‘Porsche-d’ to the limit

It was a perfect Wednesday morning for flying hot air balloons—with just the right amount of wind, clouds and sun—at the former Clark Airbase in Pampanga. But my gaze was not aimed up. It was directly aimed at 22 jaw-dropping Porsches shipped in straight from Germany and parked at the Clark International Speedway.

I stared long enough to have flashbacks run through my mind. When was the last time I drove a Porsche? A red Boxster S five years ago for a weeklong spin; six years ago, when I drove three Porsches at the Porsche World Roadshow, then, six months ago a brief immersion at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. But since then, nothing.

Now the drought, it seemed, would be over.

The Germans certainly brought on a tropical storm of Porsches on this day, in an event called “Porsche World Roadshow.” Of the 29 motoring media participants invited by the PGA Cars Inc, the male members dominated in numbers, as there were only five of us ladies. German chief instructor Tobias Theurer assured us that a male-dominated roadshow was normal in all countries the roadshows have been held. He said that in other countries, as few as five percent were women.

Today, at least, we made it 17 percent.

Man’s car?

Not that I would want to make this a gender issue, but who originated the phrase “toys for the big boys”, anyway? To many people, women included, the conventional thinking has been that a Porsche is a man’s car. But is it, really?

I just have in my possession the “Porsche Ladies” literature—Porsche Museum’s “pink book”, and the only one I have seen so far dedicated to Porsche women drivers. This book attempts to give credit to where some of the credit is due. “Many women see things differently—thankfully! Because they like sports cars, too, and take great pleasure in driving a Porsche,” a passage in the book reads.

And men ought to remember this number: 12,800. Roughly, that’s just the number of women who bought new Porsches in 2008 and 2009, representing 16 percent of the total 80,000 purchasers. That doesn’t even count the number of ladies who got Porsches as gifts from their man (or from another lady, perhaps?). The book’s statement is clear, though: Without women, the Porsche brand would not be what it is today.

So, there were the numbers: 29 motoring media participants, five instructors (all foreigners), 22 Porsches. With so many technological advancements inside Porsche cars, all to be absorbed in just one track day, I wondered how we could even manage to keep our thoughts on the track.

Braking power

Concentrating on driving was a necessity, as we would have to execute several exercises supposedly showing the best a Porsche sports car could do. These exercises included handling, slalom, road tour and offroad. Porsche instructors may have opted not to mention it, but one thing kept the cars in one piece, and it’s the Porsche braking system, which instructor Tobias says produces 3 to 3.5 times more power to decelerate the vehicle, compared to the German standard of just 1.7 times more power. Thus, for a 300-hp Porsche, over 1500 hp is generated by the braking system just to slow down the car.

The road tour segment, which made us drive out of the Clark Speedway and onto public roads in the area, gave us a chance to drive a 911 Targa 4s (capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 kph in just 4.9 seconds and to a top speed of 297 kph), Cayenne S hybrid (the new parallel full hybrid features a 3-liter V6 supercharged engine supported by an electric machine (motor/generator) for greater fuel and driving efficiency); Panamera 4S (a four-seater with all-wheel drive, plenty of room, thank God, and the performance of a thoroughbred sports car).

The Panamera and the Cayenne are good for “bag ladies” like me—and not just for shopping. I purposely bring a medium sized bag in every drive (yes, I know it’s a track day but what the heck, I bring a big bag every day anyway), and found the other Porsches a torture for toters—except for these two variants.

In the handling test, cars driven were the 911 GT3 (instructors’ car), 991, Cayman S, Cayenne Turbo, Panamera, and Carrera GTS. The next set were Carrera 4S, Panamera, and Cayenne Hybrid.

The off-road segment for me—with instructor Georges Ramirez—was the highlight of the day, and required us to drive the Cayenne V6, Cayenne S and the Cayenne Diesel almost 45 degrees down, make the vehicles stand on just two wheels, and perform other climbing feats with the manipulation of only three controls (adjust the height of the air suspension, turn on the hill descent control and engage the differential locks). The Cayenne units are, I must conclude, 100-percent idiot-proof.

Then it was the Boxster Spyder’s turn, and it took on the slalom stage with the able guidance of our group instructor Patrick Friesacher, an Austrian racing driver who drove for the Minardi Formula One Team in 2005. This part made me regret not going to karting lessons at an early age. My hands almost turned to pretzels matching the technologically endowed Boxster Spyder during left and right turns.

I would guess ladies would love to have the Panamera or the Cayenne for their daily drives. For guys who go to the tracks or just want to feel sporty, doubtless they would choose the brute force 435-hp GT3, complete with the roll cage. They’re not as comfy as the other Porsches, but hey, women would like to get a handle of that, too.

Tobias himself drove the GT3 on the track, and said it runs even faster than the new 991 (400 hp). He said it’s the kind of car you can drive on public roads, but whose real home is on the tracks. So, on Sundays, he said he would prefer driving GT3.

Not far behind in the speed department are the mid-engines like the Boxster Spyder and Cayman R.

Unconventional

One of the more unusual controls of Porsche cars is the slot for the ignition key, which could be found on the left side of the driver.

There are actually two stories behind the positioning of the slot. The first supposedly was rooted from the Le Mans start. The drivers, it was said, could save time as they ran towards the car, jumped in and turned the ignition key with their left hand as their right simultaneously went to first gear.

The other story was rooted on the assumption that since Mr. Porsche was left handed, he must have decided to make his life less complicated by installing the ignition system on the left.

Or maybe both stories were true. Who knows?

I didn’t win the “smile of the day” during the Porsche World Roadshow. Funny, but I thought I was already grinning from ear to ear, surrounded by all these macho-looking cars with a woman’s name.