tcsracing1

i wondered the same, however i dont think there would be any weight savings to justify......

Carrera GT

From the '99 car, though it might be complete BS, I was told that the DOT crash test "side intrusion" would have to be redone if the electric window lifter was replaced with a manual regulator. Crazy, but it's all thanks to a government gone mad for being paid to do needless busy-work.

Of course it's preaching to the choir, but the USA is one of the (very) few countries on the planet that still thinks "speed" kills when the statistics prove that untrained drivers are the culprits, that tail-gating, lane-changes and inattentive drivers are the real cause of crashes and deaths, but again, the objective of a speeding ticket is indirect tax revenue and it has nothing to do with road safety ... and the revenue is not returned to road safety budgets ... the speeding ticket money goes to county coffers to pay for buildings and office renovations and salaries to employees to write the speeding tickets and contest them in courthouses paid for by speeding ticket revenues ...

(how did I get here from door panels?! ... too many hours on the road in the last week watching incompetent drivers risk the life of me and my family while the CHP hides behind a tree waiting to pounce of someone doing two miles per hour faster than everyone else while posing no risk to themselves or anyone else ... madness ... )

Ahmet

I'm personally a big fan of side impact/intrusion testing -more than any other safety test/regulation, but won't go into that issue any further for this post...

It appears to me that Porsche has reduced weight in many areas with the MK II 997 GT3/RS, from the battery, to the roof structure (to me not being able to mount a roof rack is a somewhat major issue btw), to getting rid of double layer portions of the chassis near the rear seats, and so forth. From one position, every bit counts, from another the weight savings are small for each individual piece. Gimmicky, perhaps, but honestly if you're a fan of the GT3 -and I am- with all it's faults, there is no other car from any other manufacturer at any price that comes close to what it offers.

Carrera GT

Side intrusion doesn't kill -- it's offset frontal that needs attention.

If you want roofracks, you're not buying a GT3.

I agree that the GT3 (be it 996.1/996.2/997.1 or 997.2) is a lot of car for the money (basically the engine and chassis R&D put into a street car with street car warranty for free.)

Yargk

I like that sound/feel too.

SpeedGeek

I do long distance, cross country trips in my RS and I want an armrest. I would like the door storage too, which hardly adds weight being that it's only carrying air when empty. This is a road car, not a race car.

WSH

The only way you'll get that is with framed door glass
Although my 997 (GT3) is better than my 996 TT, both pale in comparison to the vault-like sound of my old 993's or RS America

WSH

10 GT3

This was true all the way back in 93. The 93 RS had electric windows only because DOT required them to crash test a car if they went to manual window lifts.

That is certainly not correct. My next door neighbor was killed when a drunk driver ran a red light and hit him square in the driver's side door. If he had better side impact protection he might be alive today.

Carrera GT

I imagine they'll just put a speaker under the car and play a recording of the original sound ... PDSM "Porsche Door Sound Management" ... US$943 ...

Carrera GT

I knew as I posted that I should have gone back and edited it to be explicit ... I mean offset frontal is the statistical killer and side impact is less frequent (though both are NHTSA tests and cars are getting wider with narrower cabins in order to pass the tests ... whether or not the manufacturers are really going for safety or just passing the tests is a matter for individual cynicism.)

FWIW, I had a friend hospitalized for an extended period after being "T-boned" at a four-way stop by someone in an ancient "Yank Tank" (one of those three ton family sedans) who reacted a little late but the car had woefully insufficient brakes to stop. He Jaguar was practically "folded" at the B pillar.

_rocket

_rocket

Use the glove compartment.

Schmidts Cat

Speaking of lightness, do we really need electric mirrors too? Once they are set for me they're done. How many of these cars have constant multiple drivers? Few I suspect. I can count on one hand the times anyone else has driven my car.

85Gold

Flat panel doors ala Sheet Aluminum and if BMW can put a Carbon Fiber roof on the M3 why can't Porsche. I'll bet that would lose 100#'s.

Peter

Porsche917K

+1 If I was running Porsche (scary thought,) the standard GT3 would be the more comfortable / dual purpose car. The GT3 RS would be the pure, light, no excuses, hard core track car that is barely street legal and not very comfortable to drive. It would also be $10k less than the standard GT3...