I previously owned an F12. The biggest issue for me was that Hagerty limited me to 3,500 miles a year in the F12. I like to drive my cars and not just look at them in the garage. The F12 was a great driving experience as well and very different from either the GT3 or the 488. Frankly that car could scare me in a way no other car could. Had I been able to get insurance for the car that worked for me, I’d still have it.

 

I actually jumped from the gt3 to the 750s. Gt3 was perfect and just too good except for straight line speed. Handles very similar to the gt3 too. I’m going to miss it a little but the McLaren gets my blood pumping different

 

And there lies the biggest confusion for me. I love Porsches without a doubt, it is the one car i had "on my wall", it was on my wall with the BMW M5 as goals for myself that seemed achievable, worked so darn hard and now I am in a position to finally afford them and they are just a pain to get unless you pay over (which i did for all my gt cars, 100% of them). My foray into other brands like Ferrari was not because Porsche sucks, It is because it only makes sense to give other brands a try given as access is kinda hard and the price point is no more an advantage.

It feels like every time you cross a milestone in life the goalpost keeps moving, and at the price point of Porsche's you just have to give every other option out there a chance. I never cared for McLaren or Ferrari (will never care for Lambo, just too much style for me to handle) but I am forced to care now as they are now the achievable and Porsche is becoming the pipe dream. I guess that is a good thing for Porsche?

Porsche still has the reliability and serviceability locked down, but at ~100k over and ridiculous dealership experiences - for me it stops becoming a deciding factor. I still have my 991 & 992 GT3 and incoming GT3RS but i fear this would be the end of the road for me. For those who have been doing this for decades, how do you keep going?

 

i actually had a great time at the McLaren dealership. They let me and my bud hoon a 750s to make sure I loved it. For 40min we ripped it and I was sold. I walked into a dealership and walked out with a car, in 2024! We got to sit in a p1 and a senna gtr to top it off.

Contrast that with Porsche where I had to buy and sell a half million+ in cars before they would even give enough of a **** about me. I want a 3RS too and I’ll probably never get one “new” as I’m probably #4-5 on that list.

for the price Porsches command you are absolutely correct. 400k+ for a 3RS? I’m looking at other brands then. More to your point this level of manufactured scarcity for what’s supposed to be an aspirational brand can’t be good when that 718/cayenne buyer is interested in a GT car and they get treated like dirt.

 

this is the struggle for the type of people that earn enough income to afford these vehicles. You achieve one, but always want more. There's always better. Let me know when you find the end, so I can know how far I have to go.

 

After the McLaren it’s only hypercars from here! Seriously the 750s is already a 9s car at the strip. You can’t drive hypercars anywhere other than to shows and cars & coffee.

Everyone has a different definition of an “it” car. As it stands McLaren is end of the line for me. Insurance is already pretty brutal for me with a spotless record. one of my buddies who has a 918 and a pagani huayra in his collection pays 5 figure sums. I just want to feel like a million bucks not actually spend it

 

what ​​​​​@supershaft said. My McLaren experience has been fantastic. There are a bunch of new and upcoming offerings from Lambo and Ferrari that are intriguing.

For most folks, I’d really encourage letting go of this obsession with a build allocation being the only thing good enough. My gt3 and 4rs were both new but dealer spec’d. The colors are boring but otherwise the options and configs are damn close to what I would have done. And I paid a ton less in adm compared to the allocations dealers were offering the last couple years. If the boring colors get to me, they can always be wrapped.

But Porsche cars are awfully durable, and buying a well maintained car with a couple thousand miles is a fantastic way to save money. If you’re really going to keep it and drive it, it really doesn’t matter. Buying used gets you a lot more price transparency than the adm bidding nonsense of early allocations

 

this is 100% true. I have 992 gt3 6mt and 488p . I still reach for the 991 keys more but the F is on another level. Definitely and event to drive. Gotta have both. They are very different feeling road feel everything

 

3rd gen porsche family and die hard. but agree with you.
they will eventually realize that they are no the only game in town. others may not quite be there yet, but they are coming.

and this isn't just Porsche.
look at all industry and even countries.
Thinkpad used to the the sh*t.. now ?
**** led LAN, now?
many so called 3rd world country some now have higher living std than 1st world

it will come

 

we may NOT

 

u really need to just summarize it
wife and high end escort.

 

my mclaren journey:

P1, Senna, Speedtail, 720 (coupe and spider) , 675LT (coupe and spider), 570 GT4, 570 Spider, 570 GT, 600LT (coupe and spider), 650LM, 650S Spider, 12C Coupe - didn't get allocated P18 (version 2 of p1)-

it looks like my McLaren Journey is over for good.

my Porsche journey

in chronological order: 993 C2S, 993 Turbo Andial, 997 GT3, 997GT3RS, Spec Boxster, CGT, 997.2 GT3RS, 991.1 RS UV, 991.1 RS PTS, 93 RS America red, 93 RS america white, 993 GT2, 981 Boxster Spyder, 981 GT4, CGT #2, 997.1 RS Green, 9974L, GT4 Clubsport x2

then- *bought porsche dealership*, 991.2 GTS, 991.2 GT3 Cup Car, Cayenne E Hybrid, Panamera Turbo Turismo, 991.2 GT3RS, 991.2 Speedster PTS, 991.2 GT2RS PTS, Macan, 992 Targa GTS, 992 GT3 Touring, Dakar, 992 GT3 Cup, Spyder RS PTS, _____________ ?

there is no end! There are always bigger fish.

I have had a ton of cool cars from Ferrari (275, speciale, scud, pista spider, challenge cars, 812) as well, but probably won't get allocated anything 'top level' beyond a 296 pista when it comes out, as much as I'd love an SP3 or something like that I'm not a top 1000 client let alone a top 500 client with Ferrari. That's ok- if I want something I can probably trade multiple things for the big thing. That's what a lot of guys do...they stack 3-4 cars and say ah heck and slam them into the trade for ONE BIG CAR. I think I'd rather drive the 812 GTS vs a TDF on a dollar for dollar cost- but maybe I'm too poor for that demographic? Not ashamed to admit there is a difference between Flying First Class and OWNING YOUR OWN JET.

it takes time, I've been at this over 20 years. My biggest regret was selling my black 4L and my black CGT. I don't regret selling any of the mclarens- I really really got a lot of use out of all of the above cars. I don't miss the pista, as I have more fun in a cup car or the challenge car...

 

Now here’s the question:

GT3 Cup or 488 Challenge for track days? I’ve had a lot of seat time in my 997.2 Cup but I’ve never driven a Challenge car. How does the Challenge car compare?

 

that’s a bummer. Your original p1 was exquisite

 

OP If you are interested in 488, take your wife or gf to Vegas and rent one for a half or full day. After 3 or 4 hrs I came away loving the styling and the turbo 'boost' of the 488. I don't think any road going V8 or V12 Ferrari can approach the handling capabilities of a modern generation Porsche GT product. Ferrari since the days of Enzo has always been about the engine pure and simple, though actually not so simple any more.