Nick

.02-.03. Yes, it was that close. To reiterate; the GT3 had a new engine delivered to EVO by the owner. The Speciale was accompanied by a factory team who were on the site a week before EVO could drive the car.

Nevertheless, writer for EVo was smitten with the Speciale and felt it was above the rest. HOWEVER, he acknowledged that if you factor in price the GT3 was "unbeatable".

GrantG

If we're going to be fair, the 650S was the only car on pure street tires (although it comes with Corsas at no additional cost).

mooty

gt3>speciale>mc
if u want to drive
I'd u want aural sex! speciale
show and tell, speciale or mc

Gt3Fan

I love all three cars, they're all the cream of the crop.

Dude-

Speciale is my favorite. So elegant yet so menacing.

Gt3Fan

Certainly a stunning car.

Jimmy-D

All three are just stunning and these are great times to see how competition brings out the Best; and we all benefit. I am looking forward to seeing the 650S in it's flesh. If any one has seen it I would be interested in your impressions. The 991 Gt3 to me, in it's flesh, is one stunning car. It does not just look like another "Porsche": It looks menacing and intimidating. Not pretty, like the Ferrari, but purposeful and good looking in a tough/rough kind of way. Ferraris are just a pieces of art. Love their looks. Now, The 12C is a decent looking car but , in a way, it just does not stir an equal level of emotion as the other two do. For example, I use to think the Audi R8 Spyder was a was a great looking car. I never cared for the looks of the Coupe so I bought a 2011 V10 Spyder, although I do not care for convertibles, but just thought the Spyder looked better. After owning it for several months, it just kind of lost its appeal. It was kind of weird. Its like the hot girl you meet in the bar one night and then the next day or a week later your like; WTF am I doing.(extreme example but you may understand). When I first saw the 12C I was impressed but after seeing it a couple more times it just did not move me any more - hard to explain.
So, I wonder if the 650S sort of has the staying power to stir one for a long period of time.

Hoopumpers

Saw multiple 650S and had an extended drive in one today. It's more striking than the 12C, though exterior color selection makes a big difference in how the car hits you. One of the volcano colors would be my choice.

Driving impressions are not a large departure from the 12C. Everything is slightly tighter, slightly faster, slightly sharper. The CCBs are fantastic! Is the 650S worth twice what a 2012 12C costs. Not to me.

I also had a chance to see and sit in a P1. Sadly, once you see the P1 in the flesh, any other Macca looks like a beggars car. Truly a staggering feat of engineering and design. The most stunning production car I've ever witnessed.

TomTom77

You could be right, but that doesn't seem to stop CAR to systematically pick GT3 (RS)s are winners of their COTY Award? So I'm not sure so about that.

I'm also not so sure about the 'reported' small time difference between the Speciale and the GT3. Owning both, I don't think I could be called biased, but I struggle to believe that being 35 kg lighter, having an extra 130 HP, more torque and substantially better brakes, the difference is that small. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the GT3 easily kicks the Speciale in the ***** regarding the value-for-money, but as an all-out supercar, with money not being a subject, the Speciale still wins for me.

And please don't say that Ferraris are not reliable. Arth knows how I drive my car (which is a lot harder than most Porsche owners in the region) and it's proven 100% bulletproof so far. Something that couldn't be said for all the Porsches who joined us on our drives, which were driven substantially slower too.

Jimmy-D

Hoopumpers - Just freakin "WOW"!!!!!!. That is the new 650S??? It is quite stunning. Just love the front end. The headlights are just wicked looking and love the scoops in the hood. You are also right; the color displayed above just "pops". McClaren may have a winner. I do not think I would get sick of looking at that in my garage. May be I do not want to go see one in the flesh Could be a very expensive trip

neanicu

That's the million dollars P1,this is the 650S

Jimmy-D

Well, then I would have to rob a bank to get the P1. The orange metallic above is a color that is really growing on me. Would of loved to of had the time to PTS my GT3 although I do not know if it is an approved color

neanicu

The 650S is no joke price wise neither. The one I sat in was 330K sticker!!!

markow

hi tom,
do you have the carbon ceramics on your GT3? they are supposed to be very good.
i had very limited seat time in the GT3 and some seat time in the 458S, and 15K km in one year in my 458 italia. the 458S beats the GT3 in the looks department
(the former has a refined design and the latter is a bit of a bully with some boy racer aspects- but i can understand why there is some appeal to the GT3's looks) and it is the superior road car as far as driving emotions are concerned. also, the fezza has the wider usability spectrum (wet mode, better stability control, parking sensors and rearview cam available....and i care about this being in a city with narrow parking).
the italia has proven very reliable so far, no major issues in rain, snow and shine.
money no issue the speciale is the way to go. otherwise the GT3 is a great package given its price.
peter
ps: great article in EVO middle east on the special, congrats!
ops:still undecided between the speciale and the 458M (or T). still nr. 1 on the GT3 RS list...

nh4

If you did want to try to PTS color match to those McLaren paints, the P1 above is in "Volcano Orange" and the 650S is in "Tarocco Orange" McLaren gets its paints from AkzoNobel.

-nh4.