My 997 GTS, may divide opinion!

[Big E 118]

Hi all

A bit of history first. I went to buy a GTS about 2 and a half years ago but left the OPC with a 987 Boxster Spyder instead! The Spyder was a great fun car and excelled in summer trips to the south of France and Spain (it wasn't so practical at a very wet Le Mans Classic....).

I've been keeping a close eye on the 997 GTS market for a long time I've had a few ideas about when I found the right car how I could personalise it a bit. As the plan was to do some mods I didn't want to go to the top end of the market with OPC sourced cars and wasn't concerned about warranty.

So I picked up a GTS a couple of months back with 45k miles on the clock. Full OPC service history and 111 point OPC inspection pre purchase.

Spec wise it is a 2011 2wd with PDK, alcantara interior with extended leather. It has body coloured seat backs, transmission tunnel and dash trim which makes the interior a bit different.

So the mods, well I wanted a wide body rear wheel drive 997 with a bit of a retro look but I didn't want it to look like I was trying to copy a Sport Classic.

The changes to date all done by Parr in Crawley.

Wheels in satin Bronze (call it brown if you like!)
997.2 Aero front splitter
H&R lowering springs
Parr fast road geo
Cargraphic x-pipe
RPM Technik carbon duck tail
Parr front grill mesh
PORSCHE decals side and back in wheel colour
New rear disks and pads
New clear stone guards

Some photos below, not the best at the moment I'm afraid. There's a close up of the wheels as well which gives a better impression of the colour.

Thanks to Parr Motorsport who have been excellent and also thanks to PHer Chris ABP on here who has advised on some of the mods as he's already done them on his very nice GTS.

There's still a few bits to do so I'll update on further progress!

[Adam B]

hmmmm

are the decals brown to match the wheels? got any interior shots?

[Big E 118]

Adam B said:

hmmmm

are the decals brown to match the wheels? got any interior shots?

Yep, the decals match the wheels...in BRONZE...

No interior shots yet

[ATG]

I rather like that. The duck tail looks perfectly at home with the rest of the styling while also giving a big nod to the past. Really nice to see an understated, good looking modification.

[AyBee]

ATG said:

I rather like that. The duck tail looks perfectly at home with the rest of the styling while also giving a big nod to the past. Really nice to see an understated, good looking modification.

+1

[IknowJoseph]

Lovely stuff.

[pete a]

that look's fantatstic, the ducktail really works as does the GT3 front aero bumper.

[S1MMA]

I like it also, did Parr do all the paintwork? Do they paint themselves or take it somewhere else?

Interior shots would be good, I have body coloured centre console and speedo trim, brightens up the interior no end.

[ClarkPB]

Not too sure on the decals across the back (possibly just the angle of the pic) but I reallk like the rest of that, fair play

[Big E 118]

Thanks for the positive comments so far! I really wanted to give a bit of a nod to the 2.7 RS's of the early 70's and hope that comes across.

Parr use a local paint shop rather than paint themselves. The wheel refurb and decals were outsourced as well but all managed by Parr.

[S1MMA]

Big E 118 said:

Thanks for the positive comments so far! I really wanted to give a bit of a nod to the 2.7 RS's of the early 70's and hope that comes across.

Parr use a local paint shop rather than paint themselves. The wheel refurb and decals were outsourced as well but all managed by Parr.

Ok cool, how would you rate the quality of the paint work? I need a few bits doing in future so just figuring out who to use.

[Big E 118]

S1MMA said:

Ok cool, how would you rate the quality of the paint work? I need a few bits doing in future so just figuring out who to use.

The only paintwork they have done is the ducktail, it looks a very good job to me.

[Adam B]

a curate's egg for me

Like the front spoiler and the ducktail, don't mind the BROWN wheels either

Never been a fan of PORSCHE being written down the side of Porsches, in case of passer-bys didn't realise the Porsche is a PORSCHE!! Decal on rear looks rather odd as curve doesn't match the shut lines or ducktail profile.

Car is crying out for body colour front lip and side sills IMVHO

[Big E 118]

Adam B said:

a curate's egg for me

Like the front spoiler and the ducktail, don't mind the BROWN wheels either

Never been a fan of PORSCHE being written down the side of Porsches, in case of passer-bys didn't realise the Porsche is a PORSCHE!! Decal on rear looks rather odd as curve doesn't match the shut lines or ducktail profile.

Car is crying out for body colour front lip and side sills IMVHO

Valid points.
I debated whether to go Carrera or Porsche on the side decals and personally just wasn't that keen on the Carrera script. I think the ducktail decal would look stranger being dead straight on a curved surface.

Again, I thought about body coloured sills and lip but I prefer the contrast. The GTS comes with black sills and splitter so I wanted to keep that look.

[V8KSN]

I think it looks great chap. Great cars the GTS

[Adam B]

Big E 118 said:

Valid points.
I debated whether to go Carrera or Porsche on the side decals and personally just wasn't that keen on the Carrera script. I think the ducktail decal would look stranger being dead straight on a curved surface.

Again, I thought about body coloured sills and lip but I prefer the contrast. The GTS comes with black sills and splitter so I wanted to keep that look.

Valid rebuttal, shouldn't you be outside taking some interior shots?

[chrisABP]

Looks great Ian and I'm still very tempted by a ducktail on my GTS....

Get the side grills fitted in the front bumper (I've used Zunsport) and paint the washer jets as the chrome looks out of place on the GTS in my opinion.

Where did you buy the ducktail from in the end as I keep getting horrified by the price of genuine Sport Classic ones!

Some cheeky pics of mine again...

[chrisABP]

Think we might need a 997 GTS picture thread...!

[Olivera]

Lovely car OP. Good to see someone personalising a modern porsche and not subscribing to the staid and oem only ownership experience.

[Big E 118]

[zquote=chrisABP]Looks great Ian and I'm still very tempted by a ducktail on my GTS....

Get the side grills fitted in the front bumper (I've used Zunsport) and paint the washer jets as the chrome looks out of place on the GTS in my opinion.

Where did you buy the ducktail from in the end as I keep getting horrified by the price of genuine Sport Classic ones!


[/quote]

Thanks Chris

Ducktail is RPM Technik carbon one which is quite pricey but well made. Still a lot cheaper than the OEM one! Most ducktails on the market are for single intake cars so need to look specifically for ones moulded from the Sport Classic. Parr still needed to modify slightly as the intake sizes internally were a bit small.

I have the side grills but still have the "fins" in place. Will get some better photos next time I'm at home in daylight.