The Retrieval Adventure

 With the decision made, Allison, Enzo, and I headed towards Pittsburgh.  The NFL draft was happening, so we stayed about 30 minutes outside the city.  As is my nature when I'm super excited, I couldn't sleep a wink.  I was up for a solid 2-3 hours in the middle of the night while Enzo and Allison slumbered peacefully.

Eventually I nodded off and woke up to what I termed "C4S weather" - a slight drizzle.

Looking like C4S weather!

Taking a peek at the weather confirmed it would stay that way:

Looking like rain...

We got cleaned up, excited for the day ahead!

Ready to go!

We went downstairs, Enzo grabbed breakfast, and we went to a nearby coffee shop to enjoy our morning cup.  We chatted with a couple from Toronto who we'd seen at the hotel.  They were in the area because their son plays college baseball.  They were down visiting for his senior season.  

Eventually, we got back in the Hyundai and set CarPlay navigation for Porsche Pittsburgh.  It was an easy 30 minute ride.  My excitement continued to grow as we wound through the hills and bridges of Pittsburgh, eventually spiraling down to the Porsche dealership.  We weren't sure where to park, and ultimately chose a lot across the street.  There were some spots labeled "customer parking," so I figured we were in the right place.  A salesman offered to snap a picture of us and did a good job capturing our excited faces:

Getting excited!  Note the umbrella...C4S weather!

As we crossed the street, I saw it, sitting there, waiting, through the Magic Delivery Door window:

First sighting!

I couldn't believe it.  It looked stunning.  I couldn't wait to get inside.  We walked in and immediately met Aubrey, who brought us deliciously cold water and took us to the car.  Enzo was manifesting my inner child with his excitement:

<rant>
   Remember the foolish YouTube policy?  That's why the following videos are all links...
</rant>

As he did with Allison's Boxster, he was the first person in the family to light the engine.  He didn't need much encouragement to try it again.

Allison snagged a picture of me checking out the C4S' hips while also capturing Enzo's excited face:

The curves!

With the lightly smoked windows, it looks a bit like Darth Vader's personal TIE Fighter:

It beckons!

We headed up to the office to finish the paperwork.  It was super easy, and took all of fifteen minutes:

Excitement grows!

After the paperwork was done, we headed back downstairs.  We were eager to get underway, as we wanted to head back home and get off the road before dark.  By pure happenstance, the original owner swung by the dealership in his Turbo S, and we ended up taking a picture together, along with Joe, the GM at Porsche Pittsburgh:

A chance encounter

After getting CarPlay set up, we headed out!

Enzo chose the C4S instead of the Hyundai...

Allison snagged a picture of us as we rumbled off into the drizzly Pittsburgh morning.  Inside the car, the rain-sensing wipers were doing their thing quite well.

To fulfill Enzo's fantasies, we made a pitstop at Blick Pittsburgh.  He was in art store ecstasy, and was particularly excited to get some Blackwing pencils.  Meanwhile, I was capturing rear shots of the C4S:

Lurking...

After a brief lunch, we headed to the Pittsburgh airport to return the rental car.  Job done, we saddled up for the homeward journey.  We were filled with excitement and enthusiasm, and there's no better way to get to know a new car than to drive it.

I really like the glass roof, as it adds a lot of light to the cabin.  I think this shot does a good job capturing our euphoria and the airiness the glass sunroof provides:

Rolling!

Due to the aerodynamics of the 911, at highway speeds, the wipers would occasionally wipe, while the roof and back glass remained dry.  The dry rear window is something I'm used to from my experience with the 964, but the roof effect was something new to observe.  It's very cool!

Although the car didn't need to stop, we did!  Enzo would sometimes express his frustration and being cramped in the "cupboard," and we ended up making three stops to stretch our legs on the way home:

Plenty of room in the cupboard!

Whenever we'd stop to move the blood around a bit, I couldn't help but looking back at the C4S.  It's a visually striking, organic, flowing piece of machinery, and I just kept falling in love with it.

Always feels good to stretch the legs!

At one of our stops, I was curious to see what the rear fog lights look like on the C4S.  We were driving through some heavier rain and fog, so I ended up lighting up the rear fogs.  When I got out to see what the look like from behind, I realized that there is a single rear fog, located in the left-most corner of the driver's taillight.  I suppose that makes sense - if someone was overtaking me in the fog, the single light would let them know where the left edge of the car is.

I love rear fog lights.

It was pretty chilly on the drive home, and I felt a deep sense of good fortune, love, and joy every time Allison got back in the car:

I'm in love with this woman!

Amazingly to me, we averaged about 25 mpg and made it home from Pittsburgh in one tank of gas:

Pretty efficient!

Throughout the drive, I was consistently impressed by how comfortable and composed the car was.  Of course, Allison and Enzo were a little more cramped, but since I didn't have to compromise my seating  position, I was super comfortable.  I feel like you sit "in"18-way seats, the seat heaters did a wonderful job keeping my warm, the seat coolers put air right between my shoulder blades, the climate control kept the cabin comfortable, the suspension was comfortable, controlled, and compliant, the cruise control helped me avoid tickets, and I didn't find the car to be too loud at all.  For a long highway slog, I left the exhaust flaps closed, and the C4S did a great job munching miles.  

Of course, when we got home, I had to introduce the 964 to its younger sibling.  I spent a fair bit of time looking at the two cars next to each other.  The 964 is tiny in comparison, shorter in every dimension.  It's easy to see how the cars are related, and it's fun to study the evolution of the design.

Smiling faces!

964 has much more pronounced fenders and headlights.

C4S is clearly shaped by the wind.

I love the rear view!

Fender comparison shot.

I really like how the cars look from behind, and I think it's a cool effect that the C4S is blacked out, mimicking the 964.  I really like how the C4S has the wrap-around light bar that goes the width of the car, similar to the reflective strip on the 964.  The C4S's badging is also blacked out, like the 964.  I also like the simplicity of the C4S' badging, it simply says "911."  Of course, the rear hips of the C4S are much wider.  This makes sense, as it has 305 section tires in the rear.  Stock, the 964 came with 225s in back, which grew to 255s when I put Fikse FM5s on the car back in 2000.  Was it really 26 years ago?  That's crazy to think about.

The most recent Panorama had an article in it in which someone owned a 911T from the 70s and a modern Manthey-tuned GT4.  The last paragraph of the article really resonated with me:

Let's drive!