I have a 1994 3.6 T and the car gives me a great rush, i mean GREAT!! shouting and banging the stearing wheel stylie...unfortunately i need to limit the mileage on that car ad have just been offered a gt3 rs black with orange rims. Will i still go nuts in the car if i buy it? Am i still gonna get my fix....or is it simply a "great drive"?

 

Do it if you can buy it right. I had a client trade in his 993S and he absolutely loves his car!!

 

This might be the toughest question of all.
As I started to read your post, I thought "what is this nut doing posting to the 997 GT3 forum?!" but then I see the punch line.

I'll happily elaborate when time permits, but for now, I'll go directly to my punch line. The 993 Turbo is the better car. While I enjoy the 997 GT3 as a daily driver and it's a lot of car on the track, the 993 Turbo is what I like. The kind of irrational, emotional, visceral feelings you're describing with the 3.6 Turbo, that's the same thing I feel taking the 993 Turbo out. And to put it all in perspective, the Ducati 996R is the very top of the "drain the adrenal gland" scale. I ride the bike for an hour and come home and drink cold water and take a nap. If I smoked, I'd probably light a cigarette.

 

Carrera GT, I really hope you're wrong because I just sold my 993 Turbo to get into a new GT3!!!

 

Well, for the sake of your sanity, yes, I'm wrong.

Another form of comfort would be to say that you're now well armed to barter for an even better 993 Turbo if it turns out by some odd coincidence that you and I have similar tastes.

I freely admit I've run hot and cold on the 993 Turbo. I still love the wide body Carrera and the joy of a naturally aspirated air-cooled engine. But for the last decade or so, I've really like the Turbo. Not that I'm in any hurry to drive it around town and I think my kids are safer (one at a time) in the 997. And I have a Turbo with 10K miles on it. I think it's almost funny to think it's averaged 1K miles per year. That's Ferrari territory. I need to get out and drive more often. : )

 

Carrera GT, I was just kidding around with you. I think the 993 Turbo will go down in my personal history as the best 911 I've ever owned. I just can't see Porsche building a car like that again and I think every p-fan should have the chance to own one at some point.

Time does move on and I want to try something new after having the turbo for a number of years. I really don't expect the GT3 to be better, I just expect it to be different. I wanted to go into Ferrari territory, but the cars that I can afford (used 360) are too fragile for my intended use. In addition, of the 360 family, the Challenge Stradale is the one I lust after. The GT3 is the closest I can get to that type of car in my price range.

Having said that, my dream when I'm rich some day is to build a 993 GT2 replica in silver; my 993 days are not over yet, just delayed while I try something new and exciting! btw, for sheer excitement, nothing can beat an old 964 Turbo with the boost turned up. That was the car I loved/hated. Loved it when you got everything right, hated it when you couldn't repeat the sensation again. I also had a Duc 748 which is in a whole different league of fun...

 

haha carrera gt, i liked the "cold water than nap" after ducati, i have a monster s4r and know exactly what you are talking about, i think we have the same engine as well, which i find more exciting than a 999 engine (raw....sound...etc). So the basic answer i am getting is....NO, wont get my fix?

 

The 996R was the first Testastretta engine (the shorter stroke version before the 998R and was the same as the race engine that won the world championship in '01) did they put that engine in the S4 at some point?

As for the reality of the GT3 versus the 993 Turbo, I saw a lot of Turbo guys go to the 996 GT3 and didn't see a lot of them decide to go back. Although I think the 997 is of course a lot closer visually and in "feel" to the 993, it's still a completely different machine. I'd encourage anyone to try either generation of GT3, but for someone talking about their Turbo 3.6 (kind of hard to replace and consequently very expensive in the market for what it is today) I'd recommend keeping the 3.6 until the GT3 has won you over, but of course, that's a pretty hefty financial burden and probably just a bit to self-indulgent.

Well, I liked the question and I'll look forward to your answer if you make the move.

 

I have never driven a 997 or GT3, nor have I even sat in one. My expectation is that it will be a much more refined experience than the 3.6T that will allow me to drive at the limit with more confidence. Personnaly, I will hang on to my 3.6T as long as I can afford it. The nice part of that is that they no longer depreciate. The GT3 is definitely not a prudent investment from a financial perspective. It's probably just a different kind of fun.