Porsche Wisdom

There’s a famous saying about Porsche cars: “The newest Porsche is the best Porsche.” It’s quite a high bar, but honestly, it really rings true.

When driving the current model Porsche, you feel like “there’s absolutely no way anything could surpass this performance.” Yet, when you test drive a newer model at a fair or event, you end up thinking, “Wow, it’s completely different! It has surpassed the previous generation!” That’s truly amazing.

On the other hand, you sometimes hear people say, “The newest Porsche might be the ‘best,’ but the ‘greatest’ Porsche is from the ○○ era.” I once spoke with an owner who has both water-cooled and air-cooled Porsches, and he said, “Porsche was perfected with this air-cooled generation.” When I heard that, it really struck me as profound.

The Greatest Porsche Is…

While the newest Porsche is the best Porsche, the greatest Porsche belongs to the era of ○○

So, when it comes to the theme of “water-cooled or air-cooled Porsche—which is better?,” it seems to be a quietly hot topic of debate among Porsche owners.

Just the other day, my family and I went out to dinner with a Porsche owner, and during the meal, the owner and my husband were chatting:

“Air-cooled Porsches are really something special. So much fun. With just this one car, you feel like you don’t need anything else.”
“But when you drive the latest water-cooled model, wow, it’s just incredible! You get totally blown away.”

They were talking with the enthusiasm of elementary school kids, clearly having a great time.

So, it’s not about which is better or worse, or which ranks higher or lower—everyone shares the feeling that “the Porsche you own is the greatest Porsche.”

And I find it heartwarming that they can appreciate each other’s beloved cars like that.

Different Yet the Same Porsche

Currently, my husband is fortunate to be in a position where he can drive both water-cooled and air-cooled Porsches. Every time he drives one of his beloved cars, he comes home from work clearly moved, as if “the car was just delivered today.”

– Man, the Boxster feels amazing. I drove home with the top down—just perfect!
– The GT3 is incredible! It grips the road so tightly, it’s like it’s shaving the asphalt as it corners. An unbelievably amazing car.
– Air-cooled is just pure fun—you can drive it however you want depending on your skill. When you nail a corner perfectly, you can’t help but grin.
– The Panamera is truly something else. Even though it’s such a big car, there are moments it feels just like a GT3. Really impressive.

Well, Porsches are expensive cars, so it’s not enough to be impressed just once—you’ve got to keep feeling that thrill for a long time! (laughs)

On top of that, my husband often says things like this about air-cooled and water-cooled Porsches:

At first glance, air-cooled and water-cooled Porsches seem totally different. With air-cooled, the slightest throttle or brake input changes how the car behaves. Your driving skill directly affects the car’s performance, which makes it fun. On the other hand, the latest Porsches have improved performance, with more electronic intervention, making them more stable, powerful, and faster. I’m always amazed by their overwhelming completeness and high performance as cars. So, if you only drive a 964 air-cooled, you might think you don’t need a GT3. Or if you only drive a GT3, you might think you don’t need a Boxster or air-cooled. And when you drive a Panamera, you might think, ‘This one car is enough.’ These thoughts keep running through my head every time I switch cars. Seriously. But, whether I’m in the latest 911 or the 30-year-old 964, the moment I sit down and grip the wheel, I feel the same ‘Ah… this is a Porsche’ sensation. It’s really strange but true.

I see—when he puts it that way, it really makes sense. Maybe next time I’ll have him write a report on “What it’s like to drive both air-cooled and water-cooled Porsches.”