Mike Frye

+1

I vote for this one, who's with me! Let's start a campaign.

Simple, elegant, and concise.

M758

Yep,
This covers the idea behind a Grand Touring car.

The car should fast over a long distance. Very strong handing and capable of carrying people and some luggage.

In the early days a 911 was not a GT car because it was to raw around the edges. Fast yes, but not as comfortable for 4 hrs of high speed running than it should be.

The other thing that seperates a GT from sports car is a sport car is great for a hard blast around tight corner for 30-40 minutes. Then you stop catch your breath and rest. In the GT car it may not like to be tossed around 30-40 mph corners, but it can handle 60-130 mph sweeping corner all day long and the driver and passenger arrive refreshed and ready for dinner so to speak. One key aspect to a great GT car is effortless speed. That means that you don't need to flog the car or constant save the car to make it run fast. Nor do you need rev the **** out of the motor. In a good GT car you travel at 100-150 mph and it feels like 50-80 mph in a "normal car".

It feel the 928 is one of the best GT cars ever made as it combines speed, handling, comfort, space and easy power due to the big V8 in a way few cars ever have.

Frankly I feel the newer 996 and 997's are apporaching GT land as their size and weight increases. I think the modern equvalent of the 928 is a 996TT or 997TT. Lost of power, comfort and speed in car just large enough to carry luggage. However in some respects the 928 is still king, becuase it was designed as a GT car where as the 996TT & 997TT have sort of been backed into GT status.

My Parents have nice low mile 91 928S4 and I took it on a 3 day 800 mile Porsche club tour. The driving was easy and simple with little effort maintain the speed of the pack. My wife and I did not need to compromise our luggage requirements nor feel cramped or tired from stiff or noisy rides.

Bret928

Of the cars on that list besides our beloved Shark - I think the coolest has to be the Aston-Martin DBS (think Sir Thomas Sean Connery in a tux) and the sexyist hands down has to be the Ferrari 365GTC/4.

Jim bailey - 928 International

A new 997 GT3 is 176 inches long ,71 inch wide (no mirrors) ,and 50 inches tall. How does that compare to an S-4 ? Try 177.95 long ,72.28 wide ,and 50.47 high !!!! Perhaps the BEST GT is a GT3 ! While we were not looking the "911" grew up

Jim bailey - 928 International

More GT3 specs ... 415 hp ,300 ft lbs torque ,12 to 1 compression ,193 MPH top speed ,with 4.1 second 0-60 mph doing just great until I hit the MSRP ...$107,500 No wonder I had to let a couple pass me in the straights on Sunday at The Streets of Willow POC event .

Ron_H

I don't think so !! Have you sat in one? Have you experienced the cramped elbow room? Think the outward vision is good? Or barely acceptable? I got back in my 928 and smiled at the comfort and room and ergonomic as well as aesthetic superiority. And I didn't pay $100,000 for it. And I can fill the hatch area with so much stuff and go camping out of my 928. Try that with a 911. I loved all of my 911s but nobody better lay a finger on my 928, thank you.

Jim bailey - 928 International

Yes Ron I have spent some time in a GT3 and it seems just fine to me but I never felt a lack of space in my 1968 911 either. Maybe because when you are as big as I am nothing has elbow room !! When people talk about the armrest on the door it makes little sense to me. First there is no room to get my arm between me and the door plus the "rest" is way too low anyway !

Alan

Yes the "Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car" article on "Top 10 GT's"
was discussed a while ago.

One could conclude from their choices that the old ones are clearly are best... no cars from the current millenium were listed.

However Hemmings is more a "classic" magazine - till its been around 10 years they don't seem to consider it worthy...

Some odd choices though Grifo, SM, Alfa - I would not really consider these a match.

However some of these are real classics IMO: Interceptor/FF, Khamsin, Espada, ~original DBS, 365GTC

The depicted 928 (S4) was on the cover along with the Khamsin and on the cover list and in the article the 928 was the first car covered - first sentence:

"There is little argument (around our office, anyway) that Porsche's 928 is the very definition of a GT car - when asked to draw a short list, it was the only car chosen unanimously."

While I like some of the other cars - I don't think many of them are really practical DD's and I already voted with my wallet anyway.

Alan

Okv

Yes, the 928 in itself could be the defintion of a 'GT'-car.

For me, the 928 is an icon of times now gone, where congested roads and low speed limits was less of a problem or even did not exist.

Sure, the 928 can be struggled around on our nisse (norwegian) mountain passes, doing nice power-slides in the hairpins, but it is on the true schnellbahn that it really shines.
Sustained, effortless cruising at speed well above 200 km/h, it is meant to rule the left lane.

Okv

+1.
Like I said above, this IS the 928.

FBIII

I don't know who put the Hemmings GT list together but I feel it's absolutely rubbish. The Alpha is a lovely little car but way to small to be considered a GT. A DBS Aston is a dog. Six cylinders in a 3500lb plus car just does not make the grade. A mid 70's V8 Vantage hell ya. The Jensen Interceptor with its 440 Chrysler was also a gas guzzling pig. Not much better than a kit car. The lamborghini Espada was about the ugliest car Lamborgini ever made. The Citreon Maserati was a wonderful engineering exercise and quite pretty, but certainly not reliable enough to make a 1000 mile journey. Maserati Khamsin doesn't get me excited, much prefer an earlier Ghibli SS. I guess that just leaves the Daytona and the 928 for me on that list.

Vilhuer

It was made with V8 too once that engine came available. Result was basically 70's Vantage except front end looks were still DBS.

It can look ugly to some but it was most successful 2+2 Lambo by far based on production numbers.

Ferrari 365 GTC/4 is not Daytona which is 365 GTB/4. GTC/4 is 2+2 build on Daytona chassis using same 4.4L V12 block with different cylinder heads. Result was 340hp in more usable package than Daytona as for example power steering was installed. 500 were made. Its one of the best kept secrets on Ferrari GT's.

Jim bailey - 928 International

The SM was just too weird V-6 front wheel drive 2.7 liter engine . ???

FBIII

If we're going to quibble over nomenclature, the DBS is a six cylinder car. The DBS V8 is a V8. My bad on the 365gtc I only gleaned the 365 which immediate brought the Daytona to mind. I've ridden in the gtc and it doesn't quite do it for me. Much rather have the Daytona for wow factor, performance and investment potential. The Daytona would get my vote for the ultimate GT of its era. I don't care how many Espada's were sold they are still fugly.