Porsche 911 GT3 (997.I): You Know You Want To

With a healthy six-figure mileage, could this be the GT3 to use and enjoy without worry?

It says a lot (and not much of it positive) for the current state of the used Porsche market that £55,000 for a 997 GT3 looks cheap. Here's a car approaching its 10th birthday, for sale at something like 60 per cent of its original list price. This isn't following a sharp decline and then a realisation of what the car is either; these GT3s have retained their value phenomenally well since launch.

Read our full 2017 Porsche 911 GT3 manual review

Still, that's the state of the current market at the moment. Seeing GT Porsches at very close (or in excess) of their new prices years down the line is, sadly enough, what we've become used to. This particular 997 3.6 looks especially nice though: Clubsport pack, carbon ceramic brakes, black with black and sat-nav. It's a very desirable GT3.

Or is it? See, in case you hadn't guessed, this GT3 is affordable because of its fairly hefty mileage. This is not just hefty by sports car standard either, where brows are furrowed at the sight of anything beyond 50K. Oh no. This 911 has 148,000 miles on it. That's more than six times the mileage of most other 997 GT3s on PH. Some GT3s of that era still have less than 20,000 miles on them, and this one has seven times that. Incredible.

Browse Porsche 911 GT3's [997] for sale on PistonHeads Classifieds

However, without wishing to sound like the dealer that's selling it, you wouldn't have guessed, would you? The paint still looks more than good enough, the interior is seemingly presentable and the wheels unmarked. In fact, the tyre shine applied here is more of a mess than the actual wheel. Sure, some of the Alcantara inside looks a little shiny, but that's simply a retrim away. It looks remarkably good.

The service history attests to considerate (if thorough) use too. It has been serviced more regularly than required, probably as a result of track use, but look at the dates too. It appears this GT3 is used heavily during the summer months, serviced before and after to keep it fresh, and then used more sparingly for the winter. The records show it's not been over-revved either, before that gets brought up.

It's a GT3 that's been enjoyed, put simply. Well, you would hope so at least; it's not really the car for plodding up and down motorways. And isn't that what we'd all like to do with a GT3? In all the discussion and debate about values, manual gearboxes and dodgy deals, they remain some of the best driver's car around. Speculators will never touch this car, so what's to stop the next owner buying it and driving it hard as often as possible as the last owner has? At last, this is a GT3 that you could just drive and not worry about a return on investment or any such other associated nonsense.

Of course higher mileage cars will carry a risk, but you would like to think the consumables that would need to be replaced have been done so along the way. These Mezger cars are of course known for their mechanical durability too. As mentioned, it's going to be tricky to sell on again, though that could of course be seen as an incentive to keep hold of it!

One final thing to consider, tempting prospect though this GT3 could be. £55,000 may look good value for this particular car, but don't forget what kind of track ready Lotus that money buys as well...

PORSCHE 911 GT3
Price: £54,944
Why you should: One of the best modern Porsches, well used so that you can do more of the same!
Why you shouldn't: £55K still isn't exactly bargain track hack now, is it?

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tom scott

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