sold the GT3, some current Porsche feedback
 

Hi all. For various (sensible) reasons I decided it was time to move on from my GT3. I've been driving a 997 of some kind since early '08 so I thought one of the newer cars would be a good change. Here's what I found.

991 C4 manual. Coming from a GT3, the clutch was feather-light and the lever was effortless. Whenever I changed gear, I felt like I was just lifting my left leg and my right hand into the air with nothing to push against. Then the car would hit a bump and I would wobble in the seat. I found this to be unsatisfying. Otherwise the car felt very neutral, and nice enough to drive.

991 C2 PDK with SC and SPASM. This one was great. It had the rear-end 'wiggle' of a 911 and the paddle shift wheel was a lot of fun. I regret not being able to make a deal on this car.

991 C4S PDK with SC. In some ways this was the closest in feel to my GT3. The back end was rock solid and it had a ton of power. Surprisingly it was less enjoyable than the base car at street speeds. The chassis was just so capable there wasn't much left for the driver to do.

981 Cayman PDK. This was a fun little go-cart. Felt smaller than the 991 and even a 997. I still hate the toggle switch PDK wheel.

981 Cayman manual. Same problem as the 991 manual. Clutch and shifter just too lightweight.

What did I pick? A Boxster 2.7 PDK without PASM. The Cayman sold me on the mid-engined cars and the first time I put the roof down on the Boxster that was it. The small engine sounds great and the lack of power makes you work it harder. The passive suspension is closer to the ride of a GT3 and with PDK you can keep both feet planted and feel everything coming through the chassis. In a 997 / 987 I would always have picked a manual, but after driving the newer cars I’m convinced they were designed around PDK.

Next step is a dedicated track car.

Was going to suggest GT4 as I feel that is the sweetest car in the current lineup.

There is something to be said about the base cars on the street. They are very capable, more than fast enough. I had a 09 base carrera 6spd, and I enjoyed it more than my GT3 on the street. Simple, quick, not too showy... The car had 0 options, just as I like :-)

I drove a 2.7 PDK 981 cayman, minimal options, when I was trying to get my wife into a porsche (she preferred the bmw coupe.... ugh!) and I felt it was very good car. Quick, agile, and transmission is excellent. 991 none of them do it for me (have not driven new RS yet)

Didn't drive a GT3?

Try the C2 manual. It'll still suffer the clutch and lever lightness of the other manuals you tried, but the car without PASM is actually somewhat twitchy. And the noise is wonderful. The 3.4 engine revs like crazy and is very high pitched. Great car.