2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic First Drive

It was easy to overlook the 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show.

The Porsche Panamera had the spotlight, so you could have walked right past what appeared to be simply a dove-gray version of the Porsche 911 Carrera S. And since it carried a price tag of $255,600 and the imprint of Porsche Exclusive, the factory shop that specializes in customizing for the rich and famous, the Porsche 911 Sport Classic appeared to be little more than one of those embarrassing Porsche special editions meant solely to lighten the wallets of an over-enthusiastic clientele.

But if you paused for just a moment, you could see something else at work. Like the black surrounds for the headlights, so like the 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo RSR. Like the 19-inch wheels, styled like the classic Fuchs wheels of the 1960s. Like the ducktail spoiler, so like the 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7.

If you knew what a Porsche 911 was really about and had more than a passing familiarity with Ruf, R Gruppe and the secret language of Porsche enthusiasts, then you could see in the 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic something that can't be found in the Porsche Panamera or the Porsche 911 GT3, much less such things as the Carrera GT or Boxster RS 60 Spyder or the Cayenne S Transsyberia. Maybe the 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic is the real thing.

It almost made you reach for your wallet. They're only making 250 of them, you know.

The World's Nicest Porsche 911
Once you lay into the throttle pedal and the six vacuum-controlled butterfly flaps in the new variable resonance intake system open the throat of the 3.8-liter flat-6, the Porsche 911 has you seduced again. It's a sports car, yet it's practical transportation, too. Alert and alive, yet possessed of such mechanical harmony that you can drive it across the continent rather than just across town.

And with the 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic, Porsche has apparently set out to make the world's nicest Porsche 911. There's no need for turbochargers, a Doppelkupplungsgetriebe double-clutch gearbox and a movable wing. Instead you'll find just the kind of stuff you'd want in your Porsche 911, especially if you were planning to drive it for a decade or so until the current hysteria about carbon emissions subsides.

There's a pretty good starting point, as the 2010 Porsche 911 Carrera S is the place where the Sport Classic begins. And you have to say that there ought to be lots of evidence of improvement from Porsche's Exclusive and Tequipment Division to justify the gap between the price of a Carrera S and the Sport Classic.

Classic Power
Porsche stays true to the 911's classic ethos by offering only the conventional six-speed manual transmission for this car. That's a good thing, because for all the clever quickness of the dual-clutch automated PDK manual, the slick throws of the manual transmission (here with a short-throw kit as standard equipment) reward you every time you hold the shift lever.

It almost made you reach for your wallet. They're only making 250 of them, you know.

The transmission is mated to the Carrera S's 3,800cc flat-6, and its direct fuel injection truly is a magical bit of technology, as it dramatically improves both fuel economy (better fuel atomization) and power (a cooler intake charge makes possible a taller compression ratio). Meanwhile the Sport Classic's engine has the new variable intake system, modified cylinder heads and new engine management, and the result is 402 horsepower at 7,300 rpm, an increase of 23 hp. The Sport Classic's unique exhaust system works with the variable intake system to improve torque, and while the peak output improves only by a single pound-foot to 310 lb-ft, it arrives 200 rpm sooner than before and there's a broad spread of it between 4,200 and 5,600 rpm.

That's not a huge leap in power admittedly, but it's enough to drop the acceleration time to 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill to 4.6 seconds — an improvement of 0.1 second — while maintaining the same emissions and fuel consumption levels.

The effect on the road feels more than the numbers suggest. The flat-6 pulls with far greater intensity from low- and midrange rpm, and the extra muscle it delivers adds a measure of linearity to the way the power builds in comparison to the rev-hungry performance offered by the Carrera S. In a way, the Sport Classic's engine has gained the low-rev friendliness of the standard 3.6-liter engine of the Carrera without losing the potency of the Carrera S's 3.8.

The exhaust accompanies the performance with a richer note, though the intensity isn't perhaps quite as intoxicating as we'd hoped given the size of the pipes slung out under the bumper.

Speed, but With Dignity
While the Carrera S's chassis is the starting point, the rear quarters of the Carrera 4S have been adapted to the bodywork, increasing the rear track by 1.3 inches and overall width by 1.7 inches. Most of the other stylistic themes come from Porsche's heritage, like the black trim around the headlights, the Fuchs-style wheels and the ducktail spoiler. Even the double-bubble roof comes originally from the 911 Panamericana showcar by way of the Carrera GT.

For all the cues from Porsche's sporting past, you'll find the best of current technology in this car as well. First of all, Porsche's carbon-ceramic brakes are standard equipment, as is the Porsche Sport Chrono package. It also carries the Porsche PASM active suspension, so even though the ride height has been lowered 0.8 inch and the Bridgestone tires on the wide 19-inch wheels measure 235/35ZR19 front and 305/30ZR19 in the rear, the ride is amazingly refined, more composed and compliant than a standard Carrera S.

In fact, the Porsche 911 Sport Classic reveals itself to be a softer, more dignified machine than its looks might suggest. It flows down demanding roads where you'd be backing off in its conventional siblings. It's this composure, smoothness and delicate control that really mark the Sport Classic as special. Even the steering response has seemingly gained an even greater level of precision, enhancing its already excellent feel. There's also an appreciable drop in road noise.

This extra suspension control only adds to the speed the Sport Classic can carry on poorly surfaced back roads. The suspension might deliver a softer setup, but there's no loss of accuracy and control, making the Sport Classic a devastatingly quick car on challenging asphalt. The engine delivers its performance with that added muscularity lower in its rev range, while the wheel control and steering precision allows you to brake deeper and carry more speed through a corner. The carbon-ceramic brakes deliver their usual heart-stopping retardation time after time with consistent pedal feel and pressure. And the six-speed manual works beautifully in unison with the relatively light-effort clutch.

The Style of Speed
The mandatory color choice for the Porsche 911 Sport Classic is Sport Classic Grey, a classic German hue that comes from a dove-gray color that the design team fell in love with after seeing it on a Porsche 356. It's a bit of a shock after the candy colors of the 1970s that have been transferred to the new-generation 911 GT2 and GT3, but Porsche is after something more traditional here: a 911 for men, not boys.

You particularly notice this effort within the 911 Sport Classic's interior, as leather in a brown called Espresso Nature covers just about everything imaginable. There's leather on the air vents, door pulls and even the speaker grilles, leaving us surprised that the Exclusive design team hasn't found a way to cover the turn signal stalk, stereo controls or ignition key. The seats and door panels even incorporate inserts woven from yarn and strips of leather. The effect isn't as overwhelming as you'd expect, though, and it's better than the vinyl-style austerity that has been the characteristic fashion statement of the 911's interior until recently.

The Classic 911
While it's fun to see the number of different models that Porsche has managed to make out of the basic 911 building blocks — some 16 variants, counting the Sport Classic — some of the charm goes away when you confront the $255,600 price of the 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic. Is this just another ploy to soak the rich? After all, this car comes with its own car cover, as if catering to those bright sparks who bought a 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster under the illusion that it would be like putting money in the bank.

But there's something else at work in the 911 Sport Classic. Here, "classic" refers not to some retro-inspired illusion of collectability but instead to the sort of usable performance we used to get from our sports cars. That the Sport Classic is heinously expensive isn't the point here, since it's sold out and not certified for U.S. emissions in any case. Instead the Sport Classic takes us back to the essence of the Porsche 911.

The times have ended when a Porsche 911 could be a candy-colored plaything that's bought on impulse. The 2010 Porsche 911 Sport Classic offers us a car that's meant to be driven every day and owned long enough that its purchase price will eventually have been forgotten.

The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.