Manifold

There are pros/cons with any option. Operating cost for a 996 cup is somewhat high, not street legal so trailering is mandatory, it gets hot in there, engine rebuild needed every 150 to 250 hours, etc. The new Vette looks like a nice option, but it's not a 911, and I love the 911. If I got a 991 GT3, it would be lightly optioned, so sticker should be under $140K; track insurance would mitigate risk, but the insurance has its own cost. 997 GT3 is also an option, but I need to see prices come down first, which may start to happen
when people start taking delivery of the 991 GT3. Lots of good choices, but none is quite ideal.

Deetz

It's been brought up before, but the analog vs. digital nature of the MT vs. PDK-S is also at stake.

There is just not a drop in replacement for the clutch and stick in paddles and well.. just paddles... It's the feathering balance between the two that is missing.

Have you ever just sat a light on a slight incline and "played" with the balance of engagement on the clutch. I used to hate hills on a MT, to some extent still do, with an idiot behind me that tailgates within an inch of my bumper and me with a LWFW, but I now *love* the fact that my baby and I can dance with gravity.

Brings to mind the video of the guy trying to load the 991GT into the trailer and stalling, like what, 3 times?

The same story goes with audio and photo MPEG and JPG vs Vinyl and Film, etc. BTW, I still love my Dynavector MC cartridge on Vinyl, Nakamichi ZX9 tape deck, Leica cameras, and still use these as they bring me joy...

The ability to "feather" the controls is lost.

I like the control, however primitive and simplistic.

Robert993TT

I know this is a Porsche forum. But I believe this catches the essence of pure driving experience. Maybe someone has posted the video already in this thread or somewhere else on the forum:

Nick

Drifting is for show as CH is demonstrating here. If you want speed and performance, drifting should be avoided.

ShakeNBake

it sure looks pretty...and fun to boot

fbirch

What a fun video! Thanks for posting. It brought back great memories of a few years back when a couple of friends each had these cars. I had the pleasure of driving them on street and track, and while I agree with CH’s assessment on the character of each car, the F50 is the one that made the deepest impression on me. To this day, I view it as the “perfect car.” A screaming Italian V12 based on a Formula One engine, bolted directly to a carbon tub a few centimeters behind your head – the whole tub resonated and amplified every valve actuation, piston stroke and crank rotation of the engine. You didn’t just hear it, you felt it, all the way down to your bones! It was sensory overload, pure bliss. It also had the most perfectly mechanical gear engagement you can imagine, steering that was alive and perfectly weighted, and inboard springs and dampers that you could literally hear and feel working over every undulation in the road. The F50 had all the qualities that I love about my old 996 GT3, but distilled, condensed and amplified to the next level. Anyone who loves a GT3 would positively adore a well dialed-in F50.

The F40 is a sledgehammer when the turbos light up. If you let the revs drop, there’s a lot of lag by modern turbo standards – and then it feels as if an 18-wheeler has rammed you in the back when they come back up on boost. I was very intimidated on the occasions I drove it on track. Much more of a hairy chested brute than the F50 for sure, but I can understand how that represents the ultimate appeal to many. In some ways I view the F50 as the GT3-RS-on-steroids to the F40’s super-modified-930-turbo.

One of the gentlemen who had these cars followed it up with an Enzo. It was much faster and more sophisticated in every respect than either the F40 or F50 – a real technology tour de force – but somehow not quite as special as either, IMO.

Manifold

To me, the Ferrari review highlights how great a driver's car the 991 GT3 could be with a good 6-sp manual. Not saying it's not great with PDK, but I'm talking about intimate connection with the car.

GrantG

Not to mention manual steering, as both of those cars are equipped...

hf1

996 GT3: a street-legal 996 Cup.

TRAKCAR

I like the OEM track prep by Porsche :-)

Mike in CA

FWIW, once. He was having to feather the throttle because PDK-S doesn't creep like a normal automatic....

TRAKCAR

Still...

Mike in CA

Just keeping the facts straight. Besides if one likes "playing with gravity" on a hill new PDK-S gives you an opportunity.....

Manifold

On my radar as an option, but cost is almost the same as the cup I'm looking at, and cup has a factory roll cage, fire suppression, etc.

jumper5836

It's a good option. I've also though about it. Though it does require running race gas.