Porsche 911 GT3, Night Drive

The other day, I had a reason to take the GT3 out at night, and my husband said,

“If you’re just driving around the neighborhood, the engine won’t warm up properly before you’re done, so why not take it for a longer drive?”

Taking him up on his suggestion, I decided to enjoy a little drive in the GT3.

I thought, “Even if I’m just going for a short drive, the only nearby place where the GT3’s engine can really warm up is probably the Royu Driveway…” and headed that way.

Since the GT3’s suspension is stiff, the ride isn’t exactly comfortable on city streets or regular roads. On the way, I found myself thinking, “Even getting to Royu is a bit of a hassle… If I have to turn right back after getting there, maybe it’s not worth the trip…” but I kept driving the GT3.

It was my first time driving the GT3 at night, and the instrument cluster looked even cooler than during the day. I tried taking some photos and was amazed by the camera quality of my recently upgraded iPhone 11 Pro…

It’s completely different from my longtime iPhone 7.

Before I knew it, I arrived at the toll booth of the Royu Driveway. The temperature was lower than at the base, but I rolled down the windows to listen to the engine sound as I drove. I’ve gotten a bit more used to driving the GT3, so I wasn’t as tense as before, but driving the Royu Driveway at night still made me a little nervous.

Focusing on shifting up while keeping the accelerator pressed, I sped through the darkness accompanied by the “pashun pashun” (or maybe “paon”… it’s hard to describe the sound) noises. The air was a bit chilly, but it definitely felt better to drive with the windows down.

Every time I approached a curve, I found myself thinking, “Maybe I braked a bit late… Should I have slowed down more?” but in reality, none of that was true—the GT3 took the corners effortlessly.

Did it think I couldn’t take the turn at this speed?

It felt like the GT3 was laughing at me, haha.

Also, I took the opportunity to pull in 2nd gear, and once I passed 4000 rpm, the valves opened, and the sound quality clearly changed. This was truly a racing car.

Amazing! This is incredible!!!

Someone once commented on my blog, “Nine out of ten times driving it is painful, but the one shining moment is electrifying.” Now I understand what they meant. For that moment, I can endure the rough ride the other 90% of the time… This car brings that much joy and excitement.

There were few cars on the road that day, so I drove straight up to the observatory, but the performance was so overwhelming that I got scared and thought, “Going any further would be dangerous.” Especially at night, unlike during the day, I felt that if I got carried away even a little, I might crash somewhere. So I took a few photos at the observatory and headed back immediately.

Still, the iPhone 11 Pro is amazing. Just by taking a normal shot, it captured such beautiful night scenery.

Talking About the GT3 with My Husband

After returning home, I told my husband, “Wow—GT3 is unbelievably amazing, almost scary!” and he said this:

Right? The sound from 4000 rpm on is just incredible. You can’t really unleash the GT3’s performance on regular roads, so it’s best to drive it properly on good roads. Even Royu is a bit much sometimes.
Also, driving such a high-performance car with a manual transmission is fun. I think the winged PDK is pretty fun too, but MT has its own unique appeal.
Since I’ve gotten to know the GT3, honestly, other cars feel a bit lacking. Of course, I’m impressed every time I drive other great cars, but you just can’t get that GT3 thrill.
Lately, I really feel that if you’re going to buy a 911, the three choices are “base,” “GT3 line,” or “Turbo S.”

I also vividly remember a Porsche owner I met before saying:

I’ve been through a lot of hardships, but while driving my Porsche, I could forget all that. Because of those moments, I was able to overcome the tough times.
So, I’m grateful to Porsche and want to keep driving it forever.

Right now, the world is facing one of the greatest post-war crises due to the coronavirus, far worse than the bubble economy or Lehman shock. Even so, just being with my beloved car lifts my spirits and makes me want to keep going. Once restrictions on going out are eased, I want to cherish my time with Porsche even more.

Let’s keep going!