Very nice, <3mph. Thanks for sharing the pics and the experience. I'll be there in 2 weeks; no ED this time though. I know you missed picking up your GT3 but I'll bet the TT was a fun consolation prize!

 

Excellent!

Thanks for posting!

 

Thanks for the compliments. And yes, I was quite happy with the arrangement. I can't say enough good things about the way Porsche handled it.

As far as the TT goes, Jimmy, I was very impressed. It was wicked fast and handled very smoothly. I found city and highway driving very pleasant. The PDK aggressively upshifted in routine driving conditions to save fuel (also had the auto stop start feature, which was a little annoying in stop and go traffic or if you entered a roundabout where you would want to quickly get up and go to merge (I really didn't bother to just shut this feature off)). So overall very manageable for daily use. It is much better on gas than I imagine the GT3 will be, not that that is a huge issue.

Once you switch to Sport, the shifts come quicker, and in Sport Plus it is almost undriveable in the city (would essentially stay in first gear the whole time) as it is unnecessarily aggressive. Sport Plus also does engage the active aero permanently (versus when driving over 120 km/h in other modes). It was especially awesome on twisty roads and going up mountain passes when you wanted to be aggressive. I did find the regular PDK learned from my driving style and would adapt. Out of the city, unless I wanted Sport Plus, I often found using the manual paddle shifters to be more fun (I didn't really use the centre shift lever). However, I can't compare any of this to PDK-S yet.

Inside the car was well appointed for DD use, with heated/ventilated seats, Entry and Drive, power everything, etc. The rear seats were very tight (I sat in them just to try them out; I'm 6'0"), but useful for luggage (which we packed in smaller suitcases/bags only). Even my wife enjoyed driving the car, so it is good for city use. Once you leave the city, it has massive torque and tons of grip, and with four-wheel drive and steering I never did go sideways (I was not particularly daring with a loaner and did not turn of traction control). Friends of mine who were not Porsche enthusiasts per se, were now reconsidering as they were very extremely impressed by the performance. As an all-rounder, it would be an excellent choice.

Without having heard the 991 GT3's awesome last few rpms, it's hard to compare sound, but this was definitely a turbo. (I did actually enjoy hearing the turbo blow off valve--kinda cool.)

Wish I could comment more to compare other great cars out there, but my repertoire is pretty limited in what I've driven so far.

 

Looks like the same loaner i had!

 

<3mph - Thanks for the update. At one time during the beginning of this fiasco I considered just giving back the GT3 and ordering a new Turbo. Not the Turbo S because for the extra money the only interest for me is the increased torque and HP and I can do that cheaper with an ECU upgrade and a sport exhaust system. I would of also done a sport exhaust on the Turbo S anyway because I am not particularly impressed by the stock exhausts on the Turbos.

 

Great write up and pics, thanks!

 

Hey Jordan, yeah, that's what i was wondering after seeing the video you posted. Looks like another random Canadian connection! Was it already broken in when you got it? If not, thanks for taking care of that for me! (I got it at around 10200 km.)
Jimmy, I would think that you can't really go wrong with either car--just depends on what you like more, especially if you're not really looking for a dedicated track car (I'm not btw). I'm more curious about the difference between the cars now. It was a suggestion to look at turbos when I first started shopping around. But I think i'll be happier with the GT3 personally. I'm looking forward to your impressions when you get your car and reflect back on your decision. Would your dealer let you take out a turbo for a while in the meantime?

 

<3mph - I can tell you the difference now( and I am being highly critical).
- I found the Turbo to be slightly an little heavy
- I do not like all wheel drive because it adds the additional weight and is not as fun to drive as a rear wheel car. At least the way I like to drive
- There is always a slight Turbo lag, which some find fun with the rush after the split second lag, but did not excite me
- Even though you can mask the exhaust with a good Sport exhaust it still will never sound as good as a NA

 

Thanks for the review and the amazing pics! Hope you had a great time. Really nice shots of some of the most beautiful places in Europe. (Love that shot of Hotel Du Cap Eden Roc!)
Hopefully you'll get your car soon!
Best,
H

 

<3mph,
thx for sharing, you indeed covered a lot of territory!
did the Factory tell you to keep the TT off the race tracks?
did you go into Nurburg/Nurburgring?
and, Monaco is amazing!
I hope Mike in Ca. is taking notes...

 

Jimmy, looks like you've already done your comparisons and made the right choice sticking with the GT3! The long wait will be worth it, I keep telling myself. Actually for me the anticipation is part of the fun--this is kind of like my big kid Christmas present that I'm counting down the days for!

H, yes, I liked the way the hotel was lit up that night in the photo too, but it was the gorgeous and expansive grounds with its canopy of stone pines set against the azure of the Mediterranean that took our breath away. I have a ton of photos from there, but I didn't want to post too many. It was simply spectacular though! And the service was second to none: from the personal tour of the hotel and facilities when we arrived, to the way they carefully folded and put away our clothes into the closet after we had left them over the chair backs! I'm sure you'll agree since you must have spent time there.

GTEE3, we did stop by the Nurburgring the first day we picked the TT up, but I was not willing to take the loaner on track after having heard it might invalidate my insurance coverage from others. Plus we were on a tight schedule to get to Nijmegen in the Netherlands that evening. So instead we briefly watched other people having a blast in their RS's, Caymans, and even the occasional van. PAG did not specifically say anything to us about the ring, and I didn't bring it up, but I wasn't looking for that thrill with someone else's car in the balance. I know, I know, I'm probably a little overly cautious.

 

That looks like an amazing trip!
Thanks for posting your comments & pics...added to bucket list!

 

Lovely pics,...thanks!

 

With you on that for sure!

 

Thanks for all the kind words. Like many of you, this got added to my bucket list and (more than many other items on my list) it completely exceeded my expectations. Driving around Europe is a nice, flexible way to go where you'd like and see many rather inaccessible locations (we avoided cities and tried to stick to smaller towns as much as possible). But having a car like this is night and day compared to a "regular" rental car. I'd even consider ED again in the future now that I've done this.

Since allocations are somewhat scarce, a little planning is helpful, especially since many mountain passes are open only during the summer. There are many websites that help with this.

Optimizing the route is also key, since you will probably need to travel on some freeways (fast to connect one region to another), but the smaller roads are generally more enjoyable. Uphill and twisty really shows what the car can do.

We often used the in-car nav to guide us, but found it was less helpful for these smaller roads where we'd often want to take a less direct, slower route than it calculated. Case in point, in the black forest, the biggest roads are much more congested and you're always behind someone with infrequent opportunities to pass. It's far better to detour along a smaller road that may even require doubling back. Sometimes this meant using the nav but overriding it with a number of intermediate destinations.

You will will want to familiarize yourself with the rules of the road. For instance, the traffic signs (esp unlimited speed on German highways), are different from N America. Also, review the rules about toll highways (eg. in Switzerland you need to buy a decal to affix to the windshield to permit travel on the major freeways vs pay-as-you-go tolls) and the symbols at toll stations for using credit card vs having sufficient change for some of them (eg. French Riviera where it's easier to throw change in to the many toll stations). If your'e ever stuck at a toll station, a helpful attendant can walk over, but it's embarrassing and you'll wait a bit. A portable GPS device can come in handy for identifying speed traps, but may overcall these locations. We didn't have one (not legal for in-car nav systems) and have yet to see how many tickets we'll have (I suspect at least one).

We did not go through the Leipzig option, but others have really enjoyed the track here. And it is apparently possible to do Leipzig and Zuffenhausen (one at the beginning and the other at the end of the trip, for instance) although it may come at additional cost. Anyone who did Leipzig, I'd love to hear your impressions since we may consider this in the future. If you're short on time and don't want to return to Germany, for a fee, you can also drop off your car at a number of other European locations. All worthwhile options to consider when planning to optimize your route.

Finally, it is worth noting that while we did not have trouble with theft or damage, this is a distinct possibility and we tried to plan hotels based in part on our evaluation of the parking situation (secured, on site was preferable). Since luggage space came at a premium, we packed light and tried to avoid leaving any visible bags on the back seats. BTW, we used our own soft luggage (and one carry-on suitcase which fit nicely in the frunk), but the designed-for-911 luggage sets are probably even more efficient for use of space.

Happy travels!