car, less agile car, dated car, but I don't care all that as when I am on the street, it is fast enough.

Another interesting thing I have noted. The rooster tail on the Aston is spectacular even better than the one from the F12, Right behind the Huracan and 918, and the Speciale. It doesn't really have a proper diffuser but the results don't lie, the tail is a tight narrow trail of water narrower than the car. The 911R on the other hand, well, the rooster tail is more like a scattered cloud of water vapour instead of a 'tail', like any other 911. That 'diffuser 'really doesn't do much. 

Of note, it was cold and snowing in Whistler last few days but yesterday got warmer and with heavy rain, the snow on the ground has melted hence I sneaked in the trip on summer tires. Late at night with no cops and traffic.

 

 

Nice write up and description!Smiley


--

⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS