This past weekend I had the absolute pleasure of taking out a 2019 Porsche 911 Carrera T spec’d out to absolute perfection. The model featured a 7-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung transmission and a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged boxer 6 engine. Hop inside and you’ll be sitting in what was reminiscent of a regular Carrera in terms of the infotainment system and where the gauges are, but almost everything else has been changed. With optional extras like the GT sport steering wheel and PDK gear selector wrapped in Alcantara, carbon fiber bucket seats, sport chrono package, and all the instrument dials in Racing Yellow to match the exterior, it is hard to imagine that you are in a Carrera T and not a 911 Turbo.
My initial thought when first seeing the car was that it is unmistakably a Porsche 911, however I thought it was going to be a smooth comfortable drive, sort of like driving on a cloud. I was wrong, terribly wrong, this is undoubtedly a track car. You get the rawness of a GT3 without the price point of a GT3 and where most people complain about the rigidity of the carbon fiber bucket seats, I loved them as they hugged me when I would use the rear axle steering to my advantage and avoid majority of the bumps on the weather torn Richmond roads. While we are on the topic of steering, I drive one of the best handling hatchbacks in the world as my daily, and now when I say this Porsche was the best handling car I have ever driven on a road is saying a lot. When in normal mode, the steering is comfortable, doesn’t take a lot of muscle, and still turns tight. Change it to sport mode and its tight, stiff, and will take a turn on a dime whether you’re going 50kmph or 100kmph, this Porsche can handle anything.
After some time, I found myself on smooth Tsawwassen backroads where I was able to open up the taps and feel the power of the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged boxer 6 engine. While I wasn’t able to test top speed or track capabilities with sharp tight turns and hard braking, nothing I experienced would tell me otherwise that this car would be a phenomenal track day vehicle. As odd as this may sound, the faster I went, the less I felt the bumps on the road, or maybe I was just enjoying the car too much to notice. With a massive grin from ear to ear I took to the highways to see if this car was truly made for the track, or if I could manage to make my daily commute to work in it.
As I eased my way through the city, I found myself the centre of attention and if you’ve ever been in Richmond, you would know that’s a big thing considering the abundance of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and McLarens. It may have been due to the added extras like the tinted taillights, tinted LED main headlights including the Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus, or the fact that car was painted in a bright Racing Yellow. It may have also been the fact that I looked a little too tall to be sitting in such a small car, but when I say I had ample space, I mean that if I had the seat all the way back, I wouldn’t be able to reach the pedals, perks of having no back seat.
Fortunately, our highways are quite smooth and not that bumpy, and I quite enjoyed the drive home. A little bitter sweet knowing I wouldn’t be driving the car in 20 minutes, but also the fact that the drive I just had was enjoyable, exciting, and made me feel like a child all over again. I know I said that this was 100% a track car, but I’m man enough to admit when I was wrong, and I was wrong. If given the opportunity, I would have this car as my Summer daily in a heartbeat. Now the only thing left to do was to sit back, turn up the Bose Surround Sound System, and cruise home in pure, utter, happiness.
Written September 2021