THE realisation that you have just lost control of a Porsche 911 Carrera and are now simply a passenger holding a steering wheel in what seems like the world’s longest spin would usually be a perfect time to panic.

But in reality, at least my reality, there was a calm excitement. No internal (or external) screaming and expletives, no reflexive muscle clenching and whitening of knuckles, and no deep churning inside my stomach at the thought of one of Germany’s finest feats of engineering lying beat and broken.

Spinning was all part of the plan.

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Okay, so maybe not my plan. But it was part of the plan of racing veteran and Porsche instructor Tomas Mezera. The Bathurst 1000 winner runs the Porsche Sport Driving School at the Mount Cotton Driving Centre outside of Brisbane, and had informed me, with no caveats, that I was going to lose control of some of Stuttgart’s finest vehicles.

Spinning a Porsche in most situations would be an unenviable situation, but not today. I was being put through the brand’s entry-level drive experience, meaning closed courses, skid pans, and controlled environments. There was to be no calamity today.

The first stop of the day was Mount Cotton’s skid pan, a huge concrete expanse doused with a healthy offering of water, and a further dosage of slick diesel.

Where the Carrera will kick its rear askew with a brush of the throttle and stay there with gentle dabs of the pedal, the Cayman prefers to understeer initially. But put a solid boot into it, and it arrives at the opposite lock-stop with vigour. You are soon rewarded with large four-wheel drifts with your aggression is balanced just so.

But the skid pan wasn’t the only destination on our itinerary. During the day-long experience we put the stoppers of a Panamera 4S, 718 Boxster, and 911 Carrera Cabriolet to the test under emergency braking and lane-change situations, before taking the Boxster, Carrera and a Macan Turbo through a soaking gymkhana course. As a note, don’t discount Porsche’s baby SUV in a dynamic showdown. It was as capable as its sports car siblings in the challenging conditions.

Best of all the Porsche Sport Driving School isn’t the ultra-exclusive, invite-only club you may imagine. If you are willing to cough up the cash ($1,485) you can go and enjoy one of the best money-can-buy automotive experiences in Oz.

Oh, and when you spin, don’t panic, enjoy the excitement.

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