In the process of seliing my GT3 6-spd to a fellow Rennlister and am mulling over options. Waiting for my # to come up for ordering an F8 which should be delivered summer 2022 vs buying a friends nearly new 991.2 GT3RS with WP. This will be a weekend car purely for street driving- no track with occasional commutes to work. I love the raw / angry / lumpy nature of the RS as compared to the .2 GT3 and have only briefly driven the Ferrari’s.

Which way would u guys go for street / weekend / summer use 3-4K/yr- in terms of only pure driving enjoyment / excitement (disregard cost, attention, image, maintenance, depreciation, etc)-

 

RS is not very fun to drive on the street. Go for the fiat in your case

 

^^^^^^^
THIS !
RS Terrible road car unless roads impeccable.
Chasing the sound with the PDK will also land you in jail or the car impounded. ;-)

 

Under performing Ferrari vs over performing Porsche... The under performing Ferrari just might be the better street car here. Just don't race anybody or punch it because you'll embarrass yourself in multiple ways. The F8/488 is not a special car. The RS is... People will hate both on the streets, but I think the Ferrari will get you more hate due to the badge.

When you go out, where are you gonna park the Ferrari? Same for the RS... When you're in the Ferrari, do you really want to have your head locked forward the entire time so you don't make eye contact or look at anyone?

This is not a hate on the Ferrari.. By all means they're much nicer than a Porsche... But is it worth the mental gymnastics?.. For the type of Ferrari (488/F8), the money, and the false advertising I'd say the Ferrari is strong pass. They don't hold value as well as you think. Don't let dealer prices fool you, you're not a dealer and you don't provide financing. Good luck selling with mileage.

Now if were talking a more special Ferrari, I'm all ears.

 

If not tracking the RS, I would take the Ferrari it’s a good weekend toy and more enjoyable to drive. I sold my RS for a Ferrari 458 spider as I didn’t track the RS much, now the problem I wanted other RS and got a 2019 which I tracked but slowed down again just didn’t have the time. Sold the RS for the Speedster which is a better car for me, and sold the 458 for a 675LT which is a fun weekend car. Now as one poster said it’s a bitc* parking a Ferrari or Mclaren because of the attention they draw. RS is only fun above 5K RPM hence better on the track in my case.

Done the RS thing twice, and the itch is solved ……..Speedster manual GT motor best of both worlds for me ……good luck on your choice I’d do the F car it’s still a freaking Ferrari.

 

I had a GT3RS 991.2 with WP . I don't track
It was fairly rough for the street , in particular on 100 plus miles a day trips
just bought a 488 spider , and I can certainly tell you that it is a much better street car , and it does not lack anything on the emotional aspect. Actually, I can argue that it is more emotional than RS , but that might be the honey moon phase !!!

 

the engine and the torque is magic in that car ……..I will always have a Porsche and it’s good to scratch the itch with a Ferrari enjoy.

 

You lost me at “selling my GT3 6-speed.”
What? Why?
That is the single best car for what you described you want...fun weekend car, not big on tracking, occasionally drive it to work.
I have numerous Ferrari’s and the manual GT3 is epic!
Just yesterday drove it ~11 hrs from NC to FL and all of SC was back roads.

 

Having owned both the PDK and 6-spd 991.2 GT3, I'm in the camp that the manual is so good, the last of it's kind and intellectually I'd keep it as a forever car...and if garage space and $ were not considerations, I'd add a Pista or Speciale to the manual GT3 and call it a day / life. Alas, this is not my destiny and my wife says I must choose (between cars, not between her and a car)

As a reference point, I love the rawness / feedback / steering of my 997.1 GT3 which I kept for 7 years, but felt the manual was too much "work". Felt the '18 R8 V10 plus was too smooth, too tame / luxurious with numb steering wrapped around an incredible engine. Really enjoyed the 991.2 PDK GT3 but liked the RS more- from the more precise turn-in, to the faster PDK-S shifts, louder titanium exhaust, and less sound deadening. My recollection is the RS is more tactile, aggressive than the F-cars- am just afraid the 488/F8 will is closer to the R8 than the RS which for me would be be a very expensive mistake. I'm also afraid of buying the F-car for the "experience" and then realize after the honeymoon period it's not as exciting to drive as the RS.

As an aside, I'm not worried about parking- would drive it to work twice a week (17 miles each way, mostly highway, no rush-hour traffic) and park it in a covered / dedicated lot before most of my colleagues. Might drive it on weekends for a morning drive to the golf club, etc but would never take it to the mall, dinner, grocery shopping, etc. Would fill-up at the Costco gas station near our house at 6 AM on the way to work. So really very few "encounters" and therefore not concerned whether it's the RS or F8. The roads are quite good in this area with little construction, potholes, etc-

 

The RS is very special and I only drive it occasionally o and I don't track; it scratches an itch and always makes me feel good. The F-cars are very special and you have to get one if you haven't but not sure I would trade in the RS. I find the engine in the Ferrari's to be amazing at first with the flat-plane crank V8 screaming at redline (will be muffled in turbo'ed 488, F8) and I was completely in love with my F430's amazing throttle response and lightweight flywheel but the truth is none of these V8's sound as melodious as a nice flat-6 (such as in the RS) in various loads and different regimes. In the end you realize Ferrari v8's sound like a high revving in-line 4 Japanese bike times two. It's screaming or not but pretty monotone timber (hair-raising nonetheless). The best sounding Ferrari V8 is the cross-plane crank version sitting in the now discontinued Maserati a GranTurismo especially the 2009 S version with the Ferrari 599 F1 transmission.

But as all things in life, you have to go through different experiences before you see the light and I think that when all the dust settles a few years from now you will likely be looking to buy back your GT3 six-speed or the RS you currently own if you will have sold it in the interim...

 

The RS while a fantastic platform on the track and despite most the younger guys on Rennlist telling you they DD the RS.
It's simply not the case for me any many others. LWB seats harder to get in and out of. Suspension you can feel a penny under Noisy beyond anything other then race car.

Many years ago I drove my race boat to Marathon FL while very cool I never did it again.
The RS is like this for me for a DD I use my TTS if it was me get the Ferrari.

Two Cents
Ian

 

good points, I would actually dump the TT keep the RS and get 488.

after initial excitement TT gets boring quickly... getting rid of mine for a 718 spyder

 

judging by your sig case is closed....good choice

 

Perhaps I should simplify the question-

Purely for driving “excitement” ie feedback, rawness, sound, steering feel- is the 488/F8 closer to the more luxury (but numb) drive of the R8 or does it approach the character of the RS?

Basically I am looking for the Italian version of the GT3/RS 👊🏻 - would that be the 488/F8?

 

‘Lambo Performante