RAY MASSEY: Porsche 911 still super at 60

Precision. That’s the word that comes to mind when I drive the legendary Porsche 911. I hadn’t driven it in a while. When I did, in the 60th anniversary year, I immediately remembered why it’s so brilliant.

Accurate driving, enormous attention to detail and minimalist design. And a fantastically engaging ride, even if the suspension is a little hard on our bumpy potholed roads.

The first 911 made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1963 – so it’s celebrating its 60th birthday just as Porsche is celebrating 75 years as a car company. Over the hill at 60? Not really.

Six decades after its original launch, the 911 sums up the saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

My rear-wheel drive 911 was powered by a 385 horsepower 3-liter twin-turbocharged 6-cylinder boxer engine with direct fuel injection mated to an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with manual paddle control.

Riding on 19-inch wheels at the front and 20-inch wheels at the rear, it accelerates from 0-100 km/h in a stimulating 4.2 seconds to a top speed (where legal) of 182 km/h.

Again, it’s that sense of precision – from the controls to the power of the motor, that everything is in its place and there are buttons where buttons make sense – that impresses.

Quality doesn’t come cheap and my 911 Carrera costs from £89,800, although upgraded power steering and park assist brought the total price to £90,449.

And six decades later, it’s still turning heads, even considered the most eye-catching car in the world, according to a new study using eye-tracking technology by car sales website AutoTrader.

Research participants were asked to look at a series of 40 images of the world’s best-selling car models on a screen while their eye movements were tracked.

The Porsche 911 captures the eyes of the participants for an average of 2.51 seconds, giving an overall ‘standout score’ of 91 percent, beating the Lexus LC500 (88 percent) and the third-place Ferrari F40 (88 percent). beats.

My 911 Carrera in Racing Yellow and with a very striking license plate was snapped on their smartphone in the driveway by young people.

Six decades after its original launch, the 911 sums up the saying: ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’

My rear-wheel drive 911 was powered by a 385 hp 3-litre twin-turbo 6-cylinder boxer engine with direct fuel injection mated to an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission

If you’ve never ridden one before, consider treating yourself to renting one for the day, or doing one of those festive track days

Riding on 19-inch wheels at the front and 20-inch wheels at the rear, it accelerates from standstill to 100 km/h in an energetic 4.2 seconds

Again, it’s that sense of precision – from the controls to the motor drive, that everything is in its place and there are buttons where buttons make sense – that impresses

Enjoy the brilliantly precise German engineering to which all other cars can be compared

If you’ve never ridden one before, consider treating yourself to renting one for the day, or doing one of those festive track days. You don’t need a massive burn-up. Just enjoy the brilliantly accurate German engineering that allows you to measure all other cars.

It will be the last Porsche lineup to be considered for electrification.

Porsche CEO Oliver Blume says the classic 911 will be “the model we’ll drive with an internal combustion engine for as long as we can,” though it is believed a self-charging hybrid is being tested.

Porsche Cars Great Britain Limited is the fourth largest global market for Porsche, delivering a record 18,554 cars in 2022, an increase of 32 percent on 2021.

The biggest UK seller last year was the Macan, followed closely by the all-electric Taycan, 911, Cayenne, 718 (Cayman and Boxster) and Panamera.

Nearly 40 per cent of UK sales feature an electrified powertrain – the Cayenne E-Hybrid and Turbo S E-Hybrid, and the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid, 4S E-Hybrid and Turbo S E-Hybrid, along with the Taycan.

Happy birthday Porsche 911. On to the next 60 years.

A quarter of motorists miss a CD player

Forget all those smart, modern high-tech gadgets, safety features and music streaming apps.

A quarter of motorists would still like a CD player in their next car, according to a new poll of 13,000 motorists by AA’s used car website AA Cars (theaa.com/cars).

The survey found that despite the popularity of music streaming, 24 percent of drivers still consider it a ‘must have’.

Play it again: a quarter of motorists would still like to have a CD player in their next car

Overall, parking sensors are the most requested feature, with 60 percent of drivers putting the technology at the top of their list, followed by navigation (57 percent) and a heated windshield.

They are followed by: USB charging (48 percent), Bluetooth (47 percent), and rear view camera (41 percent).

• Separate data from AA Cars showed that nearly half of motorists (46 percent) don’t bother checking the MOT and service history when buying a used car.

Triumph Dolomite Sprint an underrated sedan

It’s been almost five decades since the launch of the Triumph Dolomite Sprint – a special, but much underrated, British compact sport saloon.

Fifty years ago this Monday, it was unveiled at a two-day event around Lake Geneva to compete against a new breed of sports cars from what was then a fledgling and rather exotic BMW, including the BMW 2002 Ti.

New breed: It’s been almost five decades since the launch of the Triumph Dolomite Sprint – a special, but much underrated, British compact sport saloon

Motoring expert Simon Pearson, Triumph’s public relations manager at the time, said that while he was derided by skeptics as ‘a Bournemouth retiree’s car’, his track performance showed that he was anything but. . .

“The Dolomite Sprint was a real driver’s car,” he said. “It combined many of Triumph’s sporting qualities with high performance and handling.

“In many ways it was a game-changer and a sensational success on the track.”