Hi. I took my 997.1 on the tack. Fun. Then I bought a 996 GT3. Amazing.
A GT3 will run about $50-60. The 3 has more horsepower, quicker response etc and will be faster around the track. The 3 has no nannies to save your beacon, the 997.1 does. Neither will be inexpensive for track use. Since I bought the 3 in Dec I have spent 10-12k in maintenance, improvements and to address safety items. Now it should be good for next 2-3 years with no more major work. And these are relatively minor items; welded coolant fittings, suspension set up, seats, harness bar, etc. Still a very street legal car. I suggest you research in the GT3 forums. For track use, none of these cars are bullet proof and require continuous maintenance, and you will not save money by changing vehicle but you will be faster. :-)
My advice; buy a car that is already prepped with the items you would want in it (seats, harness, etc) as this will save you $$, for any car - assume each track weekend will cost $1000 for track fee, gas, food, and vehicle wear and tear.
Good luck and have fun.

 

I own and track an 06 S. My buddy has the 996 GT3 that you are comparing it with. All I can say is I've spent lots of money trying to make my 997.1 perform like his GT3. After spending $25K (w/o any body mods),it is still no GT3. Based on your needs, look further for a 996 GT3. Good luck!

 

Honestly, very simple:

- If you track quite a bit, GT3
- If mostly daily, 100% Carrera S

Also, ensure PPI is done, you get the latest and best car for your budget, and if you found '05 cars, be careful with IMS and may budget IMS retrofit (~ $3K).

 

While I enjoyed the evolution of my current car, I don't have the time to repeat that journey. That all started while I was in my 30's before children. I'll look for the GT3. I'm sure I'ss still have plenty of opportunity to statisfy the mechnaic in me.

Thanks guys, exactly the type of feedback I was hoping for.

 

For your stated use I'd go the 996 GT3. It will be cheaper in the long run.

 

Just to add my two cents and share a little different opinion:

BF951, I was in a similar situation as you: I had a Boxster S which over several years (and at least $10k later) I turned into a street legal track car. I did around 10 track days / year, the rest was daily driver. Eventually it was time to trade up (as everyone around me got faster as the car was "tricked out" and I wasn't ready to turn the Box into a pure track car).
So I was facing a very similar dilemma.

I would agree that a 997.2 and a 996 GT3 are about eye to eye. So let's do the math: if you look at the prices for a nice 966 GT3, you're looking at $50 ~ $60k. I would not look at the 997.1 as at alternative to a 996 GT3 (reasons below), but at the 997.2. And $60k buys you a 997.2 C2S (or C4S as I have).

Main reasons for the 997.2 vs. 997.1:
* No IMS (yes I know that the GT3 has the Mezger engine w/o IMS but in this list I am comparing 997.1 vs. 997.2)
* Porsche made the 9A1 engine bullet proof against oil starvation on the track
* 997.2 S has 385 hp vs 355 (?) of the 9971. S
* PDK (let's not start a PDK discussion here, but changing gears in the middle of a turn with no "penalty" suddenly allows you to have the car ALWAYS in the optimal rev range. There are no more compromises like you need to have to commit to one gear at the entry to a turn and this gear "has to do"). My driving style has changed, so that I now downshift in certain parts of my usual tracks, where with a manual "it just wasn't worth it".
* Just like you, I no longer have the time or the fun in modding my car continuously. The only thing I do before a track weekend is to change brake pads, bleed the brakes, check fluids, and install the harness bar and the 6-pt harness and that's it. At the track I press the "Sport Plus" button and I am ready.
* The 996 GT3 got discontinued in 2005 (I believe), so the 996 GT3 are starting to get "long in the teeth" and I am personally not a big fan of the looks of a 2002 ~ 2005 996 (the lights just look horrible).

So probably the biggest question is if you want to do ONLY track driving with you new car (GT3) or if you also want to drive it otherwise (997.2 S) ...

 

Hatzenbach,
I appreciate the comments, although it may not be the consensus it's what works for you and depending on what resuorces are available in the short term (cars and funds) it may work for me. I think that I would be happy with either a good example 996GT3 or 992.2 C2S. I don't really have any good use for a monkey sized rear seat so the practicality of driving both back and forth to the track or weekend tours is similiar. I'm leaning towares the GT3 as I believe the chasis is more in line with what I'm looking for but we'll see what examples I find. I've not been known to be a patient person.

 

For 50-60k, and a stated use for much track work, I'd have a tough time not buying a brand new vette vs either of the cars you're looking at. Different conversation, but it looks like a beast, and brand new is tough for me to pass up.

 

Interesting thought and I'm sure reliability and suitability could be argued and well presented but neither that manufacturer or vehicle captures my heart in any way.