http://www.topgear.com/content/featu...ries/06/3.html

Even in damp conditions, the GT2 is obscenely good. Perhaps too intimidating for any adjustability, but who adjusts a 523bhp 911?

Conclusion? This is the classic 911 experience on fast forward: ultra-high performance, Herculean traction out of corners, immense brakes. It's a supreme engineering achievement: it's Carrera GT fast but much better behaved. It should be The One.

But it isn't. The GT3 is. And it's fantastically instructive to drive them side-by-side. No kidding, 20 seconds in the cheaper, less powerful car is all it takes to convince. After 30 minutes, it starts getting sort of spiritual. The GT3 is very special indeed.


On this unfamiliar road, the GT3 is so good it's slightly spooky; brake, steer, change gear, accelerate - it breaks the process down into such clear, simple but devastatingly effective chunks that it's almost easy. Like Hendrix on the guitar or Miles Davis on the horn, there's an instinctive genius at work here.

On which musical note, it also sounds much better than the GT2 or Turbo. Forced induction is fun in a whooshy sort of way, and few things whoosh like a GT2. But the normally aspirated GT3 revs from 4,000rpm to a Wagnerian climax.

It's also more linear. Despite all of Porsche's best efforts, the GT2 still suffers from some lag. Not much, admittedly, but you have to time your inputs carefully nonetheless. The GT3 just goes, gives you exactly the right amount to work with and against. Assuming you buy into the basic 911 credo - the propulsive rear end, the absence of weight at the front - then this is the best. OK, it's not as fast as the GT2, but 60mph in 4.3secs and 192mph all-out is the sort of not-as-fast you can live with.

So, does that leave the Turbo somewhere in between, the perfect solution? As the everyday proposition it was designed to be, yes. Its wet- weather pace is extraordinary, and it has more grip than you will know what to do with. As an exercise in technical brilliance, it's difficult to fault. But you have to drive it like an absolute lunatic to really feel it, and no matter how fast you go round a corner or how late you brake, it'll cope. It's almost inhuman but, yes, probably the ultimate driving 'machine'.

The ultimate 911, on the other hand, is the one that remembers to put the driver centre-stage. And it's the GT3.

Jason Barlow

 

Nice..

 

Thank you very much for the comparo. Now the big question: If a "simple" GT3 can do that to a GT2 (assuming Jason is right) what would be the result if we bring the RS to the party?

 

From everything Ive read, personally seen and experienced on the track (Willow Springs and California Speedway) and the street, I think you be hard pressed to tell the difference between a GT3 and a GT3RS. They are so similar in almost every way. GT3 has better Cd and RS has wider rear track.

Flash

 

Jason Barlow simply isn't a good enough driver to appreciate the GT2. But then probably most of us aren't either.

 

Flash: I would slightly disagree. I believe the euro RS is more than the wider rear, you mention. But, if you consider just this little difference, the result would be the achievement of higher cornering speeds. Although the technical sheet show similar results, in the end the RS will be able to get better performance on the track. First: the single mass flywheel that makes the car rev faster. Then, the stock suspension setup it's very different from the stock GT3 setup. The RS uses several weight-saving components that the GT3 don't know, like in the gearbox, the rear screen and the carbon-fibre wing. This RS wing is much larger in it's surface area when compared to the GT3 wing which result in additional downforce and provides better stability. The RS is 20 kg lighter than the GT3. The plastic rear screen of the RS, just for itself saves 3 kg when compared to the glass screen of the GT3. The RS front spoiler was designed by Porsche to improve even more the flow of air into the central radiator. So IMHO The RS was brought by Porsche to answer the N-GT FIA homologation, and because of this details the RS will be a more powerful track weapon and it will leave the GT3 behind...ok, just a little behind

 

You're absolutely right! Even though I agree with his review.

 

I am a turbo fan as you can see. I have had many and all have been on the track. As good as the K16, K24, and now variable turbos are, they have a "lag" or a disconnection between input and response. The GT3 does not have that disconnection and I agree, it makes it such a fun car to drive. I think I go back to the turbo cars, becuase I am a torque junkie, and massive torque can make up for some driving errors!

Don't get me wrong, torque can also put you in the weeds!

To date, my absolute favorite car was a 993 Turbo S, but a close close second was my drive in a GT3RS. The sound, directness, incredible feel of the car was absolutley the best.

We'll see what the GT2 brings. I'm hoping it will bring a little of the GT3ness.

Either way, I agree with this author, as a driver's car...the GT3 is fantastic.

Peace

 

wow.. that is fairly straight to the point. I am still looking forward to receiving my gt2 ... but I will have to try the gt3 ASAP!

 

there is no way on earth a gt3 will rival a gt2. the gt3 is just so slow. gimme a break. y'all starting to sound like the BMW guys with the 'amazing' 300hp cars!!! gimme a break. power is where its at. a gt3 is totally underwhelming on the street. it just dont go. the turbo cars on the other hand....warp your mind...............

 

what the hell is a drivers car anyway? the slower one?

 

Evidently Top Gear thinks so...and strong intimations in that direction from EVO.

Call it visceral.

Some get it...others just think power is it all

 

As we all know, a road course contains corners and straights. Most would say there's more "driving" going on in the corners than on the straights.

Naturally aspirated cars with good hp and moderate, controllable torque output are more easily driven through the corners than those with balance/traction disturbing mega-torque and/or turbo lag/rush.

Responsive, controllable power allows the driver to more effectively use the throttle to make subtle changes to the car's direction while driving through and out of the corner. So, the best "driver's car" needn't be the most powerful.

P.S. - that doesn't mean faster cars aren't fun!

 

Apparently, reading isn't your forte. The article merely pointed out the GT3 is more of a driver's car [described by TTRob].

As much as I dislike E9x's, the 335 owners have a point. They have very high potential and are quite potent if driven properly stock.