Folks,

I was trying to come up with a polarizing title in order to get a lot of responses on the matter. I, for one, have no first hand experience as I've never driven either car on the track. However, I rode with a gentleman at Mont Tremblant last weekend who owns both a 996 GT3 and a 997 GT3 RS. I saw him there last year with his orange RS and was able to take a ride with him in his yellow GT3 on Sunday. What a blast that car is just to be a passenger in. Can't wait til' I get my own.

ANYWAY, he said he turns quicker times in his 996 than his 997. He attributes it to being about 300 lbs lighter than the RS, meaning quicker around the turns, better on the brakes, and the 50 extra hp or so of the 997 is less pronounced because of the weight. Also noted it was more of a true drivers car since there is no electronic flim-flammery to diminish your joy on the track. We were following an instructor in a 10' GT3 for a short while, and while he walked us on the straights, my man Ron took it all back on the brakes and in the turns. Then we were running out of gas so we pitted in.

So, I'm sure a few of you you here have owned a couple of each. What say you? I was hoping to swing a 996 within 2 years, and riding in his only re-affirmed that it would be hard for me to justify a $30,000ish price differential between the 996 and 997. He also had 50,000 miles on it, and has done absolutely nothing to it except change the oil and rotors and pads. That's what I like to hear.

 

There are many drivers/racers on here that have driven all three cars and most were slightly faster in the 997 and 997RS...there very well may be some tight race courses that would favor the 996 GT3...but not many

 

No real significant speed difference between 997 Mk1 RS and regular 997 GT3 but they are both faster than 996 GT3 for sure. This driver may have made some mods on his 996 and comparing it to the 2010 GT3 (Mk2) with a different driver is not fair. Was it Miles F. or his sun ?

 

996-3 feels faster because of the fury involved... 997-3.1 and RS.1 are faster but feel slower since the level of refinement is higher.

does that make sense?

As to the electronics etc... I have had both and it is not too much trouble to turn off the electronics in a 997-3...

Having had both I would say the that price difference between a well set up 996-3 and well set up 997.1RS is not worth it... except that one is an actual RS which is pretty sweet... and the RS looks better... but for lap times and value... 996-3 is where its at IMHO... I miss mine.

 

PJS, you can always buy my stripper ;-)

i had those cars the OP mentioned.
everything equal, 7.2 will turn better than than 7.1 and both will be faster than 6.
straightline, the newer cars are faster for sure.
corners, the newer car will corner as well as the 6 if not better.

some say the new car pushes. that's a set up issue.
i am talking about when both car are aligned and set up to set ONE particular driver.

also keep in mind that for most of us, balling up an RS is rather painful. i for one do not push my RS as hard as i do with my 6 and all my fastest laps were posted with the 6 (not the stripper, but one of my more mundane previous 6gt3). i am sure that if i pushed the RS as hard, it would be faster.

 

Interesting comments. I would say that it is clearly always the driver, and not the car. I'm not the greatest, but a 996 has never passed me once. But, it would not shock me to be passed by a 996 with a good driver.

 

It's honestly ridiculous to even think something like that. Go ask the boys in Weissach which one is faster. Porsche has to win races, you think their homologation car is going to be slower than previous model? Not so much.

 

i would imagine the person who has both the cars is faster in the older one just because he is more used to it. give a pro driver both to drive and will see the newer one be significantly faster. 80+ hp, more tire, brakes, and similar weight. 300 lbs means he must have lightened the 996. not stock vs stock

 

moral of the story: learn to drive. It's the best mod you can do to any car.

 

Thanks for the comments guys. The 996 was bone stock, as is his 997. I didn't probe the subject more with him to figure out if he was saying that the 996 is plain out faster than the 997, or if he just meant for HIM it was faster. And I wasn't making comparisons based on the short time we were following the 10 GT3; I know there's no way to make a fair judgement based on 2 different drivers in 2 different cars. He is a very good driver, mind you. His son is also pretty sick, and raced at VIR a couple weeks ago and beat the lap record for his class by 1.5 seconds. But I do appreciate that some of you share the sentiment that a 997 GT3 is not worth the price premium over a nice 996 at this point. Thanks.

 

Then you probably met my friend Miles. You should know that he usually track his 996 on Michelin slicks while he drive the 997 on DOT tires.

 

Not unless this guy registers under a different name! This guys name was Ron.

 

OK thanks.

His son Chris was a pro driver few years back (may still be ?). Ron is really fast in his RS but I didn't know he kept his older 996 as I didn't see him with this car for years. He was doing Cup car lap times with his RS this summer at Mosport. I am skeptical he would be faster in a 996. But I know he prefers the raw feeling of the 996.

 

With drivers of equal skill, the newer car always faster. Assuming stock cars with the same tires, and a pro driver driving flat out on a typical short track [about 2 miles]
996 GT3 < 1 second 997.1 GT3 < .5 second 997.1 GT3 RS = 997.2 GT3 < 1 second 997.2GT3 RS. Or something pretty close to that.

You will have a great time in any GT3 because driving them at the limit is very rewarding.

You can easily tell the distinguish between OK, good and great drivers based on whether they drive on "grip" or drive on "slip." If the car is always on rails they are driving on grip. Another way it's sometimes stated is driving with the front of the car is driving on "grip" while driving with the back of the car is driving on "slip."

That's one of the reasons that you hear people say stay on street tires. Getting to the point of driving on "slip" is a hump that many folks never get over when they switch to sticky tires too early. Granted, they go faster because of the tire's inherent stick, but they are not really fast drivers - they just have a fast platform. The "slip" hump usually equates to a second or two a lap...

-td

 

My experience: 996 GT3 < 1.5 seconds 997.1 GT3 = 997.1 GT3 RS < 1 seconds 997.2 GT3 < 2 seconds 997.2GT3 RS.