I thought I'd share my experiences here, since I finally had a ride in the car and drove it about 45 miles through various terrain.

The exhaust is somewhat aggressive. I still haven't heard it from outside the car, but it sounds great from inside. Windows down all the way. I haven't heard it over 5000 RPMs yet since we're taking it easy on the car for now.

I didn't find the PDK on-wheel shifting as bad as some people did. It's hard to get used to around corners, and lights up at night so you can see where on the wheel it's at if you need to find it.

It shifts really fast. REALLY fast. Sitting in the passenger seat it sounds quick, but while driving you can really feel it. It clicks to the next gear just about instantly, noticeably improved over the tiptronic. The downshifts sound good. I am trying to find an effective way to mount the mic to the rear of the car.

There were no rough downshifts (unless I pressed 2-to-1 or something excessive) or low-speed stumbling. It drove like a really fast automatic when at low speeds. The gears seem close, but the overdrive is great for the freeway. I think in top gear it was 2000-2200 RPMs at 70-75. Maybe Alex can confirm, he was driving when we noticed that.

The interior is nice. The steering wheel is comfortable. Alex slyly turned the heated seat button on me (twice) while driving in 75 degree afternoon weather with the windows down. I can verify that the heated seats work. This car has the sport seats (which are really good), so no vented seat...

We configured the touchscreen PCM to use Alex's phone with bluetooth and made a call on the speaker. The volume was good and they could hear us just fine.

The car seems peppy with a lot of torque, but I was gentle on the RPMs and probably never went over 1/2 throttle in the fifty miles. I knew James would be shaking his head since the motor's so fresh. :O I'll hold my judgment of the acceleration until I've really wound it out.

It seems like every car I drive has completely different brakes. I did not have a chance to test them much on the new 997, but felt that while the brakes come on strong if you need them, the pedal isn't as predictable as the older cars for sudden movements. Maybe this would result in faster lap times, but it was a little scary the first time I had to slow suddenly. I probably just need to get used to the car more before I talk about the brakes or suspension.

PS - Last time I looked at the odometer, the car had 110 miles on it since birth.

 

Alex, congrats to you guys at Sharkwerks.

Can you give us a list of what's planned for it?

 

Alex,
Congrats

 

Come on Alex, it's only 9pm, you should be at work for at least 4 more hours. Unveil your magic wand and do your thing to this car.

 

ROFL but it's going to remain stock. I promise LOL!

 

tic toc tic toc tic toc..
Alex we are waiting..

 

OK so I pulled a fast one... Round 1 was to get rid of the stock wheels in favor of some 19 inch HRE Monoblok P43's in brushed....

 

very nice Alex
not sure i love the wheels..almost seems like the color of the car needs a little more "bling". Maybe something with a lip to match the elegant color

 

I can't believe I just found this thread. Alex and Dan Congrats on the new car (it looks so much better with the new wheels than the original 19's and i like those) and thank you for your views on the car especially the parts about the PDK. I'm looking forward to more of your views about the car and the PDK tranny in particular

 

Hey like.no.other, our pleasure and we're having a lot of fun with this car already I think if you look at it from this point of view: The tiptronic replacement, then it's a really great leap forward in both tech and fun for the driver.