Succession Of Power

A test-drive of the next-gen Porsche 911 in Spain reminds us why the model matters.

GO AHEAD, 911, sing to me. Let me hear that flat-six engine wail, keening from the rear, forever urging me to take the long way home. Like so many sports-car lovers over the last half century, I’ve answered the siren call again and again.

But time remakes all things and so it does once more for the 911, now entering its eighth generation with the 2020 model year. The prospect of an entirely new version is both exciting and fraught. We can all think of beloved items that were given the ‘new and improved’ treatment and have failed miserably in the second category.

The people at Porsche refer to this latest iteration as the 992 and there’s plenty new to talk about, including updated technology, more horsepower and a body style that’s been widened. Still, it’s easy to get lost in the minutiae and forget why we care in the first place.

All it takes to remember is a moment behind the wheel. On a recent day in southern Spain, I slide into the driver’s seat of a 992, officially dubbed the 911 Carrera S. The sun slants through wispy clouds, lighting up the tops of the craggy mountains. The road has no centre line; it’s an unfurling asphalt ribbon clinging tightly to the sides of high slopes. Off to the right is a steep drop into a ravine. But there is no fear. The steering wheel is a honed, accurate instrument. The platform underneath telegraphs exactly what the rubber is doing as it scours the surface. Turning into a deep corner, I can feel it in my hips. We’re tangoing. It’s like the Spock mind-meld, only between man and machine.