Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Porsche Vs Morgan..?

When it comes to Porsche, people are usually always looking for more performance, but in the case of a 912 it's a case of ''lagom'' for me.My 930 kad been breathed on and was potting out close to 400 bhp, after the initial fun, I knew it would most likely cost me my license and/or I would also get myself into serious trouble, so I had it detuned, bringing back closer to 300 bhp with an original turbo refitted, ecu remapped and it became a more docile and more enjoyable car.

The opportunity of rushing around everywhere at speed, playing silly buggers, on today.s congested, average speed camera's roads in the NW is just asking for trouble and are few and far between , I'd rather enjoy the much lower but to the full the performance and handling envelope of a 912, rather than push my luck in a much faster car. As I said logom, being satisfied with what you have and enjoying it, rather than continually searching for the elusive more. When I was looking for a CX I was toying with a P6, but I find the P4 more than meets my needs,Its always a case of knowing exactly when enough is enough

I need to admit that I can't remember the engine size of the 912 I drove and I also need to admit that I never attempted any maintenance at all. In those days it was a company car and the only place that could look after it was AFN at Isleworth.

As has been said, power vs weight and balance.

Porsche have improved the inherent problem created by hanging a, relatively, heavy engine over the rear wheels by using technological improvements on each iteration of the 911. It now takes an awful lot of idiocy to get a modern 911 to bite and the result is that most people can drive one at 9/10ths with very little skill involved. I used to say that I could throw the keys of my Turbo S to anyone and the car would flatter them and make them look like a driving god. I've said it before but for me the sweet spot between analogue and digital is the 993; however, each persons line in the sand will vary and I know plenty of people who now call the 997 a 'modern classic'. The 993 was the last of the air-cooled and it sounds, to my ears, the way a 911 should sound and drives like a more mature 70s 911 but without the comprehensive safety net of the modern versions.

However, I digress. Your question was 'why the love for the 912'. In short, the balance. They lack the weight of the 911s engine and therefore, when set up properly, can be a very enjoyable classic to drive. I don't think I could own one with the 90bhp engine but the base engine is tuneable, far less expensive to work on than a 911 engine, and at 130bhp+ I'd be more than happy to use one on a regular basis. Iconic shape, fast enough to enjoy on our busy roads and nimble. They hold the same appeal as the Lotus Elise and other cars that rely on lightness rather than outright power as the route to enjoyable motoring.

That has been my only experience with a Porsche - when I was living in Tregaron, mate came to stay with his C4S and chucked me the keys. My daily at that time was a doggy ExMOD S3 109"

Within a minute or two I was driving fast and confidently - absolutely amazing bit of kit and did everything it should do, and did it really well. Couldn't fault it. And that's why I'd never have one (even if I could afford it).

I reciprocated and let him have a go in my S3. He gave up after 5 minutes.

Simon,

For me the 993 Targa or a 968 RS would be my ultimate air cooled Porsche, I wouldn't say no to the 993 turbo. The modern versions are in a different league all together and very accomplished, which kind of waters down the driving experience......lifting up the power of a 912 would just make it a little peach of a car to enjoy.

968RS, now you are talking. But it did use water !
Same feelings about 993 being peak 911 as well, but possibly the whale tail turbo, so iconic.

Jeez, I did not know that there would be so much interest and opinion on matters Porsche, or indeed the difference in the way both marques might be valued by those either involved or just interested in them..!

A bit of a ramble through my Porsche progression, given I have often (perhaps too often) typed on my initial attraction to Morgans.

I suspect we may set a datum in many areas dependant on time stamps relative to our lived experiences, and in Porsche terms for me, the 356 was too early to enter my zone of appreciation, it was the 911 that did it for me, but not from the outset, as I was into Lotus first and foremost, my initial thoughts on the 911 in comparison with Lotus was that it was a souped up Beetle, and had an engine bay that looked more like the innards of a washing machine... Gold leaf team Lotus, and later JPS all seemed so much more my kind of thing along with the wonderful little Lotus Elan, a couple of which I cane to own in the passage of time... (-:

As ever time moves on and the benefit of education and experiences gained can alter opinions..? (-: Yeah I spent rather a lot of time nailing a series of my old Lotus cars together over the years,in time Europa and Elite too however adding lightness might be great for racing cars but cutting costs does not work out too well for road cars, and at the time I was doing quite a few miles in my day job in a sixties Elan which was a real old t*rt, but I loved it, even though I was spending weekends trying to repair and prepare it for the week`s driving ahead..

My first attraction to Porsche occurred as the result of reading an article in Motor Sport in January 1970 entitled 50,000 miles with a Porsche 911, the author having been educated on the attraction of Porsche by none other than Jenks, (D.S.J.) who was a long time Porsche fan. Having read that article my interest piqued, but my wallet as ever could not keep pace with my automotive desires...(-:

I have typed of my first experience of Porsche in the form of a rotted out 912, which I had swapped an old running and MOT`d 6276cc Jensen Interceptor to get my hands on a Porsche. I had put a lot of time effort and petrol into restoring the Jensen back to reasonable road worthiness... it was worth next to nothing at the time, during the 70`s fuel crisis...! Also as previously typed, compared with my previous Brit sports car experiences the 912 was in time found to be far better engineered in ways which hooked my imagination and encouraged me to delve a little deeper, if and when the opportunity might arise... In time I came to own a 77 Carrera 3, which had aspects of it`s monocoque galvanised, but by the time I got my hands on it in the 80`s it already had signs of tin worm attraction, broken valve springs and a few other issues which made it...err...affordable..(-: Some years later the Carrera 3 was replaced with an 82 SC, which for me was peak Porsche, it too was affordable as it`s clutch had ceased to function and it`s paintwork had a dose of some kind of pox which required stripping back to bare metal in places... Thus over these circa 3 decades of Porsche experience, were formed my education,appreciation and set my air cooled Porsche datum.... Never owned a 3.2 or 964, did not like the oversized bumpers on the latter but quite by chance I had the opportunity to drive the then new to Market 993. Sorry Simon, if you are reading this, the 993 did not fully float my boat.

The 993... My only claim to fame..(-: I was invited to attend the UK launch of the 993 at Cameron House on Loch Lomond, where I met the then MD of Porsche Cars GB, who informed me that I was the first UK private individual to drive the 993....(-: I drove it for much of the day in company with an autojourno comparing my then circa 10 year old 100k mile SC with Porsche`s latest 911 derivative.... Quite an experience, when I was asked for my thinking on the difference between the old and new.... I suggested something along the lines of if one of the Wright Bros had been given the opportunity to fly a Spitfire... which was just a tad OTT, if not a bit Clarkson... (-:

My real thinking on the SC/993 comparison, was that the 993 had evolved into a bit of a city slickers express, and was perhaps less of a sports car of the type I had grown up with, in that it was overly comfortable had driver aids such as updated suspension complicated digital electronics, ABS, power steering and nothing to see of the bodywork beyond the windscreen, unlike all previous 911`s

Ultimately I considered the 993`s performance, comfort and capabilities had been pushed into an area where to enjoy "driving" it in a similar way to that which I enjoyed driving my old SC, such was the degree of driver insulation from the road, that one would require to be driving considerably faster in the 993 and well into licence shredding territory on any road.... !!! Thus at that time I had fallen out of appreciation for the marque given it had become other than a quirky sports car which few other than enthusiasts of the marque might recognise on the road, with a superb history of wining in every branch of motor sport from LeMans through to the Paris-Dakar rally, and in time had evolved become a bit of a symbol for Yuppies and comedians alike, after which I converted my SC into much needed cash for a self build home eextension...

As time marched on I could still enjoy occasional runs on my favoured roads, though had gone back to m/cycling to do so, and some years following "completion" of the initial self building programme and while still m/cycling, circa 1995, it was a cold day like this one today, bright sun and a tad frosty leaves a plenty on the ground and I ended catching up on an old open topped Vintage Bentley being driven enthusiastically on the road down the North shore of Loch Tay....A day on which I thought to get my legs out of the cold and get back to motoring, ideally with a similar degree of input to that which the Bentely driver was so obviously enjoying, as the wheels of his wonderful old car hopped and skipped over the undulations and imperfections on the road, he straight lining through the more open bends, and causing me to consider how I might replicate that degree of enjoyment within my limited budget. first thought that came to mind was Morgan, causing me once at home to beam up and find the then fledgling MSCC DG on the early dial up internet..and the rest as they say is history... (-:

If there is any interest, more than happy to share a tad more of a Porsche update after a circa 30 year break from the mark, to end up driving the 991.1.. ?

You are right I meant the 964 RS, having said that the 968RS was quite a car.

A 964 Rs is great on track, but not much fun on a bumpy B road if you want to stay on your side of the road! That is why I have had 993 RS' alongside my 4/4 for the last 20+ years. A pairing that works for me.

I know my friend had 964RS and he preferred to drive my 930 on the road, in fairness I would only use the 964RS on the track.......never been in a 993RS..