Interestingly, the owner who I purchase my 2011 GTS from, previously sold his GT3 RS and regretted the sale as they had become more valuable.

He and his wife are Porsche enthusiasts, both tracking their cars and living the Porsche experience.

He had used the GTS as his street car for trips and weekends, along with his other cars. But wanted to purchase the Cayman GT4 for track use, hence the sale.

I recently wrote him and expressed my fondness for the GTS and he replied it is a fantastic version of the 911 Porsche family and of course a one year model.

He finished with his request to be the first person to have a shot at purchasing it when or if I ever sell her.

 

Looks are subjective.
I own a 2011 C4S. We love everything about it.
However the 991 C4S is newer and with the latest Porsche technology.
Overall, its the better package for daily driving.
Would we trade 2011 C4S for a 2015+ C4S if the opportunity presented itself?
Yeah, of course.

 

Getting new 991 GT3 Now all I have to do is wait

 

Hello R.ROBOT,

Great choice you made, I happen to agree with you. I preferred the 997.2 over the 991. Both styling and driving experience wise. The 991 911 reminded me alot of the Cayman. And I've driven the 991 C2S and 981 CS.
For me, a Cayman is lovely but (and I realize it sounds funny to say this) it's just too neutral. The car just turns really really well with no drama. There is less interaction with the driver compared to a 911. A 911 requires you to pay attention, and it will force you be informed precisely because it is not as balanced. The 991 actually felt nearly like a mid-engine car to me. Too neutral. Not as involved as the 997 911.

What I have found is, the 997 GTS to me, actually diminishes that interesting and somewhat unsettling rear weight bias feel of a the typical pre 991 911..for example the 997 C2S. Just a tad though. In a 997 GTS, you can for sure feel the rear weight bias if you push it...but it is diminished a bit. The feeling is not lost to the degree of what the 991 911 or any Cayman will do to that rear weight feel (which is to eradicate it). It's funny and I am surprised that I have yet to hear anyone else say this. Perhaps it is just my perception.

Anyway,..

I'm not sure with what the previous owner of your car meant by saying the 2011 GTS was a one year model. That actually isn't 100% true depending on how you look at it. The 997.2 GTS ran as 2011 and 2012 year models.

The 2012 model year GTS is the ONLY 997 and the first 911 to get the upgraded sports wheel that was to be the 991's steering wheel moving forward.

Cheers





shot of my 2012 997 GTS steering wheel





that wider rear is probably the cause of the diminished rear weight bias feel..in my opinion. Porsche says it is to make the car more stable.

 

love2drive,

Yeah, the 997 911 GTS just feels right to me on a number of levels.

1st I wanted a manual shift, and prefer the shorter wheel base it offers. Didn't like the extra room in the 991 nor the console, just wasn't what I had started with my first sports car a '69 912 then '70 911T coupe, and '72 911T Targa.

I had gone to my local dealer here in the desert and test drove a 991 GTS 911 with PDK. An impressive car but found it too removed from my prior experience with earlier cars.

Upon leaving the dealership I happened to see a 997.2 GT3 for sale in the lot and took a seat behind the wheel.

That's when it hit me. I said out loud, "this is a Porsche".

Again, to each their own, it just felt like those cars I had driven and had quite a history with. So it being the last of the model I didn't hesitate to make the purchase.

My understanding was/is that the GTS 997.2 911 came out in 2011 and continued to sell for 2012 and during 2012 the 991 was introduced so I don't know if the 2012 997.2 was sold through out the model year. Either way I love the car, it has remarkable balance and is for me the best of the 911's.




I had it delivered to Monterey for the summer. Life's good.

 

Wow! Your car looks So Good...and Clean. Your white just pops. Elegant yet agressive. Love the the wing and I see you got the speedster front lip. I am thinking about that one. Might get it installed this summer.





Congrats!


I have the silver wheels.

 

To each there own. That said the 911 is a car that has continued to evolve over the generations little by little and bit by bit, in other words you continue to evolve or you become extinct. which has the business model for the 911 and That's how I see things. For me personally the 991 lines take an already good car and made it even better for me it's sexier looking. After driving the 991 GT3 I was even more sold on it afterwards So much so That I'm getting a GT3.

here's a video that pretty much sums it up for me



I think before you pass judgment on the 991 if you can you should try to drive one or more versions of it before you make up your mind

 

For sure!!

 

The 991 GT3 looks fantastic, good choice to you.

These cars really do have their own charisma and todays cars just keep getting more and more advanced.

Take a Japanese import that is given additional aftermarket tuning, out of control performance! There just wasn't that kind of range in the early days growing up in the '60's - '70's.

Fantastic time in Los Angeles, music, beach, girls etc. Not in that order as I remember it but you get the idea.

Showroom choices were, 350 Mustang, C2 Stingrays, XKE roadsters, Porsche. These were the ones I could lust for as the Aston's, Ferrari's, and Muria's were stratospheric in nature.

Was treated to a vision on Mulholland Drive one summer while taking the curves on my motorcycle. A silver 904 coming the opposite direction giving it the "beans" as Capt. Slow would say, just knocked me out.

Another was Steve McQueen fully on a 911 on Sunset Blvd. just past UCLA going towards the beach at the end of the afternoon. Really great.

So something for everyone, these are great cars.

 

To me there is just something about the dimensions and shape of the 997 that is perfect. I actually slightly prefer the 997.1 front bumper and rear lights to the 997.2. My bro has a 991 and for people that do more freeway driving it is a more appropriate tool and sophisticated drive, but something about the feel in my 997 6mt driving a canyon is just so pure. <br/><br/>

 

I give the looks of a 991 GT3 over any of the 997 GT3's but to me, a GT3 has to have manual and a 991 GT3 doesn't. 991 is a great car, I've driven numerous times. If my 997 was just a stock (no mods), I would had traded it in a couple of years ago. Too much money invested and can't sell for anything. I rather give it to a family member than sell it at $40K.

 

I'd give a slight edge to the GT3 991 over the 997 (the GT3, you don't see the area where the line cuts into the back end/tail, so the lines are totally different). All other variants I like prefer 997.

 

I look at it this way if car makers didn't keep trying to make there cars better every so many years there sales would drop dramatically. Porsches philosophy is about evolution rather than revolution, improving there cars incrementally over years. To put it another way you can choose to live in the past or live in the present and embrace the future or you can be like the guy in this video (in the before part)

 

As for the Manual vs PDK argument, Porsche went with the PDK in the GT3 purely for the performance benefits. They don't have this romantic love affair with rowing gears, All they care about is improving the cars overall performance as explained in the 1st 2 videos




Also Believe it or not there's a greater request for transmissions like the PDK in Europe over a Manual Because they just want to go faster as stated in this Video on the New R8 from Jay Leno's Garage

 

It's all perspective really and boils to what you want.

If you want to have the fastest car in you neighborhood be that guy. Next year the cars will go faster still or have this option or that.

It's impressive what automakers are doing and have done dating back to the '60's.

My other car is a Ferrari that is slower than my Porsche and a good deal older. I own these two cars for different reasons.

The Porsche is remarkable, just a stunning performer and I purchased the 997.2 GTS specifically to own what I consider the last of the great cars that Porsche developed as a sports car.

The Ferrari does things quite differently and that's why I own it. Its slower than a new Ferrari and to me more beautiful. I have been asked to trade for 458 Italia, but just isn't what I would want.

So to each their own.