Turn3 Autosport

Ok, here is the situation......

The wife (bless her) thinks we need a GT3 of some description. Well, she thinks I need one.... When the wife is speaking those words, we men need to listen. We currently have a 955TT and a Cayman S that are daily driven and the Cayman sees track time (it is well set up) at the DE days that we host. We sold our 84 911 track car over the winter and we are just about finished our 996 race car.

However, not sure we actually have the time to campaign the 996 race car as we support and partner with a local Pro and club racing Porsche team (4 997 cups and 4 996 koni cars) both here and across N.A. Basically what we really need is a streetable track car. I can daily drive a rather committed track car without issue, and so can she when I need the Cayenne TT.

At every one of our events I am fortunate enough to get handed the keys to plenty of nice fast cars. Stock 997 TT to GT3RS to RUF modified 997TT to modded 997 S cars, so I am spoiled. I love the power surge of the turbos but like the feel of the NA cars as they deliver in the way my 84 track car did. It was special. I have not tracked a 6GT3 however.....

So, is this the car I should be looking for? Or should I sell the Cayman S and the 996 race car and spring for a 997.1 or 997.2 GT3 or GT3RS? Finances being that the 6GT3 could end up in the garage beside the 996 race car (cayman S sold) but the 997.1/.2 GT3 or GT3RS require the race car to be sold, which is no issue for us.

Allan is good friend and I know he loves his 6GT3..... But no way am I getting in his car and emabarrissing myself!

Thoughts? I am sure many of you have pondered the same question.

Cheers

mooty

lots money: .2gt3
less money: 6gt3
dont bother thinking too much.
that is that.

AllanJ

Your wife is pretty special so I would listen to her.

You are welcome to drive my car, Jeff. There is a very short list of people I'd let drive my baby on the track, and you are on it.

Think about what you want in a track car and go from there. The 6-GT3 is slower than the newer cars, but very satisfying to drive. As Mooty said, it's also a lot cheaper! I've never been a fan of the 7.1 GT3, because I think the marketing dept took over with the mandatory sunroof and that really pisses me off (however irrational that might be). I love the 7.1 GT3 RS, especially in white. PJ owns my fav 7.1 GT3 RS. The 7.2 is an incredible machine, but $$$.

Folks say the 7.x GT3 is a better street car. That may be, but today I drove my car to see my parents and it was fun. Sure, I felt the bumpy roads, but I didn't care. If I really cared I could dial back the Motons a bit, but it was fine.

Let me know if you want to try my car on the street or track.

Cheers,

MTB

Jeff,
I heard a customer from Korva autobody has an Orange RS for sale last month. Lots of mod, such as Shark 3.9L...If you know someone there, maybe worth to make a call.

Michael

Turn3 Autosport

Hmm, I think the orange RS was at our track day last week with its new owner. If I am thinking of the same car the fellow who sold it is a regular on Rennlist and has another matching color one.... I know it had a bypass as it was pushing sound limits, but stock motor. Now, there is a white one in town with a sharkwerks motor, but I don't think it is for sale, and it is a heavily moddified car......

thanks though!

Crazy Canuck

truth

GTgears

Jeff,
The answer is simple. Get a 996 GT3 and make it 997 fast with the help of your connections in the gearbox arena.

Turn3 Autosport

Looks more and more like a 6GT3, and yes, we do have good connections in the gearbox department!

TrackDays247.com

Same debate we are having in our house...keep us posted

Turn3 Autosport

Will do! It will be a while before we pull the pin. Unless someone offers good money for the not yet for sale Cayman S and 996 race car! , or the right car pops up!

Cheers

SCAN Automotive

Jeff, you know where I voted. The other factor the others don't mention is that as time passes, and the cars get older, the more difficult it is to find a 'clean' example (and really, that's what you should start with unless you're building a bumper car). So, so, so many of them have stories. Consider this:

1) 996 GT3's are at least 6.5 years old for the newest ones. That's 6.5 years (or more) for things to have happened to them. They were hard to find clean examples 4 years ago, never mind now. The prices also don't seem to reflect this, so unless you're really lucky finding a good example for realistic money, they aren't always the best value.

2) 997.1 GT3's are plentiful. Although similarly difficult to find a clean car, there's at least a lot more to choose from. Agreed that the sunroof is a bit of a sore point (I like more headroom personally, and would prefer sans-sunroof), but they are good cars. The looks are awesome and the interior is pretty rad if you care about the touchy-feely daily driving bits. Not the best value though, as for a bit more you can have...

3) A 997.2 GT3! The best of the bunch (in my opinion, except for the visceral 996 experience, which is arguably it's trump card). The best engine, the best street suspension (if you manage to not put Moton's in it, although they work pretty damn good on the street too) and the newest of the bunch. They are only about $20K more than an '07 and have 3 years more warranty on top of the rest of it's benefits. Also a lot easier to find a clean one.

Good luck brother, hopefully you can join the dark side soon!

roberga

I am sure the 7GT3 technically is a better car. That said I was happier with the 6GT3. With the delta in purchase price you can get it sorted out and still has $$ left. At any rate get a GT3 of some sort.

himself

IMO, you should get the 6GT3 unless you can swing a 7.1RS or a .2GT3/RS. That is, I would skip the 7.1 (base) GT3 altogether.

If it was me, I would grab the best bang-for-the-buck GT3 (which is the 6), keep the racer and wait for the 991 GT3 to see if you want to upgrade. With just a "few" dollars, the 6GT3 will keep up with the 997 (stock) variants. And you can make up a bunch of time with tires and skill.

Lastly, it's a lot more fun driving the analog version 3. There's just something about it...

-td

blake

+1 to what the others have said... It all comes down to budget (both on the front end for the purchase, in the middle for countless/endles mods, and at the back end in case you wad up the car at the track)....

Keep us posted...

-Blake

Turn3 Autosport

Thanks guys for all of the comments.

James, you know I can't get the same car as you, that would be, well, just wrong....

I am not afraid of keeping up with others at the track, for me it about the driving experience on track, something I sorely miss from my 84 car, which was a very fast track car, no ladies aids, but talked to your hands, feet, butt and ears when you drove it. That said, we are pretty well versed in what it takes to make a 6GT3 keep up. Unlikely that any car we get will stay stock, not in our nature, plus we like to run what we sell so we can give more first hand knowledge and let customers drive and get a feel for what they are speding their hard earned cash on mod-wise.

I have tracked a 997.2 GT3RS and loved it. Bearing in mind I was not driving it very hard as it belongs to a customer, but still loved. As much as I have enjoyed tracking customers modded 997 turbos, including the RUF, the GT3RS did it for me.

I know I can find a clean expample of any of the models, as I am not in a rush. Sourcing from anywhere in NA is not a problem. My Cayenne TT began life in the US and my Cayamn is from the US also.

Waiting for the 991 variant just makes all the current cars older. Purchasing a new one will likely be out of the cards financially. The car we buy will get used. Used pretty much every day, and flogged on the track. I am not into keeping a low mile car, I want to use it!

Maybe I should buy a Fiat 500 and a 997 cup (I have access to a pristine one)...... if only the maintenance was a little lower.