TRAKCAR

Agreed, all certifiable :-)

But this brings us back to the new direction the GT3 is taking, It's popularity, resale and need to pre order.

For Porsche fans, a great 911 just got better.
Many have said that the track guys, nostalgic self shifters who feel they lost drivers involvement, race provenance etc.. will be replaced with 3 times the amount of "regular" sports car buyers.

Not you, not me, but the regular buyer who now will compare the specs on paper, the PDK etc. who just buys it because they want a nice car.

There is my disagreement. The track guys bought most GT3's before. I keep hearing about what a small market we are but I think we bought most GT3's. There are not that many, but I would say if you take count adding up all GT3's on track any given weekend it will add up to hundreds. I would say more GT3's at some events than all other stuff combined. We had no choice. Nothing drives better and takes track abuse better than a GT3. None comes close.
Than there are the buyers who like the track image, even tough they maybe only go to 1 DE event to have the experience, for them any car would do at the track but they like the image. They buy an overall and helmet go once, take pictures meet other GT3 owners get horrified at the clag hitting their freshly polished car ;-)

These buyers are mostly gone and will be all gone if the new GT3 proves no more durably than other cars. I don't think so, but let it be proven first. Race the stuff.
Porsche fans will still buy Porsches, no change.
For those supposedly 3 buyers for every track junkie buyer lost there are a LOT op options with AMG, M, Aston, Maserati, Jag, Bentley, Audi, Corvette and Viper.

For the track now we have an interesting Corvette and Viper but if they don't work, we'll have no choice but to learn to like PDK-S.
But man, I've driven a lot of really nice cars that make the 991 feel very pedestrian , the GT3 looks like any 991 to these regular buyers and when they into one of the other cars with mega big HP and TQ, sound, stand features and exotic looks, many will be more attractive buys. They offer a lot more on paper specs, style, comfort, exclusivity etc. and that is why many of them buy, not the Porscheness or track ability.
I'd even say that for driving around town the other cars are more exciting, big torque, burbling engines etc. To the regular buyer a GT3 may feel too refined and crisp and just not so much excitement or getting the feeling of driving something special in every day use. They don't care the other cars weigh 4000lbs plus, they cant tell the difference.

You see a ton of 458's at the valet, rarely at the track and I thing the GT3 is heading the same way.

So could it be that the GT3 sales will actually goes down due to competition after the 1st years' novelty wears off with rest of market like depreciation?

To a non Porsche fan, non track guy I would not recommend a GT3.

mooty

you are beginning to sound as ancient as me!
and i am only 78YO.

dude, i fly you in from AZ and you drive my car. you babble way too much now days

but i agree with what you said. the new GT3 is a NEW GT3, and demongraphics will change. it's not a good vs bad thing, it's just a change. i might have to follow u in a vette.

neanicu

According to the POLL,it looks like the car will be primarily used on the street,so I'm looking forward to new owners opinion on how they feel about PDK after a few months. And I'm being serious here,it will be of great value,for me at least,to find this out from actual owners and not journalists.

TRAKCAR

Babble babble. My bad.
In CA next week but not near you, no driving just

Cant get to the track losing it.

CAlexio

I don't see a Starbucks option?

Macca

Id say 90% of GT3 sold in my country since 1999 have seen less than two track events each year under ownership of their first owners. Probably of those two track days at least one was a Porsche Club driver education day. Mostly these are bought as Friday to work drives and spirited weekend back road drives in NZ. A the cars have become older and depreciated their 3-4-5th owners have used them more on the track and the odd tarmac rally. Its almost impossible to insure any car for track work here so only very wealthy gentlemen racers buy brand new GT3s as tarmac rally or track only cars out of the box.

As for option 3/4 in difference to others such as Trackcar I would day 90% of the racers I know would say the GT3 is the wrong car for this purpose. We have a tonne of 996 & 996 Cup cars here which sell for 40-60k usd and these are far more fit for purpose. Many would also suggest Lotus, Xbow, Catheram & Atom as track day only ponies. The GT3s are simply too heavy in road trim and fundamentally compromised suspension wise for a really serious all out track day car IMHO...

Lets not forget. These are road cars first by design - every one of them even the 4.0RS. Thats why they have airbags and stuff. They are the descendants of the '73RS, 964Rs and 993RS all of which were also road cars first and foremost.

Manifold

How many tracks do you have in NZ? And how long?

Macca

Hi Manifold. I would say 10. 5 in North Island and 5 in South Island.The longest is 7.6km (just under 5 miles) but most seem to be between 3.6 and 4.7km. Three are new and have been built/opened in the last 7 years. Per head of capita we have a similar number of GT3 sold new each year as the USA. Thats one car for every 265,000 people!

Manifold

Not bad! Seems that you have better access to tracks than many in the US. I'm in the Mid-Atlantic US, so fortunate to have about 10 tracks within a 7-hr drive, and 5 of them within 2 hrs.

911rox

Fairly small sample but there you have it, the GT3 has become the pin up girl of the C&C crowd... Not knocking the car itself but its sad to see the intended use of a car of this caliber predominantly street only in 80% of sales... sooooo NOT what the concept of a GT car was 13 years ago when the journey began...

Petevb

Primarily street with some track/ competition was always the intended purpose of the GT3. If you want a track car there are many better options, from formula cars to cup cars, etc. The GT3 is a street car that is trackable. Judged purely as a track car it's soft, expensive and slow, and always has been. Judged as a street car that also works at the track it's best in class.

Manifold

Not just a small sample, probably not representative of GT3 buyers either, since Rennlisters are probably more likely to track the car.

Macca

911rox. You know this statement isn't true. 80% of all GT3s ever sold have been mainly street use I suspect. People like TRACKCAR who use their machines only for track work are very few and far between. Infact I hang out with a few of the local Porsche racing fraternity here and they all drive theri GT3s as road cars and their Cup cars on the track in the race series. They say you cant compare the two and I agree having driven both. Serious Track people with some money eventually go racing even in PCNZ race series (low cost and more fun). From 944s to Cup cars a proper 1000kg track prepared 911 even with only 30bhp is such a lot off fun and so different under the brakes and through the bends than a 1400kg road car with 450 bhp.

Were you at Rennsport Weekend in Sydney? I assume you were competing not at the cafe LOL! Let me know your rego and Ill find some pictures I may have taken of your car. I took alot of pictures of white GT3s that weekend!

911rox

Nope wasn't at Rennsport Macca and don't drink coffee so you wouldn't find me at a cafe Mine spends half his time at the track doing 350-500 km on track per trackday and the other half getting there or on country outings Turning heads at cafe precincts ain't my style...

And no, they maynot be Cup cars but the sure as hell are one of the best arrive and drive cars out there... Can't exactly drive a cupcar to the track. one needs a towing rig and trailer setup. Huge money burn for 8-10 track days or so...

Macca

I totally agree. Cup cars only make sense when you are doing competition really. They are very cheap here now for used ones. The GT3 is still the best compromise in the range....like always I think if you want a rawer experience you need to look backwards not forwards with Porsche. If elt the same way leaving the 993RS for the 1999 GT3. Got in it and thought it felt way too clinical and had so much performance I would only really get the best from it on the track. The 993 felt so much more organic and although it had handling follies it felt as quick for 3/4 of the pace. My 993C2 is now beyond 993RS spec in terms of handling and performance and I think will still be the more fun on the track than the 991 GT3. I think the GT3 will make a great Targa or fast road car and will be very quick on track. It will be a better touring proposition too. Theres nothing like working a 300bhp 1290kg air cooled car hard though on the track where the lines and balance become so much more critical. I guess only time will tell but Porsche are moving with the times and the product of today is very different than yesterday.