Waxer

Waxer

Waxer

ajag

Lol, esp funny as the majority of the populace can't tell the difference between the a base 911 with an aftermarket body kit and an RS, let alone the diff between .1 and .2.

Manifold

It's interesting how (some) people can be overtly biased and not realize it, even when it's in writing and pointed out by others.

Waxer

FerchoPorsche

Some feedback on the .2 RS, can't really compare to .1 RS, but had good seat time on GT3 991.1-PDK (with track alignment and DSC controller), so I'll make some comparisons wrt to that car.
(This long review is for those that are waiting for the car, with the hope it alleviates the agony)

Conditions:
Drove the car from Chicago to California (yes, I was REALLY excited about that)
Tire pressure, exactly what's on the manual : 29/33 (F/R)
Tires MSCP2
Weather, all conditions : Sunny, Cold, Rainy, Pouring, Extremely Hot, Dry, Humid.
Spec (main ones): PCCB, FAL, Aluminum Pedals, extended range tank, Bucket seats.... Black. w/Aurum wheels

I did proper break-in, with oil/filter change around half way.

Driving overall :
The overall feel for the drive is superb, its firm yet compliant. On obscenely bad roads you have to survive it, it does not shine, as expected.
The road noise is significant, its more than GT3. But it is not ridiculous. Since I was driving stretches of 8 hours, I did wear earplugs occasionally, I alternated with noise cancelling headphones. (I prefer earplugs, so I could hear the alarm of another device that I had in the car -that helps in reducing the cost of the experience-). I DID enjoy the drive with naked ears from time to time, the engine sound under acceleration is VERY nice, but at constant speed it gets to you after few hours (any repetitive sound does, you could say).
The bucket seats are AMAZING, I had zero trouble, and I found them very comfortable.... Previous car was 18-way, I must say I prefer the Buckets (18-way is better if you want to rest your head on the seat, but if you lean your head forward a tiny bit -as if you had a helmet- bucket seats are just perfect for me)

Engine sound:
WOW.
It all starts with starting the engine... instant orgasmic experience. It starts the engine with a boost at 2K or so RPM, then it comes down -it stays a tiny bit longer than GT3 and I think higher-. I **believe** they play with the exhaust valves, it sounds real deep at start, can't tell for sure, but I CAN tell is that every time I started the car at the gas stations -and had many of those- it was always a happy time.
There is SOMETHING about the engine sound that inspires confidence, yes, I admit its very subjective, but I don't feel any strain or stress at all.
You feel the engine sound more than the exhaust sound (I'd say it was the opposite the GT3 I was driving). Its a very natural sound, not loud, just strong and solid. I did NOT feel the sound excessive at all, on the contrary, it feels very pleasant. (Can't say the same thing for road noise)
The GT3 was higher pitch than this car.
The upshift is very different (the PDK programming -system?- is very different than reference GT3, more on that later). Under acceleration, and it doesn't need to be all out, just a bit of aggression, the upshift makes like a "pneumatic / semi-explosion" sound that is really nice and contributes to the experience. I LOVE this detail.

Transmission:
The programming (I don't know whether there are actual mechanical differences with .1, I'm guessing there are) is very different.
In Normal mode, the downshifting it seems to "skip" gears to land in the eventual gear you need to be when releasing the break pedal. Most of my breaking was normal road breaking, did a couple of harder ones -nowhere near track level- to try out the downshifting and still feel skips gears, you don't feel traction change on rears nor engine level sound variation (Maybe I need to try other things, my driving was mostly on highways, not lots of breaking.... as I write this I'm hesitating myself )
In PDK Sport, you get the usual rev matching that we all love and praise.... but its, again, different than GT3.1.... its smoother and more precise -in the sense that revs might be matched better and less friction change-.
The upshift is glorious on either PDK mode, being more enjoyable if you are applying good throttle.

Stearing:
Others mentioned this, its "lighter" than GT3. But its absolutely responsive. I'm guessing you'll need to be very progressive and smooth on all your inputs (not just steering).
I **believe**, like others ventured, that it might be toe setting, but it does feel like you need to be very smooth, the car just turns very aggressively. I think I like harder steering feel better, but this is not a problem at all, just a difference in feel and perception. (Don't think it'll affect negatively on the track AT ALL)
Also, I think the programming/steering ratios are different.

Power delivery:
I think I now know why they say the mid-range power is better.... you will feel like a turbo kicking in at around 5.5K RPM.... then again around 7.5K or so. Very different delivery than GT3 of reference, to the point that in one particular turn that I usually take on my joy rides, the car felt like it "jumped" forward, instant smile and usual "out loud WOW".
Did couple of Launch Control on safe and deserted roads, it was awesome. The TC is certainly more permissive than GT3, I had to abort one as the traction difference between R/L was too big and had to fight the steering wheel. Absolutely shocked by the power to the wheels on 2nd and 3rd gear, it did NOT feel like 50HP difference, the power band in higher revs is awesome.

Braking:
Its basically same as GT3, I just feel that it doesn't dive as much, which I love ! (Attributing this to harder suspension).
Very very stable under braking, didn't do race condition, but couple of hard ones made me smile.

Interior:
Its basically the same as GT3, few details here and there (I didn't care much about that, other than looking similar to previous, and it didn't disappoint)
Nice touches I wasn't expecting, again I didn't care about interior, the seat belts, door handle -if you can call it that- are silverish, which matches the stitching .... nice touch. And it has a back up camera, which again I did not expect, but gladly take.
Bose sound system is OK, at low speed it sounds great, you'll have to increase volume due to road noise.
Smells good, different than GT3 (can't describe odor)
Steering wheel feels very nice, its marginally smaller, still good visibility of the dashboard, no interference whatsoever. (I use the steering wheel as high as I can, and seat as low as I can, in those settings and with my height -5'10"- the steering wheel column blocks a bit of dashboard so I go bit lower, so I'm guessing I'm sitting lower than GT3, maybe due to bucket seats ?)

Looks:
I did not expect to look particularly good -its another 911-, but I gladly admit I was wrong, it looks stunning. Very aggressive, very sporty, those wide hips, with the big wing, its just awesome !


Its a fantastic car. (I'm happy I switched from .1 GT3, whether the price difference is worth it, that's a very subjective topic, I think you get a magnificent experience with both, I'm enjoying the current one)

I'll say something else once I have a chance to go to a track that I have reasonable experience already.

mass27

I think your analysis is accurate.

I would only add:

#2 For many people, even if the difference is 1% better, it is worth it to them to perpetually upgrade to the next version.
#3 Many have martinized their .1RS therefore their only delta is the starting MSRP of the RS between .1 and .2 which is $12K. Peanuts for the non working, i.e., all, RL.

sampelligrino

Nice summary, makes sense to me as someone with no horse in this race

TRAKCAR

RennOracle

What's the delta between .2 rs with cup 2 vs cup r? Regardless, idk about the 10 seconds, but it just needs to save 4 seconds to match the lap of the 991.2 rs.
Sportauto did:
7.05,41 991.2 gt3 rs (i guess cup r + faster track)
7.09,59 991.1 gt3 rs mr (trofeo r)

RennOracle

i saw a couple of 2018 registered 991.1 rs registered here in europe, usa might have them as well too. Plus isn't extended warranty available in usa?

GT3

RobbieRob

.2 should be about 6 to 8 seconds slower on the Cup 2's than the R's, so 7.02 -7,04 ish.

Waxer