The road is curvy.

Absurdly curvy.

Like sections of Pamela Anderson.

It’s in Tennessee, at the southern edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park — a famous 11-mile stretch of Federal Highway TN 129 called “The Tail of the Dragon.”

So called, because on a map, the route looks like the arching and looping tail of a dragon.

They say it has 318 corners.

Has to be true.

Because that’s the number they’re using on the souvenir T-shirts.

I have a yellow one.

Porsche invited waves of journalists to this part of the world, and set them loose on “The Dragon,” to show off the revisions made to its 2007 Boxster line.

Among other upgrades, the vehicles are now fitted with the same powerplants that debuted on the new Cayman and Cayman S coupes.

Makes sense, as Cayman and Boxster essentially share a platform, which locates the engine “mid-ship” (fore of the rear axle).

So we’re talking 2.7-litre ‘flat six’ for Boxster (245 hp, 201 lb-ft of torque), and 3.4-litre ‘flat six’ for Boxster S (295 hp, 251 lb-ft of torque).

Both engines utilize VarioCam Plus; Porsche speak for a combination of variable valve timing, and variable valve lift on the intake camshaft.

The latter is made possible by a new intake manifold that incorporates a resonance flap and a double-chamber distributor pipe with a distributor pipe flap further down stream.

The distributor pipe (resonance length) and the resonance flap (resonance cross-section) are controlled as a function of engine speed.

When the two flaps are closed, the two rows of cylinders draw in combustion air separately from one another, the engine thus acting as a double three-cylinder.

In the lower speed range this effect increases engine torque significantly.

But back to the Dragon.

That stretch of road is so damn curvy, because, the story goes, it was first used by large herds of Buffalo.

Buffalo are more sensible than people give them credit for.

The path of least resistance is their constant motto — a way of life if you will.

They didn’t mind curves in the least … they were immensely preferable to steep elevation changes and/or terrain not especially hoof-friendly.

So they pounded out a track up to what eventually would be called Deals Gap (elevation 1,962 ft.), and back down the other side.

On our runs over this same geography, now paved, we were probably carrying a bit more speed than your average Buffalo herd.

Except for the time when we were following two full-dress Harleys.

They weren’t really into leaning.

Which was quite all right, because they looked so cool with all that chrome, and sounded so cool with those straight pipes.

Yeah right.

The road only became well known in the 1990s.

That’s when motorcycle enthusiast, Doug Snavely, started spreading the gospel of the twisted road, through his Deals Gap Hot Lap newsletter, and by later forming the Deals Gap Riding Society.

The Tail of the Dragon is now a major destination point for motorcycle people, especially with all the other superb driving and gorgeous scenery throughout the Tennessee River Valley.

But I seemed to have managed to not hear of it until this Porsche trip.

There’ even the Deal’s Gap Motorcycle Resort, featuring accommodations, motorcycle apparel, post cards, souvenirs, and “The Tree of Shame.”

The “Tree” is decorated with many mangled motorcycle pieces that presumably had some misfortune with the Dragon.

I took a picture.

I also took pictures of some of the corners.

Not all 318 of them of course, but a good selection nonetheless.

I tacked them to the corkboard in my cubical at work.

I often look at them.