Experiences of over 1000 miles in under 24h

For those that have been following my trip to Norway last week ... the journey back didn't go as smoothly as the outward leg ... Got to Kristiansand on Friday 5pm for the ferry across to Denmark, but half-way through loading, they had a 'technical problem' with the engine (its a high speed cat) and basically cancelled the crossing. Next available slot was Sunday am !! The other ferries were also booked up that night and morning, with only a chance to go on a waiting list along with about 100 other norwegians ... so, as I had my Hook-of-Holland crossing booked for Saturday night, there was no other option than to take 'the long route' back. This involved driving back up through Norway almost to Oslo, taking a ferry across the Oslo fjord, down through Norway and Sweden to Malmo across the huge bridge/tunnel to Copenhagen down through Denmark to another ferry at Rodbyhavn to Puttgarden in Germany, across Germany and the Netherlands to check in by 21:15 on Saturday. Let's just say I did it, just, with 45mins to spare! Summary was 1788km / 1117 miles in 25h (less 6h sleep at Goteborg, about 2.5h on ferries / waiting for ferries, and estimated 1h in rest breaks and refuelling (and 5 mins speaking to the owner of a 997 Turbo at a service station)) = about 15.5h driving time. Having done all that, I must say that I am truely impressed with the 996. It's a surprisingly relaxing, great long distance GT as well as sports car! And I now know the 996 much better. Here's a few observations / experiences of the 996 over this distance:- 1) On more than one occassion, I went to adjust volume of CD and nothing happened - found I was turning the cigarette lighter by mistake. 2) Swedish traffic lights in Goteborg change (like all foreign lights) from red to green with no amber. I went for first gear a bit too energetically and got reverse - big surprise to me and the car behind when I started going backwards (fortunately I realised in time!!). 3) I put some Norwegian chocolate bars in the 'boot' to avoid heat of sun in cabin, but after 12h of (highish) speed motorway speed driving, it was pretty hot in there - due to radiators nearby presumably. And consequenly chocolate was well melted. 4) The ability to switch the speedo over to km/h is very useful, especially with all the varying speed limits / cameras around. 5) Isn't 4th gear wonderful for accelerating from about 100km/h from services slip road onto fast moving german autobahn? 6) Having a Porsche seemed to increase the speed at which other drivers in the fast lane moved out of your way. On more than one occassion I approached a stream of cars and they all peeled out of the way. 7) Following on from (6) ... following a bright yellow 997 had an even greater impact than my silver 996 in terms of cars moving out of your way. 8) One of the fastest vehicles that passed me in Germany was a 964! 9) I always put in Shell V-Power over here. Got it OK in Holland and Germany, but in Denmark V-Power is only 95 octane! Their std fuel is either 92(!) or 95 octane. In Norway at shell garage 1, I found 95 unleaded, 95 V-Power, or 98 octane unleaded (but not branded as V-Power). Shell Garage 2 in Norway had 95 unleaded, 95 V-Power or 99 octane V-Power Racing (which I went for!). Sweden shell had only 95 V-Power, which I didn't get, but went for 98 octane unleaded in a Q8 instead. What's all that about then, Shell ? Surely you'd expect a bit more consistence across Europe from a major international distributor. Martin.

Sounds like a great trip - a bit like the Top Gear car vs. boat race, with a similar result - the car won!

It depends on market research in each country as to what blend V-Power is sold there, some countries are a bit more environmentally friendly and don't like the association higher octane has with high power, and prefer to concentrate on the cleaning qualities of the fuel additives. Germany likes high octane fuels, even though most cars are not mapped for fuel higher than 98 Octane, and they get 100 Octane V-Power [ ] Pete

Not just me who's done that then..[ ] It Sounds like a triumphant road trip, shame the time pressure was there..[ ] garyw

Hi, Sounds like an awesome drive. I did 2,300 miles in 7 days around Europe last month and you are right the 996 is a fantastic GT as well as sports car! and I did it in GT3 sports seats and the only complaint I had was a slightly stiff neck after hours in the driving seat, fantastic seats, fantastic car. Get you 996 and see the world! Stu