Porsche Experience Centre - RS cars
Discussion
Have the "Evolution RS" driving experience booked for later this week at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone. We get to drive a GT3 RS Gen1 & Gen 2 and a GT3 RS 4.0. Except the 4.0 is now unavailable as somebody binned it apparently! There will be another option available although I'm guessing the 991 GT3 hasn't yet made it onto their fleet. Regardless, I'm very, very excited about this having never driven any of the RS cars.
Anyway, on to the point of the thread - was wondering if anyone had specifically driven the RS cars at one of these events and what the drill is with respect to enforced rev limits and so on? I was hoping to just spend time on the handling circuit rather than the kick plate / ice hill etc. given the limited time in the car. Is this an option, or is it a set structure you have to follow? Any recent opinions or thoughts on the PEC in general would be gratefully received. I've done a few track days, so the appeal is more about driving the RS cars, and I'm looking to get the most out of the experience really.
Will post a mini-review after the event if anyone is interested!
Anyway, on to the point of the thread - was wondering if anyone had specifically driven the RS cars at one of these events and what the drill is with respect to enforced rev limits and so on? I was hoping to just spend time on the handling circuit rather than the kick plate / ice hill etc. given the limited time in the car. Is this an option, or is it a set structure you have to follow? Any recent opinions or thoughts on the PEC in general would be gratefully received. I've done a few track days, so the appeal is more about driving the RS cars, and I'm looking to get the most out of the experience really.
Will post a mini-review after the event if anyone is interested!
Heathrow said:
Have the "Evolution RS" driving experience booked for later this week at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone. We get to drive a GT3 RS Gen1 & Gen 2 and a GT3 RS 4.0. Except the 4.0 is now unavailable as somebody binned it apparently! There will be another option available although I'm guessing the 991 GT3 hasn't yet made it onto their fleet. Regardless, I'm very, very excited about this having never driven any of the RS cars.
Anyway, on to the point of the thread - was wondering if anyone had specifically driven the RS cars at one of these events and what the drill is with respect to enforced rev limits and so on? I was hoping to just spend time on the handling circuit rather than the kick plate / ice hill etc. given the limited time in the car. Is this an option, or is it a set structure you have to follow? Any recent opinions or thoughts on the PEC in general would be gratefully received. I've done a few track days, so the appeal is more about driving the RS cars, and I'm looking to get the most out of the experience really.
Will post a mini-review after the event if anyone is interested!
We(me & my son) are booked in for this in mid September. Will be interested to hear your experiences.Anyway, on to the point of the thread - was wondering if anyone had specifically driven the RS cars at one of these events and what the drill is with respect to enforced rev limits and so on? I was hoping to just spend time on the handling circuit rather than the kick plate / ice hill etc. given the limited time in the car. Is this an option, or is it a set structure you have to follow? Any recent opinions or thoughts on the PEC in general would be gratefully received. I've done a few track days, so the appeal is more about driving the RS cars, and I'm looking to get the most out of the experience really.
Will post a mini-review after the event if anyone is interested!
Be disappointed if RS 4.0 not available to drive!
OK so here's a rundown of my 'Evolution RS' experience.
Turned up nice and early to be greeted with a welcome, sign in and introduction to the Porsche Experience Centre. There's the opportunity to have a complementary drink or two and have a look round the cars displayed inside. You can opt for a 3 course lunch for £30 a head.
Anyway, onto the fun. Booked together with a mate, and we each were assigned an individual instructor (in my case Colin) and off we headed to the cars with a brief chat aboout what I was hoping to get from the afternoon. That was a nice touch actually, it felt a bit more bespoke than just turning up and doing the set routine.
I started with the 997.2 GT3 RS, then 997.1 GT2 and finally the 997.2 GT2 RS. We were hoping to drive the GT3 RS 4.0 but this wasn't available - having gone back to Germany for an engine rebuild. Second choice would have been a 991 GT3, but the available car was already booked, so we were assigned the GT2.
Had a good 30 mins in each car. Wanted to spend most of the time on the handling course and also some help with heel and toe technique. There were absolutely no constraints about accessing the full performance of the cars. The GT3 RS was absolutely sublime (drove the white one in the picture above). The GT2 was intimidating to say the least and the GT2 RS was just ballistic, no other word for it. However, it's the GT3 RS which made the most impression on me.I can still hear the sound of the Metzger engine in the GT3 in my head right now - astonishing!
Handling course is about a 1km course of typical UK B road style with some good undulation and camber in places and pretty well surfaced. 2nd and 3rd gear were sufficient for the whole handling course. There isn't a whole lot of run off and the cornering speeds were pretty high at some points. I was quite suprised a helmet was not mandatory (although I did see a rack full so expect they were optional).
There was a lot of traffic to navigate as at some points there were up to 8 or so cars on the handling circuit, overtaking was allowed but completely clear laps were difficult at some times in the afternoon.
I also had a go on the low grip surface area and the ice hill thing where you experience slow motion oversteer. This was ok but TBH I just preferred pounding the (older of the two) handling circuits.
Would definitely recommend this to anyone, unless you're specifically looking for a proper track experience with a bigger, wider circuit (and crucially, more run off)! Really for the speed of these GT cars the handling course was too small and narrow to really exploit the full performance, but this was to be expected really.
For the money (£500) you'll probably find more seat time elsewhere, but I felt it was fair value given the cars on offer and the chance to drive them properly hard and to some extent tailor your own experience.
Turned up nice and early to be greeted with a welcome, sign in and introduction to the Porsche Experience Centre. There's the opportunity to have a complementary drink or two and have a look round the cars displayed inside. You can opt for a 3 course lunch for £30 a head.
Anyway, onto the fun. Booked together with a mate, and we each were assigned an individual instructor (in my case Colin) and off we headed to the cars with a brief chat aboout what I was hoping to get from the afternoon. That was a nice touch actually, it felt a bit more bespoke than just turning up and doing the set routine.
I started with the 997.2 GT3 RS, then 997.1 GT2 and finally the 997.2 GT2 RS. We were hoping to drive the GT3 RS 4.0 but this wasn't available - having gone back to Germany for an engine rebuild. Second choice would have been a 991 GT3, but the available car was already booked, so we were assigned the GT2.
Had a good 30 mins in each car. Wanted to spend most of the time on the handling course and also some help with heel and toe technique. There were absolutely no constraints about accessing the full performance of the cars. The GT3 RS was absolutely sublime (drove the white one in the picture above). The GT2 was intimidating to say the least and the GT2 RS was just ballistic, no other word for it. However, it's the GT3 RS which made the most impression on me.I can still hear the sound of the Metzger engine in the GT3 in my head right now - astonishing!
Handling course is about a 1km course of typical UK B road style with some good undulation and camber in places and pretty well surfaced. 2nd and 3rd gear were sufficient for the whole handling course. There isn't a whole lot of run off and the cornering speeds were pretty high at some points. I was quite suprised a helmet was not mandatory (although I did see a rack full so expect they were optional).
There was a lot of traffic to navigate as at some points there were up to 8 or so cars on the handling circuit, overtaking was allowed but completely clear laps were difficult at some times in the afternoon.
I also had a go on the low grip surface area and the ice hill thing where you experience slow motion oversteer. This was ok but TBH I just preferred pounding the (older of the two) handling circuits.
Would definitely recommend this to anyone, unless you're specifically looking for a proper track experience with a bigger, wider circuit (and crucially, more run off)! Really for the speed of these GT cars the handling course was too small and narrow to really exploit the full performance, but this was to be expected really.
For the money (£500) you'll probably find more seat time elsewhere, but I felt it was fair value given the cars on offer and the chance to drive them properly hard and to some extent tailor your own experience.
Heathrow said:
OK so here's a rundown of my 'Evolution RS' experience.
Turned up nice and early to be greeted with a welcome, sign in and introduction to the Porsche Experience Centre. There's the opportunity to have a complementary drink or two and have a look round the cars displayed inside. You can opt for a 3 course lunch for £30 a head.
Anyway, onto the fun. Booked together with a mate, and we each were assigned an individual instructor (in my case Colin) and off we headed to the cars with a brief chat aboout what I was hoping to get from the afternoon. That was a nice touch actually, it felt a bit more bespoke than just turning up and doing the set routine.
I started with the 997.2 GT3 RS, then 997.1 GT2 and finally the 997.2 GT2 RS. We were hoping to drive the GT3 RS 4.0 but this wasn't available - having gone back to Germany for an engine rebuild. Second choice would have been a 991 GT3, but the available car was already booked, so we were assigned the GT2.
Had a good 30 mins in each car. Wanted to spend most of the time on the handling course and also some help with heel and toe technique. There were absolutely no constraints about accessing the full performance of the cars. The GT3 RS was absolutely sublime (drove the white one in the picture above). The GT2 was intimidating to say the least and the GT2 RS was just ballistic, no other word for it. However, it's the GT3 RS which made the most impression on me.I can still hear the sound of the Metzger engine in the GT3 in my head right now - astonishing!
Handling course is about a 1km course of typical UK B road style with some good undulation and camber in places and pretty well surfaced. 2nd and 3rd gear were sufficient for the whole handling course. There isn't a whole lot of run off and the cornering speeds were pretty high at some points. I was quite suprised a helmet was not mandatory (although I did see a rack full so expect they were optional).
There was a lot of traffic to navigate as at some points there were up to 8 or so cars on the handling circuit, overtaking was allowed but completely clear laps were difficult at some times in the afternoon.
I also had a go on the low grip surface area and the ice hill thing where you experience slow motion oversteer. This was ok but TBH I just preferred pounding the (older of the two) handling circuits.
Would definitely recommend this to anyone, unless you're specifically looking for a proper track experience with a bigger, wider circuit (and crucially, more run off)! Really for the speed of these GT cars the handling course was too small and narrow to really exploit the full performance, but this was to be expected really.
For the money (£500) you'll probably find more seat time elsewhere, but I felt it was fair value given the cars on offer and the chance to drive them properly hard and to some extent tailor your own experience.
Great review, thanks for that. I'm seriously considering this at some point but would like to try the 4.0, I'm not bothered about the GT2's to be honest. Turned up nice and early to be greeted with a welcome, sign in and introduction to the Porsche Experience Centre. There's the opportunity to have a complementary drink or two and have a look round the cars displayed inside. You can opt for a 3 course lunch for £30 a head.
Anyway, onto the fun. Booked together with a mate, and we each were assigned an individual instructor (in my case Colin) and off we headed to the cars with a brief chat aboout what I was hoping to get from the afternoon. That was a nice touch actually, it felt a bit more bespoke than just turning up and doing the set routine.
I started with the 997.2 GT3 RS, then 997.1 GT2 and finally the 997.2 GT2 RS. We were hoping to drive the GT3 RS 4.0 but this wasn't available - having gone back to Germany for an engine rebuild. Second choice would have been a 991 GT3, but the available car was already booked, so we were assigned the GT2.
Had a good 30 mins in each car. Wanted to spend most of the time on the handling course and also some help with heel and toe technique. There were absolutely no constraints about accessing the full performance of the cars. The GT3 RS was absolutely sublime (drove the white one in the picture above). The GT2 was intimidating to say the least and the GT2 RS was just ballistic, no other word for it. However, it's the GT3 RS which made the most impression on me.I can still hear the sound of the Metzger engine in the GT3 in my head right now - astonishing!
Handling course is about a 1km course of typical UK B road style with some good undulation and camber in places and pretty well surfaced. 2nd and 3rd gear were sufficient for the whole handling course. There isn't a whole lot of run off and the cornering speeds were pretty high at some points. I was quite suprised a helmet was not mandatory (although I did see a rack full so expect they were optional).
There was a lot of traffic to navigate as at some points there were up to 8 or so cars on the handling circuit, overtaking was allowed but completely clear laps were difficult at some times in the afternoon.
I also had a go on the low grip surface area and the ice hill thing where you experience slow motion oversteer. This was ok but TBH I just preferred pounding the (older of the two) handling circuits.
Would definitely recommend this to anyone, unless you're specifically looking for a proper track experience with a bigger, wider circuit (and crucially, more run off)! Really for the speed of these GT cars the handling course was too small and narrow to really exploit the full performance, but this was to be expected really.
For the money (£500) you'll probably find more seat time elsewhere, but I felt it was fair value given the cars on offer and the chance to drive them properly hard and to some extent tailor your own experience.
Heathrow said:
Yep I would agree with this. The GT2 cars are brutal. Honestly, I'm not a good enough driver to get near to fully exploiting them! Although the performance is astonishing.
I've driven the 991 Turbo S a good few times - insanely quick in a straight line but only a fraction of the fun of my GT3. I dare say I'd have the same opinion of the GT2,despite how good they undoubtedly are it's the NA engined ones that float my boat 
ClarkPB said:
I've driven the 991 Turbo S a good few times - insanely quick in a straight line but only a fraction of the fun of my GT3. I dare say I'd have the same opinion of the GT2,despite how good they undoubtedly are it's the NA engined ones that float my boat
Agree. Quite hard to be smooth and progressive when on boost, you really have to be patient with the throttle. In that respect it could be frustrating . My impression was you'd only have to get it slightly wrong and it would bite you hard. Maximum concentration was required! Great if you like a challenge and have the requisite cahooners! Which I didn't...The GT2 was also more physically demanding, the non-RS version I drove didn't have aircon.
The aircooled comparison would be interesting, eg a 964 RS.
spyderman8 said:
s2000db said:
"We were hoping to drive the GT3 RS 4.0 but this wasn't available - having gone back to Germany for an engine rebuild. "
!
What's surprising about that? Cup engines need to be rebuilt and Carrera Cup engines have to done in Germany. !If it was a low mileage car with a catastrophic failure, then one extreme..
If a high miler with 'General wear and tear' then that's another.. ?
spyderman8 said:
s2000db said:
"We were hoping to drive the GT3 RS 4.0 but this wasn't available - having gone back to Germany for an engine rebuild. "
!
What's surprising about that? Cup engines need to be rebuilt and Carrera Cup engines have to done in Germany. !If it was a low mileage car with a catastrophic failure, then one extreme..
If a high miler with 'General wear and tear' then that's another.. ?
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff