Ten Days In...

Has it already been ten days?

Ten days since we got the cars, already lots of adventures and still another ten days to go. We've been up early in the mornings, grabbing delicious simple breakfasts and heading out to the machines and the roads. Time just slips along effortlessly, as we navigate the curves before us. The past ten days have drifted by, not at breakneck speed, thankfully. More at a nice relentless surge, perhaps mimicking that continuous rush of power under my right foot. It keeps reminding me that I've never had a car with an engine this big before. Four litres of displacement makes for all the low-end, low-rpm hustle one could ask for, but the high revving nature of it means that there's just a seemingly continuous well of power on tap.

We start cruising some autostrada as we head north, making time in a roughly three-hour trek. The Boxster is effortless on the highway. Smooth, quiet bursts of power in sixth gear whenever you need it, no need to downshift to pass anyone. The cruise control is impressively intuitive, although I do wish it was on the wheel like the S2000 versus the stalk sticking out, but I’m getting used to it and it does work extremely well. Podcasts through Apple CarPlay are a delight, easy to use and they sound great even at highway speeds.

I put the top up because it’s scorchingly hot outside, with the sun beating down directly, even at 6 o’clock in the evening. When we get back into the mountains and some of the shadowy dappled forest roads (like we had earlier in Tuscany) and the top comes down, this little car just comes alive. Mind you, I’m doing 150 km an hour on the highway, and one of the high-speed trains went past like we were standing still. It's all relative.

Next up are some twisties in the mountains on some VERY narrow roads, so I have to bring the speed down a bit, although still not really exceeding the speed limit anywhere, amazingly. As we head towards the place are staying for the night, the road surface gets a bit rougher - well, more strong... undulations... I guess is the right word. Can’t believe how well the Boxster suspension just soaks it all up. No wheel hop, no skittish behaviour, just all four tires planted all the time. There are a little aero flaps in front of the front wheels just like on the S2000 and those occasionally get a tiny scrape, just like on the S2000, no issue.

The kilometres and days flow along. The magic of this car continues. I enjoy every aspect of its character, and drive along with a grin planted on my face. The heft of the wheel in my hand, the just-perfect reach to the shifter. The pedals perfect for heel and toe, which I'm still practicing as the brake pedal has a very different feel to what I'm used to. There's big stopping power to be had and it's taking me a while to learn to modulate that.

We hit the coast and it reminds me of the south of France big time, narrow two-lane road full of traffic, beach on one side, steep hills on the other. We don’t faff about long as it is way too hot. We yearn for the quiet roads and cool air of the mountains. We will soon cross into France and turn north in search of more hairpins and cooler air.

Ten days to go, and a ton of stuff still to jam-pack into this trip. The car has taken all I have thrown at it and remained unfazed. In fact, I think it secretly thinks "Really? That's it? That's all you have for me?" It's so much more car than I've tapped into fully, but I've built up a good sense of at least one of its main personality traits: balance. It was built for trips like this.

Ripping around tight mountain switchbacks and cruising long open road curves. Comfortable and smooth, quiet when you want it to be, and a snarling little beast those other times. A perfect balance.

And just think, the Nordschleife awaits...

~ Luke