It’s 7:30 am when I hear the passing drone of a sports car outside my kitchen window. I glance at the street, excited, and see my neighbor Eddie slinking by in his midnight blue 1997 Porsche 911 (993) Turbo. Normally, spotting a car this rare would be the peak of my morning’s excitement, but not… Continue reading Test Drive: 1997 Porsche 911 Turbo is the Final Chapter
So far, my morning is going swell because I'm getting lots of seat time and the 2024 Porsche 911 Targa 4S. Lots of seat time—but no drive time—because I'm waiting for the Porsche chaperon to start our tour of Monterey. I don't mind much because my time behind the static wheel of the 911 Targa… Continue reading Test Drive: 2024 Porsche 911 Targa 4S Shake ‘N Bake
The car is beat up. Its headlights have gone hazy, the black paint has lost its gloss, and the interior is ragged, with the door panels and console nicked and peeling. It seems someone loved this car and used it hard. Actually, did they love it at all? I twist the key, and the 2011… Continue reading Test Drive: 2011 Porsche 911 Carrera S vs 2011 BMW M3
This is the cheapest Porsche 911 GT3 on Autotrader. Its $73k asking price is commensurate to its 85k miles clocked. The price also reflects an off-road excursion that managed to damage three sides of the car in one incident! What did the previous owner do? Spin the car into a tire barrier? With curiosity—and suspicion—I… Continue reading Test Drive: 2007 Porsche 911 GT3
Porsche, as they say, knows how to thinly slice a pie. Consider the 911 range: It’s cut into the Carrera, Carrera T, Carrera S, GTS, Turbo, Turbo S, GT3, GT3 RS, and GT2 RS, plus all the permutations added by the AWD and cabriolet options! Each variety is subtly—or starkly—different from the last, and each… Continue reading Test Drive: 2019 Porsche Carrera S
My 911 love has been inconsistent. I fell head-over-heels for the sonorous and soulful 2005 (997.1) Carrera S, but that lusty flame was extinguished four years later when I drove a 2011 (997.2) Carrera S and found it to be too imprecise and understeer-prone for my sports car cravings. The 2015 (991.1) Carrera S was… Continue reading Test Drive: 2017 Porsche Carrera
When I reserved my airport rental, the tiny GIF showed a Porsche 911 Carrera of the 991.2 generation. While not the latest-and-greatest, seat time in the base 991.2 Carrera sounded fun. I’d get my first taste of the 911’s electric steering and turbocharged engine, try to fit my 4-year-old’s car seat in the 991’s enlarged… Continue reading Review: 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S
I recently fell in love with a 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S. The car was flawed in many ways, but it was much, much, much more right than wrong, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since. More than anything else, I’ve been yearning to learn how the 911 changed after its… Continue reading Test Drive: 2011 Porsche 911 Carrera
When does a car become a classic car? I ask because I’ve driven the 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S less than a mile, and it already feels like a piece from a different era. Today’s cars are large, overpowered machines that cocoon their drivers deep inside, distancing them from external stimuli. The 911 stands in… Continue reading Review: 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S
Some of my happiest days have been those at driving events where amateurs like me burn fuel and rubber on the racetrack as we imagine screaming down the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans. Hang out at enough of these events, and you’ll soon realize that the Porsche 911 GT3 is the top dog of track… Continue reading Review: 2015 Porsche 911 GT3
Mike's Steering Column 