Dreams do come true: we test two Porsches on Circuit de la Sarthe

04 October 2015 - 02:00 By Thomas Falkiner
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Thomas Falkiner in the Porsche Cayman GT4 at Le Mans.
Thomas Falkiner in the Porsche Cayman GT4 at Le Mans.
Image: Supplied

Sometimes dreams do come true. Like when our motoring man was invited to tame two of the greatest names in world motorsport. By Thomas Falkiner

There are things in life that you know you'll probably never do. Walk on the moon. Party with the Foo Fighters at some LA nightclub. Flirt with the edge of space from the cockpit of a Russian MiG. Drive around Circuit de la Sarthe.

You know, the racetrack that plays host to the 24-Hours of Le Mans. Never in a million years did I think that I'd be able to fire down the same asphalt as my heroes Derek Bell and Paul Newman. Which is why I am pinching, no stabbing, myself as I get waved into the inner sanctum of this motorsport institution - and not as a lame duck spectator either.

story_article_left1

I have been invited to get a taste of the new Porsche Experience Center, which opened literally a few hours before the start of this year's race. Located on the inside of the Ford Chicane - where the track's Ferris wheel once stood - this is a three-storey shrine to Stuttgart's most winning sports car marque.

When not being used as a vantage point from where to watch the world's best endurance racers battling it out, this ?8-million structure exists simply so people can come and live the brand.

There is a glassed-off technical centre fixing some classic 911s, a showroom flaunting the firm's latest autobahn candy plus an upstairs exhibition area housing a Group C racing car from the '80s. These are the sort of stimuli that take a good hour to properly soak in.

But time is tight and I intend squandering my precious minutes on the centre's most impressive feature - the Porsche Sport Driving School. Established in 1974 when the infamous 911 Turbo went into production, this faculty of automotive knowledge is here to hone the skills of all Porsche owners through a variety of different courses.

Depending on how much you want to spend, you can either work your way up to a three-day, $6000 extravaganza that culminates in the earning of an FIA race license or, for a more reasonable $1800, enjoy, like I'm about to, a single day of concentrated driving thrills in some of the marque's finest machinery.

story_article_right2

Believe it or not, I have got the opportunity - after a skidpan session in a Cayenne and some auto-crossing in a 911 GTS - to pilot two of the most coveted Porsche models in recent years: the Cayman GT4 and the 911 GT3 RS. Considering how exclusive these two cars are this will probably be the only time I'll get to drive them - and around a racetrack no less.

First up is the Cayman. It's low and yellow and equipped with an optional Clubsport package that bolts in a half-rollcage behind the carbon-fibre seats, a six-point safety harness plus a fire extinguisher in case anything should go wrong. But with an experienced Porsche driving instructor sitting next to me in the passenger seat there's slim chance of that happening. So I peel out of the pits and start my first sighting lap of the 4.2-km Le Mans Bugatti circuit.

Although we can't run the actual track layout used during the 24-Hour event (as most of it comprises public highway closed off from everyday traffic), the Bugatti does incorporate some of the race's best-known features; namely the pit straight, Dunlop Curve and Dunlop Chicane.

I take it easy for a lap or two and then, confident that I know where I'm going, open the taps. And it's absolutely glorious. I've long been a fan of the mid-engined Cayman and in GT4 spec it is, quite frankly, one of the best handling sports cars I have ever driven. Compared to the lesser models, you get a little bit more power courtesy of a 283kW 3.8-litre boxer engine, more exhaust noise and the sort of pinpoint cornering accuracy that makes you feel like a driving deity. This is thanks to a reworked chassis and suspension system that shares mechanical parts from its bigger, more expensive brother, the 911 GT3.

story_article_left3

With its catlike reflexes, manual gearbox and unbinding levels of feedback, you never feel afraid of pushing the envelope inside the GT4. This is a car that encourages you to cane its hide harder and harder, lap after lap. So I do. Wailing past the pit complex I head into the intimidating Dunlop Curve pretty much flat in fourth gear - probably around the 230km/h mark.

Then it's hard on the brakes, a set of carbon ceramics, for a quick left-right flick through the Dunlop chicane followed by some more high-speed cornering as I pass under the Dunlop bridge. For a second I imagine I'm a Porsche factory driver blasting past the packed grandstands in the early stages of the 24-Hour race. Goose pimples ensue.

From the GT4 I hop into the GT3 RS. After the 918 Spyder this is the halo car of the current range. It's a hardcore beast stripped of all luxury and weight. The roof skin, for instance, is now made from a 1mm sheet of magnesium. This, combined with carbon fibre reinforced plastic body panels, makes the RS 20kg lighter than a standard GT3.

There is precious little sound-deadening material under its gravity-cheating skin and as such the cockpit noise is otherworldly. Especially when you're hitting nearly 9000rpm with every gear change. It's faster than the Cayman GT4 and endowed with much more drama.

However, the 368kW GT3 RS also requires a bit more respect, especially under hard braking and when setting up for a corner. Which is why it helps to have an instructor present for a few high-speed pointers. Taking heed of his advice, I'm soon flowing through the 14-corner track at a satisfyingly brisk pace. Yet in the final session, it's the R1.6-million cheaper and damn-near-as-capable Cayman GT4 that I choose to strap into for my last few laps of the gods: the perfect car for one of the most perfect track-day experiences money can buy - Le Mans. I can now die a happy man.

Follow the writer on twitter: @TomFalkiner111

Want a piece of the driving action? Then visit www.porschedriving.com/home

subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now