Manifold

I currently have the first two, and will soon be adding the third.

Appeal of the 4RS for me is that it's the best mid-engine Porsche, a truly capable track machine that can also be enjoyed on the road. I've wanted something like a 4RS since the days when we could only dream that they might make something like a GT4. Now they have it, and I'll take it!

Mid- and rear-engine Porsches don't really compete with each other in mind, they're different enough to complement each other. If I had to choose only one, I could flip a coin, but I'd rather have both.

I like the 991.2 3RS as a track and weekend car. The 992 GT3 is a more refined and less intense car, so it's more usable as a daily driver, but I find that a 991 or 992 TT/S is even more usable as a daily driver.

Alan C.

Mdelete

alcc

[QUOTE=mrd_spy;19397484]You think I would bother "talking" with you if I don't own the cars? I have had a 4RS for a yr and a 6MT GTS 4.0 for a yr and a half. The fact these are my 1st Porsches should tell you the privileged relationships I have. I just was not into Porsches. I was offered a 918. I could have an S/T if I had wanted one.

I have done reasonably controlled pulls on my 4RS and my GTS, within safety constraints. The difference between your tests and mine is I controlled for engine RPM, not road speed. Yes, there's still the gearing difference. But I can't control for that. Done this way, the GTS pulls stronger (quicker) than the 4RS in 2nd and 3rd up to ~5500. (With a chronograph, not just my butt.) Hence my comment re somewhat disappointing midrange punch. Above that, the 4RS pulls stronger, no question.

If you read the defenses re the 4RS, much of it comes down to saying the GT3s and GT3 RSs are no better: the 4RS is quicker than the GT3, the 991.1s suck, the Metzger sucks... Sit down and think about what you all are saying: no Porsche GT car has midrange punch. Oh, ok. And then comes the defense that that's what you get from an NA engine. Really? Go drive a 458, or even a 430. The have plenty of midrange grunt. Yes, those are V8s, but their displacements are only marginally bigger than 4L. Per cylinder, they have less volume. Note: I am only talking about the engines. Not comparing the rest of the cars.

Look, I am not knocking your 4RS. I love mine. Am I allowed to critique what I love? Or must I love unconditionally? Try to understand that critique is not the same as criticism.

mrd_spy

you critique it without understanding it then. It’s a cup engine road car thus the torque is higher up the rev range by design.
so I go back to saying Learn how to drive the cars you own :-) and also get an ST. As for the 918 any one could buy one as they could not fill the order book, and thus this is where the 1st real VIP clients came from, people who supported the brand and got a 918 then had 1st dibs on any new GT car no questions asked.

Manifold

I have a 992 GT3 impressions thread, and have given my honest impressions of the car in that thread. Those impressions aren't entirely consistent over time, some days I like the car more than other days - it is what it is. But people have generally read the thread without getting bent of shape that I don't 100% praise the car all the time. I think it's best that owners of cars give honest impressions of cars, rather than constantly selling themselves and others on the car. Honest impressions give potential buyers of a car a better idea of whether they may want the car.

Regarding mid-range punch, my 991.2 3RS has surprisingly good punch, quite a bit more than my 991.1 GT3 had, and I think more than the 992 GT3. I don't know if this is partly because the car has a center muffler delete. Whatever the reason, I like it!

168glhs1986

The fact the 4RS touches so many emotions good and bad is kinda crazy. You have opinions from top to bottom. It's great....it's not great, it's overpriced, it's not a 911, it's the best, it's overrated.... Is it fair to say this car touches more emotions than than any other offering from Porsche at the moment?

If so why is this? Such an emotional car, in the cockpit and bench racing in the bar.

Manifold

- The car is fairly extreme, too much so for some people.

- The car is targeted at people who can drive well (which usually means lots of track experience).

- Some Cayman owners want to say the 4RS is as good as, or better than, 911 GT cars

- Some 911 GT owners want to say the 4RS is not as good as the 911 GT cars

TOporschefan

I don't think so.....it's all the guys with GT4's trying to discount the capabilities of the RS to make themselves feel better. I think the RS crowd is tired of the constant griping over guys who have never driven or owned a 4RS.

Manifold

My experience is that, by design, you tend to get what you pay for with new Porsches (at MSRP). RS isn’t just marketing.

cooler2442

There's also a level of special "fizz" you get with an RS that does not exist outside of that trim level. Friend has a 4RS he bought last year and in February purchased an amazing spec 6MT 991.2 GT3 with everything(buckets, pts, PCCB's, etc). Sold the GT3 after 3months because he enjoyed driving the 4RS more and the GT3 just felt "soft" compared to the 4RS which made it less fun.

TOporschefan

For anyone who doubts the merit of the 4RS -however a butt dyno test was not considered in this testing.

TOporschefan

I agree with what you are saying about the 4RS but I think the 991/992 GT3 are also very special cars. Each model provides the driver a unique experience. As Manifold mentioned earlier Porsche makes a car for you so don't have to hate on the one you didn't choose. Guys we can love more than one car

alcc

I'll expand on your point. Not only can we love more than one car, we can also love more than one make of cars. Face it, the differences between Porsche models are pretty minor. But the differences between Porsches, Ferraris, McLarens, Lambos etc. are huge. And for those of us who have owned many different makes of high performance cars, we tend not to be uncritical fan boys of any one car.

Those who truly love cars love to compare cars. That's why we own more than one. Comparisons or critiques are not put downs. There's no need to jump to defend one make or one model.

GT4RSYMPHONY

Truth is that the GT4RS is the one car they make that puts fun and theater over pretty much all other considerations. I think the writing is on the wall about what that means in terms of where the car will live in automotive history.

Manifold

I’ll expand further: we can love various cars to various degrees at various times. Ultimately, it’s all pretty much subjective, and our subjective perceptions are not a simple and invariant thing. Saying that a particular car is ‘the best’ doesn’t really make sense.