Tcomegna

Both of them are in my garage, V10 manual, exhaust, tune, gorgeous spec. Literally a head turner everywhere I go, pulls like a freight train, legit stunning !

But every time I get into the GT3 from back to back spirited drives I realize rather quickly just how significantly more special the 997.1 GT3 really is. It's by a country mile, the clear cut winner when it comes to absolute driving pleasure. The Sharkwerks surely helps the cause, but the brakes, the steering feel; the sense of danger, legit everything makes it feel special.

It's hard to explain why I say the GT3 is by far my favourite over the R8. But then you get a chance to take someone for a ride back to back. When they start to tear up after in excitement from a GT3 drive, it all makes sense to them.

R8..... sure it's cool as ****, much faster, and more recognizable. But the GT3.... that's the clear cut winner. Speed and excitement are not directly correlated and this is a prime example of that.

Oh... and I chose the R8 after a back to back test drive with a 991.1 GT3 and a 991.2 turbo as to me it was the best car of the bunch. But in realty the 997.1 frantic and dare is say "ignorant" 3.6 might be the most special of them all.

He started to cry when I redlined it. He didn't with the R8

bweSteve

great post tcomegna,... and I know you are comparing to the R8 v10,.... but since you make it a point to specifically call out the .1 as well as the 3.6 engine, I'm wondering if that was on purpose (as it relates to any of the other flavors of 997 GT3's including the 3.8 & the RS variants)

So my question to you is whether you also drove & compared the .1 3.6 -to the- .2 3.8 ,.... or any of the RS'

Of course, prior to making a purchase decision, many 997 GT enthusiasts spend a lot of time looking, reading, comparing etc, and then make their choice on which variants best suits them, as I'm sure you did.
But I am specifically wondering if you also drove any of the other variants to compare them too?

I enjoy hearing the journey that goes into making the decision on which 997 GT3 they prefer.

.... During my own buying process,... especially since it seems to be SO HARD to get test drives in any of these 997 GT3's,... I spent a lot of time listening to the 3.6 verses the 3.8, and indeed there are differences. I found the differences in engine tone most prevalent when listening to all the Belgium Rallys that have a lot .1's racing with .2's. Of course those guys are all running really loud straight pipe exhausts, but it was fun nonetheless.

TIA,
=Steve

Tcomegna

Thank you Steve for reading and sharing your info.

I have driven the 3.8 in the 991.1 and I felt like disappointed mainly due to the PDK and also the lack of grunt I was expecting. I've also driven a 3.8 in the 997.2 (non RS). Sure it had more torque, was a bit faster all over. But my ultimate thing about performance cars is "who cares about the numbers when the performance is always surpassed by the next car". The 3.8 does not have the same shriek as the 3.6. I drove a 3.8 years ago when it was affordable, so the monetary value made no difference to me. The 997.1 is for sure the worse car, it's less powerful, interior not as nice, drove less refined ..... but the 3.6 makes it more of an event. The slightly more tail happy feel makes it feel more exciting. It's just more special, especially with the shriek. To me it's a no brainer to act on a 3.6 GT3.

I do have commitment on the R8 and I do believe I will be purchasing a 991.2 manual GT3 as I feel like this will be the ultimate GT3. Hard to sell the R8 as I feel like it's at the brink of increasing in value.

bweSteve

coolio. I too have often thought of picking up a 991.2 manual GT3. I've been in a friends 991.2 Touring and it is a special car in its own right (I'm a wing guy tho, so I'd go with a GT3 manual)

But I also find it interesting that you highlight the 3.6 as having more of a shriek, verses the 997 3.8. I kinda thought it had a bit of a lower, more grunty sound to it. Could have also been some sort of exhaust mod difference too.

You also mentioned that the R8 has an exceptional exhaust tone too. If zero'ing in on just the exhuast sound (ignoring all other aspects), which one do you prefer?

... is anyone else a good word-smith, and have a good way to describe the sound differences in stock 3.6 verses 3.8 GT3's? ... I've never seen that conversation here on RL.

Tcomegna

If I had to choose an exhaust tone, again a subjective preference, to me it's the GT3 every single time. The r8 is a roar, a high pitched roar. The GT3 is a scream.

Every time someone is "enamoured" with the R8 (which I always show/drive first) and then switch over to the GT3, they immediately fall in love with the GT3 far more than the R8 when it comes to pure driving euphoria. Mainly has to do with the shriek.

The R8 also has a capristo exhaust, tune, and an intake so it pulls far harder and does sound excellent. But hard to compare with the 3.6.

I've owned the GT3 for 6 years. I still giggle when I redline the car.
I've owned the R8 for 3 years and Its incredible, the sound is amazing.

The Gt3 makes me giggle like a pre pubescent child at Christmas morning. There is absolutely no comparison to me, the GT3 is the clear winner for "exhaust note"

WP0ZZZ

What sway bar setup are you running?

bweSteve

but back to my other question: you've never done comparison between the .1 & .2?

Steve Theodore

I still 'owe' my wife an Audi R8 V10, meaning it's her favorite car at any reasonable budget (Lexus LFA is her true favorite, but that's not happening) and I cannot wait to add one to our collection. I rented a 2017 R8 V10 from our specialty exotic rental agency about a year ago and it was such a treat, and confirmed that she really wanted it. As a result, I continue to follow the R8 market, particularly for the V10 cars.

I am personally drawn to the earlier Gen 1 6MT cars but my wife has confirmed that she'd like her R8 to be more 'jump in and drive' than a 'row your own' experience, and so I'm strongly considering a Gen 2 RWS car due to it's rarity and our overall lack of need for AWD on a car like that. I'm always happy to read about R8 content as a result, so thanks for sharing your thoughts about how the cars compare. Neither my GT2 or GT3 RS will be leaving to make room for the R8 btw, but I do want my wife to get exactly what she wants as she has been instrumental to my getting the Porsche 911s of my dreams.

-eztrader-

Out of curiosity - what is the market for a 2wd v10 R8?

delanobe

I also went from a manual R8 v10 to a GT3 MK1 clubsport but....
Recently I'm falling in love with the older cars and believe it or not I'm having even more fun in the longhood

Steve Theodore

$110-$130k seems the range from what I can tell.

JB911

I woke up this morning after a horrible dream, my GT3 had disappeared! Dreams are surely strange, and in it I searched for the car, had it been towed? If so, a regular tow truck would have destroyed it 👹

Then in the dream I received a cell phone video that the car was being held hostage by hackers with instructions on how to pay to get it back-
It felt like a child or woman abduction, I imagined the wing and nose damage, etc. Dreams can be so vivid yet irrational at the same time 😂

Anyway, once you wake up, there’s a relief that it was just a nightmare, but the panic is real. I have enough to worry about, including hurricane season, virus etc 😕

Enjoy your cars!

flsupraguy

I had a gen 1 v10 gated r8, added the twin turbo. Sold and got a 2017 r8. Added a whipple supercharger plus meth, love it. Goes nice next to my 4.1 stroker 997 gt3. I'm feeling the need to add a 993 or 964 to the stable.

Tcomegna

Which generation R8 do you like better ??

flsupraguy

gen 2. Much easier to drive, dual clutch, better ground clearance, comfort, ect. I say this because I have a highly modded 997.1 gt3 for more "manly" driving when need be.