I'm trading in my 991.2 GT3 for a ........station wagon
 

Like the title says, I'm trading in my 991.2 GT3 later this week for a station wagon. A Panamera 4 E-hybrid Sport Turismo. I'm sure a lot of you will think I'm absolutely crazy (I probably am) and I have no doubt that I will have some regrets in the future.

But let me try to explain.

Unlike many of you on this board, buying a brand new GT3 was a big stretch financially. Honestly, I didn't expect to get an allocation, so when it happened, I pretty much scraped everything I could pull together to buy it. It is my absolute dream car, and it's been everything I could have imagined. But pretty quickly I began to realize two things.

First, it was too expensive for me to regularly track. In order to track it regularly I would have to make too many other financial sacrifices which I wasn't ready to do. Second, my wife and I adopted our third child last spring so we suddenly went from a four person family, to five. I really missed taking my kids with me in my 991.1 C4S. We used to go out as a family for dinner, skiing, drives up Pikes Peak, etc. We had a lot of fun in the car. Now with the GT3 I pretty much go on drives by myself.

I started thinking about what I could get instead. Pretty much nothing excited me. I test drove a Boxster spyder, but it didn't have the same specialness as the GT3. I thought about a Targa or a Turbo, but with three kids we still wouldn't be able to go out as a family. Everything else I considered felt like a very expensive downgrade that would still sit in the garage and be driven by myself.

My wife suggested a Sport Turismo. I've always been a fan of wagons, it has five seats, I can drive it year round, it's a hybrid (I actually like electric cars so shoot me), it got a ton of amazing tech, and it still drives relatively fast. After test driving one I fell in love. I realized I would spend way more time in this car, daily driving, going out as a family, head to the ski resorts. So I decided to pull the trigger and had my dealership find one on the east coast with the specs I wanted. It just got here today and should be ready later this week.

My time with my GT3 is almost over. I thought for sure this would be the car I hold onto for ever. I spent an amazing 3500 miles with the car and will never regret this experience. It was my first GT car, and my first custom ordered Porsche. If things continue to go well for my family I'm sure I'll eventually have another GT car in the stable. For now the Sport Turismo will have to do. I am hoping to pick up a less expensive track car (996/997 Carrera S or 987 Cayman for example) or possibly go the air cooled route as a fun weekend car next spring. It will probably be a last minute decision as something pops up for sale. I also put my name on the list for the Taycan (Mission E), so the Sport Turismo may be replaced in the next couple of years.

Hopefully I'll be back to the GT world at some point. They truly are amazing cars.

Kudos to you for adopting! In the end, cars are just things that can be replaced. Family and time spent with them cannot. Enjoy your Turismo and post up some pics of your new family truckster.

Family's always first. I remembered drooling over your car when you first posted pics of it. It made my wait for mines even more excruciating....haha! You'll find your way to another GT car for sure....for now, enjoy the family life with the Sport Turismo. Take it easy.

Connotations die hard...

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...486355e153.png

Sounds like a positive move.

I thought Sport Turismo could only seat 4? Doesn't it have the same rear centre console as the Panamera?

Yeah went to Porsche site after my post. Makes total sense, however they call it 4+1. In the pics it looks tight for legs/feet. I've only seen rear centre console in person.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...8330ed1f66.jpg

971 Chalk Xpel Stealth IPE full exhaust
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...279357e383.jpg
Station wagons can be cool. Just look at mine.

You have done well and having that wagon as replacement its not a bad thing at all . Just curious, did you consider a gt3 .1? It's the route I took when I realized I wouldn't be able to get an allocation (without paying some much more over msrp) and bought an AMG E63 wagon as well.

Thanks for all of the kind words! I know deep down it's the right decision. It's still so hard to let go of something this special.

I'll definitely post some pictures after I take delivery. I'll make sure there are some groceries in the back. :)

The Sport Turismo plus a .1 GT3 is outside of my budget. I'm targeting something <$50k if I go the track route, or in the $50k-$75k if I go the air-cooled weekend route.

I like the Sport Turismo. A lot.

Sounds like a good move. Enjoy!

Mines a pretty similar build except the 4 hybrid and white. Sport exhaust, black wheels, door handles, mirrors, taillights, and a lot of the tech upgrades.