MANILA, Philippines – While it is a legitimate, indulging occupation in itself, gawking at Porsches can get frustrating very quick—for the simple reason that the temptation proves overwhelming. At some point, you will want to get your hands on the Stuttgart supercar maker’s beautiful vehicles. You need a tactile experience—hands on the wheel, foot on the gas pedal, and butt on the driver’s seat.
This makes the recent Porsche World Roadshow (PWRS) at the Clark International Speedway a most rewarding fix – and eye opener for people who hadn’t driven (or driven lately) any of the growing number of stallions in the Porsche stable. Conceived as a marketing strategy to present its lineup to “prospects and existing customers,” the PWRS invitation is extended to members of the motoring media wherever it is held.
Facilitated by Porsche-certified instructors specifically flown in for the event, PWRS allowed drivers to not only get up close and personal to the range of Porsche vehicles, but to experience what makes them stand out as among the most coveted cars in the world.
Before getting into the cars, participants were walked through a sundry of Porsche features, as well as the kind of workmanship and technology that goes into each vehicle. Distinct, too, is the vastly increased option of customization that allows owners to realize a new breadth of options for their own vehicle.
First and foremost, however, Porsche is a vehicle built to go fast. “Porsche is synonymous to racing,” said instructor Dario Garcia. “Everything we do is drawn from the racetrack.” Indeed, every Porsche vehicle is tested and developed on the famous Nürburgring’s 20-kilometer Nordschleife (or “North Loop”). “It’s a fantastic supercar,” declared PGA Cars chairman Robert Coyiuto Jr., who was on hand to welcome the considerable media delegation.
Drivers were divided into five groups, each guided by an instructor, to separately put the Porsches through their paces—whether on paved roads, on the track, or even off road. It was a dizzying, otherworldly experience to move from one steering wheel to another – from a 911, Boxster, Macan, Cayenne then a Panamera and Cayman.
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From its virtues and poise on real-world, everyday situations, we were able to push the machines as we tracked them on the Clark International Speedway. The immensely robust engines helped the Porsches frolic, even as technological candies such as the PSM (Porsche Stability Management) provided a shell of protection for overeager drivers and those of lesser abilities.
According to Porsche, the PSM “automatically maintains stability and traction even at the limits of dynamic driving performance. Sensors continuously monitor the direction, speed, yaw velocity and lateral acceleration of the car. Using this information, PSM is able to calculate the actual direction of travel at any given moment. If the car begins to oversteer or understeer, PSM applies selective braking on individual wheels in order to restore stability.”
If there’s a constant, consistent message that Porsche wishes to deliver aside from its obvious affinity with motorsports, it’s that these technologies help ensure the supercar is never “too much” for a driver. In a past PWRS staged in Taiwan, STAR Motoring was able to exclusively interview Porsche instructor and test driver Nick Edwards, who shared “Porsche has spent a lot of time and money to develop the Porsche Stabilty Management, among other features. Not only do we have safer and more stable cars, but they have accessible performance,” he insisted. “This is always a big problem if you buy a very expensive sports car but you can’t drive it because it’s unsafe.”
Porsche is obviously confident about its tech that we were all allowed to hurl a particularly sumptuous mid-engine Boxster through a slalom course of cones. Thing is, the Porsche will not panic even you do – and that’s a beautiful thing to behold and be a party to.
It’s a rare day when you get to say you’ve had all the Porsches you could handle, which made the 2015 PWRS a true red-letter day for its participants. It’s still okay to ogle the muscular car, but it’s good to know there’s some serious performance behind its pretty face.
