When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
GT3 Touring European Delivery Report - November 2018
Hey fellow Rennlist’ers!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. I returned from my GT3 European delivery trip a few weeks ago but finally had a chance this weekend to sit down and put some thoughts together.
First off, a huge thanks to C.J. Wilson and his team at Porsche Fresno for making this lifetime dream come true. I found this car through one of the threads on this GT3 forum. C.J. posted that someone had backed out on going to Leipzig to pick up this car. It was about 95% how I'd spec the car. The biggest thing I wasn't sure about was the Acid Green deviated stitching.
Pre-Pickup
We landed in Berlin a few days early with two days to explore Berlin before making it down to Leipzig. Porsche Leipzig works with AVIS rental car so that you can drop off your one-way rental at Porsche Leipzig instead of taking it back to the city or airport location. All you need to do is designate Leipzig Airport as your drop off location. We rented a Seat Leon – I believe it’s similar to the VW Golf, and built on the same MQB platform as the MK VI Golf. My first time ever driving a Seat and it was a great little hatchback. The one interesting thing about it is the ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) with a manual transmission! It stayed on even as you shifted gears and even with downshifts!
We checked into the Porsche designated hotel, the Steigenberger Grandhotel Handelshof. Great location, right in the middle of the Leipzig city center with everything from a major shopping center to smaller, local boutiques. In the mornings, they have a farmer’s market with local vendors selling fresh veggies and German pastries.
Delivery Day
I got up bright and early that morning. I was still jet lagged but more so, I couldn’t wait to see my new GT3! Had the wonderful complementary breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast was top notch! They’ll cook whatever egg dishes you want and bring them to the table. In addition to a large spread of cold cuts, cheeses, bacon, sausages, etc. Lots of executives with Audi and Porsche shirts. I’m guessing this is where the VW group puts up most of their employees while traveling to this area.
The Porsche shuttle driver arrived at 8am sharp. Since I had my one way rental, I follow him to the factory which is about a 20 minute drive from the hotel to Porsche Leipzig.
Upon arrival, I was greeted by Derek, the delivery coordinator for the day. Derek was awesome! Originally from California but now lives in Leipzig. Super helpful, answered all the questions I had about drop off and route planning.
That morning was very foggy and I couldn’t see more than 150m in front of me. I was worried that the track might be closed but sure enough, I heard them doing their test runs of new Macans coming off the factory line. My instructor for the day, and coincidently, the same person who delivers your car, came to meet me in a winged GT3 PDK. I was hoping to drive the touring spec on track just to see how it performs without the wing, but they didn’t have one available. I had previously done the GT3 experience at PEC LA, so I had some, albeit, 90mins with the GT3 on track. Like other ED participants have mentioned, they don’t do any instructing and talk much while on track. I tried to engage him in conversation and joke about how bad my driving must be, but he had his German poker face on and just let me go at it. It didn’t really bother me, but for anyone coming here without any previous track or HPDE experience, just be prepared that you’re pretty much on your own (but also free to drive at your own pace).
After the track session, it’s delivery time! couldn’t believe it was finally happening. I probably watched every single GT3 YouTube video out there, from Chris Harris reviews to Janko Lind. This moment was finally happening when I could drive my own GT3. To drive a GT3 is always a great moment, but to be able to drive it on the German Autobahn and all the great roads Europe has to offer is just any car guy’s dream come true.
When I first saw the build sheet on this car, I wasn’t so sure about Acid Green. I thought it would be too “shouty” for a stealthy MO of the GT3 Touring. Man was I mistaken! Acid Green threading is less green and more yellow if I have to describe it. The bright deviated stitching color helps to break up a rather monotone black leather interior. The other fear I had was the Acid Green stitching would have horrible dashboard reflections and you would see it in your field of vision at all times. In the 2300km I drove my GT3 all over Europe in various lighting conditions – sunny, cloudy, rain, etc. No issues whatsoever!
After signing a few papers, and given a quick walkaround, we were given about 30 minutes to take all the photos we wanted inside the delivery/paddock area. One thing I was concerned about was that they would tape the front license plate onto the car, or worse, drill holes. Huge relief, it seems the Leipzig protocol is to use Velcro and double-sided tape to affix the front plate to the vehicle.
Next on the schedule was lunch. We dined with a father and son duo who pick up an GT3 RS. Great to see a father/son duo do an ED trip together. You get a 3 course lunch in what they call the Porsche Casino. Our tour guide even joked, “Yes, it’s called the casino because it’s gamble if your meal will be good or not.” LOL. I can happily report it was a wonderful tasting meal. We also did the Leipzig factory tour. An amazing facility and my first tour of a large-scale production car facility. They were already starting production on the new face lifted Macan with a large majority of them going to China.
Driving GT3 in Europe
My wife and I had a wonderful time driving west to Stuttgart, then to the Burgundy region of Dijon/Beaune and to the French Riviera touring Provence, Nice and Monaco. My favorite road the whole trip was 500 Road in the Black Forest region. WOW, the pavement was perfect, lots of elevation changes and long sweepers to open up the GT3. If heaven had roads, this would be it! N85/Route Napoleon on the way to the South of France was the road I was most looking forward to driving, but because it rained the night before, lots of little rocks on the road. All I could think about was how many rock chips I was getting, but thankfully I didn’t see any damage to any of the panels. Whew! Lots of great corners, but the bad part is if your passenger is like my wife, she wasn’t happy that there isn’t a quick way to jump on the motorway and calm things down.
Unfortunately, with this time of the year, most of the Swiss mountain passes had just closed for the season. Most of my motorway driving was pretty rain soaked but I must say, the Cup 2 did just fine in the rain. My drive from Stuttgart to Dijon was pouring most of the way butI just used caution and kept it below 100kph. I wish I had taken more photos along the way, but I guess I was too busy driving! :-)
Finally a bath in Monaco before drop off day. Surprisingly reasonable in Monaco...Monaco Premium Car Wash 30 euros near the Le Meridian Hotel. I highly recommend them for anyone needing a car wash before drop off in Nice. Great hand wash. No swirls or scratches on my jet black paint.
Wrap Up
Oh and about the car! Wow, I can’t say enough wonderful things about the GT3. The manual shifter is sublime. I love PDK, best dual clutch transmission on the planet, but when it comes to driver involvement and participating in the driving experience – GT3 manual all the way! Great midrange torque, and from 7500-9000rpm redline is just magical! I gave it one last go on the Grande Corniche before dropping the car off in Nice. All I could think about on the plane ride home was that scream at 9000 rpm.
To wrap up, I just want to say a huge, huge thank you to C.J. for making this whole trip possible and the opportunity to buy one of my dream cars. He is truly one of the “good guy” dealers who looks after his customers. The whole buying experience was first class. C.J. would reply to my texts at 10pm at night and spoke on the phone at length like we were lifetime car buddies. I hope C.J. buys another Porsche dealer or two, or more! He has earned my business for life! If you're considering a Porsche/Audi/BMW/McLaren, I highly recommend checking out one of CJ stores. I visited the Porsche/Audi store in Fresno before going to Germany and all his sales people treated everyone with respect and courtesy. Very knowledgeable about the products they sell, and not to mention, a wonderful collection of cool exotics on display.
Few more photos of the car:
Some of the cool museum Porsche on display upstairs:
Love it, congrats man. CJ is indeed awesome to work with and I haven't even bought anything from him yet, you can tell he's just a car enthusiast at the end of the day like the rest of us. Glad that you were able to do the euro delivery, it's a hell of an experience. Thanks for sharing and now the wait begins
Congrats, beautiful build and amazing ED, I wish I had done it with mine, it's a keeper
Thank you! I'm typically one who gets bored of a car pretty quick, but this car is a long term keeper! I hope to have it for many years to come!
Originally Posted by tasman
Congrats. Thanks for sharing
Thank you!
Originally Posted by ruuddevil
Great report, and beautiful car. Congrats. Stitching looks Amazing.
Thank you!
Originally Posted by sampelligrino
Love it, congrats man. CJ is indeed awesome to work with and I haven't even bought anything from him yet, you can tell he's just a car enthusiast at the end of the day like the rest of us. Glad that you were able to do the euro delivery, it's a hell of an experience. Thanks for sharing and now the wait begins
In was indeed! CJ was first class at the way and we need more car enthusiasts running dealerships.
Like you said, a hell of an experience! I did my first euro delivery with BMW last year and now I'm totally hooked!
Originally Posted by Izzone
Did you follow break in to 2,000 miles ?
I followed the European handbook procedure which is keep it below 4500rpm for the first 500km and raise the RPM celling 500rpm every 100km. I drove a total of 2300km the whole trip or about 1300mi. I think it wasn't until the I was over 2000km that I actually pushed it to redline. I think I only pushed it to 8-9000 once or twice.
The beauty of this car is that even between 3000-5000rpm, it's plenty exciting.
Originally Posted by TONY AIR C2S
Great write up and car spec. Wish I had the $ to spec mine that way, it's beautiful. Enjoy
11-25-2018, 04:16 PM
GT3 Touring European Delivery Report - November 2018
