Porsche’s Final WEC

Today, I came to Fuji Speedway to watch the WEC. To be precise, today is the qualifying round, so I arrived early to watch tomorrow’s final race. WEC stands for FIA World Endurance Championship,one of the world championships for endurance racing. Since this is Porsche’s last participation in this race, I had planned for a while that “I must go see it.”

So, this morning I woke up at 5 a.m., hurriedly got ready, got into the newly delivered Panamera Turbo, dropped off my daughters at my parents’ house, and my spouse and I headed straight east.

First, we headed to the Hakone Turnpike.

Panamera and the Rain

I’ve seen the Hakone Turnpike many times on “Car Graphic TV,” where they film, and I’ve always wanted to drive it once. But the weather was a concern. When we arrived, the weather held up for a while, but the sky gradually grew ominous…

Soon, fog started rolling in. By the time we reached the summit, this was the scene.

Wow—can’t see a thing, let alone Mount Fuji…

Usually, on a Saturday, the parking lot would be packed with driving enthusiasts and cars, but as you can see, it was almost empty.

My husband said,

“Why does it have to be pouring rain and thick fog? Every time Mina’s around, something weird happens.”

That’s true. Sometimes when I put money into a vending machine and press the button, no drink comes out. Or software that installs fine for everyone else gives me errors. So, I can’t deny strange things happen when I’m involved.

Driving the Panamera

Pulling myself together, I took over driving from my husband and set off into the fog!

Driving the Panamera Turbo on mountain roads for the first time, the first thing I noticed was the precision of the handling. I felt the previous 970 Panamera Edition had “handling with not a millimeter of deviation,” but this Panamera Turbo feels like there’s When you turn the wheel, the car responds exactly as you imagine, cutting into the curve. It almost feels like you and the car are one.

Truly, man and machine as one.

Also, even when powering through consecutive mountain curves, body roll is minimal. It’s like skiing smoothly through turns. You’d never guess this giant is over 5 meters long and weighs more than 2 tons. It felt like driving a nimble sports car.

My husband was also impressed, saying it felt like driving a Boxster.

One reason for such agility might be the optional rear-axle steering. Normally, only the front tires turn when steering, but with rear wheels also turning, the car maneuvers more smoothly and tightly. That’s why, despite its size, it handles sharp corners easily and parking is a breeze.

The Panamera Turbo is truly an amazing car.

The Panamera’s Excellence

Besides handling, the brakes are fantastic. When you press the brake pedal, there’s no play at all—it grips the road firmly and decelerates reliably. There’s no scary or abrupt feeling. In fact, motor journalist Goro Okazaki also said the “brakes feel great.” While we were talking about this, my husband said,

“Porsche brakes are so good that if you ever find yourself about to collide with an oncoming car, don’t try to swerve with the wheel—slam on the brakes hard. Then calmly steer to avoid it. Panicking and swerving can cause a serious accident.”

And right then—

Three deer suddenly jumped onto the road!!!

(Photo is for illustration only)

Whoa!!!

I slammed the brakes to the floor, and the Panamera stopped on the spot. The deer calmly crossed right in front of us as if nothing happened.

No way, deer showing up—I wasn’t prepared for that (though there was a warning sign)

My heart nearly stopped, and a cold sweat broke out. Still, I’m so relieved we didn’t hit the deer in our brand-new Panamera. My husband said,

“Yeah, just like that! But you hesitated a bit—next time, press the brake even harder! And I’ve been here many times but never seen deer before (-_-)”

I had no comeback. The deer encounter drained my energy, and I soon ran out of steam—game over. I switched driving back to my husband. Hopefully, nothing strange happens tomorrow.