That car is sitting awfully low not to be a GT3.

 

The current 996 GT3 RSR is homologated for racing for several more years, at least until the 998 comes out. There is no homologation requirement for Porsches own SuperCup series.

 

my dealer confirmed my gt3 order when he confirmed my sedan was being produced

the market for a gt3 is bigger with paddle shifters, especially if the ratios are low enough to make the car go 0-100 like a CS

 

Watt, you have a comfired 997 GT3? What are the spec? how'd you option it?

Sedan? Porsche?

 

It's that time of the year to looking for nail holes, I'd think I'd be more comfortable if Porsche confirmed the NA car.

 

Sure the enthusiasts are out there, but that's only half the equation for GT3 ownership (affordability, as you pointed out, being the other half...ignoring spousal approval, etc). I find it hard to believe that the 997 GT3 would be less expensive than the 996 version, making it an even tougher sell here coming right on the heels of the prior version. Selling 1k units would be easier if it appealed to more buyers, supporting NJ-GT's thesis.

 

Perfect Porsche stratagy, dumb down the GT3 with a bunch of crappy options to broaden it's appeal to a larger market sector, then offer it to the 'enthusiasts' with the option to 'delete'...and charge you for it!
They get the best of both worlds, and to make it a trifecta, put the POS m97 engine in it, saves on the cost of the better engine!
Then mark the whole package up 7% base.
Perfect!!!!!

 

here's the sedan release:

Porsche Panamera: Concept version of automaker's fourth model line due this fall
GREG KABLE

Posted Date: 3/15/05

Porsche’s anticipated fourth model line has a name: Panamera. Registered by Porsche at the same time as the Cayman moniker it is applying to the upcoming Boxster-based coupe, the new name is expected to grace a concept version of the car, which insiders describe as a combination of coupe and sedan, at the Frankfurt motor show in September.

Due out in 2008, the Panamera has been conceived as successor to the 928. Designed with space for four adults, it is also tipped to come clothed in a four-door body in a move that will pitch it into direct competition with cars like the Mercedes-Benz CLS and Maserati Quattroporte.

Secrecy surrounds the mechanical basis for the new car, though the Stuttgart rumor mill suggests Porsche chairman Wendelin Wiedeking has forged links with Volkswagen on a new rear-wheel-drive platform program in a move similar to that undertaken with the Cayenne and Toureg. Volkswagen chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder is interested in adding a new rear-wheel-drive model to the Volkswagen lineup between the Passat and Phaeton, and after the recent breakdown in talks with Maserati, it seems additional cooperation with Porsche may be in the cards.

Power for the new car is set to come from the same 4.5-liter V8 engines as those offered on the Cayenne. They include a naturally aspirated version with 340 hp and a turbo*charged unit with 450 hp. An even more powerful model with more than 500 hp is also in the pipeline. Up to 20,000 examples of the Panamera are expected to roll annually from Porsche’s Leipzig factory in Germany, where it will be produced alongside the Cayenne.


mark siffert is taking orders Siffert@unitedauto.com for the gt3 as well. you cant spec your gt3 yet but it's expected next summer

 

Interesting speculation guys. We know that a 997 GT3 Cup car exists. Historically, PAG produces a street version. Also historically, the street version is not made available in North America. The Mark II GT3 was an exception.

It also makes sense that PAG will concentrate on the higher volume models, Cab, Turbo and C4S before giving us a GT3. Given only 1000 units sold in North America, I'd imagine that someone interested in sales volume would put the lowest volume model at the bottom of the development list. I note that both the GT3 and the 360 CS came at the end of the model run for each manufacturer.

This and other threads suggest that Porsche may attempt to capitalize on the GT3's image as a race car (did anyone watch 12 hrs of Sebring) but in a softer more luxurious car having broader market appeal. Who knows, the 04/05 GT3 may turn out to be one of those exceptional cars like the 73RS.

Will the Panamera sedan consume resources which would otherwise go towards the 998? If the 997 sells well, PAG may decide to delay the introduction of the 998. If that happens, a 997 GT3 for North America is more likely. Meantime I am enjoying mine!

best,

 

Having driven a sequential box, I prefer the older style for the street.
Fine on the track, but feels terrible on the street

 

Gentlemen: Why would Porsche wish to sell a watered-down GT3 with luxury, electronics, and no dry sump when it already sells such a car; the 997 S ?
Also, who says a 997 GT3 must be more expensive than a 996 GT3? The 997 is effectively less expensive than the 996 and in my experience it is a far superior car.

There are several potential reasons for the sales history of the 996 GT3, all of them explored at great length on this board. The next generation may solve some or all of them.

Thanks
Jack

 

With the exhaust being in the centre rather than inside the rear wheel wells, it now takes the place that was inhabited by the air box and the catalytic converters on the 996 car. The air box now might be a twin design on either side of the intakes rather than down behind the rear bumper- thus the - reason for the twin scoops.
The thing that we see hanging down behind the rear wheel wells is not a turbo but the cats, since the muffler is now in the place where the cats were on the old car.

The only thing with this car is that the brakes are not cross drilled, and no one has seen the car at the ring yet. Whoever is taking these pictures, why can't you take a pic of the underisde of the rear of the car?

I agree though that the market for this kind of car is REAL tiny here in NA and I would not be surprised to not see it for sale here in the US. BMW pulled that once with the M3 2 generations ago it was basiclly a bod kitted 330 - There was no M3 then even though it was badeged as one, it did not get the M power motor.

If the 997S is pulling 355 and a powerkit will take it to 380, they dont need a 400hp variation in NA.

 

"Effectively less expensive"...the 997's I've seen have been costlier than 996's. They may convince you that you're getting more content for your money, but in terms of absolute dollars the prices are higher.

"There are several potential reasons for the sales history of the 996 GT3, all of them explored at great length on this board. The next generation may solve some or all of them."

How? By building a 997S+ (or in Chevy lingo, a 997SS...not a good name for a German car)?

 

Let's just face facts that Porsche's new cars will all become more GT than anything else.
Sounds like the Cayman will be the sports car line, funny if you look at the profile, it looks as short as the old 911.

 

Hmm a Cayman with a GT3 engine, that would be *nice*. AFAIK, the Cayman uses the Boxster S platform. The Boxster is 11 inches longer than the 993 version of the 911.

Best,