PogueMoHone

There has been lots of speculation about a 997 GT3 in NA, but I have never believed it will come, especially not in the near future. The reasons have been stated "ad nauseum" in prior posts. But to the real point...

Another thread posts about the the 997 not being available without a sunroof, due to the expense of Federalizing the car (the 996 had the sunroof delete option available).

Du you suppose for 1000 cars or less Porsche is going to Federalize the 997 GT3 (remember it has no sunroof) or is this just another of the litany of reasons we won't see any 997 GT3?

Does the logic work?

Holger B

I'm not familiar with the thread you are referring to, but I find it highly unlikely that a non-sunroof car would need to be certified separately (and I have experience dealing with the DOT in such matters).

If that really is true, the US version will have a sunroof. Simple as that.

RevUrGT3

A GT3 with a sunroof??? Man, I can't wait to see that and NOT buy it...

Holger B

If you believe Autoweek, it'll also come with parking assist, rear wiper, etc. (I think their GT3 spy shot was actually a 997 with an aero kit.)

RevUrGT3

Yeah, I agree, based on some more resent pics, that is the aero kit...

Gosh, I am having a hard time believing they will bring a car like that... what ever happened to lightweight? There is no way in hell I would trade in my 996 GT3 for a heavier car with more options...

cosmos

Ok, I will say this one last time. My take is this.

Porsche WILL cash in on the GT3 brand name.

They established it with the 996 GT3. It was a low volume car that Porsche did not make much money on, if you believe some, they even lost money on it.

They did this as a marketing tool. Here are the reasons behind it.

A) They needed promotion for the up coming USA cup series.

B) They can now market the GT3 name.

I believe that the marketing machine at PAG figured out that they can make money off the GT3 name. They will do it like how BMW did with the USA version of the e36 M3.

Basically bring a modified version for North American consumption that is nothing more than a hyped up, slightly modified version of the 997 S.

It will look, and handle like the 997 Euro GT3, but will not have the very expensive GT1 derived dry sump engine.

PAG/PNA will make a fortune and all they did was throw a badge and a body kit on a 997S.

Its brilliant!

RevUrGT3

Oooonneeeee milliiiiiiooooonnn dollaaaarssss...

PogueMoHone

Here is the quote from the "sunroof delete 997" thread

So says PCNA:
"A sunroof delete option for the 997 Coupe series will not be available for the life
span of the vehicle. Federal occupant crash regulations for sunroof versus non-
sunroof vehicles and the resultant engineering expense to meet those regulations
make this option financially non-viable, for the small number of vehicles configured."

mooty

i am afraid that what cosmos stated is true. there will be gt3 here in usa, but maybe not the hardcore GT3 we have now. kind of like e30m3 vs. e36m3..... but either way, it will be interesting to see how it plays out.....

colm, maybe you ought to get another gt3 just to stock pile them... i am very tempted.

jim911

Thats my thought , nothing wrong with a spare. Look at the price of the 964 " that never became" cup cars. Sure they were few, but the GT3 is the real thing!

Bob Rouleau

The current issue of Road and Track (pp 39) debunks the 997 GT3 spy pic. They show a photo and say that it is a stock turbo(huh?) 997 Turbo with the optional GT3 optik kit. I say "huh" because I'd expect a turbo to have the air intakes in the rear fenders. Perhaps they meant a stock 997 with the GT3 look alike kit. In any case, a 997 GT3 it is not.

Larry Herman

So now Porsche is going the way of every other manufacturer who has come out with a real enthusiasts car, and then dumbed it down and cashed in on the name. Can't wait to see the "GT3" version of the Cayenne.

Bob Rouleau

Larry,

I wouldn't take the dumbed down thing to the bank so fast. The info I got early on was that the 997 was to have a relatively short life span. Marketing blather aside, the 997 is still a warmed over 996, a car which has been around since 1999. I suspect that Porsche will continue with the 997 and the 987 as long as sales are good - they are up sharply from the 996 and Boxster in recent years. Again, this info is now a year old, but if nothing has changed, (a BIG assumption) the next North American GT3 would be a 998 which will be a really new car.

Homologation specials are easily done for Europe, witness the GT3 RS. I suspect Europe will get a road going 997 GT3 as well, certification costs being so much less. If you think about it, Europe got a street legal GT3 back in 1999 and 3.8 liter Club Sport versions of the 993 and a even a GT2 993 come to think of it.

OTOH if the 997 remains a good seller, PAG may decide to extend its life and then the possibility of a North American GT3 becomes more likely. If so, it will probably come at the end of the 997 model run just as the 996 GT3 did. Ferrari did this with the 360 as well, the Challenge Stradale coming out just before the 430 was introduced.
Most manufacturers come out with some sort of special edition to pump up sales of a model slated for end-of-life.

Best,

mooty

Can't wait to see the "GT3" version of the Cayenne.
______
larry, ruf, techart and others are already doing sort of that. i am sure PAG will not be far behind... who knows, those hot peppers just may chase down our GT3 soon on a nearby track ;-)

cosmos

Bob,

I do believe that there WILL be a 997 GT3 for the USA. Infact I think it will be here right after the Turbo. I just don't think it will be a raw as the 996 one. Lot more show then go.