Ferrari and Porsche

This is an age old debate. I love Porsches. Cayennes are my favorite SUV and the GT3 is my favorite track car for the money (that I could actually drive home in from the track), but Ferraris just seem to have more of a soul to me. They scare me more which for me is a good thing. Point the Turbo S in a straight line and punch it and the acceleration is amazing, but I always seem to be a bit more excited to drive a Ferrari. The best part is there are folks that will completely agree with me and some that will completely disagree

 

New Porsche? 991.2 or .1 ? To be honest, I'm surprised at all the comments on F-chat about Porsche steering. I wonder if it's the switch to electronic power steering that is the diff. I think the steering on my 997.2S is better than my 2011 Cali. It's almost telepathic on small twisty roads. To be fair, it's by a whisker, and the difference is between great and fantastic.

Have you driven a 997.2 gen Porsche 911? I'm totally biased but I think they're the sweet spot in terms of having enough modern conveniences/safety features, combined with the right amount of old school rawness and sporty-ness. Current prices on them are also very attractive.

As for those shifting buttons, never liked them. So, I spend about 90% of my time in auto mode on the PDK. Didn't want to screw up my muscle memory in advance of buying a Ferrari with flappy paddles. I find the Ferrari paddles more intuitive, easier for a novice like me to get accustomed to. And, now that I've owned the Cali for a year and am more comfortable with its driving dynamics, spending an increasing amount of time in Sport/Manual (unless the side is with me, then it's Comfort/Auto the A.C. cranking! ) I just wish Ferrari paddles moved with the steering wheel when you turn like the Porsche (or so I'm told, don't have direct knowledge). May need to get the longer Carbonio paddles some day.

T

 

In general, Porsches do not have the same sound or visceral feel of a Ferrari ... they are very precise, terrifically competent cars. The 991 Turbo S is extremely powerful. You can do launch control starts on it all day long and it will not break a sweat. It will outperform most Ferraris on the track.

However, it can feel as if your grandma could drive it as fast as you can. It's almost clinical. The motor is quiet, you feel like you could drive the Nurburgring with one finger on the steering wheel. Once you've experienced a Ferrari its going to feel a little staid, even though it's a "better" car by the numbers. People mod the turbos to have huge horsepower and torque gains, but still.

I daily drove 911s for 25 years. I had aircooled cars ranging from a 1980 911SC to a 1997 993. They are great cars, with plenty of character. I had a 1987 911 Turbo that was slow as molasses off the line and then when the boost kicked in all hell broke loose. It was like an amusement park on wheels. But then the cars started to become more GT like ... they went water cooled, they got heavier and a little bigger inside, they kept getting faster and they dialed out the unpredictable handling, and the electronic nannies kept you safe, and the cars got quieter and quieter behind the wheel.

Now they have something called a Sound Symposer in the cabin that lets you hear more intake noise, and an optional Porsche Sports Exhaust system that makes the car sound like it's making Jiffy Pop on the downshifts.

I owned a couple of watercooled 996s and a 997, and drove a 991 cabriolet for 2 years before I bought my first Ferrari. It's still a very nice car and fun to drive, but not compared to the Ferrari to me. I still love 911s, and will have another some day, but they do not stir your soul the way the Ferrari does. On the other hand, they are way more under the radar and you feel like you can drive them anywhere, even toss the keys to the valet.

The 911 to get if you want to get back to the old days would be a GT3, it's a track beast. Try to find a manual transmission car to drive -- either an older GT3 or a 2018 where they brought the manual back. It's as close as you can get to the old-school 911s.

By the way, the Turbo you drove had what they call the multifunction steering wheel ... you can get the car with paddles. The buttons on that wheel are a pain in the neck because you can downshift or upshift with either side -- you push with your thumb or pull with your index finger. I had it on my 991. Gets confusing if you have a car with the paddles.

 

^ Definitely, no contest on sound. Stock versus stock. The Ferrari is just so much better sounding. Top down, windows rolled down, going through a tunnel = goose bumps. My dream is to own a V12 Ferrari drop top. Can't imagine how awesome that would sound!
T

 

Hey Goodtogo, have you taken a moment to test drive a Lamborghini Huracan? We had actually strongly considered a Cali T but then after driving it, we were disappointed with the sound of the turbo charged engine when comparing it to the V10 Naturally Aspirated Engine of the Huracan. I know this is a Ferrari Chat Board...and I'm definitely a big fan of Ferraris...but if you havent driven a Huracan yet, you should at least give it a spin around the block.

Just food for thought...

 

Reminds me of this Top Gear clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blDh04HvtZs&list=FL8T3_f35-_CfiM9HZ78Je5Q

 

I had a 991tts and they have paddle shifters. Always drove it in manual like the Ferrari. It was fun to drive but it's not as much fun nor does it drive as well as the Cali T HS for sure. It was a good bit faster but the Cali T is very fast still.

 

I have a friend who is a Porsche addicted and he has owned many of different types. Last year he told me he had never been inside a Ferrari so I took him for a ride in an aspirated Cali I owned. I put the top down and a couple of minutes after we left he told me without hesitation "My goodness that's really a great sound and has no comparison whatsoever with the sound of any Porsche I've driven". Recently and almost a year later we went again for a ride in the F12b and his words when we stopped were "After experiencing the V12 sound revving up and down on acceleration and deceleration I have to admit that the Porsche dream I had since I was a boy has just finished".

 

Not just more buttons. But A LOT more buttons. It is about 30 more. I thought I was in the plane cockpit. In all honesty, I would spend the money on a GT car from Porsche, instead of a turbo S. Less money for better and more car.

 

Here is the steering wheel of my 991tts unencumbered by stuff and the paddles are plenty big. Seems one version of the 991.2 wheel is full of extra things and the paddles have shrunk.
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^Wow. Almost a dead ringer for the one on my wife's SLK...T

 

i have owned 5 911's (currently have a '13 991s cab) and 4 Ferraris (currently own a '15 cali).
i love both brands.
which is better?
kind of like having 2 kids and asking which you love more.
or perhaps which hand you like better if you are right handed.
i agree with vic that the f car is far more visceral.
the p car, on the other hand, is more like a finely honed swiss watch.
porches are indestructible, can be driven anywhere; they are so common as to be almost invisible to the public--the 911 is my favorite dd.
i am far more selective when and where i drive the cali.
i check the weather forecast before taking it out, worry about where it will be parked and almost never hand it off to a valet attendant.
i consider myself lucky that i have both toys in my stable.

 

I own a 981 GTS for casual drives. Great engine and suspension. It's like a fun, fast almost retro car for banging around in 2nd and 3rd gears. With my son driving and me behind it, the sound is really great. Wife loves it too.

But my 458S is just sublime for my racing soul. It just makes me smile. Still gets constant picture snappers. It excites me all the time.

Together they make just a fantastic NA pair, last of a breed in both cases.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

No it won't. Will outperform a Cali, cause that's a cruiser, but a 488 murders it.

 

Porsche for DD
Ferraris for weekends

Ferraris are always an event and may not be practical
Porsche is practicality with finesse

 

I tend to agree with this but my wife wanted a Maserati so the Cayenne is gone and I was required to get rid of the 991tts in order to not have a massive fight about getting the Cali since I just drove home with it. Truth be told, I DD my RR Sport so the Porsche was a fun but frequent driver as is the Cali.

 

I said "most Ferraris," not ALL Ferraris ; )

 

That about sums it up... unless you're talking 911 GT3 and RS. Those feel more weekend fun/race than many Ferraris - especially the California. The 911TS can feel very much like a race car if you're on the paddles though but you will be going very fast too.

 

Most Ferraris? Will it outperform an 812? Of course not. Will it outperform a 488? Of course not. Will it outperform GTC4? Debatable.

 

I decided to order a 911 turbo S this spring. I had never ridden in one but was sure I would love it. My wife insisted that for 200,000 I should at least take a test drive. One 15 minute drive was all it took. I did not like the car at all. It rides very rough and is noisy. It sits too low. I test drove the Cal T next and bought that. It is exactly as quiet inside after some sound skin work as my S600. It rides smooth yet handles great. It is not as good of a track car as the 911. If you have ever driven a GT3 there is no comparison. Even a TS is much faster. I drive the calT back and forth to work. The PSL is 60. I go 80-90. What difference does it make that I could go 0-60 taster. The calT is much more capable than I can use.

That's what makes a market.

 

I have owned numerous Porsches...'97 993 Cab, '01 996, '03 996 C4S, '04 Anniversay Ed...and currently own 4 Ferraris..not to brag..just adding "street cred" to comments.

BOTH are magical brands with brilliant histories. I have found, for me, the best way to appreciate a car is to include in the experience the understanding of its history..the people behind the creation of the passion. Both Ferrari and Porsche excel in their racing histories, their "founding Fathers" and the mystique that surrounds them. Both have amazing racing pedigrees, and performance/tech to match. Both are brands that "average" people dream to see and drive in, much less own.

The Ferraris are all "tingly" with their magic when you fire them up, drive out of the garage, sun shining...what an experience!
The Porsche, certainly a little less so since they are more "common," but the performance of the Porsche is amazing..a precise instrument. And the other nice facet of a Porsche is you can drive it for decades and many tens of thousands of miles and not worry as much. It is built with precision for lasting use..not a toy.

The 911 is that beautiful fun-loving cheerleader, that great wine brand you enjoy over and over on a sunny Saturday evening...for me Shafer Hillside Select, yes, thank you sir.
Ferrari is that supermodel, a little untouchable, always to be "prepared" before savoring a night out, the paparazzi awaits, must be perfect, drama, a '65 Chateau Lafitte Rothschild you "look at" rather than drink...speculating on its greatness...

I have a 2018 911 GT3 with manual in Guards Red coming next year...
I'll still love my Ferraris though.

 

+1 I love my Cayenne GTS with 405hp. My wife's California is on the way, but my 612 with a Tubi exhaust is quite pleasing to the auditory senses.