Wow, that was FUN!
On Saturday, I drove a couple of pretty cool cars at Willow Springs Raceway.
First up was the Boxster modified for POC/PCA GT-4 class duty.
With a 3.8L flat six de-tuned to 275hp, it had torque from 2500 rpm to redline. With Cup car suspension, Avon slicks (275F/305R), 996 Grand Am Cup front bodywork, plus a huge rear wing, it had a TON of grip.
Handing was generally neutral with just a hint of oversteer. Acceleration was strong and the 6-speed manual trans made it easy to keep the engine at the torque peak. This is what a Boxster race car really should feel like. It was that good.
Then I had an opportunity to drive a Cayman GT-4 Clubsport PDK!
The Clubsport is the factory race version of the Cayman GT-4 with 425hp and all of the factory go fast parts - many from the 911 Cup car. As expected, this is a modern racer with every electronic aid known to Porsche to make it go fast.
Handling was biased towards fairly strong understeer which inspires confidence but not fast lap times and in Turns 2 and Turn 5, it was simply frustrating. The engine was much more peaky as compared to the 3.8L in the Boxster, but having 425hp on tap was a dream.
The most amazing aspect of this car was how easy it was to drive fast. You just go fast without really trying. The driver workload level is amazingly low for a race car. The PDK takes care of all of the shifting (including downshift blips) to a reasonable degree and the electronic aids smooth out all of your mistakes almost indecipherably.
The end result is that I felt like a hero in this car. No, I WAS a hero in this car! I was ready and capable to race IMSA GT-3. Or Prototypes. Or Le Mans. Or Indy. And I was convinced that I could do it. The car is THAT good.
The downside is that the car convinces you that you are THAT good. It makes you think that you're a better driver than you are because the car is doing most of the work and making up for all of your myriad of mistakes. The PDK bangs off upshifts incredibly fast and smooth and makes you sound like a hero on the downshifts with perfect blips of the throttle (listen to the Cayman video, that isn't me cranking off those downshift blips).
The truth is that it's all a bit intoxicating. This is what the magazine writers are feeling when they write their reviews and why every review is glowing. But just like any drug, when I sobered up and realized that it wasn't ME doing all of those amazing things, there was a bit of a let down as I came back to the stark reality that I still have a lot to learn as a driver.
Also IMHO the PDK is far from perfect. It is amazing for what it does well, but it would still occasionally hunt for the right gear with a quick downshift, an upshift, and then another downshift, which unbalances the chassis and it would sometimes hold a gear longer or shorter than I would have liked.
The problem is that the PDK can't see what is up ahead - it is responding to what is happening RIGHT NOW and making the best decision in that moment whereas I can see what is coming up and plan gear changes ahead of time to take maximum advantage of the track and racing conditions. With that being said, I suppose that is why the paddle shifters are there.
A huge shoutout to my friend Paul Bolton who made all of this possible and who was an incredibly gracious host.
All in all, a fantastic day and a wonderful experience. I'm not sure when, but a GT-level Porsche racer might be in my future someday.
Heading out onto the track in the Boxster...
A run down the front straight in the Boxster....
A run down the front straight in the Cayman. Listen to the PDK downshifts...