Hi,
I have had about six months with my 911 and Raj asked if i could post some of my experiences.
Unfortunately, I have a few caveats...
Living in NYC with small children does not afford a lot of leisurely driving time. I also made the mistake of showing the car to a mechanic i use...who promptly told me i needed to replace the wheel bearings and then sat on the car for two months. With that said, i have driven approximately 500 miles. While too many of those have been highway miles, i have been able to try various types of roads and driving conditions.
My first impression is that the car is highly usable. Its almost too easy to drive to be a vintage car. I am used to vintage cars being an "experience" - ie, they are work to drive. The size of and visibility in a 911 makes it a car that could be used daily. I have driven it out for the evening in the city a few times. it handles the NYC roads pretty well, is quite docile and doesn't over-heat.
On winding back roads, my best experiences have been keeping the RPMs above 4,000 and then coming on-cam out of a curve when i accelerate. I like the booming thrum i hear on deceleration and the car handles very well. The steering is incredibly sensitive and it almost feels like there is no insulation/deadening material between you and the road. The car feels like a shell if that makes sense.
The final experience, and actually one of my favorites, has been on the FDR (east side highway in Manhattan). To say the highway undulates is an understatement. Going quite fast over these undulations is very exciting as the car moves with the road (there is no swaying, floatiness, etc.). the car felt completely planted and communicated each change in the road via the suspension and steering.
I have driven a friend's 1970 911T and found that car to have a bit more low-end power than the 1969S. I'm not sure exactly why. I went back and read prior posts about people's favorite 911S - i have wondered if i would prefer a 1973 911S for the additional low-end torque. The flip side is i like the lightness of my car and wonder if some of that would be lost in a later variant...
I'm not sure how helpful or insightful this is.
Thanks.
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