Turbo Racer

Good morning and happy Friday everyone! I’ve been pretty burned out by all the COVID fatigue and value posts so I thought about putting out a thread on the best 911 driver’s car. I know from the start this may be a fools errand but my latest and current search for cars has left me with a lot of questions about what you guys think are some of the best cars to drive. I am not all that interested in what it’ll be worth in 6 months or a year or even 10. If it goes up fine, but for me the real value comes in the driving of the car and how I feel behind the wheel.

main criteria here is something that has around 1000 or more cars that were produced so it’s actually something you can buy rather than read about in magazines. Also, what I’m looking at here is not the “fastest“ or the car that has the best “track time “, etc. What I’m looking for is your opinions on driver experience mainly for the roads. This is not a commuter car or something you’re going to be sitting in traffic in. It’s one of those cars that you take out when you want to go for a nice drive on twisty roads away from civilization and just enjoy the freedom and passion of these cars.

cbracerx

8Lug

Why is the regular 997GT3 not listed? I feel scorned, belittled, offended, discriminated against and generally butt hurt. I think some of us prefer the base GT3 to the RS for a street oriented driver's car. I know I can't be the only one.

dave292

How about a 997.2 Turbo??

Turbo Racer

I think it’s a really good point you brought up. I definitely considered putting this car on the list as well as others including the 911 R and the GT3 touring. In the end, I felt less choices would be more expedient. Can definitely see having more choices might give better information. To that end, what are the things that you like about the GT3 versus the Gt3rs? I have yet to drive a regular GT3 so I have no experience with this.

Turbo Racer

Great choice. I see your avatar has a Gt3rs as well. Do you prefer the turbo over the RS?

ljmartyre

You're not the only one. I have always felt for the amount of tracking I don't do, an RS for me would be wasted.


Personally, I would argue the PDK cars like the 991 GT3 RS would fall to the bottom of the list being as the limit for the car is so high and the PDK. I cant say I would classify it as a 'drivers car' compared to a 964 or a 997 RS.


I think the cars notorious for being drivers for the road are:

964 (comment about which variant and why)
993 (comment about which variant and why)
996 GT3
997 GT3 (my vote)
997 GT3 RS
991 GT3 (comment touring variant if you feel the need to differentiate)
992 GT3

Being as objective as possible I do think the 997 deserves 2 separate spots of RS vs NB because of the notoriety concerning it being the perfect drivers car in the middle.

Also I have never driven a 964 but heard way too many good things and their price reflects that.

christallon

Gaaahhhh, I almost bought the Blue 964RS, pictured above, many years ago when he had it up for sale, and before it went to Road Scholars. Can't believe I passed on it. It had been Federalized and was legally a US car at that time too.

If you've ever driven a 964 RS, you'll know what an incredible drivers car it is. This is my vote

I totally love my 997.1 RS, and it's an amazing drivers car too, way more power, poise, build quality, etc...but, the 964RS is just so special and air cooled to boot

Looking at that pic more closely, I now see that car was in Germany at the Ring, so not likely the RS I turned down here in the US, but certainly it's twin brother...

Burren

DC2 Integra Type R
Honda S2000
Lotus Elise
Lotus Exige
Mazda Miata

All cars that are very fun and you can use all of their potential on the street. Why limit yourself to only Porsche and on top of that, an arbitrarily short list of P-Cars?

Wonderdan

I agree with this...a highly optioned 997.2 w/front end lift, PCCB, full leather, no cage, no harness, full Bose stereo, 18 way seats is the best drivers car.

The reason I traded to an RS was because my track needs/wants would have ruined the best drivers car I’ve ever driven.

jonwb

8Lug

Let me preface this by saying that I don't track my GT3, so my comments are strictly related to my use case, which is 100% back country mountain roads. For this, I prefer the base GT3 for it's heavier flywheel which eliminates the clutch chatter, regular glass windows which do a better job of insulating some NVH, ability's to have the adaptive seats (I don't like buckets off track), and for it's more subtle looks. The car is just the perfect blend of rawness and civility. I never tire of driving it.
There is no doubt the RS offers some advantages over the base, however, I would never be able to tap into any of them on the street. So for me, I would have to live with its downsides without benefitting from its upsides.

dave292

Each has it's purpose. When I go for a spirited drive in the mountains it's the GT3RS. When I drove from Colorado to Monterey, Calif for the last Rennsport it was in the Turbo. I love them both!

Robocop305

Just a regular 997 GT3. Best bang for your money.

bweSteve

For the poll, I voted the 997 3/RS ... but only because the NB non-RS was not on the list.

To be honest & fair, I would not really know whether the RS would be more fun for my use-case (Mtn backroads),.. but I'm very happy with my choice of narrow body .2 GT3, PCCB, 18-way, DMFW, thick glass,... and when exploring new routes my wife & I very much appreciate having the NAV screen so I can glance down & forecast the twisties coming up (we also use a Scenic App on my phone to pre-build the route in conjunction with Google Maps AHEAD of leaving the driveway. Often we build new routes we've never driven before, such as heading into the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia where there are a vast array of loop options, etc. And by using this App, the route gets vocalized to me over my upgraded sound system, so I can hear it over the engine. My wife has to do nothing when it comes to being my navigator,... she just gets to hold on & eyes up front. Me too if she is driving. This is SUCH a blessing when exploring as a couple. We do long weekend routes & stay at B&B's, and eat in nice places. It's a spice of life for the two of us "car-guys"). ... Plus the Aqua Blue paint is delicious to look at too (but of course you can get the RS in that color too).

My .02 - since we are touring folks....