Porsche Performance Tour: Das Gute Leben
Porsche offers two different programs for driving enthusiasts: Camp4 and the Performance Tour. The first one is a surreal winter driving experience; on the Mecaglisse circuit north of Montreal, participants learn the basics of controlled skids. Porsche has been offering this program for a while now, and returns every year due of its success.
The Performance Tour, on the other hand, is less technical. The objective here isn’t to sharpen one’s driving skills, but to simply enjoy driving on fantastic roads behind the wheel of a powerful Porsche. The program’s mission is to help people get a taste of the lifestyle associated with these types of machines. You don’t need to own a Porsche to participate; the cars – in addition to food and lodging during the event – are provided by the automaker. All you need to bring is a cheque for $3,995 plus taxes.
The Performance Tour
It starts at the Ottawa International Airport, a simple meeting point for most participants who come from Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal. It’s worth nothing that other Performance Tour programs are offered in parts of the country. For example, there was one last summer in the Vancouver region. After a quick summary of what was to come during the next three days, in addition to reminding us that we were to be driving on public roads, which means behaving, we headed to the garage where the cars were stashed. The red ones in the pictures are 911 Carrera 4S models: 400 horsepower, AWD to handle their unique, rear-engine architecture and a PDK automated gearbox. The little grey coupes are Cayman S models: although they produce “only” 325 hp, they’re lighter and very well balanced, thanks to their mid-engine layout.
Day 1
After pairing up, we head off on our first day of driving, which took us from Ottawa to Montebello, which is usually a one-hour trip. However, our 10-Porsche convoy arrived at our destination four hours later, as we took the twistiest roads of the region. And what fun!
As soon as we climbed out of our cars, we had to head off again. But this time, we switched our road-hugging sports coupes for Cayenne Diesel SUVs for a little off-road amusement. We tended to believe that these big utility vehicles couldn’t handle the unbeaten path, but they’re surprisingly capable; with a wide range of driving-aid technologies to help even novice off-roaders, the Cayenne effortlessly climbed over many obstacles. According to Porsche, very few customers will take their Cayenne off the pavement, but believe me, they don’t know what they’re missing!
Day 2
Well rested after a night at the very rustic, but very upscale Château Montebello, we hit the road once again. The second day was all about driving, and the eight-hour trip took us all the way to… Mont-Tremblant, which is only 76 km away. As the kilometres rolled by, we got better and better acquainted with the cars. Personally, I stopped thinking about their price ($140,000 for the 911, $95,000 for the Cayman) and concentrated on their individual characteristics. The Cayman is all about finesse, while the 911 is more forgiving; in the 911 we relied on its all-wheel-drivetrain and its greater power to quickly exit corners, while we couldn’t scrub off too much speed behind the wheel of the Cayman if we wanted to keep up.
Day 3
The third day was the one I was waiting for. From Mont-Tremblant, we headed down to the ICAR Circuit in Mirabel, where we could finally push the cars to their limits.
That’s where I quickly found out that the limits of a Porsche on a track are vastly superior to what my limited talent as a driver can reach. Even while driving as fast as I could, the Cayman and the 911 never felt unsettled. By the way, that’s where the Cayman stood out: everyone preferred the little sports car over its bigger sister, touting its greater stability in corners and its more favourable weight distribution.
A unique experience
To be honest, paying $4,000 for a three-day drive might seem excessive. However, I can say that if you always wanted to stay at some chic hotels and live the fantasy of driving a Porsche on enchanting roads as well as on a racetrack, it’s a reasonable investment compared to the purchase price of one of these marvellous cars.
Oh, I almost forgot. Do you know what “Das gute Leben” means? It’s German for “the good life.”