TechArt Porsche 996 C4

Porsche folk are a divided lot, the rifts created by the factory as it has reinvented itself several times during the last 40 years. Remember the 968? Great car, one of the best handling sports cars this writer ever drove. Ask a 964 911 owner what he thinks of it. Chances are a front-engined watercooled Porsche is not what he'd consider a true Porsche.
Enter the 996. It still resembles the car Butzi designed some three decades ago, the engine sits in the rear and it kicks serious ass. Ask a 993 owner what he thinks of it. Chances are he probably prefers his aircooled 911.
Argue purity all you want, but the fact remains--the new 996, er, 911 will outperform its older sibling on any venue, and do more without ever breaking a sweat.
Despite its formidable talent, many say the new 996 hides too much, a "problem" TechArt addresses with its aerodynamic treatment and singular 18-in. running gear. The effect leaves the Porsche with a meaner but still handsome face. TechArt's rear wing is a bit more controversial; then again, so is the factory's biturbo unit. It works well at 120 mph, providing a few hundred pounds of additional downforce. TechArt's suspension appears to be well sorted. The car is markedly firmer, and the larger anti-roll bars aid in high-speed stability--the car feels the same at 50 mph as it does at 100 mph. Through the twisty bits, the 996 remains very flat and behaves with a decidedly neutral attitude--steering is perfectly weighted with excellent feedback. Over less-than-perfect roads, the TechArt 996 soaks up bumps fairly well, although bigger stuff makes the car a tad jumpy. It could be the car is faster than it actually feels--it's as if there's an extra filter in the 996.
The cabin was treated with bits from Porsche's GT3 pantry. The seats are GT3 buckets laced with matching Motorsport harnesses, and a GT3 rollover bar is situated just behind the driver's head. It looks all business, yet manages to be user friendly--the stuff is amazingly comfortable and non-intrusive while providing huge lateral support and the sensation of being part of the car. TechArt's pedal assembly works well--I could heel-and-toe even with my size-13 Doc Martens, and the abbreviated throws from the shifter made gear changes surgically precise. TechArt's three-spoke steering is beautiful, although its carbon-fiber trim becomes slippery with sweaty hands. I wonder if TechArt makes gloves?
In comparison to our long-term 996, the TechArt C4 has a substantially deeper voice, at idle and under full load. The car pulls hard, both out of the hole and all the way to seven grand--no flat spots, no spikes, just a huge forward surge.
Although our focus this issue is on the 993, I wanted to spend time in a modified 996 for comparative purposes. Just how much better is the newer car? Given the choice, which would I want? From a styling perspective, I'd choose a 993 C4S, just like the one on our cover. However, if I were being chased by terrorists up a mountain pass, the TechArt C4 would be my weapon of choice.

Porsche Panamera

Porsche Panamera, a unique four-seater, was conceived and designed as a four-door grand touring sports car, combining numerous talents in typical Porsche style: sporting driving dynamics, a spacious interior, and the supreme comfort of a Gran Turismo. Joining the 911, Boxster and Cayman sports cars as well as the Cayenne SUV, the Panamera is Porsche's fourth model series.
The Porsche Panamera designers have succeeded in positioning it as a brand-new and truly different model while retaining the looks of a typical Porsche. Through its proportions, the Porsche Panamera stands out in its market segment: measuring 76 inches wide and 55.8 inches in height, it is wider and lower than comparable four-door models. The unmistakable GT silhouette is created by the car's overall length of 195.7 inches and short, sporting overhangs. In its styling and details, the Porsche Panamera follows the design philosophy refined over decades on the 911 and successfully implemented on the Boxster, Cayman and Cayenne.

Porsche 996

The Porsche 996 is the company's internal name for the version of the Porsche 911 model manufactured and sold between 1998 and 2005. It has since been replaced by the Type 997. Both body styles were used in 2005, depending on model. At its debut, it featured the most significant changes to the Carrera model since its 1963 introduction. The most important among these is the fully water-cooled engine, replacing the previously air-cooled engines, used exclusively by the Carrera models. More stringent noise regulations and higher customer expectations for both refinement and a higher performance 4 valve per cylinder engine made the switch necessary. The Porsche 996 Carrera (not GT2, GT3 and Turbo models) engine is designed with what Porsche calls "integrated dry sump oiling". This "integrated dry sump" engine does not have an oil scavenge pump in the crankcase to pump the engine oil to a separate holding tank outside the crankcase as a true dry sump design would have. The only scavenge pumps in the Porsche 996 engine are in the camshaft boxes and the oil is pumped from there to the bottom of the crankcase as it would be in any "wet sump" engine. Other changes include a sleeker body with a more steeply raked windshield and a re-designed interior.
With these differences in mind, many "purists" consider the Porsche 996 to be an altogether different car since it is not air-cooled like the Porsche 993 and its predecessors all the way to the 356, at least in spirit, than the Carreras that preceded it, as opposed to being a development of the original.