£50k 997.1c2s to 997.1gt3 - worth it?
Discussion
Hi, currently in a 997.1 c2s & contemplating a 997.1gt3. As topic title states, I will be looking at around £50k to trade up. Is the gap really worth £50k?
I have use of other vehicles so realistically will be doing 8k per annum & using as a possible daily.
Advice please fellow enthusiasts.
I have use of other vehicles so realistically will be doing 8k per annum & using as a possible daily.
Advice please fellow enthusiasts.
The GT3 feels completely different to a C2 911 in many ways.
The lightness is quite apparent when you drive one immediately after a C2, the way the car steers is in a different league, add in the masterpiece of an engine, the noise, gear change etc etc.. and you'll be hooked pretty quickly.
They're a bit of a nightmare in the wet, or cold temps on the Pirelli Porsche N rated tyres, which was an issue for me so bear that in mind if you'll be using a GT3 all year round. Other tyres are available but will not comply with a Porsche warranty.
Of all the cars I've owned it's one of the stand out ones for sure.
Is it worth your car + £50k....possibly...have a drive in one and only you can decide.
The lightness is quite apparent when you drive one immediately after a C2, the way the car steers is in a different league, add in the masterpiece of an engine, the noise, gear change etc etc.. and you'll be hooked pretty quickly.
They're a bit of a nightmare in the wet, or cold temps on the Pirelli Porsche N rated tyres, which was an issue for me so bear that in mind if you'll be using a GT3 all year round. Other tyres are available but will not comply with a Porsche warranty.
Of all the cars I've owned it's one of the stand out ones for sure.
Is it worth your car + £50k....possibly...have a drive in one and only you can decide.
Kettmark said:
Hi, currently in a 997.1 c2s & contemplating a 997.1gt3. As topic title states, I will be looking at around £50k to trade up. Is the gap really worth £50k?
I have use of other vehicles so realistically will be doing 8k per annum & using as a possible daily.
Advice please fellow enthusiasts.
I had a 997 2s convertible before my 997.1Gt3 . I could not believe the difference. I really felt like a different car.Amazing in evertpyway. You need to try oneI have use of other vehicles so realistically will be doing 8k per annum & using as a possible daily.
Advice please fellow enthusiasts.
Ive been thinking about this too albeit 996 C2 to 997 GT3.
I've driven a friends 997 GT3.1 in different situations and although I sat there at the time thinking "this would make a great daily", on reflection it would be a bit of a pain. Its low so you need to think all the time about road clearance. The clutch is heavy. I've driven all sorts of manual cars and I've got fairly beefy thighs but the thought of an hour on the m25 or even up a congested street in London was enough to convince me that its not daily material. That being said, everything else about them is fantastic. The noise, the pick up high up the rev range, the suspension and steering. Brilliant cars. Nothing else would worry me about using one all the time as servicing costs would be about the same as a turbo.
Am currently thinking a turbo would be a better daily or going nuts on my C2 with suspension etc. Nice problems to have. Good luck if you buy another.
I've driven a friends 997 GT3.1 in different situations and although I sat there at the time thinking "this would make a great daily", on reflection it would be a bit of a pain. Its low so you need to think all the time about road clearance. The clutch is heavy. I've driven all sorts of manual cars and I've got fairly beefy thighs but the thought of an hour on the m25 or even up a congested street in London was enough to convince me that its not daily material. That being said, everything else about them is fantastic. The noise, the pick up high up the rev range, the suspension and steering. Brilliant cars. Nothing else would worry me about using one all the time as servicing costs would be about the same as a turbo.
Am currently thinking a turbo would be a better daily or going nuts on my C2 with suspension etc. Nice problems to have. Good luck if you buy another.
You need to go and drive one.
I drove one at the weekend, and I'm having the same dilemma (current pork is a 997.2 C2S with Sport-PASM, and LSD). The 7.1 GT3 is absolutely not, in my view, twice the car of a 7.2 C2S, but it's twice the cost.
Maybe it's the Sport-PASM on my car, or my ham-fists, but I was expecting a more marked difference in feel and alertness, if anything my current car felt slightly sharper. Set-up no doubt plays a huge part. There's another large caveat too - it was 3degC and raining, so it wasn't exactly possible to get a great deal of cornering load into the chassis of the GT3, and so there'll be others on here with more relevant experience.
The GT3 engine on the other hand, is really really special. Probably not much in it in terms of outright straight line pace in the confines of the real world, but the delivery is way more exciting than that in my C2S, as it's not as linear and gets bloody feral in the upper reaches. I found the gearbox action to be slightly obstructive when pootling around, and demanded more of a considered effort to engage the desired ratio, but familiarity would probably demote this to a non-issue. There's a much stronger character to the GT3, that left my car feeling a bit boring in comparison, and that more than anything (on the basis of a 30 minute test drive) was what I took away from the experience.
All of that said I think I'll take the leap, as it's rare to find a situation in life where the law of diminishing returns doesn't apply, and although the GT3 didn't feel like twice the car to me, it felt sufficiently special to justify the additional outlay.
Just my 2p while it's relatively fresh.
I drove one at the weekend, and I'm having the same dilemma (current pork is a 997.2 C2S with Sport-PASM, and LSD). The 7.1 GT3 is absolutely not, in my view, twice the car of a 7.2 C2S, but it's twice the cost.
Maybe it's the Sport-PASM on my car, or my ham-fists, but I was expecting a more marked difference in feel and alertness, if anything my current car felt slightly sharper. Set-up no doubt plays a huge part. There's another large caveat too - it was 3degC and raining, so it wasn't exactly possible to get a great deal of cornering load into the chassis of the GT3, and so there'll be others on here with more relevant experience.
The GT3 engine on the other hand, is really really special. Probably not much in it in terms of outright straight line pace in the confines of the real world, but the delivery is way more exciting than that in my C2S, as it's not as linear and gets bloody feral in the upper reaches. I found the gearbox action to be slightly obstructive when pootling around, and demanded more of a considered effort to engage the desired ratio, but familiarity would probably demote this to a non-issue. There's a much stronger character to the GT3, that left my car feeling a bit boring in comparison, and that more than anything (on the basis of a 30 minute test drive) was what I took away from the experience.
All of that said I think I'll take the leap, as it's rare to find a situation in life where the law of diminishing returns doesn't apply, and although the GT3 didn't feel like twice the car to me, it felt sufficiently special to justify the additional outlay.
Just my 2p while it's relatively fresh.
D.no said:
You need to go and drive one.
I drove one at the weekend, and I'm having the same dilemma (current pork is a 997.2 C2S with Sport-PASM, and LSD). The 7.1 GT3 is absolutely not, in my view, twice the car of a 7.2 C2S, but it's twice the cost.
Maybe it's the Sport-PASM on my car, or my ham-fists, but I was expecting a more marked difference in feel and alertness, if anything my current car felt slightly sharper. Set-up no doubt plays a huge part. There's another large caveat too - it was 3degC and raining, so it wasn't exactly possible to get a great deal of cornering load into the chassis of the GT3, and so there'll be others on here with more relevant experience.
The GT3 engine on the other hand, is really really special. Probably not much in it in terms of outright straight line pace in the confines of the real world, but the delivery is way more exciting than that in my C2S, as it's not as linear and gets bloody feral in the upper reaches. I found the gearbox action to be slightly obstructive when pootling around, and demanded more of a considered effort to engage the desired ratio, but familiarity would probably demote this to a non-issue. There's a much stronger character to the GT3, that left my car feeling a bit boring in comparison, and that more than anything (on the basis of a 30 minute test drive) was what I took away from the experience.
All of that said I think I'll take the leap, as it's rare to find a situation in life where the law of diminishing returns doesn't apply, and although the GT3 didn't feel like twice the car to me, it felt sufficiently special to justify the additional outlay.
Just my 2p while it's relatively fresh.
Which car did you test drive if you don't mind me asking?I drove one at the weekend, and I'm having the same dilemma (current pork is a 997.2 C2S with Sport-PASM, and LSD). The 7.1 GT3 is absolutely not, in my view, twice the car of a 7.2 C2S, but it's twice the cost.
Maybe it's the Sport-PASM on my car, or my ham-fists, but I was expecting a more marked difference in feel and alertness, if anything my current car felt slightly sharper. Set-up no doubt plays a huge part. There's another large caveat too - it was 3degC and raining, so it wasn't exactly possible to get a great deal of cornering load into the chassis of the GT3, and so there'll be others on here with more relevant experience.
The GT3 engine on the other hand, is really really special. Probably not much in it in terms of outright straight line pace in the confines of the real world, but the delivery is way more exciting than that in my C2S, as it's not as linear and gets bloody feral in the upper reaches. I found the gearbox action to be slightly obstructive when pootling around, and demanded more of a considered effort to engage the desired ratio, but familiarity would probably demote this to a non-issue. There's a much stronger character to the GT3, that left my car feeling a bit boring in comparison, and that more than anything (on the basis of a 30 minute test drive) was what I took away from the experience.
All of that said I think I'll take the leap, as it's rare to find a situation in life where the law of diminishing returns doesn't apply, and although the GT3 didn't feel like twice the car to me, it felt sufficiently special to justify the additional outlay.
Just my 2p while it's relatively fresh.
To the OP. Yes. The GT3 is worth the trade up - providing you are seriously looking for drivers car. The C2 is a decent drivers car - far better than say an M3/4. The 997 GT3 is one of the best drivers cars ever made. They are light and day different. The 997 GT3 Clubsport in my garage is essentially the same as the 997cup parked next to it.
Slippydiff said:
the gear change quality can vary massively, again it's down to how the car has been previously used/abused.
I'm assuming there's nothing within the box of cogs which can be affected by how the car has been "used/abused", and therefore the causal factor of differing shift qualities would be down to the adjustment/condition of the cables and linkage.Any idea if my assumptions are accurate?
OP- apologies if this constitutes "hijacking"
Thanks Slippy.
Certainly no synchro issues on the car I drove, just notchy, (but not in a nice way). I suspect familiarity would help, but the shift "quality" was not what I was expecting at all.
Also, it seems that there was a certain amount of variance in shift quality when they were new. Was this due to the said change in lever/linkage length early in production?
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Certainly no synchro issues on the car I drove, just notchy, (but not in a nice way). I suspect familiarity would help, but the shift "quality" was not what I was expecting at all.
Also, it seems that there was a certain amount of variance in shift quality when they were new. Was this due to the said change in lever/linkage length early in production?
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
D.no said:
There's another large caveat too - it was 3degC and raining, so it wasn't exactly possible to get a great deal of cornering load into the chassis of the GT3, and so there'll be others on here with more relevant experience.
You will not get anywhere near the feel and limit of the GT3 on the road, let alone in the wet and below 5 degrees, especially if it's on Cup 2s.I quite like using mine in the cold and wet, but, it's a completely different type of drive; unless you are extremely talented (and I certainly am not), you have to make a lot of allowances for lack of grip and traction.
Hi all
have just listed my Gen 1 997 Gt3 on the classifieds (white one for £69k) on here and have a mate after a C2S as a DD so anyone looking to see if we can put a deal together please let me know.
Any interest or if you would like my experiences of the GT3 give me a call (07717 896749). I've owned mine for 4.5 years and done 10k in that time.
Very special car, every drive an occasion. I would only recommend one as a DD if you can average ~50mph on decent roads etc in which case the car is a joy. In traffic it's fine but I think the road noise and stiffness would make your DD tiring vs a regular car. (and mine's a comfort version).
Running costs are cheap compared to similarly specced cars, even if you use OPC/Specialist and do everything the car needs. Depreciation has been non-existent for my 4.5 yrs of ownership.
Cup tyres are dangerous in the wet. I switched to regular Pilot Sport 2's a few years back after hitting some standing water on a motorway and the front drifting away from me for a few secs. After changing pants I vowed to always prefer safety over performance (can't tell the performance difference on the road anyway as the limits of the car are so high).
cheers
have just listed my Gen 1 997 Gt3 on the classifieds (white one for £69k) on here and have a mate after a C2S as a DD so anyone looking to see if we can put a deal together please let me know.
Any interest or if you would like my experiences of the GT3 give me a call (07717 896749). I've owned mine for 4.5 years and done 10k in that time.
Very special car, every drive an occasion. I would only recommend one as a DD if you can average ~50mph on decent roads etc in which case the car is a joy. In traffic it's fine but I think the road noise and stiffness would make your DD tiring vs a regular car. (and mine's a comfort version).
Running costs are cheap compared to similarly specced cars, even if you use OPC/Specialist and do everything the car needs. Depreciation has been non-existent for my 4.5 yrs of ownership.
Cup tyres are dangerous in the wet. I switched to regular Pilot Sport 2's a few years back after hitting some standing water on a motorway and the front drifting away from me for a few secs. After changing pants I vowed to always prefer safety over performance (can't tell the performance difference on the road anyway as the limits of the car are so high).
cheers
Digga said:
ou will not get anywhere near the feel and limit of the GT3 on the road, let alone in the wet and below 5 degrees, especially if it's on Cup 2s.
I quite like using mine in the cold and wet, but, it's a completely different type of drive; unless you are extremely talented (and I certainly am not), you have to make a lot of allowances for lack of grip and traction.
The GT3 I drove is on Pirelli's, which aren't the best, and of course I'm fully aware of the limitations of summer tyres when it's cold and wet. I drove to the dealers in my 7.2 C2S which I use almost exclusively with the PASM in firm. Same day, same conditions, my car felt the more alive of the two. The GT3 felt more laid-back through the steering and a bit more aloof. I'm not talking about ultimate ability, just how the cars felt at normal road speeds This got me wondering whether the GT3 comes alive more as the speeds and loads increase. Just small nuances in feel, not huge differences.I quite like using mine in the cold and wet, but, it's a completely different type of drive; unless you are extremely talented (and I certainly am not), you have to make a lot of allowances for lack of grip and traction.
I loved the GT3 by the way.
D.no said:
Certainly no synchro issues on the car I drove, just notchy, (but not in a nice way). I suspect familiarity would help, but the shift "quality" was not what I was expecting at all.
Perhaps you didn't get the gearbox fully warmed up as well so that further would have accentuated the feel of the gearbox which as slippydiff says is a) very stiff and b) completely at odds with the rest of the control weights. Beggars belief tbh how Porsche could have missed that. It does get better at consistent high revs when the car is fully warmed up but when cold and pootling about, the 7gt3 gearbox is a PITA and it always makes me laugh when someone refers to it as 'rifle bolt action' here...Edited by isaldiri on Tuesday 30th October 20:15
GT3 is not a daily. Guess depends where you driving. If my way to work would include the Autobahn and a bit of the Swiss Alps then yes!
The GT cars do not compare to the standard stuff. Night and day difference. I still remember the day years ago when I was at SPA with my 997 Turbo. Done a few laps in a friends 997 GT3RS and that was it. Turbo was up for sale!
The GT cars do not compare to the standard stuff. Night and day difference. I still remember the day years ago when I was at SPA with my 997 Turbo. Done a few laps in a friends 997 GT3RS and that was it. Turbo was up for sale!
D.no said:
isaldiri said:
Perhaps you didn't get the gearbox fully warmed up
Yes, quite possibly.Do they have the same ridiculously large gearbox oil change intervals as the non GT cars? For the sake of £70 or so (from memory), I get it changed every service.
D.no said:
Yes, quite possibly.
Do they have the same ridiculously large gearbox oil change intervals as the non GT cars? For the sake of £70 or so (from memory), I get it changed every service.
£70 is probably just the cost of the gearbox oil, i think you probably get charged a bit of labour on top! But yes the interval is absurdly long, 4 years or something if not longer.Do they have the same ridiculously large gearbox oil change intervals as the non GT cars? For the sake of £70 or so (from memory), I get it changed every service.
Gassing Station | 911/Carrera GT | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff