I enjoyed the head to head comparison last night on Top Gear. I think they could have done it much better though. Spending all that time fishing with JC making the idiotic comment about fishing rods not fitting in a 997S is totally irrelevant. They base their judgements more on how they perceive the cars than on how they perform.
I always expected the 997S to be way ahead of the M6 and AMV8 in the timed comparison. I didn't expect the gap to be 6 seconds though. That's an eternity in a 1.5 minute comparison.
It just goes to show that there's so much more to it than just horsepower. It's so obvious the M6 has it so badly wrong with all its excessive electronic trickery. It's too heavy and cumbersome. The boot is still hideously ugly. I think the fisker version is much much better. I posted some pics after I came back from the IAA Frankfurt back in Sept for those that are interested.
Although the presenters were all disappointed with the comparative lack of torque of the AMV8, I think they also all suffered an inevitable let down because they had all been waiting for so long for this car with such enormous hopes and expectations of it. I guess it's like waiting in anticipation for sleeping with a supermodel. You fantasize it'll be an amazing, life-changing experience but the reality is such an anticlimax. I think this feeling of anticlimax was only made worse by the perception that the AMV8 sounds so great such that it sounds so much more powerful and engaging than it is rewarding to drive i.e. it makes a lot of noise but doesn't deliver what the sound makes you expect.
The fact that the AMV8 turned out to be completely and utterly obliterated by the 997S must have been a truly crushing blow especially for James May (traditional British gent) and Jeremy Clarkson (who simply hates Porsche and all things German). Richard Hammond has always been a 911 fan but when JC is around, RH and JM always get bullied by the big man. For once, they stood up to him. I think it's because they've both ordered new Porsches. I believe JM has ordered the new 987S and RH the new 997S. I'm not sure about the latter though.
I only saw the programme once last night. I recorded it on video so I will watch it again a few times to 'absorb' everything thoroughly. However, I should ask, am I right in recollecting that JC didn't actually drive the 997S? I know RH and JM did. If so, it's just typical and pathetic of JC not even to drive it. I think he had already made up his mind not to like it even before they went to the Isle of Man. For him the 997S is like Pete Sampras. The most complete player in modern times (14 slams) but people hate to admit that so far he's the best ever because he wasn't a showman ... just a purist's dream. [Of course, Sampras may be overtaken in a few years by the amazing Roger Federer].
I'd appreciate it if someone could confirm definitively that the 997S in the programme had -20 sports suspension. Is the registration number really the same as the car featured previously in EVO?
I particularly liked the comment from JM about the 997S being understated. JC idiotically said that the 997S is a 'look at me' car...as if his Ford GT and the Ferrari F430 (both of which he likes) aren't?
If the Porsche was made by an English company, JC would love it. It would pain him to admit this but I'm positive it's the truth. I also think he doesn't like the kind of people in the UK who would buy a 911. He doesn't like brash showoffs but he seems to identify BMW and Porsche drivers in particular as being the kind of people who fall into this category. I think it's an unfair stance. I'm sure plenty of brash people might prefer an AMG Merc, an Audi TT, a Ferrari 360/F430 or a Lamborghini Gallardo/Murcielago. So why the anti BMW/Porsche hostility from JC. I think it's just blind prejudice. I guess standing for something requires one to be against something.
Just my stray thoughts...interested as always to hear what you think!
, tell me it's no so. I know couple of guys in Houston that have traded their 996TT for the new M5.
