DanH

Thats all true, although I think these aids can encourage the overconfident to drive well outside their depth, and be utterly unequipped to deal with the consequences on the occasion the computer can't do it all. I've seen people throwing turbos around the track with no idea how much the car is doing for them.

On the other side, there is a perfectly valid argument that this stuff is great news when you are driving home from your trackday, very tired in the rain, and it saves your butt for you without deft inputs. I quite like not having the safety net - it focusses the mind - but I'm going to look a prat if I stack it I've flat spotted pleny of tyres with no ABS so I'm in a bit of a glass house!

One thing that doesn't seem to have been picked up on, is that it seems they've had to lower the LSD locking ratios to be compatible with the traction control system. I'm not a diff expert, but I suspect this means you are compromising on this front when you turn off the traction control and rely purely on the comparitively looser mechanical diff.

TD in DC

Here's the thing. The excitement of mastering something is still there. The modernity just lifts the limits again. If you drove a 993, and then switched to a 996 and drove it at the same level, you would think "jeez, this is too easy" The challenge is to pick up your driving so that you are at the limit of the 996. This is hard, because the limit is so damned high. Each Porsche raises the limit again, so it seems "easy" when you first drive it under your existing standards. Challenge yourself as a driver, and the rest will come.

In the end, it is less about what you bring to the track as how you drive what you brought. That is the zen of the track, at least in my humble opinion. I can find bliss in nearly any well-maintained P-car . . .

Electronics will rob you only if you let it. I bet you don't hear Chuck Norris whining about the new 997 GT3

TD in DC

Hell, that's what I tell myself in my n/a 944


Upon reflection though, I get depressed because I realize that anyone who drives a 993 or above that I can pass in a n/a 944 must really suck.

analogmike

when the 997 GT3 was rumored to come without a real dry sump race derived engine, I was getting ready to buy a clean 996 GT3. Now that the 997 is coming with the good engine, with more power than my 996 cup car, it looks like it's time to get on a list somewhere...

NJ-GT

The new 997 GT3 is not triggering my pulse. The announcement on the GT3 to America back in 2003 got me nuts, and I'm lucky and happy to have it.

The new 997 GT3 RS coming to America is having the same effect as the 996 GT3 did three years ago on me. I'm looking forward for that one, but it's not hitting these shores in at least 1 1/2 years. Typically, I don't buy a car just released, I always wait around 1 year to let the aftermarket to catch up.

In the meantime, I've my lightly modified GT3. 400 lbs lighter than a 997 GT3, with better suspension, shorter transmission, not that far off on power, and tuned properly. When it was 250 lbs heavier on the stock tranny, the car would run 11.8 on the 1/4 mile @ 120mph, on a rainy day on RA1 it lapped Pocono North Course in 59.6. I doubt the 997 GT3 will catch that.

If rumors on the 3.8 997 GT3 RS come true I'll be getting one. At that point, my 996 GT3 might become a dedicated track car.

pcar964

That's silly about the "raised limits" being something to adjust to. My 911SC didn't have limits as high as my 993. But the SC is harder to push to its respective limits. It wasn't a "challenge" to master a 993 after throwing an SC and Carrera around.

By the way, Chuck Norris probably drives a 917/30

LuisGT3

I heard that is his daily driver.

pcar964

Caution: gratuitous

One day Chuck Norris walked down the street with a full erection... There were no survivors.

38D

A 996GT3 is just not a raw car: nearly 3000lbs, modern multi-link suspension, ABS, power windows, ceramic brakes (optional), cable shifter. My 964 turbo is far more raw than a 996GT3 with it's semi trailing arm suspension. Of course, the 930s were even more raw, with that torsion bar setup. Of course an old MFI 911 was even more raw. Then again, maybe only a SWB 911 is truly raw. Oh wait, the 356s were even more so with the swing axles. Of course 550s were far lighter, so they were really raw.

If you think a 996GT3 is a raw sports car then you haven't spent enough time driven any of the old cars (at least not fast).

My old 914/6 with no ABS, no windows, no carpet, no parking brake, no radio, no heat, no A/C, no fan, no variocam, no varioram, mechanical throttle linkage, cable clutch, semi-trailing arms, torsion bars, a crappy shifting 901, monoball suspension, solid trans mounts, solid engine mounts, big honking slicks, and 1900lbs of wet weight was pretty darn raw. It also was far less enjoyable to drive than my 964 turbo D class racer.

Btw, I guess the RS Spyder is not a real racer since it's got a "sunroof"

NOBLEGT3

i hate both. art is subjective and stupid when it somes to value. only people with throw away money give a ****

LuisGT3

Some would say the same about Porsche ownership.

pcar964

Yeah, that Michaelangelo was a hack

pcar964

You're right on all points, but when I say the GT3 is the last of the raw sportscars, I'm speaking in relative terms. Obviously you can't compare SWB 911s and the like to these new marshmallows (like my 993), but in terms of new cars, the GT3 was pretty raw.

Don't worry 38D, even though some people are easily confused between "harsh ride" and "raw sportscar," some of us still understand that stiff suspension does not a "raw" car make...

bora

It's funny that all the people who are knocking the 996GT3 are the people that don't own one.
What it comes down to is this:

If you have a 996GT3, I think the price difference of $30K-$50K (for RS version) is not justified IMHO by the 997GT3. If you don't have a 996GT3 and you want to get into a GT3, then I guess one could talk themselves into a 997.

Frankly, I think 996GT3 is much like the 73 RS, a wonderful car that was broadly acclaimed by everyone that drove it including the press. We will see what the verdict is when the 997GT3 comes out.

In the meantime, threads like this are pretty much useless. A lot of bench racing

MetalSolid

Hmmm... Shouldn't that be the other way around?