Which car do you think would handle better in a race in terms of performance? I've heard mixed things, but I'm leaning toward the 911 for speed, despite the probability that the AM takes corners better...

 

im not sure about corners but I would take the AM! Its just a cooler car (and yes i am a huge Porsche enthusiast!).

 

I've also heard that the Porsche is going to have better handling and steering. Would love to put both of these cars through their paces though! Not to mention how much I want both in my garage like yesterday.

 

GT3 is about the same price and I'm sure that will beat the Aston, but thats just my opinion

 

Both are great cars. The aston martin is in a more exclusive group. You don't see nearly as many. A great looking car with a very tasteful and elegant interior. Maintenance is more and reliability is less than the porsche. An aston martin wouldn't stand a chance against my modified 911 tt. My wife would choose the aston over my 911 tt.

 

e92 M3!!! enough said

 

The M3 is a great car if you want to blend in. No comparison with an Aston Martin or Porsche. Nice car if you need to haul people or kids but its not in the same league.

 

I have a 2006 Vantage that I love and have tracked with PCA. It can take a 997 but 997 S or GT3 will beat it on the track with drivers of similar skill. The Vantage is so elegant that at the track the Porsche fans always were swarming around my Vantage and taking pictures of it. The Vantage is very neutral in its handling so very forgiving of driver errors on the track.

I recently picked up a 2006 997 S with factory Aero kit to use on the track and some daily driving. I felt guilty abusing the elegant Aston on the track - if you damage it, repairs to the hand-crafted car are expensive and can take a long time.

The 997 S is a bit more challenging on the track with the heavy rear end but it is a great car on the track - can beat most anything short of a GT3. I still love the Aston's elegance and performance, but I will be using the 997 S on the track.

 

For pure performance, the 911 has the edge...for style, elegance, exclusivity, the Aston!

 

like everyone else has said, if you're looking at the track, get a C2S or GT3. personally, i'm in love with the AMV8V, which is what i'll be getting.

 

In regards to the heavy rear end: the previous problems with the so called "heavy rear end" was solved with the 996 and newer. I researched the 911's extensively and was about to buy a 993 2s (the last of the air cooled). I spoke with an ex-race car driver for Porsche and he said that Porsche moved the engine forward a tad and the rear axle back (for a total of about 2 inches) with the 996's. It changed the handling characteristics to more of a mid engine car (but still technically a rear engine car). It solved the tail happy rear end problems. At the limit (when the rears break lose, the tail sliding) the new 911's are very controllable.

 

Certainly much improved and controllable - but not as neutral and easy to drive as the Aston, or even a Cayman / Cayman S

 

Agree. The cayman with more power is the perfect track car. Light weight and powerful. Check out TCP Racing (tcpracing.us). They have a turbo kit for the cayman. Porsche never wanted to give the cayman more power because they knew it would be faster around the track than their flagship car, the 911.

The Aston is still the more excusive and elegant car.

 

i think nothing beats the stock exhaust tone on a vantage

 

If you can get a '09 Vantage that would be the way to go as they are much improved over the prior years. I test drove an '07 Vantage and was disappointed in it's lack of overall performance vs my GT3. I realize that they are different cars for different purposes however prior post did reference vs. GT3. So, I hope this perspective helps.
Buy a Vantage over a 996? Maybe, as it is a very nice car.