Parsh and the Roots of a Mid-Engine Disciple

[chan]

Lots of awesome intros going around with our move to the Hyphen, so I thought I'd revisit some of my own roots in automotive fandom and how I got to the mid-engine sandbox where I currently reside.

Having been a Ferrari fan since my 90s childhood in Hong Kong (a place crawling with exotics, not necessarily a good thing), I decided to rent a Ferrari 360 Spider for the day that I got engaged to my then-GF in 2010. Mrs Mid-engine still thinks that was really more for myself than for the engagement.

• Original plan: "Okay, I'm going to drive a Ferrari and fulfill the childhood dream, return it and then it's back to reality."

• What actually happened: "OMG, this is more amazing than I ever expected, how do I get one?"

What little Mid-engine thought was just swoopy styling and colourful racing history suddenly became an indulgence to all five senses, maybe even six or seven (whatever they are). I couldn't believe the noise, the reflexes and the smells--it was honestly intoxicating and unlike any car I had been in before.

Maybe that's how those gateway drugs feel--it was hard to shake off that outlandish experience and return to reality.

Several months later, it was time to upgrade my beater, an old Benz CLK that carried me through leaner times. I might have defaulted to another smooth and quiet Lexus, but then I remembered the Ferrari and started looking at sports cars on Craigslist. And there, I made the discovery that eventually led me here: A 2-year-old Cayman costs the same as a brand new ES350.

So I bought a one-way ticket to LA, got picked up by a high school friend, and drove back home in my very first sports car:

Those with sharp eyes will quickly notice that it had the wrong gearbox, but as my only car at the time I was not ready to go manual.

Being a newer car than the 360, the driving reflexes matched or exceeded the Ferrari which astonished me. As a newcomer to Parsh, I came to appreciate the unique engine note of the Flat-6 and the impeccable chassis engineering. Porsche NA's customer service also went beyond what most manufacturers do to make the already expensive (to me) ownership as painless as possible--I can write about that in another post.

As most owners and journalists would note, one need not take the 987 to its limits to sense the confidence of the chassis and suspension setup--the car truly feels psychic and unflappable.

The Cayman would serve fairly reliably as my DD and only car for several years. The two spacious trunks can really serve most daily activities very well!

Epilogue: That high school friend eventually joined me in the sports car world. He probably makes more than me but drives a Z4 which was his childhood dream car.

*** ADDENDUM ***
List of eventual mods:

• Clear side-markers (plus a reprogram to flash with the turn indicators, a feature not officially enabled for US cars until the 2009 987.2 facelift)

• Fabspeed cat-back exhaust (sold and replaced by the next item)

• Carnewal exhaust mod (effectively permanently opens the "loud" mode of the Porsche Sport Exhaust at 30% of the cost of an actual switchable PSE)

• 987.2 Cayman S dual round exhaust tips

• BCVelocity exhaust merge collector (really a feel-good mod more than any actual gains)

[davesaddiction]

@chan

I love the design of the 987 - especially the looow rear end.

[Poor_sh]

Sorry but that's stupid. Caymans are trash. Should have bought an air cooled 911.

[chan]

@poor_sh Spoken from experience, eh

[chan]

@davesaddiction Yup...it looks quite unique on the road with those curving hips that the 911 can't match. Added a thread thumbnail with that exact detail

[amoore100]

How's the Alfa been? It seems like the general consensus is that Porsches make good mid-engine dailies, but the Alfa is best as a weekend car. Has quarantine let you get it out more often at all?

[chan]

@amoore100 We're not really in any sort of "quarantine" relative to other countries, but anyway that's not answering your general question. I take the 4C out about once a week, twice if I'm lucky.

Porsches can definitely do daily duty as I did for 4 years--the 4C would definitely fail most grocery runs as the trunk is both tiny and somewhat warmed by the nearby engine.

In the cabin, the Alfa is short on usable cupholders and sound insulation--it's a terrible cruiser and the climate controls intrude into the passenger's knee space. Road noise shoots straight through the CF tub and the lack of castor angle in the front suspension makes the steering wander all the time on public roads.

Surprisingly, the 4C has a practical quality over the Cayman but I'm 100% sure it wasn't intentional. The Cayman has an annoying highway drone at around 2500-3000 rpm, even with the stock exhaust.

Hope you're doing well!

[Captain Cayman]

987.1 is best. But I am biased!

[Poor_sh]

@captain-cayman you mean the 981.1?

[Captain Cayman]

@poor_sh nope! 987 all day! But again I am biased, but All Cayman is good Parsh.

[Poor_sh]

@captain-cayman I was just being cheeky lol

[Captain Cayman]

Me too, and that blue is beautiful. I should have picked a better font for my numbers, those suite the car..

[Poor_sh]

@captain-cayman It's called the Porsche font in the selection on ontrackdecals

[Captain Cayman]

That explains why it fits :). How I missed that when ordering ages ago.... but then I haven’t been on track in a while too.

[chan]

@poor_sh You obviously left at least 5 lap-seconds on the table by not changing to the clear Euro side markers.

[Poor_sh]

@chan everyone in PCA says it's the first thing to do like that little annoyance is worth the cost of a Track Night In America lol nope

[chan]

@captain-cayman nice 987!

[Stef Schrader]

this is good parsh, all of it, good parsh

[Nauraushaun]

@chan this is good. mid engine is correct placement. you've done well

[MidEngine]

Most fun I've ever had with my clothes on. I did a ton of upgrades when I bought it long ago, since then I just drive the piss out of it. Quite honestly I doubt I'll ever sell my 987, particularly since it's become harder to find a nice example with three pedals (yeah I know PDK is all that, I don't care)

[chan]

@nauraushaun Mid engine is correct engine

[chan]

@midengine Guards red looks great on the 987. Agreed on the manual--you can always buy a PDK car later, but keep the stick until you no longer like it.

[chan]

@stef-schrader Cheap parsh is best parsh.

[amoore100]

@chan Oh, certainly! I just meant that if you're working from home perhaps there's more opportunity to get out since commuting isn't so much a time constraint anymore. I've come down to Tucson for a bit for school; I'll be heading back up for the holidays with my parents and brother (after getting tested) but we certainly won't be seeing other family. Hope everything's all good with your folks as well!

I get the feeling that Porsches are surprisingly reliable and practical—I don't know if it's because their practicality exceeds expectations, but it definitely sounds like it's got the 4C beat. That highway drone is annoying, though. I personally find highway drone to be a deal-breaker for long-distance, and my current 900-mile commute, if you will, means that I really appreciate that the XC70 turns a near-silent ~2700 at 85 mph! The V50 that we've got is its antithesis: it's raucous above 3000, and just 70 mph makes it a noisy 3500!

Where do you usually go in the 4C? I would imagine Highway 9 or Skyline is the easiest, but those have become busy if you go at the wrong times.

[chan]

@amoore100 Yep if the car needs exercise I typically go up 9 but honestly the 4C is fun at all speeds. I have decent fun just taking it around town, so I don't feel like it needs mountain roads every single time.

We did Mines Road a few weeks ago but it's a bit of a stretch for these pandemic times (no food/restrooms along the way). Probably won't do that again until things are back to "more normal."

Can't believe a Volvo needs to cruise at 3500 rpm, that sounds unbearable for anything with less than eight cylinders.