Target 911

The latest Porsche 911 Carrera S is the best ever edition of the almost 50-year-old German sports car legend. Drop-dead gorgeous, perhaps more importantly, it's also lighter, faster, and generally more formidable than the last few incarnations of predecessors.

Powered by an updated 3.8-litre six-cylinder direct-injected horizontally-opposed 'boxer' engine that produces 294kW at 7400rpm and 440Nm at 5600rpm, the hard-charging 911 Carrera S can sprint from 0-100km/h in just 4.1 seconds and max out at 302km/h. Simply put, it's fast.

So picking up the keys to Porsche's latest and greatest 911 - fitted with a seven-speed PDK automatic gearbox I might add - it was with a heavy heart that I accepted the mission before me...

The unthinkable; a heinous act for which sportscar drivers the world over will forever curse my name -- to eke out 911km from a single tank...

Instead of thrashing the beJesus out of Zuffenhausen's latest masterwork, my objective was to see how efficiently I could drive the vehicle... At least I got to do it along one of Australia's most famous (and exciting) stretches of bitumen, the Great Ocean Road.

The new 991 Series 911 may be brawnier than ever, but it's also 40kg lighter and matched with the latest seven-speed PDK (Porsche Doppel Kupplungsgetriebe) gearbox and engine stop-start system. It is claimed to be the most efficient car of its type on the planet.

To test Porsche's bona fides, our plan was to set off from the city of Melbourne and see how far we could travel on one tank of fuel – hopefully 911km. Showing little confidence, a colleague bet we wouldn't even get to the South Australian border, about 500km away.

"You won't be able to drive that 911 slowly. I know you too well," she laughed.
So that was our first objective... And not just because there was a slab of ale in it for me!

PURRING LIKE A PUSSY CAT
The day of the journey was wet and windy - hardly ideal conditions for an economy run, but these were the cards dealt by the fickle hand of fate.

We managed to get 63.5 litres of premium unleaded into the Porsche, via the fuel filler at the front of the car - no surprise considering the engine is in the boot.

The highly-tuned boxer engine is designed to roar to 7500rpm and punch hard out of corners, but it can also be refined and quiet when plodding along. Purring along at 1500rpm in seventh gear, the 911 proved a real pussycat.

The first hour of driving covered 60km, and was mostly freeway stuff. No dramas at all - just set the cruise control and wave to the gawking kids. By the time we reached the coast after roughly 100km, the rain had begun to fall which can reduce fuel efficiency somewhat - but so will a car full of heavy camera equipment and several kilos of fruit...

Rain reduces fuel economy by increasing rolling resistance on the tyres - think of it as another layer the car's tyres have to push through.

Perhaps the hardest part of the journey was a couple of hours in, when we reached the Great Ocean Road with almost a full tank of fuel - impressive in itself. But as the twists and turns of the legendary coastal road loomed, I had to keep a lid on proceedings and not get carried away and waste precious petroleum.

I've driven the Great Ocean Road literally dozens of times, and in some serious machines including an Audi RS5 Coupe, Mitsubishi Evo VI TMR and Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade. And every time I've navigated the gorgeous sweeping bends at, ahem, an evelated pace. Thus this trip was not as easy as you'd think...

I envisaged the run would be smooth sailing; here and there gaining more speed downhills, coasting leisurely along as my eyes feasted on the gorgeous vistas. But that dream was shattered about 10 minutes past the historic Great Ocean Road marker beyond at Eastern View.

Despite being mid week, mid-morning, and wet and cloudy, it seemed half of Australia had descended on the twisting, coastal route. Even on an economy run, being stuck behind slow moving caravans, meandering buses and all manner of rental vehicles proved infuriating – not to mention costly when heading uphill.

I must confess that after sitting behind a caravan at less than half the legal speed limit for 10 minutes I lost my cool momentarily and nailed the throttle. And my heart sang! My soul cried out in joy! And the car rocketed forward with stunning force and the noise was sublime, the flat six's tunes amplified by an 'acoustic' vent that funnels intake sounds to the cabin.

SIX CYLINDER ATTRACTIONS
After stopping for a quick lunch in the quiet hamlet of Apollo Bay, we headed off with more than three-quarters of a tank of fuel left. At our current rate, I estimated we could indeed make the South Australian border. The taste of winning a bet would be far sweeter than the beer that accompanied it.

As The Great Ocean Road wound its way inland through the Otway Ranges, the 911 Carrera S plunged into the temperate rainforest and it was here that it started to really develop a thirst.

Exchanging worried glances with cameraman Johnny, the fuel gauge sunk lower the deeper we headed into the hills. The undulating nature of our surroundings (not to mention the tourist buses) was taking its toll on fuel consumption.

Three quarters of an hour later we emerged from the dense rainforest and passing Lavers Hill wound our way back towards the coast as the Great Ocean Road continued to take us ever close to the border.

Passing the 12 Apostles, limestone stacks that rise out of the ocean like divine pillars, it became obvious why there was so much traffic through the Otway Ranges. This popular attraction pulls in around two million visitors annually, although Johnny made a good point after photographing the Porsche near the natural monuments.

"Why are they called the 12 Apostles if there are only eight of them?"

We drove on bemused.

FINAL COUNTDOWN
As daylight began to wane at around 3:40pm the fuel gauge read slightly less than half full. Past Portland we had finally left the Great Ocean Road and began heading inland towards Mount Gambier and the South Australian border.

Our westward journey turned north and we waved goodbye to tourist traffic and barely passed another car for the rest of the evening.

But by 5:00pm it was evident we were not only going to make the border, and score several litres of amber ale in the process. Our 911km aim was do-able but we'd possibly fall shy of South Australia’s capital Adelaide - about 1000km from our starting point.

We finally crossed the border around 6:00pm with 540km on the odometer, and there were high-fives all around, particularly as the trip meter said we had at least another 221km of fuel remaining.

Driving into the night we passed through Mount Gambier and with most of the roads dead straight and devoid of traffic we made excellent headway.

It was at 10pm when bleary eyed and more than 12 hours after we first loaded up our gear that our faithful 911 Carrera S finally ran out of fuel, slowly losing engine power then cutting out altogether.

It was on a road in the middle of nowhere. The closest town was Tintinara, and while we didn't make it to Adelaide, we were only 185km out.

That we didn't score 911km from a tank was not a disappointment. Total mileage was 816.4km – just 94.6km short.

It's mileage that is super impressive for a super car designed to tear down autobahns at up to 300km/h.

Based on Porsche's stated capacity of 64 litres, we used an average of 7.8L/100km (the official ADR combined figure is 8.2). Not bad considering there were a few 'fast' moments in the drive.

Add this real world economy to what we already know of the 911's abilities and we're happy to re-anoint the car as the world's only 'everyday' sportscar.

There was just one little problem though. With no fuel stations within cooee of Tintinara, we hadn't thought about how we'd get back...

Ride quality is supple, relatively speaking, and the supportive seats do a great job too. Though the pews look almost the same as in a 40-year-old 911, the cushioning is such that even after 12 hours in the saddle I didn't have a sore back or bum. Thanks Dr Porsche!

Another feature we found useful during our economy drive was the satellite navigation, which is one of the best systems we've ever used. The colour touch screen is of a super high resolution and the routing system was excellent, showing us various ways to get to South Australia - the quickest, most picturesque, etc.

Of course, we took the latter path.

Following the popular SC Series, G Series 911s such as this one were the last to use the second generation body style. It also revived the 1977 Carrera nameplate, which was applied across Coupe, Targa and Convertible models, of which a total of 76,473 were produced (806 of which were delivered to Australia).

The model saw 911 adopt a larger displacement 170kW air-cooled 3164cc flat six. The capacity change is thanks to a larger bore. Compression ratio was also upped. Porsche claimed a 0-100km/h time of 6.1 seconds and top speed of 245km/h -- not bad given the car's vintage. It also fitted larger diameter brakes to compensate for the added pace.

In a car weighing just over 1000kg, the recipe is a good one, and our Rosewood Metallic G-Series still feels quick, even if it’s not as easy to live with as modern-day examples. The floor-pivoting pedals, vague gear shift and unassisted steering mean you really have to drive the car. There’s no electronic intervention if you overstep the mark, no antilock brakes, and very few creature comforts.

That said this car feels tight in a factory-fresh manner. The suspension is sportscar stiff, but there's a subtlety to its performance; and the steering, as heavy as it is, is quite accurate. The car 'talks' through the wheel the kind of way only a 911 can. Hugging the road as we forage through a pottage of cogs it’s easy to see why 911s have earned such a reputation among enthusiasts and romantics alike.

It’s a great novelty to sample the old and the new back-to-back, and a terrific initiative on Porsche’s behalf to ensure its history is kept alive.

Porsche 911 Carerra S
Price: $61,350 (new)
Engine: 3.2-litre six-cylinder petrol