You have to remember that the 996 is starting to gain weight over the older 911's. Weight is the real killer out there - we can debate it but my rule of thumb is 10rwhp/100lbs. The Tiptronics lose performance over the manuals. If you look at published 0-60 times they're pretty meaningless within a certain range - real world is totally different.

Look at the e36 M3: 240hp at the crank, manual tranny so assume 85% or 205hp to the rear wheels. I've seen stock dyno numbers as high as 215 rear wheel. E500: 315hp at the crank, auto tranny so assume 80% or 255 to the wheels. That gives me 50rwhp over the M3 but I weigh 500lbs more. I pulled on the M3 just enough to get pass the guy so it makes sense - its like slowww motion. I think at 315 the E500 is slightly underrated - maybe its the big fat torque curve but most cars nowadays have good torque curves.

I've got a '93 928GTS 5 speed and it runs with the 996. If you catch me out of gear or my shift isn't perfect, I won't catch you until triple digits - I may not catch you until 155! The E500 is explosive ripping through 1st and 2nd and you don't have to shift!

To answer your question, he was definitely trying!

Randy