GT3 arrives -- musings of it versus my 1969 (long)

[Rich911E]

Well, I picked up my new GT3 in Dallas on Saturday and drove it home to San Diego last night.

First, the GT3 is flat out fantastic. In any condition, any road, the car is just amazingly capable, comfortable and predictable – and blindingly fast. Holy mackerel does this car fly! It was hard to keep the revs down on the trip home from Dallas as the sound from the engine is just music -- it has an incredible snarl from the exhaust. The engine noise just fills the interior as the RPMs climb. The conditions on the trip ranged from pouring rain in Texas, wild late night electrical storms in New Mexico, hilly winding back roads, country roads, straight highways, temperatures from 60 to 111 degrees and the car never missed a beat.

I wish the weather had cooperated a bit more, but I did get to experience the car in every kind of condition. I would have liked to have taken more mountain roads or I had an extra day to take some more detours -- the drive west of Las Cruces NM was incredibly dull as was the stretch from Tucson west. Lots of thundershowers until I got to Tucson. Then 107+ degrees from Tucson all the way to the mountains near San Diego. It is amazing that a car that has the performance of this car has a CD player (saved my life across NM and AZ) and air conditioning (ditto). For a car that does 0-60 in a shade over 4 seconds and has a 190 MPH top speed, the car averaged slightly better than 24MPG for the whole trip! Thank God for the Valentine 1 -- 1400 miles in two days and no tickets. A radar detector should be standard equipment on this car.

In every small town I stopped at along the way, the car was a celebrity. Kids especially just flocked around the car and asked about it, how fast it was, how much it cost, etc. They also were very helpful in providing information about the local county sheriffs as I did get quite a few "admiring" glances from every police car I passed. I guess in the land of pick-up trucks, a bright yellow Porsche with a big wing on the back does tend to stand out a bit. At a McDonald's in New Mexico, the kid behind the counter asked whether he could show it off to his friends and they came out from behind the counter to check out the car.

In the 1400 miles I covered in the GT3 over the weekend, I spent a lot of time on the trip considering the differences between my 1969 911 and the GT3 – a topic of general interest and discussion on this board. I have owned my '69 for fourteen years and have done almost all of the work on it myself so I feel like I know it intimately. My introduction to the GT3 is only after two days. The GT3 is a very different car in every respect from the early 911 -- much larger, heavier and faster -- but objectively better in every way. Where I can walk around my ’69 in its garage space at home, the GT3 seems huge. It is as long as the 69 Z/28 sitting next to it and so wide that I have to be extremely careful getting it in the garage. The early car is very light, nimble and tossable which is something I have always liked a lot about it. On a tight winding road the ‘69 is great fun to slide around and shoot out of corners and at those speeds the braking and suspension are very capable. The GT3 feels a little like a linebacker in a china shop around town where the ’69 slices through traffic.

However, at speeds where the old car starts getting a bit light and dicey the GT3 feels like you are standing still. Despite the creature comforts, the GT3 has a similar mechanical edge as the early car. On a winding mountain road GT3 is at home – it especially likes hilly roads with lots of sweeping corners. Nothing upsets it. Compared to the early car, the GT3’s speeds are MUCH higher and the capabilities are much greater. Push the gas slightly and the RPMs come up and rockets down the straights. The steering is perfect – not heavy – and linear and direct. The seats are very comfortable and hold you in place. The xenon headlights (not originally on my list of options) are a necessity for fast night driving in this car – they light the road up like daylight – much better than my H4s. Tap on the 14” brakes and the car slows down incredibly smoothly and predictably. Through standing water at speed on country roads it tracks solid and straight – the huge Michelins are excellent. The gearbox action is direct and the spacing of the gears is just right.

The GT3 is so much faster than my ’69 (even with the 2.7 liter) or any other car I have ever driven, it can lull you into a false sense of security very easily. Someone who does not approach this car with due respect is going to kill themselves very quickly. Also, the GT3 is a VERY different car than my friend’s 2003 996 coupe. His 996 is much more plush and comfortable and if I had to commute in traffic or drive only around town, the standard 996 would be much more practical. The GT3 doesn’t like cramped spaces very much but it would feel right at home on the Nurburgring. It loves high speeds. If I had a hard time driving my early car close to its limits, I am no where near able to drive the GT3 anywhere near its capabilities. But, it will be a learning experience that I will certainly enjoy.

I guess the one element lacking from the GT3 is history. The wide ranging capabilities of the 911 in all conditions are well documented in its racing records from rallying, open road racing and circuit racing. The 911 was born into the glory days of racing from the Targa Florio, long distance rallies like the Monte Carlo Rally, and great circuit races like the Nurburgring 1000kms and LeMans. Days before gravel traps, 12 foot catch fences and fabricated chicanes. The air cooled 911 created a history that the 996 was never a part of – no matter how much Porsche wants to try to keep the 911 name alive. It is up to the new cars to create a similar history. Unfortunately, many of the classic races in which this car would excel are gone. It will be difficult to create a similar aura around this car without these opportunities.

The aura of the early cars does not translate to the GT3 -- it is too different. It is certainly more different in design and character than the 356 was from the 911. It is not that the 911 is bad compared to the GT3, it is just very very different. It has an entirely different feel. The softness, tossability and composure of the early car gives way to the necessities of a car with such insanely high capabilities. The new car doesn’t have the classic endearing quirks of the 911 we have come to know and love – it is just brutally efficient – a different car for a different time.

I’ll post pictures once I download them from my camera. I was too busy washing off the bugs at 11PM last night to download.

Rich

[KobaltBlau]

Thanks for posting your thoughts, Rich. I will be looking forward to your continued reflections!

[RickM]

Can't wait for the pics....and thanks for outlining the great contrast between the two cars.

Good luck.

[Neilk]

Hey Rick,

You should have posted on the board that you were coming to Dallas. I would have gladly picked you up at the airport in return for a ride.

Nice write up... I need a better job.

[jpnovak]

Great writeup. I love the comparison. Sounds like the GT3 is a different breed from the 996. Maybe one day I will get to experience either of them.

Jamie

[cegerer]

The GT3 has the best sounding stock Porsche engine since the Early S (and it has a HIGHER redline!). I was able to go for a ride in one in Daytona and from the passenger's seat I can confirm that it is one very fast, very capable car.

"I guess the one element lacking from the GT3 is history."

That really is one of the intangible attractions to the longhood cars (see the "Peter Gregg & VIR" thread photos for some good examples). After the switch in 1974 by the factory to the turbo cars and the escalation in modifications from the RSR Turbo to the 934 to the 935, an era died - the era where the 911's raced on the track really were similar to what you could purchase right off the showroom floor.

Congrats on the GT3!

[BGCarrera32]

Great read..thanks!

[Adam]

Congrats on the purchase and on a very well written and thought out piece.

I can't wait to see the photos.

[Beethoven]

Excellent write-up, thanks for sharing. What kind of tires are you running? I'm asking because I'm wondering whether you could run this car year round in the north with snow tires?

[Bob's Flat-Six]

Good Read
That's 1400 miles you'll never forget

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Neilk
Hey Rick,

You should have posted on the board that you were coming to Dallas. I would have gladly picked you up at the airport in return for a ride.

Subtle.

I hope for a ride myself in a GT3 someday. Sounds like a very good way to get to know a car, drive! What are you doing July 10th, say about 7 AM?

Even more subtle.

[Bill Douglas]

Nicely written Rich

[}{arlequin]

nice writing

[stealthn]

Ditto on what everyone else said, thanks for posting your thoughts, and where's the pictures

[campbellcj]

Great write-up Rich...I'm envious of the new ride.

I must admit that I have been dreaming about a "modern" 911 to replace my Audi daily driver which is rapidly approaching 50K miles and could become a pretty costly car to maintain if it happens to blow turbos or whatnot.

I don't care so much about sound deadening, fancy electronics, etc. but I do need good A/C and a back seat that can hold one or two small kids on occasion. So, unfortunately the GT3 is probably out of the picture (this is assuming I could afford it which is -highly- questionable anyway.) So a used 993C2S/C4S or 996C4S are a tad more realistic.

A real wildcard is the upcoming 997 "S". I would love to learn more about that car to see if it is worth the wait and cost premium compared to an earlier model.

[Beethoven]

I tell you, if I had the 100k handy I'd get a GT3 in no time. I think it's just about the most perfect car you can drive on the road today.

[Paul Franssen]

Contratulations, Rich, and thanks for that very well written article (must have taken you a while, I'm sure!). Enjoy your car!

[JonT]

Thanks Rich and congratulations on the new ride--you'll never forget that first drive home--nice writeup.

[dickster]

great, now wheres the pics?

[Carl_Boehme]

Rich
Great writeup. Congratulations on your new car. I can't wait to see the pictures.
Carl