Films: Porsche 964: You’ll Hear The Growler From A Mile Away
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Made To Drive | S06 E02

Porsche 964: You’ll Hear The Growler From A Mile Away

What began as indifference quickly morphed into an obsession.It also turned owner Alex Bermudez from a water-cooled Porsche driver into one who describes his 964-based “hot rod” The Growler as “unapologetically raw”—and just the thing for slaying tight mountain passes.
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cmm
cmm
9 years ago

Great video, made me look at the eariler article about “the Growler”, I really appreciate what looks like a high quality build.

1 small question, what (rear view) mirrors are those on the car?

A seemingly small visual detail, I like how minimal they are & sculpted in to the front lower corner of the door

cmm
cmm
9 years ago
Reply to  cmm

Found them, Porsche 935 mirrors. Lovely touch!

Warren Trinh
Warren Trinh
9 years ago

Here are some pictures Alex!

https://www.flickr.com/gp/131192520@N08/6rMw36

RdS
RdS
9 years ago

He took that photoset of the slantnose 930!? I absolutely love those pics..

gary gaither
gary gaither
9 years ago

Nice 964. My favorite 911’s are the ones that are stripped for performance, like the RS America.

RIP
RIP
9 years ago

Love the 964 but it’s not an RS and the badge should be removed. It’s like having an M badge on a 325i.

Alexander Bermudez
9 years ago
Reply to  RIP

I struggle with that too, however a more accurate analogy would be a RS badge on a privateer built Cup, as the performance is well beyond that of the former…

Mauricio Cremer
Mauricio Cremer
9 years ago

Alex, regardless of the badging, this car is a total monster! I’m in love. I’ve watched the video several times, volume up, eyes closed, so I can memorize the sound of that engine. So good.

Alexander Bermudez
9 years ago

Thanks Mauricio!

Stephen Trask
Stephen Trask
9 years ago

As a 964 C4 owner its cool to see what others are doing with these cars. The GROWLER hits the mark with me. Well done!

With regards to Glendora Mountain Road and Glendora Ridge Road I have to agree with Alexander. GMR/GRR takes few prisoners. An additional word of caution – as a Porsche owner, cyclist and being local to GMR/GRR please watch out for cyclists on these roads. Its a very popular place for cars, motorcycles and cyclists. Play Safe.

Alexander Bermudez
9 years ago
Reply to  Stephen Trask

Nice shot Stephen!

Shaun Benson
Shaun Benson
9 years ago

Alexander — this is one of my fave cars out there — bravo

Patrick Peters
Patrick Peters
9 years ago

The part from 5:00 till 5:25 is nicely said. Thats makes one think…

George Komoto
George Komoto
9 years ago

Gotta ask, where is this road? It looks so familiar, yet different. Guess I was distracted by the beautiful 911.

Ray Jay
Ray Jay
9 years ago
Reply to  George Komoto

GMR

David Lake
David Lake
9 years ago
Reply to  Ray Jay

Is GMR the name of the road??
Can you give any other info.

Alexander Bermudez
9 years ago
Reply to  David Lake

Glendora Mountain Road and Glendora Ridge Road… In my opinion they are two of the best roads in LA County… A word of caution though, these roads don’t take prisoners, so please if you are planning on going up there take it easy… When I was Shooting “Stich” earlier in the year, I came across this… Yet another reminder of how quickly things can go wrong on GMR/GRR… According to the driver the incident happened at 1AM, I found him cold, exhausted but thankfully not injured at 6AM he had been waiting for five hours for someone to drive by… Needless to say there was no cell reception so I gave the battered driver a lift back to civilization where he was able to call a tow truck… With that said, this link will take you to a map…. http://tinyurl.com/ngjpxb3

Riccardo
Riccardo
9 years ago

As an ex-964 owner the main thing that struck me is how different the engine sounds, dare I say it, not very 911-esque (well, at least in the video I’m not hearing “the wail”).

Really enjoyed hearing about Alexander’s previous Porsche experiences (997, 986) and how he got to the 964. Quite the opposite from me, having started with 964 and now 997. As I don’t race or track it, so the 997 is a tourer for me, hopefully one day to be joined by a G-series classic. I can see the appeal of the 964 as the “modern classic”.

Alexander Bermudez
9 years ago
Reply to  Riccardo

The exhaust system and cams on the Growler have changed the sound of the car quite significantly, especially at low RPM…

I love the 997, it’s a great daily driver and for me it was my first Porsche. The Boxster serves me well on the track in spite of its reputation amongst Porschephiles…. I too would like a G-series car, preferably a Targa!

Benjamin Shahrabani
Benjamin Shahrabani
9 years ago

Hi Alex – What’s the exhaust system? It sounds like you have a sport-cat or a cat delete system. I had one of those on the 993 but it was too loud for daily driving…but yours sounds incredible from here.

I have an FD Stage II exhaust at the moment…

Rudolf Wesseln
Rudolf Wesseln
9 years ago

Yeah, finally you got me. I didn’t really like Porsche, neither the Boxster nor the 911. It began with the movie “Urban Outlaw”, a starting interest in this car and now my wife and I are discussing whether to buy a 996 4S or a 964.
But: The movie about the “Z” I liked better, “Z” rules!

Guitar Slinger
Guitar Slinger
9 years ago
Reply to  Rudolf Wesseln

Z’s are fine , fun and wonderful cars and I love em . Reliable , all but bullet proof and a hoot to drive . But regardless of the model , year or modifications done no Z can ever live up to what even the most humble 911 is .

As far as your choices ? The 964’s going to cost you a fair amount of change more than the much misaligned 996 but will never quite be a 993 …. with the 964 costing a fair bit less money than the ubiquitous and in my opinion slightly over rated and overly romanticized 993

So the 996 . Honestly much of its bad reputation is well deserved . BUT .. by now a good 70\% of the cars available have been thoroughly sorted out to the point where in my opinion there is no reason not to save a hunk of change by buying a 996 over other model 911’s . Which is to say … do your homework … make sure the paperwork and records are impeccable .. have the car completely looked over by a qualified Porsche specialist .. and get yourself the 911 deal of the decade before everyone else wises up to the realities of the car . BTW ‘ Excellence ‘ did an excellent overview of the 996 coming to the very same conclusions . Assuming all is in order …. BUY

David Parker
David Parker
9 years ago
Reply to  Rudolf Wesseln

I ran a 2002 996 C4S for a few years. Absolutely great car. That model year had an awesome sports exhaust. The following year was different and didn’t sound as “raw”.
Fast safe and comfortable yet fun on a track, they are a nice car to own. Has some nice Turbo bits on it. The wide back looks mean.Running costs weren’t bad either. Did a Transmission oil sump seal , the clutch lasted 60 kms and had to fix the window lift mechanisms on both sides but apart from that just tyres.

DROP TABLE
DROP TABLE
9 years ago
Reply to  Rudolf Wesseln

Rudolf, I agree that the 911 craze has taken off due to shorts like this and “urban outlaw” and its benefitting collectors as well as the characters of the films… hence all the “sponsorship” from here to across other car media sites (speedhunters I’m looking at you). Good for them, spreading what they like…
I take it there are many Porsches in Germany (an assumption) so why not look into getting a Z car?

Ronnie M
Ronnie M
9 years ago

Wow. I would really like to own a 964 one day. This one is amazing. Though I might go for an automatic Carrera 4 just so I could daily drive it year round in NE Ohio.

Christer Lundem
9 years ago

Use and enjoy! I like this car – a lot!

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