European Monday in the rain (July 24, 2023 - 1 month ago)
I've been taking a few notes along the way as we make our way through Europe in these glorious machines, so why not share a bit?Things are a bit wet out, so what better time than to pause driving and reflect on the car to date? I've had it for a weekend now and I'm starting to feel more comfortable in it. I mean physically. Got the seat adjusted just so. The steering column set right. The mirrors. It's taken a few days to sort that out because the feel is so different to the S2000.
How so? You sit IN this car much more. You're deeper inside the compartment, with the sills higher to the left and right. A byproduct of the safety features of the modern car for sure, but it means that I'm getting used to something quite different to the S2000. Shoulder-checking, for example - more difficult. The bulkhead behind me is higher, the rear visibility worse, and I really have to crane my neck. Perhaps adjusting the seat higher is the right thing to do (nice to have that option), but I'm not sure yet. Need a few more kms.
Cleverly (well done Andrew, my exacting tour guide), we stop in the exact spot where we had a shot of the M2 next to a church tower in the rain. back in 2018. Got the same shot this time around with the 718s, again, in the rain.
En route to the Maloja Pass, we stop in yet another little town to look for a bank, but no luck. Just had a coffee in a nice piazza. This is a refrain that will be repeated over and over again I'm sure. Little snacks between amazing stretches of driving. Perfect. From there we head off and catch a little bit of rain. So we just tool through some little Italian towns in a few showers, not pushing hard really, just getting a feel for the car. As mentioned, we are trying to make it to the Maloja Pass, which we remember all too well from our 2018 trip as being one of the more spectacular pieces of road we've already experienced. We will see if we make it far enough today.
Despite the careful break-in we are working our way through, there is still lots of fun to be had with these amazing machines. We are still tied to 6000 RPM for another hundred kilometres or so, though with the rain, we’re not pushing hard at all, but are just cruising to make some mileage. One thing I’ll say for sure is the Boxster is super quiet inside when just cruising along, very pleasant. And I don’t know what all the whining about the stereo is, I think it sounds excellent. Certainly just fine for my ears thank you very much. Not that I have been listening to much other than the wonderful sounds this car makes as the revs rise. Can't imagine the goosebumps that I'll feel at 7800 rpm!We’ve touched on several of these roads before, and it’s funny how memory works… I keep sort of half recognizing little bits of road, little particular corners with that house at a certain angle, or a little sequence of switchbacks…I couldn’t directly pinpoint the memory from the 2018 trip but my brain finds it familiar for sure, several different times.
On the damp roads, and with the speeds down, I try turning the traction control completely off now (press and hold), and there’s no drama. None. And one of the nice things I determine is that when you turn it off completely, you can still be in sport-plus mode, which means you get the dynamic engine mounts, and you can do rev-matching. Amazing how nobody could be definitive about that in the forums or even in the Porsche manual for that matter, although that I get as a safety/nanny kind of thing… let the lawyers take care of it.As the rain comes down a bit harder, I am safe in my little Boxster cocoon, which is very snug, watertight (obviously) and quiet. Humorously, Andrew asks over the radio if I am enjoying my Boxster 'cocoon' just as I am thinking that very word. We hit a nice little bit of road up and out of the town, which has us getting the tail out a little bit in the rain. Andrew pushes harder than me but I’m not confident enough. Which is fine. It’s my expensive sports car. As we make our way up the latest pass, there's a massive thunderstorm right now down in the valley…while it's not raining on me this very second, the thunder is powerful enough that it actually makes the car vibrate. Wow.
Time for a little coffee and cake break at a travel stop somewhere near the top of the pass. And the rain kind of eases off and almost stops as we leave. Very nice. Continuing on, we aim to find a rifugio for the night and end up navigating an extremely narrow track for a couple of kilometres up high, only to find that the last part of the track is a dirt road. Time to turn around. I can see the place in the distance way up above us but the road looks extremely rough and we aren't up for trying that. Let's keep looking.As Andrew says, "The treasure hunt continues!" And he's right. The accommodations we have stayed in so far, have each been their own interesting places. I don't mind the spontaneous and impromptu nature of the trip so far - feels just right. After all, driving a car like this, through scenery like this, with pretty much not a care in the world...hard to see how it could get much better. The car handles the rain with a complete lack of drama. Will be easy to drive this on long trips back home, even in inclement weather.
What else? For now, nothing. Well, ok, the sun could come out. That would be good.
~ Luke
