Visiting Porsche Centre Melbourne

As a car enthusiast, it’s only natural to visit dealerships and have a poke around the offerings of each brand. They’re usually the best place to get up close and personal with current cars. Some dealerships may also display older cars that have some history behind them, whilst others may specialise in a certain vehicle type, stocking cars from a wide variety of brands. From Toyota to Jaguar to Dutton Garage and Lorbek, I’ve seen it all – however for some reason, I’d never visited a Porsche Centre. Now, they call it a “Centre” instead of a plain old dealership because they offer services for all kinds of Porsches, both old and new. It really is a central hub for all things Porsche in the city of Melbourne. I was keen to visit, thanks in no small part to Polyphony Digital putting the 959 in Gran Turismo 7 and Doug DeMuro buying his dream car – a Carrera GT. I didn’t know if the Centre would have these vehicles but I thought, “if they’re going to be anywhere in Melbourne, it’d be here”. Turns out I was right.

The Carrera GT

The Carrera GT is one of the most revered cars to ever come out of Stuttgart, but for many years I never really paid attention to it or saw it as anything special. I was more obsessed with the Pagani Zonda – a car with a flair that very few vehicles have ever matched, sporting an unmistakable style and a bespoke V12 created by the boffins at Mercedes-AMG. However as time went on, I started to become more appreciative of the Carrera GT. One of the most influential car YouTubers in Doug DeMuro has obsessed about this machine ever since he saw one parked up in Atlanta, inspiring me to appreciate it more than ever. The way he talked about the car each time he was able to get his hands on one reminded me of my love affair with the Ferrari F40 and the BMW M3 E46. It was his dream car because it’s a proper, no-nonsense supercar with a motorsport-derived V10 engine, no driving assists, a manual transmission and superb handling. Such vehicles are very few and far between these days, making the car even more desirable in the face of ever-tightening emissions regulations. As such, I’m all over it now.

This was the first time I’d ever seen, or at least photographed, a Carrera GT in person. The car has been around for 20 years at this point and only now have I had the honour of seeing one up close. The staff didn’t care that I was millimetres away from a multi-million dollar supercar; they could probably tell that I was an enthusiast who just wanted to hang out with a certified legend with a distinctly German accent. This car represents engineering excellence and quality that only those from Stuttgart can ever hope of exuding next to those boisterous Italians in Sant A’gata. You just know you’re sitting beside something special, created with the utmost care and precision you’d come to expect from the Germans. These guys are like brain surgeons, operating within the finest tolerances using a finely sharpened scalpel. Would it win a beauty contest? Probably not, as it does look a bit awkward around the rear but that’s not the point of the exercise. It was great to finally see this vehicle and place it into my extensive photo collection.

The 959

Now for a car that was at the forefront of automotive technology when it launched in 1986. The revolutionary 959 had some truly innovative features that helped pave the way for future models. It had 4WD, sequential turbos, water cooling, adjustable suspension and a very early form of torque vectoring, where power would be re-distributed on the fly between the front and rear differentials. As Porsche originally designed this car for Group B rally, there’s a lot of technology dedicated to driving offroad. You can lock the differentials, raise the ride height, adjust the stiffness of the suspension and use a “crawler” gear to tackle harsh terrain such as mud, sand and gravel. All these functions, aside from the crawler gear, could be adjusted with the push of a button. Being able to adjust the suspension in this way is commonplace on modern supercars nowadays, but 37 years ago it was unheard of. The car also had tyre pressure monitors, anti-lock brakes and traction control. Most of these things have become industry mainstays that can be found on everything from hatchbacks to SUV’s to supercars. The 959 really was a technical tour-de-force, even if the exterior looked like a bloated 911. Perhaps that’s why I didn’t have a strong emotional connection, especially next to the F40 which stole the limelight just a year later. However the 959 very much holds it’s own next to the raucous Ferrari, using cutting-edge electronic gadgetry to propel the supercar into the digital age.

What Else?

Of course, there were some other notable models on display:

The Cayman GT4RS is the first and most likely last Cayman to have a 911 GT3 engine stuffed into the back of it. The aggressive aerodynamics make this car a properly hardcore package befitting of an RS badge.

The Taycan is Porsche’s electric offering, and unlike some of the other blobs that use the same kind of propulsion, it actually handles the corners. Thankfully for us enthusiasts, it will sit alongside the combustion-engined cars instead of replacing them.

Now for a few flavours of 911:

The 911 GT3 Touring is a slightly toned-down version of the GT3 for those who want a high-revving naturally-aspirated flat 6 with less compromise.

911 Carrera GTS is geared more towards luxury and comfort, but it still has the distinct driving characteristics you’d come to expect from a 911.

If you want to go fast but don’t want a hardcore track car, the 911 Turbo is for you. In terms of an overall package, this is one of the best cars you can buy, combining both performance and usability.

The 911 GT3 Cup is a pure race car designed for competition in the Carrera Cup. If you have the money and the balls, you can race one yourself for a fee.

Let’s not forget about the standard 718 Cayman; a perfect entry into the sports car world for any enthusiast. You can experience sheer driving pleasure time and time again without breaking the law.

This is an older 911 GT2 from the 993 generation. As the last of the air-cooled cars, it’s garnered a lot of popularity in recent times. The front splitter and rear wing differentiate this car from the more standard models.

Here we have an immaculately restored 356 – the car that started it all for the storied brand. Saying that it doesn’t look cute is a cardinal sin.

Just before I left, I came across this clean Boxster outside the service area. It’s rare to see one of these in good condition.

So that was my visit to Porsche Centre Melbourne. The best thing about Porsche as a brand is their dedication and service to the customer. It doesn’t matter how old your car is, Porsche will care for it and make sure that it’s kept on the road for years to come. They respect the past, revel in the present and look to the future, content with the knowledge that their brand will carry on for many more years to come.