C.J. Ichiban

big thanks to my friend for letting me drive his '16RS back to back with my wife's McLaren 675LT the other day. I've had both 3.6/3.8 RS cars and was really curious to drive the new one especially since I missed out on getting and speccing one.

did about 40 miles in both.

what I loved about GT3RS:

LWB seats, Noise, PDK, Brakes, Interior, suspension, Exterior Styling, NOISE

what I liked:

power delivery, steering feel, handling/dynamics


I did some curvy roads, a few onramps, commuted on freeway, offramp. Main thing I was surprised by was how the PDK kept the engine on boil and how much more enjoyable (aurally) that made the experience. The shocks, even in SPORT felt really compliant and I felt like they filtered out some of the unnecessary white noise from the road. It corners like it should but I feel like it has so much tire that the car is only going to be max fun on the track. I really worry that similar to the Beverly Hills Qatar boyzz- this car is almost too easy to drive at ludicrous speed and the limits are too far into jail time territory to be the perfect "canyon car".

that being said I am sure this thing is at least 30% easier to drive on the track than the previous Gen RS. The massive tires, brakes and Aero means the car will really only be truly slippery (even with ESC/TC OFF) on the track. There are much easier cars to hoon in than the RS. In this regard I miss my old 3.8RS as it had a little less of everything but more of the hairy chested feel at 50-80% effort.

the PDK takes a lot of drama away from the car but my main gripe: WHY ARE THE PADDLES SO TINY??!!

interior of the 991 is leaps and bounds higher quality than the 997 but I think there are now so many buttons and sculpted services that part of me gets sad and reminiscent of my first RS which had zero options except PCCB. I'm 6'1 205 and loved the LWB- ordered them in my GT4 and really want to track them.

as we all know the car is gorgeous.

Now- my final verdict on the car is that while I am sure it's easier to thrash on the track than all previous GT3/RS I am not sure that I would want to due to the luxuriousness inside. It feels WAY more upmarket than the 997. Easily understand people paying 20-50k MSRP because I would 100/100 take this car over a used 458 given equal prices. it's a great car at 200k and still great at 230-250. KUDOS to everyone that landed one and will or has tracked it. The car belongs there.


now on my 675LT side of things-

1)mclaren finally competes with the italians on engine and exhaust noises.
2)the car is incredibly fast. makes the GT3RS feel like a camry. (50% more tq)
3)I have still yet to drive a better suspension than the hydraulic mclaren shocks.
4)oddly it has a much bigger turning circle which makes u-turns totally nerve wracking.
5) ridiculously fast. had to list this twice. shifts sound like an aventador now.
6) great interior and exterior options, you can personalize anything.
7) rear wing and rear window along with carbon bumpers etc make the car WAY more attractive than the 650S (even my LM didn't compare)
8) almost 2x MSRP of '16RS. puts it in perspective.


VS the 991 Turbo, the GT3RS PDK shifting feels much more direct and "motorsports" oriented than I expected.

LT vs RS comparison...the RS is more geared to usability in regards to seating position and ingress/egress. LT is easier to create or "feel" speed of car and has so much more power and suspension grip. RS was really hard to provoke which has a way of making it feel artificially bland. So much grip that you need to be insane to hoon it on the streets. The 997 was just a little less sure footed and the 991 feels like a much higher grip limit. LT just explodes everywhere and wants 200mph.

track day soon in LT vs P1 and some other toys. maybe throw a Mono in there if I can.

kfmcmahon

wow, "my wife's 675LT"....kudos to you sir!

C.J. Ichiban

"please don't sell our house honey"

but we can make a lot of money! the market is nuts!

"well then if we sell can I get a car?"

sure.

"huracan?"

no. too many of them. let me see if I can get a second 675LT allocation, you can have the first one...

mrsullivan

CJ, thanks for the review.

What I am most interested in is your comparison of like-priced:

RS vs. 650s vs. Huracan.

I realize the latter two trend a little higher price than the RS. But with the current MSRP premiums on the RS and some really killer deals from what I can tell on the Huracan and 650s, the three should be very close in price. You have driven and/or own all three if I am correct, if you could only have one for combo road/track, which would you pick? Road only? Track only?

Inquiring minds want to know... thanks

SSTHO

Great review here. Agreed on these points,... (i) too easy to drive; having fun on public streets = handcuffs, (ii) car is 30% easier to drive in very skilled driver's hands; 50 - more like 70% easier for good to average/below average drivers IMHO, (iii) very high end interior without typical Porsche Exclusive $$$ options, and (iv) there is a ton of value here; for the same money as its competitors, I would still be buying the car.

Looking forward to your P1 review!

br911

Thanks for sharing your impressions - quick question if I may. How about the NA vs Turbo feel once you step from one car to the other? Do you really feel a loss of drama, for lack of better words? Thanks (I'm currently suffering a sort of Mac itch, but don't want another turbo at home).

C.J. Ichiban

the problem with NA engines is that they suffer from infinite turbo lag...

the RS engine is really not "racy" unless you are in the race area of the rev range (5k and up)

once you are there in either the 650 or RS it is very fast although there is a HUGE difference in a 640hp car (or more in 675) and the 495 of the RS. there is no comparing mid range torque because the turbo actually is fairly small and in third gear the car is not super laggy. if you are in 6th or 7th gear in either car and you are putting around at 55mph it's not going to go anywhere even if you go pedal through the bulkhead.


drama is subjective- it's about perspective. ferrari makes a very dramatic car but it is also terrible to drive around town and the noise is very artificial until you are high in the rev range. for me the dihedral doors on the Mac are dramatic. the wing on the RS is dramatic. both are great!

C.J. Ichiban

I think if you were to have 250k to spend on any three it would still come down to opinion- the one thing we can all agree on is that the RS is probably the best track car or track only car.

The huracan while AWD and super fast is still very much a luxurious car with terrible ergonomics/ usage issues- TINY trunk etc. It would have to be your 3rd or 4th car.

A used 650 is lighter and more of a comfortable car and has the most HP of them all. I feel like with equal tires the 650S is the fastest car in terms of practical speeds and due to the suspension is better than both the other cars for road trips. Interior is more subdued than the lambo and more clean/tidy than the buttonfest of the 991.

If budget is an issue- there are more places you can get parts and get work on the RS.

McLaren are more rare cars in general and less dealers- if you live close to them (I have 3 or 4 within a few hours drive) the McLaren dealers will bend over backwards to make you happy. Mine have all been reliable and I have about 22k miles total in them across the board.

Lambo dealers are more plentiful, all lambos look like space ships and the materials are the most lux of them all.


I would take any of the three over a 458, which I found to be a dog. 430 scud is a different car and I would rather drive that than the 458. Speciale are in the 400k range or so- we can apples to apples that with the 675LT.

From an ownership standard- I would consider the RS and the 650 as more daily driver combo track cars and the Lambo as a road only car. If you were to dedicate any of them as "track only" obviously there is a huge market for "heavily modified for track use" GT3RS cars as the market has shown over last 8-10 years.

mrsullivan

thanks

C.J. Ichiban

here's some p1 content mrsullivan ...

https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...ren-f1-p1.html

mrsullivan

P1 just a touch out of range for me
But I think you ordered it in the perfect color
Nice eye candy.
I am guessing I am somewhat representative of what a few of us are going through. Those that didn't get MSRP RS allocations in the first batch, rumors back and forth about whether there will be more. There are some out there now, but because of the premiums, push the price up into the $240-250k range. At least to me, the RS is a no brainer at $195-200k, just like the GT3 is at $150k. Huge performance values, whether you use on track or back country roads. As you push closer to $250k, I feel its a tougher decision given the 650S and Huracan. There are a couple 15 650S advertised with about 1500 miles on them asking around 225-230k. Huracans with same miles just a touch more asking 240-250k. And those are asking prices. Its hard to get to test drive all these, so thanks again.

BBiAutosport

Great insightful review CJ! Your McLaren was defintitely a masterpiece!

Here are some pictures that I took of it when you brought it by to our shop.













- Jerry@BBiAutosport.com

est8esq

Thanks for the comments, although I'm not surprised considering the "street" comparison. It's tough to criticize comparisons of any car to each other? The fact you own a 675 obviously makes it natural to compare the RS to it, but I would think the TTS would be a better comparison than the RS as far as street driving?

I hate to admit this, but I'm really liking the street driving of my Speciale that I've really never done before, even with the GT3. Likewise, the 675 is a beautiful car and would probably like it too over the RS on the street for more reasons than just the drive.

However, I'd LOVE someone's comparison of the RS to the regular GT3 and thoughts from the track perspective? I don't care so much about times, but rather the "qualitative" differences? Does it sound similar? Does it have the same linear pull through all the gears? Can you feel a difference in hard braking coming in from high speeds (often thought of adding the Crawford wing). Does it actually handle any better or is the difference indistinguishable? I just thought the 991 GT3 was so PERFECT in all respects on track, I just can't imagine it being improved upon?

Anyone?

(BTW, beautiful car. Really liked the 650, but the 675 is even better).

usctrojanGT3

CJ, now you have to drive my GT3 and tell me how it compares to the RS.

Spyerx

My poor rs is scared of that p1 in the pics. Lol