Which Porsche Do I Want?

As I’ve mentioned on the blog, my Swift Sport was delivered in October. It’s a fun car, and I love it, so I plan to keep driving it for a long time. At the same time, I’m still working toward my goal of buying a Porsche.

But “buying a Porsche” can mean a lot of different things. There are so many models and trims to choose from, and over the past few years, the Porsche I’ve dreamed of owning has changed more than once.

I started this Porsche blog because I loved the Panamera. Back then, my goal was to buy a Panamera GTS someday.

I hadn’t driven any other Porsche, so the Panamera was all I knew of the marque. I was also drawn to the slogan used for the Panamera at the time:

“A car worthy of a master of life, delivering both the exhilarating performance that defines Porsche and exceptional comfort.”

A master of life… I want to be a master of life, too… (A bit of a leap in logic, I know!)

There was another reason I wanted one: the Panamera GTS I sometimes saw around my neighborhood had an incredible engine sound, and it looked fantastic with its rear spoiler raised. I found myself thinking, “I want to drive that Panamera GTS, too.”

After starting the blog, I was fortunate to get behind the wheel of all kinds of Porsches. The next model I wanted after the Panamera was the Cayman.

I borrowed a 718 Cayman as a loaner and drove it on the Royu Driveway. I was blown away by how enjoyable it was to drive, how capable it felt, and how easy it was to handle.

At the time, I was hopeless at driving a manual. My husband had a manual 981 Boxster GTS, and I was struggling to get the hang of it. The Cayman was the first mid-engined Porsche to show me just how much fun that layout could be, and I was hooked.

Then an event prompted me to take the plunge: I bought my own manual car, a BMW 320i, and drove it every day. Before long, I could drive my husband’s manual Boxster GTS, too. That’s when I discovered the joy of open-top motoring and fell in love with the sound of its engine.

“I’m going to buy an open-top Porsche when I get one of my own!”

The model I had my eye on then was the 911 Targa.

For an open-top Porsche, the 911 Cabriolet or Boxster might be the obvious choices. But I was captivated by the Targa’s beautiful roll-bar design and its rarity—I hardly ever saw one around town. I’d never actually driven a Targa, but I wasn’t thinking so much about how it drove. I simply wanted a cool-looking Targa.

Maybe it was the influence of Momoe Yamaguchi’s song, but I also started to picture myself in a bright red Porsche. “When a woman gets behind the wheel, it has to be a red Porsche, doesn’t it?”

At the same time, I thought, “The Targa is incredibly expensive… If I wanted to buy one new, I’d probably never even get an allocation.” It felt far too out of reach to be realistic.

What Makes the Porsche 911 So Special?

After that, I went through a few more phases: driving a manual GT3, then coming full circle and thinking, “Actually, the Panamera really is the one…” But when a 992-generation 911 Cabriolet arrived in our household, my attention shifted firmly to the 911.

I was genuinely amazed by the Porsche 911’s suspension, its composed road manners, and the performance of the base model.

Around that time, I also started noticing women driving 911s everywhere. My admiration grew: “It’s so cool to see a woman driving a 911!”

Right, then. If I’m going to buy one someday, it’ll be a red 911! I don’t need an S or a 4S—the base model would be more than enough for me.

That was my decision. (I really am easily influenced, aren’t I?)

Not long afterward, I had the chance to drive a reader’s base-model 991-generation 911 on the Royu Driveway.

And yes, it was red.

The moment I first saw it, I was so taken by how beautiful it was that I blurted out, “Please keep it until I’m ready to buy one in a few years!”

The naturally aspirated engine in this early 991-generation 911 was a joy, and even without the Sport Exhaust, it sounded rich and satisfying.

But for a driver like me, who isn’t especially confident behind the wheel, the early 991 base model—with very few options—was quite challenging to drive.

I realized that tackling the tight corners on the Royu Driveway takes a fair amount of skill behind the wheel.

Our 992 has a firm suspension, impressive rigidity for a Cabriolet, very little body roll, and excellent grip. It’s so enjoyable to drive that even I feel like I’ve become a better driver. The early 991 base model is highly capable, too, but compared with the 992, it leaves more room for the driver to make a difference—the way it drives reflects the driver’s skill.

So, as someone who isn’t all that confident in my driving, I was thinking that the early 991 base model might be a little beyond my comfort zone. Then I got the chance to test-drive a Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid.

Actually, as I write this, I’m realizing how lucky I am to get to drive so many different Porsches so regularly. I’m truly grateful—thank you so much.

Back to the story: the Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid was by far my favorite of all the Panameras I’d driven.

It barely leaned in corners, and the electric motor delivered incredibly quick initial acceleration. It felt so stable that I could trust the car completely. It was nimble through corners, yet still had the solid, substantial feel of a Panamera when setting off.

That test drive made me think, “Maybe a highly stable all-wheel-drive Porsche, generously equipped with suspension and chassis options, would suit an amateur driver like me best.”

When I mentioned it to my husband, he said:

Yeah, I think you’re right. A Porsche with options like PDCC and PCCB might actually suit you—a super-stable car with very little body roll, a comfortable ride, and all the performance options.
You’re not going to attack the circuit or chase lap times, so you don’t need a GT3 that sacrifices everyday comfort. And you’re not planning on long-distance touring, so you don’t necessarily need a GTS, either.
Wouldn’t you be better off with something that rides smoothly around town, feels planted on the road, and cruises comfortably on the highway—but is ferociously quick when you put your foot down?
In that case, maybe a 911 Turbo S. If you’re going to choose a 4S and add a bunch of options, you might as well go all the way to the Turbo S. The Turbo models are clearly in a different league from the standard models.
And with a Turbo, you don’t have to worry about whether it’s naturally aspirated or not. A 991.1 probably wouldn’t see its price skyrocket, either, so it could be a good choice.

He might have a point. A red Turbo S, huh…

Buying new would push the price above ¥30 million once you added options, which is simply out of the question. So I started thinking that a 991-generation Turbo S might be the way to go. Then my husband sent me a link to a used-car listing.

“This one looks really good!”

*Carsensor: “Porsche 911”

The total price was ¥14 million… But lately, spending time around my husband and his friends has started to warp my sense of what’s expensive. I found myself thinking, “Hang on—maybe I could manage this in a few years?”

And this is coming from someone who hesitates over a ¥3,900 item of clothing at Uniqlo if it isn’t on sale… (laughs)

Still, I now have a much clearer idea of how much I’d need. Once I started thinking about saving for a down payment and working out the monthly payments, I got excited—even though I’m not buying one just yet.

And I have plenty of time, so I can spend it weighing up all the options and changing my mind as often as I like.

Maybe this—wondering “Which one would be right for me? That one? This one?”—is the most enjoyable part of all.

I’m 39 now, and I’d like to buy one by the time I’m around 45. I’ll do my best!