It Wasn't. It's Just The Showroom!
It is wonderful because of the cars. They may not be the most expensive or have the most history or provenance. Rather, they are all cars with the perfect balance of beauty, function, and animal magnetism. Every guy, whether a car nut or not, has coveted at least half of the cars in the collection. Presentation also makes this museum world-class. The cars are flawless. There is not a speck of dust on any of them, and yet they don't look overdone. The lighting is also perfect. At the Imperial Palace collection in Las Vegas, cheap fluorescent bulbs (!) are used. At the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, everything is pitch black, with the exception of sharply focused 2000 watt light bulbs flooding the cars. The other minor touch that added to the experience was the floor. Yes, the floor. I have no idea what the material is. It may be just painted concrete.
Visually, it felt like a warm, soothing, hard wood floor. It softened the loud and powerful machines which sat on top of it. It made the overall experience complete. Enough chit-chat. On with the show! The museum is on an anonymous street in the middle of nowhere. You would never guess what was inside this modern yet non-descript building. When we pulled up on a Saturday morning, we thought it was closed. There were only two cars in the parking lot. Fortunately, it wasn't. I would suggest calling first to make sure it is open though. I thought the first floor was the museum. It wasn't. It's just the showroom! I came to see the Porsche 959s, which Canepa is famous for. And that's exactly what I ran to first. This is one of two Porsche 959s for sale. Though the place is definitely Porsche-centered, there was a black Ferrari Testarossa. This is a shot of the window with the standard Schedoni luggage in the background. There is no discrimination here. American muscle cars make a strong presence, along with a sprinkling of Datsun/Nissans. This is a 1969 Dodge Hemi Charger R/T, which is about as long as the garden hose in my patio. This is my favorite American race car of all time, the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. It's got a 426 cubic inch (7,000 cc) engine and the iconic rear spoiler. This is the other 959. It's an S model. Only 29 were produced. They have roll cages and special suspensions, seats, and seat belts. This is the end of my tour of the showroom on the first floor. I have only described a fraction of the cars.
Of course, this matter doesn't only concern Porsche, as, for instance, an YouTube search will easily reveal Lamborghini owners handling their own carbon-ceramic brake disc change to reduce maintenance costs. And while you can't choose iron discs on an Aventador, this is the standard feature on a Neunelfer. In fact, Porsche forums chat reveals owners of cars with ceramic discs sometimes store their stoppers for resale and do the driving on steel units meanwhile. Alas, deserstricted sections of the German Autobahn only connect a small number of cities in the world. But if you can't find yourself high-speed cruising behind the wheel of the 2020 Porsche 911, you should know there's an environment that sees the machine performing even better, namely a back road sprinkled with bends. When you're out there exploring the curves in third gear, the Carrera S feels at its best. During impromptu testing in a straight line, or at city speeds, the feedback of the electromechanical steering isn't memorable. The handling balance of the car is splendid, with or without the optional PDCC active stabilizer bars on the vehicle I tested - the latter are still hydraulic, unlike the electromechanical system the Cayenne Turbo now uses.
However, as is the case with the PTV Plus (electronically-controlled limited slip diff), this option is only needed if you go past, say, eight tenths. When abused, the 992 feels analog, as much as the current era allows, and this makes an enthusiast come alive. As for the tamer driving, the Carrera S starts working it's go-time charm on the driver from around 90 km/h (55 mph). Mistreat that throttle and the car will instantly reward you with tail-out moves, which are contained by one of the most sophisticated traction and stability control systems that have ever kept me in a straight line. The RWD Carrera S is uber-lively (after all, the engine is still adorning the posterior) when provoked, but proves extremely stable at high speeds. So the AWD 4S model, which tips the scales at around 110 lbs/50 kg higher, is only justified for rough weather scenarios - Porsche's Tequipment arm even offers snow chains for the rear axle, by the way. However, given the positioning of the engine, you'll have to remember to drive simulation- rather than arcade-style (think: Gran Turismo over NFS).