Vince's Stuff: Mazen's Sports Car Appreciation Day 2024

While we were in Europe, I received an email from Mazen saying he wanted to organize a drive in the mountains with his five sportscars, where we would get to take turns behind the wheel of each car. I was totally up for it. Because it was a great idea, it ballooned to the point where he hired a film crew and a few more cars joined the fun. The plan was to meet at Mazen's place, drive on one of our favourite roads to St-Sauveur for lunch, and be back by late afternoon. I arrived at Mazen's place at 9:30 am and his cousin Tarek was already there with his son and his new M2, which would be part of the drive. There were enough available cars that I would not bring the M3 along, leaving it at the house. The five sportscars were all out in the driveway, ready to go, but there was a one minor(?) issue with the 993 Carrera 4S... it had no rear window, and there were signs it had recently shattered. I thought this was a bummer, as it was the only one of the five cars I hadn't yet driven. It turned out that I was worried for nothing, as Mazen saw no reason why the car couldn't participate. I agreed, as there was only a very small chance of rain. I was happy to see that Jean-Walter was there too, as he is one of my oldest friends and also a car lover (and also because I don't see him as often as I would like to). When asked what we wanted to drive first, Jean-Walter did not hesitate to jump on the 512 TR while I asked to drive the 993... it was 30 degrees out but I didn't care about the lack of a rear window.

With all the logistics of filming everything and getting people in cars, it took a while before we headed out. I was getting familiar with the 993 in the driveway. My first impression: it feels like a car from another era. I know, it is from another era, but it feels much older than my 21-year-old M3, or even an M3 of the same year as the 993. This is not a criticism, I think older cars have much more to offer than newer ones in terms of driver engagement and enjoyment. What I first noticed was how small the inside of the car is, which I thought was cool. I think modern cars are too big and the 993 is nice and small. The seat was nice. The steering wheel was not special by modern standards and seemed stuck to the dash. I like how close the driver is to the windshield too. Mazen told me I would stall in reverse and when it was finally time to back out of the driveway, I was extra careful and did not in fact stall. Of course, when maneuvering the car into position a few minutes later, I did manage to stall it in reverse. The pedals of the 993 were weird. The clutch action was unexpected, the gas pedal was too firm, and the brake pedal, although firm, did not feel like it would slow the car down in a hurry if needed. In this respect, it felt like a car of the 80's or even older. We began the drive and I thought the car felt sluggish. Of course I was not revving it, but I thought there would be a bit more torque from the 3.6 in a relatively light car. The car did feel solidly built and as I began driving, it felt like it would have a lot of grip in corners. The car felt solid and planted, but did not have that feeling that it wanted to rev, to be set free (more on that later).

I was enjoying my drive in the 993... it is a pleasant car to drive. However, I find it VERY hard to believe this car can do 0-60 in 4.8 seconds, roughly the same time as my M3. When I punched the throttle at 3000 rpm, not much happened. When I punched it 4000, the response was also underwhelming. Am I supposed to drop it to second gear and punch it at 5500, when the redline on the tachometer shows at 6800? If so, that's not really what I would call easily accessible performance. The car has modern tires and KW suspension, so it has a lot more grip and handling than power. It seemed to me the car was a lot slower than the Ferrari 360, from what I remembered. I was soon to be reminded, because I was offered to swap cars at one of the photo stops. Yes please!

I dropped into the 360 and it just felt like a much nicer place to be. It also felt a lot newer, and only the quality of some plastics prevented the interior from being world-class. I was sitting so much lower than in the 911, and the view was so much more "exotic". As I began to drive, I confirmed that the engine felt so much more willing to rev... I told Mazen later that "it just feels like it wants to go!". What a great combination of engine and chassis... amazing. Sadly, when I restarted the car after one of the brakes, it had absolutely no power and the check engine light was flashing. We were less than 10 minutes from the restaurant, so I completed the journey and we parked all the cool cars in front of the Manoir St-Sauveur. In the town, I crossed path with two Ferraris (F8 and F355) and the second one gave me a thumbs up, which was cool. When we were parked, I asked Mazen's friend Jeff, who is an excellent mechanic, if he knew what a flashing check engine light meant, and he said it was likely a misfire. I could not "hear" that the car was running on 7 cylinders instead of 8, but it sure felt like when I had to drive my M3 with one dead coil pack.

Luckily, the lunch was really nice. The Manoir is a luxury hotel with a lovely restaurant and it was packed. It took a while to get our food and drinks, but everyone in the group was in a good mood. I realized after a while, however, that we were way behind our initial schedule and that I would never be home for dinner if I didn't leave soon. I volunteered to drive the ailing 360 back to Mazen's house so I could get home for dinner. We figured that if the 360 had a real issue forcing me to stop, the others would eventually catch up to me.

I began the drive home, and it was not that fun. The car had no power and no torque. I didn't try to pass a single car on the single lane road. I passed a bunch of speed traps without any worry, as I was driving well under the speed limit. I was having trouble staying cool with the anemic air conditioner and couldn't even turn on the radio, as it was asking for a code that I didn't have. I was also worried that my phone would die and I would lose the GPS directions, as neither the 993 nor the 360 had a functional 12v outlet. Is a Ferrari still fun to drive when you take away that magical engine? Not really. I longed to get back to my M3, with its ice cold air-conditioning, more than adequate power, and functioning radio! I made it back to the house without any (other) issue and settled into my BMW. It felt like sitting in an SUV after the 360! I often complain that the seat is too high in the E46 M3, and this was yet another reminder. I wish I could be sitting closer to the floor!

So over all, how was my day? Still very cool. It was a summer's day with friends centered around sports cars... the driving may not have been hardcore, but the day will still be a memorable one.