Skip advert
Advertisement

Learning car control in a 911 GT3 at the Porsche Experience Centre

evo spends a day at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone

I’m leering over a Porsche RS Spyder but it might as well be a smelly old RS Fiesta. What’s more, the duck-tailed 2.7 RS I passed by on the way in from the car park is merely a distant memory, and as for the newly minted turbocharged Carrera in the adjacent room, well, frankly I couldn’t give a toss.

Advertisement - Article continues below

No, the car to which my imagination is so firmly shackled is a Sapphire Blue GT3 sitting outside in the icy drizzle. How so? Because it’s the only one of these wonderful cars I’ll actually be driving today, and also because it is a Porsche 991 GT3, arguably the finest sports car of an era peppered with memorable machinery. I’ve never driven one before, so you’ll appreciate that my brain chemistry is in a state of agitation.

Affording us this opportunity is Porsche’s Silverstone Experience Centre – part boot camp for anyone who takes driving seriously and part duty of care to new owners who may need a gentle introduction to the world of big power outputs. We’re going to try out almost everything it has to offer – the low-friction skidpan, the kick plate, the handling circuit, the straights, and finally laps of Silverstone itself – as part of the Sport Driving School’s day-long ‘Precision’ course. The course costs a not insignificant £760, but there’s a lot of wheel twirling involved.

Built in the same pillbox style in which Porsche erects its dealerships, the centre’s nucleus overlooks the GP circuit’s Hangar Straight and some of the purpose-built tracks. Inside it’s spotlessly clean – no surprises there – and there’s a restaurant overlooking the facility that serves deliberately small but fantastically tasty portions of the healthy food you’d imagine Nick Tandy and his colleagues wolf down after a sweaty three-hour testing stint. Incidentally, the room below the restaurant is where 918 Spyder owners collect their new plug-in hybrid.

It’s a busy place, too. Whether they’re demonstrating to Macan owners how the car’s electronic brake distribution keeps everything pointing the right direction during an emergency stop, or diplomatically putting it to a wealthy novice that trail braking is a bit fiddly in a GT2 RS, uniformed driving coaches abound. They’re unfailingly friendly and come from a variety of backgrounds.

Very impressive backgrounds, in some cases. In fact I’ve already stumbled across Barry Horne, the former Carrera Cup GB champ, and, remarkably, Richard Attwood. Deploying a Le Mans winner to teach hill-hold in a diesel Cayenne really is taking a gun to a knife fight, or indeed a reliable 917 to an endurance race, isn’t it?

> Click here to go to page 2

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

Lotus Emira Limited is a run of F1-inspired specials we can't have
Lotus Emira Limited – collection
News

Lotus Emira Limited is a run of F1-inspired specials we can't have

F1-inspired Emiras are a first taste of what ‘Chapman Bespoke’ can do for Lotus customers looking for a personal touch
13 Dec 2024
Porsche 718 Cayman review
Porsche Cayman review front
In-depth reviews

Porsche 718 Cayman review

The combustion-engined 718 Cayman isn't long for this world, but its still a delight in (almost) all its forms
5 Dec 2024
Electric Mazda MX-5 is a converted modern classic
Mazda MX-5 Electrogenic EV conversion front
News

Electric Mazda MX-5 is a converted modern classic

No, it’s not the next MX-5, it’s the original converted to electric power by Electrogenic
4 Dec 2024
A hybrid Lotus Emira could be on the cards
Lotus Emira 2025
News

A hybrid Lotus Emira could be on the cards

The Lotus Emira was supposed to be the marque’s internal combustion sendoff when launched in 2021. In 2024, there’s still plenty of life in it yet…
2 Dec 2024
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

The 500bhp Renault 5 Turbo 3E is a rally icon revived
Renault 5 Turbo 3E
News

The 500bhp Renault 5 Turbo 3E is a rally icon revived

The Renault 5 Turbo is one of the most iconic hot hatches ever built, and now it’s being revived in rear-drive, EV-form almost half a century on
13 Dec 2024
From 2025 your new performance car might cost over £5k to tax
Car tax 2025
News

From 2025 your new performance car might cost over £5k to tax

Audi's RS6, Lamborghini Revuelto, Mercedes-AMG GT... any car producing more than 255g/km of C02 will be hit by a rise in vehicle excise duty from Apri…
11 Dec 2024
The BMW M3 is going electric – here’s our first look
Electric BMW M3 test mules
News

The BMW M3 is going electric – here’s our first look

The next M3 supersaloon is receiving a pure-electric powertrain, and new images offer our very first glimpse…
12 Dec 2024