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I've owned 22 Porsches since 1972 and you are so right about the "fun factor" that the earlier Porsches provide. 356's feel woefully underpowered compared to even the slowest of today's econoboxes but 356's are a total blast to drive on a curvy road if tracking isn't your thing,
The early pre-964 911's felt decently quick at the time and were/are also very engaging as road cars. But the '74-later impact bumper cars felt (and were) heavier and lost a bit of "Porsche-ness" as they became heavier and more comfortable as time went on. Plus the owner demographic changed markedly as the MSRP's started increasing rapidly starting in the late '70's.
My humble opinion is that the 964 RS America is sweet spot of the enthusiast's USA-available Porsche 911. Classic looks (aside from the bulbous bumpers), still air-cooled, a 3.6 twin plug Mezger, good transmission gearing (unlike US-spec 993's) no power steering (not needed) great street seats and great handling. I had two of them back in the day and wish I had kept one of them. The fact that a clean, well-kept one will bring over $100K now speaks volumes. As much as I love my 1.GT3 which is technically the far superior and considerably faster Porsche with air conditioning that actually works, I would still much rather have my 964 RSA back.
Curious about your opinion of 997.1 vs .2 GT3 if you don't mind. Have you owned a .2? Curious as everyone has an opinion on this and you seem to have owned a few cars Feel free to PM if you don't want to get off topic here
Curious about your opinion of 997.1 vs .2 GT3 if you don't mind. Have you owned a .2? Curious as everyone has an opinion on this and you seem to have owned a few cars Feel free to PM if you don't want to get off topic here
Unfortunately, I never owned or drove a .2 GT3. I'd love to have the RS version but those are way outside my car budget.
I'm gonna plug my "subscribe" into this thread & revive it a bit,.. and keep it on my radar to RE-read again when I'm fresh.
I love the fact that the OP has a wife in similar mindset to mine. Well written Post#1 for this thread. My wife & I have been enjoying our '91 964 Turbo for 14 yrs now,... visceral is right, and it scares the sh%t out of us every time we drive it spiritedly.
I do believe, and also agree that the 7.2 GT3 will be that sweet spot in a more recent gen water-cooled for us.
I recently drove a '16 991.1 GTS with the 7-speed & PDCC. It was a fun drive, but no where even close to the excitement level of our 964T. I also drove a '17 bi-turbo 911 GTS over in Germany for a week. The back pressure gurgle was fun, but it only lasts about 1.5 seconds and is definitely "manufactured" by Porsche. Anyway, that car felt big too, and did not really have me feeling like I wanted to run out & buy one.
Oh btw, we also have a '12 Cayenne Turbo with PTV & PDCC too,.. so I know what a tank with PDCC feels like. That technology is aaaa-mmmm-aaaa-zzzz-ing!!! It transforms our Cayenne (& yes I drove a bunch of them without, before we finally landed one WITH).
.... we autocross the CTT, we tow the 964T with it,.. I throw all my wet kiteboarding gear & surfboards in it, as well as my smelly ice hockey gear in it, it does everything, and very well for a SUV.
But to be honest, the '16 911 GTS that we drove with PDCC did not really feel that different with the button pushed or not pushed. hmmmm.
I enjoyed all the comments here, especially Jackb911 and golfnutintib. Thanks guys.
=Steve
I ended up passing on the 997.2 I planned to buy, due to an undisclosed FAL issue (detailed in the FAL malfunction thread here). I loved the car though. Honestly, I don't think it felt any faster than our 991 with PDCC in the corners (and probably isn't) but the engine, transmission, road feel, steering, and overall connection between the car, the driver, and the road felt more substantial than the 991, or any other car I have recently driven, for that matter. Sure, a 991 is more comfortable and just as fast at the track, but the .2 GT3 just feels special; it has a fun factor that can't be easily replicated.
So yes, I am a believer.
So now having provided my comments {in my above post},... I have another question for the 7.2 GT3 crowd here,....
With regard to the rear quarter flares (width out from the body),.. does anyone have any comparison detail on how far out from the body the 7.2 GT3 sticks out,... .verses the rear quarter flaring on the 991.1 widebodies (C4S, GT3, Turbo)??? ...
.... I've tried to see (at a Cars&Coffee), a 997.2 GT3 sitting right next to a wide body 991.1. ... but have not been successful. I KNOW the 991.1 overall rear track is WIDER as a whole. But I am specifically focusing on one side, and comparing the flare out.
( ... I'm clearly a wide body guy,.. and love how outrageously wide my 964 Turbo flares stick out )
OP Dawgcatching - You ended up passing on that one particular 997.2 GT3,... but are you still considering buying that particular variant? Is the decision made in your head, that the 997.2 GT3 is the only one for you?
According to Michael Mauer, chief designer at Porsche, and spec sheets released by Porsche narrow body 997 is same width in rear as narrow body 991. It’s the front that got wider on 991. Wide body 997 is same width in rear as wide body 991(C4, GT3). 991 TT and RS are ultra wide body and wider than any 997.
997
NB 1808 mm 71.18 in.
WB 1852 mm 72.91 in.
991
NB 1808 mm 71.18 in.
WB 1852 mm 72.91 in.
Differece 44 mm or 1 3/4 inches would be th answer to your question between width of 997.2 GT3 and 991 WB cars like the GTS.
with all that in mind judging which ‘flares’ are wider depends on your starting frame of reference. Your shot line. The next depends on the radius of the curve or flare. And where you consider the flare to begin and end.
According to Michael Mauer, chief designer at Porsche, and spec sheets released by Porsche narrow body 997 is same width in rear as narrow body 991. It’s the front that got wider on 991. Wide body 997 is same width in rear as wide body 991(C4, GT3). 991 TT and RS are ultra wide body and wider than any 997.
997
NB 1808 mm 71.18 in.
WB 1852 mm 72.91 in.
991
NB 1808 mm 71.18 in.
WB 1852 mm 72.91 in.
Differece 44 mm or 1 3/4 inches would be th answer to your question between width of 997.2 GT3 and 991 WB cars like the GTS.
with all that in mind judging which ‘flares’ are wider depends on your starting frame of reference. Your shot line. The next depends on the radius of the curve or flare. And where you consider the flare to begin and end.
I would not doubt that. When I parked my 991 GT3 with my 997 TT, you can see the size difference already. It looks bigger on all dimension. I am not exaggerating but my TT looks like a kiddie car.
The difference in 991 vs 997 dimensions, taken at their widest/longest points, tend to underestimate the visual size difference and/or "volume" the actual cars would take up if measured. Said another way, the 991 platform looks a lot bigger vs 997 than its measurements would imply.
07-20-2018, 02:23 PM
Feel free to PM if you don't want to get off topic here
