ToyGuyAZ

Only in the hands of the less experienced drivers...

Mike in CA

The "Kool-Aide analogy" gets tossed around here a lot. Drinking the Kool-Aide refers to doing something based solely on misplaced faith; it started with Jim Jones and the People's Temple crowd (apologies to Ken Kesey). I think virtually everyone, on this forum anyway, who is getting ready to plunk down 150 large on a new 991 GT3 is doing so because they've done their homework, read the specs, seen the reviews, in most cases owned Porsches or other high performance exotics, and understand exactly what it is they want and what they're getting into. The Kool Aide thing is cute, but it's not descriptive of what's going on with buyers of the GT3.

neanicu

Well,for 150K you do get a lot of car to be honest with you and I think it's worth it if you can get past the PDK.

curtsm

I do think there's a bit of faith in Porsche sometimes, and for me that leap of faith has (except for the 1999 1996) been worth it. I do have a deposit on the 991 GT3 RS ...

- curt

sunnyr

I wouldn't describe Porsche driving school instructor as a "less experienced driver" (He was the driver, I was in the passenger seat).

P_collector

Another great review..wow..good for the 991 GT3 buyers. But reviews are not relevant for me anyway..the new boxster got the same review..is a 997 GT2 or 997 GT3 a "fantastic car" ? I dont know..but its certailnly for me a good car..solid, good performance...Im curios what the same tester will say about the new Macan, I´m sure it will also be praised as a "fantastic car"--

Anyway, I would value reviews from Mike or Macca after 1 year ownership much more than a fist drive from a 18 year old journalist who got the whole weekend sponsored by Porsche.

PS: I didnt buy any car in my life based on reviews..- it was so far my personal conviction..and it will remain. Exceptions would be a C-GT, Mclaren F1 etc. My Porsche sales guy told me the other day.."you will buy our new boxster..Im sure after the test drive you will come back and order this car"..I came back and told him "its a nice car..- but not more"..so much to car reviews for me..

The answer for me on the 991 GT3 will come with the 2014 CUP..and by the first reviews after one year ownership..in the mean I will just watch here..and hey, what would RL be without this discussion..? boring..- so lets see the positive things..

Manifold

I think this far overestimates the rationality of buyers and far underestimates the biases, emotions, ego, and other psychological factors involved. The info we have in this forum indicates that most owners won't track the car much, and won't do it at an advanced level, which means that the car will be driven far below its limits most of the time, so its objective capabilities hardly matter objectively.

By contrast, I had our Cayman R at the track this past weekend and it was hot out there. I was aiming for 9/10ths+ and couldn't get through a single ~20-min session without overheating the car (need to add a radiator to remedy this). With that kind of driving, the specs, durability, etc. really matter.

jumper5836

How is the Cayman R drivers rears brake calipers. I seen plenty tracked Caymans out there with calipers that have turned purple due to overheating.

Manifold

Yes, fairly burned up looking in the rear, and the front is getting there. Recently had to rebuild the front calipers. The stock cooling systems in the Cayman R aren't really up to the job for serious track use. Stock LSD was also shot after a few thousand track miles. I'm currently looking into upgrades to address these issues.

ToyGuyAZ

Wasn't referring to him. He was probably saying that as a generalized statement for "most" drivers.

Mike in CA

Respectfully Manifold, I don't know what evidence you have to support your assertions about rationality, ego, emotion, etc. except for your own bias on the subject. IMO, the issue isn't about what purpose the car will be put to so much as potential buyers understanding whether the car meets whatever their particular need is and whether they are making their decision based on adequate information.

The Kool-Aide analogy implies that people put blind faith in something and act without thinking. I read the same posts that you do and it seems to me that there is a lot of information exchange, reading of everything that can be found about the car, and thought that is going into this decision for potential buyers. It's presumptuous to assume that people successful enough to afford a GT3 don't know their own minds about what they want, even if their reasons for wanting might be different than yours or someone else's.

wanna911

I think everyone loves the car. It's a fantastic car. It just has at least one thing (the gearbox) and for some of us two (RWS) that we wish were different. Then we'd be it's biggest fans too. I think the car would receive nothing but praise with options.

The media just needs to call it what it is. An automatic. They keep dancing around what it really is to make it sound more sporty. At the end of the day though, it's an automatic first and foremost. That doesn't sound as sexy as "PDK Twin Clutch gearbox". Dude, it's an automatic. Period.

Manifold

Read the literature over the past few decades in social pyschology which clearly shows how much of our thinking and decision-making is shaped by biased unconscious processes. Or see this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases.

If someone has the $$ and wants the 991 GT3 because they'll enjoy it, by all means go for it, it'll be a great car. I just don't think that, for primarily street use, the reasons for picking it are quite what people think, and the objective performance of the car is largely superfluous. I'm sure Porsche is well aware of all this and has factored it into their design and marketing of the car.

Mike in CA

I was hoping I wouldn't also need a degree in social psychology or sessions with a shrink just to buy a car.

There's no question people's motivations are complex and sometimes not transparent even to themselves. Back to my point, that's still a far cry from acting simply on the basis of blind faith and illogic, IOW drinking the Kool-Aide.

-eztrader-

a couple of people have vigorously defended this car and Porsche's decisions from day 1 - - I think those are the people that get labeled as kool-aid guys.

They have no way of knowing the car is good - -just the same as the people complaining have no way of knowing the car isn't good