Folks-

I would like some advice, especially from owners of the cars who track them as well as use them as occasional or daily drivers.

I am an instructor with the Porsche Club of America, and have been driving all varieties of 911s for over 20 years, from high horsepower RWD turbos to normally aspirated cars like the 996 GT3 and RSA.

Here are the used cars I am considering for longer term possesion or acquisition:

Car
Curb Weight
HP
Torque
P/W Ratio
Used
Price
Year
996Porsche GT2
3175
456
457
6.96
$97-119K
2002-2003
997 Porsche GT3RS
3031
415
305
7.3
$160-170K
2007
997 GT3 mk1
3075
415
300
7.4
$110-125K
2007


An alternative might be an early, used Ferrari 360 Modena with a manual transmission. However, the maintenance costs are on another planet, and I am a Porsche driver as you might guess.

I thought of the new 997 GT2, but having driven one, and reading the recent article in the car magazine EVO, both my impression and their comparative review suggested that the 997 GT3 RS was the more balanced, tactile and track-worthy car. I have owned 2 997 Turbos and feel that those are great cars but are too heavy.

Any advice is much appreciated - this group has been great at helping me.

Thanks in advance - Gerry

 

i have had them all and driven them daily and on the track hard... the 997gt2 is comming in about two months so cant say on that

gt2 is a beast it is nothing like your turbo it is very quick and responsive.. can be a hand full

to me the 997 gt3 and the rs were very similar cars ... add a lwfw to the 997 gt3 and call it good... they are great daily drivers and very very capable on the track right out of the box for most drivers... add some pads to it go track and drive home

i will bet the 997gt2 platform will be very impressive car on the track in some exp. hands.. i would be willing to bet i would be quicker around the track in it over my 997 gt3... but time will tell

 

997 GT3/RS: you probably know how competent these cars are. RS feels better because of the magical rear that gives you that much more confidence. If it's a keeper, get the RS. Not much between them really and in the hands of a pro, there's very few machines that can take all the track abuse and then drive to office monday morning.

996 GT2: Bargain for what it is! It'll keep you honest and with a few alignment changes + some sticky tires, it's a riot on the track. While the other poke you on the sides when you do make a mistake, this one is like getting hit with a sledge hammer. It'll punish you if you're unsure of what your're doing so as long as you respect it, it'll be brillient.

I'd throw in the 996 GT3 as well. Well-sorted by now and with the prices these things are going for these days, it's a no-brainer.

Good luck with the hard choices.

 

If you plan to keep the car, I'd go with the RS and not mod it, except for getting a set of track wheels and maybe going to a more trackable set of seats.

I chose the GT3 because I planned to also use it on the street, liked the idea (unlike most GT3 owners, I know) of having a sunroof, and didn't want to feel like I was committing a crime if I modified it (which I would have felt guilty about doing to an RS, though I know others here have different views). The GT3 is also less extreme, less attention-getting (a degree of subtlety I like), but plenty capable for the half-dozen days I spend at the track in a year.

The 6GT2 is a handful, as some have mentioned, at the track and not a car I really love. My bet is the 7GT2 will be much, much more car and better to drive, especially on tight road courses where I felt the 6GT2 was out of its element and felt like a race horse trapped in a petting zoo. There has been a LOT of incremental engineering between the 996 and 997 and I think you'd be foolish to not take advantage of it. Also, I think the 997 just looks a thousand times better than the 996, but that's my bias as someone who thinks of his old 993 as "what a 911 should look like"...