I'm one of those secondhand fans that reads the reviews and goes to the races but has never actually done more than taken a few photos of the one GT3 RS 4.0 I saw parked at a show. I've been lucky enough to spend time behind the wheel of a great number of high-performance cars, but a Porsche has always been my Carrara White Metallic whale. After some back and forth, I was given the keys to a 2017 Porsche Macan GTS. My time had come. Likewise, until recently, driving in the snow was mostly a foreign concept to me. I learned to drive while living in the South before moving to Los Angeles after college. I understand the principles and precautions on paper, but I've never really had to deal with snow the way I do now that I've moved to Michigan. In the South, mass panic ensues if anyone catches a whiff of the white stuff, with store shelves quickly emptying of milk and bread in order to stave off what's sure to be a long, cold 12 hours or so. In Michigan, snow is just there, ever white and ever present.
In the spirit of both racing and snow, I decided to go to Northern Michigan to watch Sno Drift, a semi-amatuer rally that takes place in late January. Rallys, especially amateur ones, are wonderful events to attend. Aside from the requisite sea of Subarus, the 2017 Sno Drift lineup featured a few first- and second-gen Volkswagen Golfs, a Euro-spec Mitsubishi Mirage, and even an FC Mazda RX-7. Competition is friendly and cars are mostly piecemeal assemblages of the best of what was affordable. Many aren't far off what you'd find in Mad Max. I figured a Porsche might stand out a little. The Macan GTS is the middle child in the lineup. On other Porsches, the GTS model has been considered the sweet spot, the perfect balance of cost, options, and performance. The same seems to hold true here. All Macans have a twin-turbocharged V6, this one displacing 3.0 liters.
The engine sends 360 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque through a seven-speed PDK transmission out to four black 20-spoke wheels. The staggered setup comes with 265/45R20 tires up front and massive 295/45R20s out back, perfect for driving in the snow. Or not, but at least it had been swapped to winter rubber. I somehow managed to convince my wife to join me on this endeavour. Two of her favorite things are motor racing and standing in a sub-freezing snow storm, so she was overjoyed for two days of it. Our Carrara White Metallic model was fairly bare bones, at least as far as Porsches go. This one had the optional GTS interior (separate from the GTS trim) that includes black Alcantara with Carmine red stitching and matching red seatbelts. Personally, I loved it. My wife wasn't as sold, but she's been known to be wrong before. We were staying at an Airbnb, and the evening we were set to leave I received a text from the host asking if I had all-wheel drive.
Yes, and excellent Michelin winter tires. The thought of driving the Macan on snow-covered streets was making me giddy. Because of the weather, the drive from Detroit to Flint took twice as long as it should have, though it did give me time to get familiar with the Macan's interior, infotainment, and settings. The Macan GTS has adjustable air suspension, adjustable drive modes, an off-road mode, and a fantastic little button that opens up the exhaust. Not all V6s sound good, but not all V6s are created equal. This engine, combined with PDK, is a sweetheart. Rev, pop. Rev, pop. Rev, pop. Each gear just snaps into place in milliseconds with a gentle pull of the shift paddle. Though the computer is likely more efficient than I am, if I'm driving an automatic then I'm going to use the paddles. The perfectly sized and perfectly comfortable and perfectly clean steering wheel helps matters, too.
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