Will the 996 GT3 pre-facelift ever be considered "special"?

[mollytherocker]

All GT3's and RS are 'special' in my view!

MTR

[Steve Rance]

caraddict said:

Cool... I assume a Clubsport spec will bring in a little premium some day in the future?

Talking about raw experience behind the wheel, how would the 996 GT3s compare to the entry level Caterhams? Up to R300 Superlight...

They are certainly not as raw but they are quite a bit more brutal, intimidating and much less tolerant of sloppy inputs

[Moosh]

Redgate 3 said:

My GT3 Mk1 clubsport is the sort of car that puts a smile on my face every time I turn the key. It's raw, full of character and feels like a race car on the occasional track day I indulge in.

That's what its all about!

[BertBert]

Steve Rance said:

caraddict said:

Cool... I assume a Clubsport spec will bring in a little premium some day in the future?

Talking about raw experience behind the wheel, how would the 996 GT3s compare to the entry level Caterhams? Up to R300 Superlight...

They are certainly not as raw but they are quite a bit more brutal, intimidating and much less tolerant of sloppy inputs

To my mind the GT3 has essence of Caterham in it. As a long time Caterham driver, I just couldn't find anything that felt like a good move up from a Caterham until I drove a (albeit Mk2) 6GT3.
Bert

[caraddict]

Didn't expect this much positive response on this fantastic car. I'm definitely getting a Mk1 Clubsport in the near future. They really sound like keepers and that's what I'm intending to!

[ROK]

barchetta_boy said:

I am probably in the minority here but I think the original Harm Lagaay design is far, far superior to the "bodge it and make it more aggressive" look of the mk2. The headlights are one of my favourite things about the original 996 design.

I'll take a guards or zanzibar mk1 clubbie please...

Joel

pinky lai designed the 996 dude... amongst other genius bits of work

[freedman]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinky_Lai

[barchetta_boy]

According to the wiki entries for both Lagaay himself and the 996, it was as I said - but never mind, whoever did it, it was a great piece of work.

[ChrisW.]

freedman said:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinky_Lai

True.

But nobody has mentioned that the first gen GT3 was the last road-going car to be assembled at Weissach --- or Werks 1.

[DiscoColin]

ChrisW. said:

True.

But nobody has mentioned that the first gen GT3 was the last road-going car to be assembled at Weissach --- or Werks 1.

Actually - I believe that I kind of did

DiscoColin said:

...Also worth noting is that the Mk1 was hand assembled by the motorsport department at Weissach (unlike later road GT3s, and indeed recent racing ones)...

[fioran0]

The race cars are all still built in weissach, just in the new purpose built motorsports centre that was opened there in 2006. Service,repair and parts for Porsche Motorsport are all in this building too along side the assembly and production.

[kazino]

EVO rated it their 3rd in their top 100 best driving cars, goes someway to show how special they think it is.

"
959 - 73rd
993 gt2 - 65th
boxster "s" - 52nd
968 cs - 50th
Carerra GT - 49th
993 turbo - 46th
Cayman "s" - 41st
997 "s" - 38th
964 rs - 37th
2.7 rs - 28th
997 gt3 rs - 11th
996 mk 1 GT3 - 3rd (behind Zonda (1st) and Lotus 340r)
"

[mike58]

I love the racing look of the mk1 and here is my Mk1 Clubsport in the unique colour of Biarritz White being driven by Sean Edwards who was giving it some.

[caraddict]

Thanks for posting the link, but IIRC these listed cars were voted by the readers via Internet. But then again, the evo staff drove them and ranked them.

I am assured now that they will be somewhat classics some day!

Ps. Your car looks great Mike!

kazino said:

EVO rated it their 3rd in their top 100 best driving cars, goes someway to show how special they think it is.

"
959 - 73rd
993 gt2 - 65th
boxster "s" - 52nd
968 cs - 50th
Carerra GT - 49th
993 turbo - 46th
Cayman "s" - 41st
997 "s" - 38th
964 rs - 37th
2.7 rs - 28th
997 gt3 rs - 11th
996 mk 1 GT3 - 3rd (behind Zonda (1st) and Lotus 340r)
"

[mrh1275]

mike58 said:

I love the racing look of the mk1 and here is my Mk1 Clubsport in the unique colour of Biarritz White being driven by Sean Edwards who was giving it some.

what wheels are they ?

[mike58]

The wheels sre standard 18" Mk1 sport design but with the centres painted Riviera Blue.
This finish did not prove to durable so I had them powder coated in a shade of blue to match 73RS colour
Preferred the riviera tho.

[mrh1275]

they look the dogs bks..awesome gt3.

[Harris_I]

kazino said:

EVO rated it their 3rd in their top 100 best driving cars, goes someway to show how special they think it is.

"
959 - 73rd
993 gt2 - 65th
boxster "s" - 52nd
968 cs - 50th
Carerra GT - 49th
993 turbo - 46th
Cayman "s" - 41st
997 "s" - 38th
964 rs - 37th
2.7 rs - 28th
997 gt3 rs - 11th
996 mk 1 GT3 - 3rd (behind Zonda (1st) and Lotus 340r)
"

With the greatest respect to evo, they do one of these lists every few years and the ranking seems to change with the changing ownership of Harry Metcalfe. I owned for a year their number 1 driver's car of the "last decade" (550 Maranello, as owned by Metcalfe at the time of that article) and it was good, but not the all time great. The mk 1 and mk2 996 both blow it away for sheer driving pleasure. After eight years I still own my 996 mk2 and have no intention of ever selling.

[SweetTorque]

barchetta_boy said:

I am probably in the minority here but I think the original Harm Lagaay design is far, far superior to the "bodge it and make it more aggressive" look of the mk2. The headlights are one of my favourite things about the original 996 design.

I'll take a guards or zanzibar mk1 clubbie please...

Joel

You're not in the minority. Much of the 'blinkered view' dust has settled over the shape of the lights not being round like days of old, or that they were also used on the Boxster. Now they are more recognised for the stylish design that they are and I've noticed a rise in more sensible discussions about this more recently. I completely agree, the second iteration on the Mk2 isn't as smooth and sleek. Lagaay got it right the first time. A one of a kind classic.

To stay on topic, will the pre-facelift 996 GT3 ever be considered special?.... It's considered special now, always has been and probably always will be. Would or should the shape of lights ever impact this.... nah, that's stupid, and besides, if anything, it's got the original more shapely lights. Just as the designer intended.

[f1ten]

question... (i dont know the answer)
is the mrk 1 GT3 clear of engine problems. My mechanic says yes and that he has never seen one with problems, but i had heard otherwise from hearsay.

Curious as wondered if i would chop my turbo for it. I may go against the flow here, but i prefer the mark 2 front end.