You're Probably Buying Too Much Porsche | PCA's Technical Director

Are Porsche owners spending thousands more for performance they can barely use? This week on ElevenAfterNine, I sit down with Manny Alban, former National President and current Technical Director of the Porsche Club of America, to talk about why the "base" Porsche may actually be one of the smartest and most enjoyable cars in the lineup. Manny has driven an enormous range of Porsches, from base Carreras and Boxsters to GT cars, Turbo S models, the 918 Spyder, and just about everything in between. His take surprised me. When Porsche sends cars to PCA for testing, the base models are often the ones everyone wants to drive. We get into what happens when you start adding horsepower, all-wheel drive, rear-wheel steering, carbon buckets, center locks, Sport-Tex, PASM, Porsche Sport Exhaust and other expensive options. At what point are you improving the car, and when are you simply buying more Porsche than you can actually use? We also talk about two used Porsches Manny believes are up and coming. IN THIS EPISODE: Why Porsche doesn't actually call the Carrera a "base 911" Why PCA testers often prefer the least expensive version Base Carrera vs Carrera S vs GTS Why lower horsepower can make a Porsche more fun Rear-wheel drive vs all-wheel drive Which Porsche options Manny always recommends Why carbon bucket seats may be the wrong choice Manny's problem with Sport-Tex and Alcantara steering wheels Why he thinks Porsche center locks make little sense on a street car The story behind PCA's 60th Anniversary Club Coupe How modern stability systems make today's Porsches easier to drive fast Why modern Porsches may simply be too fast for public roads Why the 991.1 Carrera may be one of today's best Porsche buys Why buyers shouldn't automatically fear an early Boxster Manual vs PDK The one Porsche Manny would choose if he could only have one CONNECT WITH MANNY AND THE PORSCHE CLUB OF AMERICA: Porsche Club of America: https://www.pca.org/ PCA Insider Podcast: https://podcast.pca.org/ PCA Insider on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... PCA YouTube: porscheclubofamerica PCA Tech Tactics: Tech Tactics LIVE CONNECT WITH ELEVENAFTERNINE: Website: https://elevenafternine.com/ Porsche Buyer Consulting: https://elevenafternine.com/consultin... YouTube: @elevenafternine Instagram: Instagram: theelevenafternine Listen to Eleven After Nine: https://shows.acast.com/eleven-after-... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0fpVL61... CONTACT: [email protected] QUESTION FOR YOU: Would you rather own a well-optioned base Carrera or spend the extra money for a Carrera S or GTS? Let me know below. I'm especially curious to hear from anyone who has owned both. CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Meet Manny Alban 01:50 - What Does "Base Porsche" Actually Mean? 03:13 - Why Manny Loves Base Models 04:54 - Building a Carrera T Before the T Existed 07:28 - Base Panamera vs Turbo S 09:55 - Why 95 Horsepower Can Be More Fun 11:43 - Rear-Wheel Drive vs All-Wheel Drive 16:13 - Which Porsche Options Are Actually Worth Buying? 20:52 - Comfort Seats vs Carbon Buckets 22:56 - The Problem With Sport-Tex and Alcantara 24:47 - Manny's Problem With Porsche Center Locks 28:33 - Inside the PCA 60th Anniversary Club Coupe 33:37 - Behind the Scenes With Porsche Designers 35:07 - Are Modern Porsches Too Fast? 39:29 - The Undervalued Porsche Manny Would Buy 42:42 - Why the Early Boxster Deserves Another Look 44:45 - Manual vs PDK 47:30 - If Manny Could Own Only One Porsche 49:01 - Driving the Porsche 918 Spyder 50:34 - Why Every Porsche Doesn't Need to Be the Fastest One #Porsche #Porsche911 #Carrera #CarreraS #Porsche991 #PorscheBoxster #PCA #PorscheClubOfAmerica #ElevenAfterNine