My only advice is really do some good data collection for Charles w/the Cobb. I live at 2500 feet and most of my spirited driving is up to 5000 feet, so it hasn’t been overly easy to find my sweet spot. I now have an amazingly smooth power band between 4-6k but now start/stop is a jumpier throttle. I could keep working it but I decided to live with in fear of messing up the perfect feel when I’m driving for real.

 

I appreciate this conversation very much. As a guy who started out with G bodies 23 years ago, then moved to 993s, here's where I am today:

997.2 GT3
911ST tribute
992 T

I purchased my T as a placeholder and wasn't very excited about it. Theoretically, I thought I didn't want such a big or tech-laden car. I've been pleasantly surprised. The car is a proper successor to the aricooled Carreras. It feels light, nimble, nearly NA with linear delivery, and I felt at 911 home the moment I got in it and drove it. Is it bigger? Yes, but it's not a big car. Is the cabin less intimate? Yes, if we're comparing it to the beetle sized cabin of the aircooled cars but otherwise no. If you value tech and comfort and safety and reliability that comes with a new car, a new T or GT won't disappoint. The 911 spirit is still alive and well.

I never grew out of the aircooled bug and decided to build my dream car: a tribute to the 72 911ST using an 86 Carrera as a donor. No power steering, no ABS, no airbags, no nothing. The car will be at around 2,100 lbs and put out about 280HP, giving it a power to weight ratio on par with the 7.2 GT3. With carbs and no insulation, it will make glorious noises. This car is on the opposite spectrum of the T and it's a very different tool for a very different job that I suspect will be my personal peak 911 and a car I plan to take to the grave.

In my garage, the T and ST are the bookends of the 7.2 GT3. It has the rawness and drama of the older cars with the better power and safety found in modern cars. The size is in the middle too. It's not a perfect car because no such car exists, but at least to me, it's the on that bridges the past and the present perfectly and the last car I'd sell.

 

This is an interesting thread to me as I'm looking to add an additional car to the stable to be an exciting long distance GT car and have been wondering if a 991 GT3 is that. For me, having had a 964 and now a 996 GT3 (with straight pipes), if someone offered me a 964 as a straight trade, there's no way I could take it. The watercooled Mezger engine's (I assume the 7-3 is roughly the same with similar exhaust setup) noises are something truly special between the lumpy, aggressive sounding idle:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4Pdu28bsqdHh9AxB6

And the screaming it does up to redline...it's a race car engine on the street. I remember going to Luft8 a couple years ago and just the parking lot would've been an epic car show in itself as every generation of P cars were there in every variation:



But I distinctly remember my wife making a comment when we left that our car was one of the few that nearly everyone turned their head to look at as we drove off.

​​​​​​That covers sound. On the day to day driving experience, there are a few nice creature comforts (in a car that has very few) that I've come to really appreciate. When I road tripped my 6-3 back from Louisville after first purchasing it, I was stuck in 5mph traffic for two hours outside of Boulder on a 100+ degree day. Engine temp didn't budge. If I was in a 964 I'm pretty sure I would've been on the side of the road. Also, AC actually worked.

The other thing that I appreciate over the 964 generation engine is that my car doesn't sound like a tractor under 3k RPM. I remember going on drives with some slow cruising through Sunset Plaza or Bel Air to gawk at nice houses and my wife used to joke that the 964 sounds like it's choking at under 3k.

I didn't have Ohlins on the 964 but on the 6-3, the ride quality is night and day better than the 964. The two things I miss about the 964 were the aesthetics (granted, still preferential to a 72 ST) and all of the mechanical noises it made. The black single stage paint was mesmerizing to look at the 5 minutes it was clean, lol.

For fun driving in the canyons, I actually want my car to be a bit of a handful and I think that's what I really like about the 6-3. The 6-3 is lively once you begin to push it. The body moves as the dampers do their job and the car feels like it digs in when you hit an apex just right. I used to race karts when I was younger and have logged probably in the thousands of hours in racing sims, so if you put me into a faster, more capable car, I will only end up going faster and will try to get the excitement back into the drive. We have a local P car driving group and despite most of the cars being significantly more capable (GT4s, new Gt3 s and even new base 911s), I'm usually asked to be on the front.

Over the next year I plan on getting proper seat time in different models (either via Turo or Porsche Experience Center). So maybe I'll update this thread as I get more experience in other models. I do plan on getting another air cooled in the future but if I were to only have one, it'd be the Mezger powered one.

 

Loving all the feedback, stories, comparisons,... and mostly the honesty about reasons why certain cars are best for each owner.

 

I may get the green light late next year from the wife to add a car, I had been looking at testing the waters with newer to commute with like a 992 targa 4S but i just really think the 993 turbo is art, I’ve never driven one, or any 993 for that matter

 

Man, a lot can change in a couple of days. 1) I was offered renders of my upcoming ST and 2) I got a second T allocation which I took and will be building a tribute car out of it.

 

longhood 911.? looks wicked good
deserves its own thread imo

 

Its an easy choice for me as the local dealer is probably one of the worst organizations ive ever dealt with, so I wont own a Porsche with a warranty until they aren't the dealer.

But also the 997 is better

 

Terrific thread! I enjoyed reading everyone's stories and their responses.

I am expecting my 997.1 GT3 to be delivered tomorrow, so I am extremely excited. But, how I became interested in the 997 GT3 was by accident.

Last year, I was lucky enough to receive an allocation for a 2024 992 GT3. I couldn't believe the dealer picked me because I did not have a long history of buying Porsches. I had an '86 Carrera and a '96 993 C4S, both of which were purchased used. However, during my extensive research into the 992 GT3, I came across many reviewers that compared the 992 GT3 to one car: the 997 GT3. In fact, many of them said the car wasn't as raw and visceral as the 997 variant. These remarks really got my attention because I wanted a 911 where I could really feel everything through the steering wheel, seat, pedals and, of course, listening to a tremendous roar of the Flat-Six. Moreover, I wanted something that would yield emotions of satisfaction whenever the car was driven properly.

Unfortunately, or now perhaps fortunately, my deal with the 992 GT3 fell through last June. However, it didn't take long before I started looking into the 997 GT3. After a long time researching the car, I realized that this is the one I've been looking for. In about 24 hours, my journey on acquiring my first GT3 will come to a close. Then, after that, a new chapter of my 911 ownership will have begun and I can't wait.

Cheers, everyone.

Rich

 

@911 you certainly have the best screen names around, and thanks for sharing your story here. I cannot wait for the update with pictures and initial impressions, but I already know you won't be disappointed in the least! Congratulations!

 

Thank you, Steve! I will definitely update the forum with pictures along with my initial impressions of driving this car.

PS: Btw, since I was one of the early Rennlisters here, I was fortunate to have picked "911" as my name (I have the same name on the Pelican forums, as well).

 

Great thread.

Similar to @911 I am new to the 997.

About 25 years ago, my parents forgot to pick me up from Soccer practice and some kind gentleman was kind enough to put a soaking wet kid, covered in muck, in the cream leather seats of his Estoril Blue E36 M3 Evo. I got in to the car as a boy and emerged as an M3 obsessed man child. I got bitten by the bug hard. LOL!

I managed to buy an E36 M3 as soon as funds allowed when I was about 24 years old. I had the best driving memories of my life in that car, weekend trips to the Nurburgring, Anglesey, Caldwell Park etc.

Then I got a job in NYC, sold the cars relocated and for 7+ years I didn’t own a car and kind of lost touch with new cars as they didn’t really interest me.

I ended up buying the new M3 when it came out as we needed a family car and I figured it ticked a lot of boxes. I was completely shocked at how fast it was, but found this really frustrating. I felt like I could never drive it on the limit or feel alive and despite being super capable as an everyday car that can do it all for a small family, it was missing something.

I started getting the itch for a Porsche as a second car with an eye toward an occasional track day again at some stage and was chatting to a few friends who know the marque much better than I do and have vast experience with 996/997/991 etc

The advice I got was, if you are bored with the M3 and feel its numb, buy a 997 and it will knock your little socks off.

Fast forward a couple of months and after losing an auction or two I landed a 997.2

It arrived the middle of a CT Winter and needed a few little bits sorting out while I waited for the weather to improve.

Anyway, long story short I had the car out this week trying to get registration documents and plates etc and the car has blown me away. It’s exactly the generation of car that lights the fire inside.

All the stuff you want and need and none of the junk you don’t!

 

Awesome story, Barry!

 

Hey Dan,... I recall when I first read your comment from back in December, as it relates to the pic in my post back then,... I sorta just dismissed it as you loving the 993 turbo .... but now, months later, after looking back through this thread, I cannot help myself but ask ,.... you do know that the red car in my post is a 964 turbo correct? ... not a 993?

 

Damn Steve, it is scary how much your 964T looks like mine did.