"So Matt, how was driving the Sport Classic in Germany?", a friend asks as I painstakingly return to reality. My answer: "Germany's nice and all and the car, well it's just, just, simply put, you see, understand that, well, you know, it's...". The Sport Classic is to die for.
If you're one of the peeps out there that are telling themselves that "it's only like the 3 billionth special-edition 911 in the last year, who cares", you are being a hater and the bus for Hatesville is leaving, so get on it.
Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com
Now that the housecleaning is done, let's get down to business. The 911 Sport Classic is a concentrated mix of the 911's most historic and classic styling cues rolled into one delectable piece of stunning German bodywork. I like.
From a distance, you'd be fooled into thinking that this is just a regular 911 Carrera. The first pictures I sent over the web had colleagues thinking that it was a white Carrera 4 with a weird appendage sticking out from the bootlid. Fools!
The Sport Classic is in fact based on the Carrera 4S' wider body, but drops the AWD, using only the rear wheels for motion. Beyond this point, it is difficult to know where to start pointing out all the items that make the Sport Classic such a unique car. Let's go from ground up.
Yes, those are the famed Fuchs wheels and this is the car that reintroduced them. In this application, they are 19" in size and sport 305-wide rear rubber. Fuchs wheels first landed on a 911 in 1966, 45 years ago. The car's colour, aptly named Sport Classic grey, is deep and creamy and includes two subtle centre stripes in a darker shade of grey which run alongside the double-dome roof. Looks like I screwed my ground-up plan...
At both ends, the car receives specific touches. Out back, the bumper is unique, as are the tailpipes. The large-bore chromed exhaust finishers are the only flashy bits about the car. Well, almost. Up front, the lower chin spoiler is particular to the Sport Classic. Another throwback touch are the black headlight surrounds reminiscent of the ones found on the 1974 911 Carrera RSR. Very nice!
Next on the must-see list is the car's most distinctive feature: the fixed ducktail rear spoiler as a reference to the 1973 911 2.7 RS. The 911 is without a doubt gorgeous, but it is this feature that made me weakest in the knees when I picked it up from Porsche's headquarters in Stuttgart. I personally cannot attest to how functional it is, although I'm certain its reason for being is not solely to partially block the rearview mirror's line of sight.
This wing is the cherry on top of the icing which is spread over one of the tastiest creations engendered by the Cake Boss. It is the 911 Sport Classic's calling card and the reason why this car is so special and highly collectable. It, and every other detail, also proves that this 911 was clearly made by Porsche enthusiast for Porsche enthusiasts.
The 911's cabin also gets the spa treatment. The front driver and passenger are held in place by sports seats covered in brown leather with inserts consisting in brown and light grey woven cowhide. I now want underwear made of woven leather... The door cards are treated in the same fashion. More unique touches include an "Espresso Nature" leather dashboard and Alcantara on everything else including the roof liner, pillars and even the cover that hides the bolt that holds the upper portion of the seatbelt on the adjustable track. Beyond that, the shifter and handbrake levers are doused in leather-aluminum.
Attention to detail is everywhere as proven by the leather around the ignition key barrel and the number plate of each individual Sport Classic, a run limited to 250 cars (I tested #000 of 250), on the glove-box cover and the chrome-plated, illuminated door sills.
Apparently, the Bose audio system in this car has 13 speakers and good sound... Couldn't tell you anything about it, all I did was listen to the flat-6's wail from not to 8,000 rpm.
Speaking of nought, the Sport Classic is quicker to 100 km/h (4.6 seconds vs 4.7) than a regular Carrera, thanks to the standard Powerkit ($19,190 option on the Carrera S) which boosts hp from 385 to 408 from the 3.8L mill.
A good portion of the newfound stallions come from the new variable resonance intake system with six vacuum-controlled flaps and an exhaust system specially developed for this car. Together, they also provide the SC with a deeper, coarse flat-6 howl which is scintillating from idle on.
As you might imagine, the Sport Classic was born to run; more specifically, be driven at high rates of speed. As of 150 km/h, the car's chassis sits neatly and comfortably and wanes not even at well over 200 km/h. Also standard on this car is Porsche's Active Suspension Management (PASM) sports suspension with a 20 mm lower ride height. The car's aerodynamics and unflappable stability made me wish for a bottomless gas tank and endless German Autobahns and country roads.
photo : 2011 Porsche 911 Sport Classic,
Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com
If you're still not convinced that this car is worth the coin, don't worry, if you live in North America, you can't get one anyhow. But, if you're tallying up the items, options and accessories, know that the Sport Classic comes with a rear limited-slip differential and Porsche's phenomenal carbon-ceramic brakes (PCCB).
The massive binders (6- and 4-piston, front/back) and party-platter-sized discs are most welcomed when decelerating from 215 km/h to 100; bite is immediate and if your dentures aren't well anchored, they may end up in the windshield or worse, nick the leather on the dashboard.
I'd be lying if I wrote that the Sport Classic is a better car to drive than the Carrera S. It is, in fact, the ultimate Carrera because it carries all of Porsche's juiciest options and kit. How it differs is in presentation. The Sport Classic is exceptional and transmits its singularity to its occupants, owner or not.
I, for one, get the sense that I have been given the opportunity to drive a car that, in 30 or 40 years from now, will be regarded as one of the greats from the earlier part of the 21st Century.
As a fun FYI, this is the car that was on the showroom floor at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show and the one that Chris Harris (although with a different number plate) did a video for Evo on last year. This make me feel all the more special...
