mjb

GT3 Cab; now we're talk'n
And Porsche can save the expense of the roof crush test making it an even higher margin proposition

Holger B

PCNA marketing folks aren't that dumb...no GT3 Cab...it's the GT3 Spyder, perfect tie in from a marketing perspective to the RS Spyder.

Flying Finn

I can see it now, then in Porsche press releases, press and eventually even some Rennlist members tout it as a real sportscar because it's a spyder!

AeroGT3RedWing

EXCELLENT post

Palting: Do you honestly think the GT3 would suck as a street car if it didn't have SATNAV and a sunroof? Me thinks you will find the suspension too stiff and sell it soon.

icon

dang db!
sounds like you hung around with VJ for too long!
seems like that would have taught you the negative approach doesnt work!?

jeff

__________
finn,
betcha got the h disc from motorcross?
that's where my lower back pain originated.
you don't use any kind of support to help?
i mean besides them painkillers you're on all the time?
jeff

hey super finn!
you know what i just realized!
all those sportbike racers are a bunch of wussy poseurs!
not a dang one of them has a support roof!
jeff

pcar964

In reference to Palting - I have no problem with you expressing your opinion. We're all just talking about cars, after all. However.... You must understand that some enthusiasts are very passionate about their sportscars, and don't like to compromise. Porsche has always catered that philosophy. Now, Porsche is beginning to abandon that mindset. It's a difficult position to be in, especially for many of us who are die-hard Porschephiles. We don't like the idea of moving on to another marque, but at some point in the future it will be the only option if Porsche continues in their current direction.

So understand, Palting, that when you whitewash the situation and parrot Porsche's marketing propoganda back to us, you shouldn't be surprised at the response. Nobody in this forum is buying it. With the drastic changes Porsche has made in the past few years, we are just trying to hold on to one small niche of the company that still caters to us.

Flying Finn

Yep, along with knees, shoulder, wrist etc. but what do you expect from MX?

I don't use any support (didn't ever even use kidney belt). Playing hockey has helped (builds abs and back muscles), I don't use pain killers, just "tough it out" in day to day situations but I admit Schotch every now and then during weekends makes the pain go away...

And yeah, I agree, those sport bike riders are total poseurs, besides they don't even have sunroofs! (seriously, Moto GP guys are badass).

Larry Herman

I guess that a lot of you really don't have a sense of history then, becuase I have heard it (or about it) ever since I knew what a Porsche was. The 365ers cryed that the 911s would ruin the marque. The 914 was a VW abomination. How could a true Porsche 911S not have mechanical injection? The 73 RS was the last REAL Porsche. How could Porsche build a front engined car, and water cooled at that! The 993 doesn't even LOOK like a 911 (so the lineage stops with the 964). Water cooling again, and streamlined, the 996 looks like a Jap car. Oh great, now Porsche is building TRUCKS. WTF??

Get a grip guys. The 997 GT3 is still going to be most of what the 996 is, with more motor and maybe prettier. And it seems that a lot of you who track your cars have re-done the suspensions, so who cares if the new one is a little softer for the street? And I don't remember the out-cry when you could only get a sunroof in the Carreras and C2s. Come to think of it, how many of you 993ers out there have non-sunroof cars?

Just trying to add a dose of reality to the thread.

db_gt3

Yeah well, maybe it did work, now I am much faster; somtimes you just gotta take your medicine like the best of em. This guy here is obviously an instigator looking for reactions; so, now he got some.
You think I said anything back to VJ when he scolded me for having too fast a car? C'mon, have you seen him drive? That guy is a GOD behind the wheel! I have way too much respect for someone that fast to go flapping my gums at him.

Current Setup:
MPSC
Schatz Alignment
Cup Brake Ducts
Brembo Floating Rotors (front)
RS Flywheel/Clutch
Tequipment Roll Bar
GT3 Cloth Seats
Sabelt Harnesses
Center Console Delete

10 GT3

Is the 997 GT3 going to be any less raw than the 996 GT3 is? I would not just jump to conclusions and say it isn't. The 997 GT3 is still going to be built on a C4 platform with an adjustable suspension (ride height, control arms and swaybars). It is getting more power, more revs, larger wheels/tires and bigger brakes. Yes, it is expected to get a better ride due to the use of more modern technology in electronic variable dampening shocks. You can leave it in Sport mode all time if you wish and let the ride deteriorate on the street. You get the OPTION to get some comforts if you want. You don't have to order Nav, auto-dimming mirrors or the sound plus audio if you don't want them. This sunroof-burdened car with the streetable suspension is still the one that runs the Nurburgring faster than a 996 GT3 Cup (without a sunroof).

I have seen some idiotic comments about how weight from a sunroof is in the worst place and ruins the car. Rotational mass is the greatest area effected by weight. Rotational mass effects ever aspect of vehicle dynamics: acceleration, braking and handling. Start looking at brakes wheels and tires. Sorry, you get NO credibility if you are whining about a sunroof and you didn't opt for PCCBs or bought an inexpensive set of heavier used Turbo look wheels to mount your race tires on. A 25lb difference in chassis weight is not going to be perceivable form the driver's seat. I doubt there has ever been a single person on this board that has the driving skill where a 25lb difference in chassis weight would ever make a difference between being 1st or 2nd in a club race. On the other hand, a good competant driver should see about a .5 second improvement dropping 5 lbs at each corner on a 1 minute road course. Porsche is producing the car that will certainly produce impressive track time. The question is, are you a skilled enough driver who can make the most of it or one that uses "its equiped with a sunroof" as an excuse?

MetalSolid

Well Larry, you either don't like where Porsche is going or you do - or you don't care...

I happen to care. The 996 GT3 is the closest the US has gotten to having a homologation special in the last 30 years, to now take that away seems like a backwards step.

PS: There were no hardcore 993s that came to the US, so a sunroof there was never an issue.

38D

Do you remember the tshirt that said "Real Porsches have 4 cams"? I agree on the get a grip comment. The 996 GT3 is not some super rare part of Porsche history. It is a very nice, very fast current model, and nothing more. And is sure as heck is not some ultra pure & raw sports car, at least when compared with some of the cars from recent history like the 964/993 RSCSs.

racer

Why don't folks simply remove the sunroof once purchased? Its just a car, right? Everyone on this board has "modded" his car in one way or another to enhance the performance of for the sake of personalization. Why would removing the sunroof be any different? Heck, then you could put on a full carbon fiber roof and save even more weight.

Hey 38D, I think my dad still has one of those T-Shirts . Keeps it next to his "real porsches are aircooled" one

Larry Herman

It's not that I don't care, it's just that I have more important things to worry about. I loved my GT3 and was glad that I had one for a while. As long as Porsche maintains it uniqueness, dedication to performance (to a reasonable extent) and standard of quality representative of its price, I will continue to remain a loyal, albeit realistic, enthusiast.

Larry Herman

Here's something to chew on for a while. The last time a "performance model" of the 911 was offered in the US was in 1993 with the RSA America. Admittedly it didn't have the extra power that the GT3 has vs a standard 911, but ordered without any weighty options, it came in at 2760, a full 270 lbs less than a C2. That made a huge difference, handling and acceleration-wise.

But funny, for a stripper performance car, according to the RSA registry, 53.1% had the sunroof, and 75.8% had A/C. Those options added over 200 lbs to the car, pushing it very close to a stock C2. Only 1.8% came through with no options (like mine) ready for the track. So the last time we were given a choice on a performance oriented car, a majority opted FOR the sunroof and A/C at the expense of performance. Go figure.