Motoring Nirvana – Porsche Experience at the Buddh International Circuit

By Dhruv SaxenaPorsche brought products from its sports car range, SUV lineup and the all-electric Taycan as well to the Buddh International Circuit to give the media and existing and prospective customers a chance to push these machines to their limits. The Porsche Experience star cast included the 911 S Cabriolet (992), 911 GT3 RS (991.2), 718 Spyder with a manual ‘box, Panamera Turbo S, Taycan, Macan GTS and Cayenne Turbo.

Before we could get to full-fledged track action, though, Porsche’s team of expert trainers was tasked with guiding us through a crash course of sorts to get a feel for these cars, their handling and braking capabilities and also a quick lesson on cornering and the art of getting the racing line right.

I can’t think of better ways to show off the performance and handling prowess of your vehicles than some hot laps around a circuit. It also compels one to recalibrate their preset notions of what a car like the Panamera or the Macan can or cannot do.

Of course, the likes of the Cayenne, Macan or the Panamera aren’t quite as nimble or sure-footed as a Boxster or a 911, but for their size and weight, they are far more dynamically accomplished than you’d expect them to be.

Hot laps behind the wheel of the 911 S Cabriolet served as yet another reminder of why it’s continually ranked amongst the best sports cars in the world, but it was the prospect of driving the other two-doors that had me buzzing.

For one, I had already experienced the 992-gen 911 back in April 2019 at this very track as part of the Porsche World Road Show (PWRS). Plus, the cars in question were a 718 Spyder with a 6-speed manual and the very hardcore race-bred 911 GT3 RS.

This was my first time on a race track in a manual, let alone a mid-engined sports car with 420bhp and a top speed of 301kmph. Mastering it needs more laps than I got, but I’d still place these laps amongst my best track day experiences for sure. Porsche Experience lineup’s pièce de résistance was the 911 GT3 RS.

“This is way more serious than your average sports car so, respect the machine”, were my instructor’s words as I got into the hot seat. The 911 GT3 RS is one of the rawest, no-frills, most hardcore versions of the fabled 911 forgoing features like an aircon, with fabric door pulls in place of conventional door handles inside, all done in the interest of weight saving.

Tipping the scales at just 1,430kg with 520bhp from a 4.0-litre naturally aspirated flat-six that revs all the way to 9,000rpm, the 911 GT3 RS assaults your senses in a way not many cars can.

Porsche also had us try out the all-electric Taycan in its most basic powertrain, which meant purely in terms of 0-100kmph figures, it was the slowest of the lot.

But this was more about experiencing the differences in the behaviour of an EV versus an ICE specifically in terms of the effects of all that extra bulk thanks to the battery that becomes apparent while cornering and that of energy recuperation while coasting or braking. The Taycan was impressive around the track no doubt, but it still doesn’t come close to its ICE brethren, both in terms of excitement and ability.