Gofishracing

5 lug would have been nice.

triode

Me too, I hope (and believe) that the car will be amazing...which makes it all the more frustrating, in a sense. Peace.

991 3Turbo

The GTR is a fantastic piece of machinery--although rough riding. In no way is it uninvolving. The turbo sounds and acceleration, launch control, unbelievable lat G forces and powerful grip are very entertaining. Have you personally tried one RobSpyder?

RobSpyder

I have. I agree that it is an amazing machine. Which is exactly what it feels like when driving it...robotic. I was rather shocked at just how much I disliked the car. I honestly now look at anyone driving one and think they are just a little bit of a poser. I don't mean that as badly as it probably sounds. The car just requires zero skill to pilot. Point the steering wheel, stomp the pedal all the way to the floor, hang on. Software takes care of feeding in the throttle, handling wheel spin, gear changes, everything in fact. The word that repeatedly came to mind was: Soulless

That said, it's one ridiculously fast roomba.

jlee504

I agree with that which is why I moved on from the GT-R its definitely like driving a video game, not a lot of challenge or feel.

But price per pound, its an amazing machine.

Jeff

Rovman

Allow me to add 2 more cents to the high jack.

My experience with the car(GTR) is slightly different. There is a fairly skilled driver who now runs in my run group at the track. In order for you to run solo in our group (club requirements) you have to be able to drive at speed in your car WITHOUT all of the electronic nannies on in order to be approved as a solo driver. In other words you have to prove your skill as a fairly competent driver, not prove how well the electronics, programming and algorithms in the electronics work on your car.

Long story short, I lined up behind him on his first session out with an instructor where he was going to run WITHOUT any electronic assistance on. Man, were his arms a blur in that car. He could not stay on the recommended lines, hit ANY apexes, or keep up his previous pace where the car was helping. Needless to say, after 2 laps , as bad as he didn't want to, he had to wave my by as he was eventually going to hurt the car, or worse, hurt himself and the instructor trying to keep ahead of that 385hp rear engined, rear wheel drive GT3 behind him. By the end of the 25 minute session, he was only one corner from me catching and passing him again.

Moral of the story, not sure if there is one, but what I observed was a very hard car to drive quickly with what I am assuming is a person who does not possess enough skill to handle said car(GTR) Without the help of all the electronics, which in my opinion, what makes the car so quick and drivable.

Does it mean the GTR is crap, No, not at all. but what it proves to ME is that when a HEAVY, 4 wheel drive car is driven on the track WITHOUT all of its engineering wizardry helping, it does prove to be a handful after all. (Track prep, alignment spec.'s and what not unknown)

Just my 2 cents and observations. No experience in ever driving a GTR....

Back on track. Thinking of moving up to the 991 GT3 from my 996 GT3. After reading all of the articles on the car (991 GT3) so far. I read about how hard core the car is but I wonder if their definition of hard core is the same as mine. To me, the 996 GT3 is the poster child for hard core and raw driving experiences. It is that challenge to "get it right" when driving the 996 GT3 that keeps my attention and ultimately keeps me from getting complacent with the car. That challenge is what makes the 996 GT3 the most enjoyable to me and why I have one instead of a 997.1 or .2 GT3.

What I read about the 991 GT3 intrigues me I must say, I guess I will just have to drive one in order to make my own judgement. Having a competent car for track work that is very livable on the street is beginning to be attractive to me these days. Is it because I am getting older? Softer? Not sure. I do know that my 996 GT3 (with its very track biased current set up) is not the best street car (Duh!). Cant have my cake and eat it too!!!! But with the more current generations of GT3's , you can have both. The 991 GT3 sounds like it will be the best yet at pulling the street/track dual duty.

I guess the bottom line is, I need to figure out what is more important to me, the challenge of the old car or the duality of the new car. HMMMMmmm. Tough decisions.

orthojoe

^ Great post. It's one thing to say a car is easy to drive fast. It's another thing to actually drive it fast. While the GTR is very capable of outrunning a GT3 at the track, there are more skilled GT3 drivers out there than GTR drivers. It's more rare to see a GTR running fast laps than a GT3. If it was so easy to drive, it should be the opposite.

BTW, all that electronic wizardry isn't shut down when you turn off traction control on the GTR. That AWD/Diff system does wonders and is not part of the nanny system

"Driving fast is like sex.... Everyone thinks they're good at it" - Jay Leno
I'm just going to add that quote to my sig...

Macca

You hit the nail on the head for me. This is exactly how I see it. Im guessing its partly an age thing. I have a 993 and its quite compromised these days (track, fast road etc). Have owned SY 996.1 GT3 so understand exactly where you are coming from. Im ready to try some modern metal and the 991 GT3 is on order. I believe it will cover all bases very well...

NaroEscape

What I want to know is: why is it anytime anyone says they'd like a manual, they are categorized as 'old school' or a 'purist'. Why is it that what I want can't just be because that's what I like?

Do all of you like the newest music on the radio? No? What are you...'old school'?

And why is it that everyone suddenly feels that 'Well, if Porsche is making it this way, it MUST be better?' Just because Porsche is forcing PDK down our throats, doesn't mean its what everyone wants, or what many of the 'current' GT3 audience wants... And what is the definition of 'better'? On paper, a GTR, or ZR1 is a 'better' car than a GT3. So is a F458 in many ways. So why not go out an buy those since they are 'better'?

I have no issue with Porsche building a wonderful and fast shifting PDK. Great! Wonderful. It's fast, it make an average driver go fast. Beautiful. But the original intention of the GT3 was to provide the true sports car driving enthusiast that TOTALLY connected feel to the drive...sure, I'll say it..the 'purity' of the drive. With PDK, you are letting the car electronically do the work. eh...

Again, there is certainly a place for the amazing technology that is this version of the PDK...but not in my GT3.. In my opinion (and to me, that's all that really matters) it defeats the whole purpose of having a GT3

sorry...and until someone is PAYING me to set lap records around a track, I would prefer the totally engaging experience and FUN factor of a manual.

Bluehinder

Sounds like you wont be owning one.

Rovman

That's exactly what said in my head as well...

CAlexio

+3...

Arth

Haha almost spit out my coffee

NaroEscape

Sorry for the rant guys...I had just spent an entire weekend with a guy that tried to convince me that I was wrong and that PDK was the way to go. He wouldn't accept that maybe, just maybe, I'm not interested in how fast it can shift or how easy it is to drive...maybe I LIKED a manual. Nope, I was wrong. Then I saw this thread.

Oh...and the reason for his excitement? He can't drive a manual - never learned. He's been "upset" that Porsche would make a car (GT3) that people like him can't own. I reminded him that he's a lousy driver too, so he SHOULDN'T own a GT3 anyway...

and you are correct...I won't be owning one We've put 43,000 miles on our '04 in the past 2 years and have loved every mile of it. Might move to a '10 one of these days, but that's it.

ricster

Magazines will say anything to help promote one of the companies advertising in their pages. Trust me they are force feeding you the kool aid. Manual is more of a driving experience