This coming from Chris Harris... There's no celebrity or authority opinion on cars I hold in more esteem.

I believe he's owned various 911, including GT3's.

 

He had a 996 GT2 as he mentioned, but also the 997 GT3 RS 4.0, Ferrari 599, M3 E92 etc.

Saying those words just tells you how good the 996 Turbo is.

 

I tend to agree...I'm coming from the Audi & Subaru world where their AWD systems are much more active (intrusive?).

The STi squirted out of corners with amazing grip, but I always had to hang on tight as the front wheels were pulling hard.

My 996 Turbo rockets out of corners with a ton more torque than my old Subie but just as much grip, but I have yet to feel the front tires tugging at the steering wheel.

So I think Harris is spot on.

 

You can see it here, doesn't seem Awd at all. I've noticed it too, love that Porsche builds them like this.

 

also the engine hanging at the opposite end is very beneficial. Plus default torque split is only 5% to the front.

 

I just started exploring the handling characteristics of mine but I can feel the awd kick in when I start getting the rear out with DSC disabled.

 

That is exactly what you should feel. The all-wheel-drive is there really just to save your *** from the potential a 911 turbo has to lift throttle oversteer.

 

X'LNT vid. thx for posting.

 

Porsche didn't build that car, RUF did. That might be RWD. The RTurbo could be ordered to be built as AWD or RWD w/ an LSD. Guard was the RUF supplier of LSDs in those days if I recall correctly.

 

it sure was driven and looked like an rwd car in that vid.

 

agreed, the VC should not allow it to be driven like that.

 

agree 100% no way that was awd.

 

RUF doesn't change anything regarding the drivelines distribution, it's still the same distribution between rear and front.

That R Turbo doesn't look RWD to me, it behaves exactly the same as the stock Turbo tested below.

So to the ones saying it can't be Awd, here is another video of a stock Turbo sliding around and the drift king himself, Keiichi Tsuchiya, describes how the car behaves:

 

Back to the topic of "Does the 996tt get dissed or respected?", I was just reading the March issue of Panorama. The article on the 2016 991 Turbo, bottom of page 49:

"As the canyon roads dry out, the 991-1 Turbo S remains impressive, but isn't all that rewarding to drive. Fast? Yes. Fun? Kinda. Is a Carrera or GT3 better on that score? Yes, as they should be. The Turbo is meant to be different, a fast but luxurious 911 rather than an RS. By that measure, the 911 Turbo is better than ever - though it's hard to escape the notion that some turbocharged 911s have walked the fine line better when it came to fun. Think 996 Turbo . . ."

These are truly great cars and are well regarded nearly universally. With my '99 C4 aero coupe, the general public loved the car but some Porsche people look down their nose and brought up the IMS bearing issue (and sometimes the RMS, which frankly hasn't been a significant issue in 10+ years). I get none of that in the 996tt. Ever.

 

Good read