911 R is the best looking 911 on the market today

 

I got picked for the Porsche Driving Challenge -- which means I got to drive the new 911R last weekend on the Weissach test track, and they also let me drive a few laps in the current GT3 RS for comparison.

Here are my driving impressions. Obviously, this model has less downforce and narrower tires than the GT3 RS. They put a diffuser in back, but I'm not sure how functional a piece like that is in corners, where body roll compromises the function of a device like that. I believe they had to make some changes to the underbody kit up front to keep front and rear axle numbers compatible. There is also a different (and more 'lively') programming for the rear steering on this model.

Compared to the early 911 I'm used to driving, it's a very sure-footed car. But compared to the GT3 RS, up at speed, it's a little more lively and engaging. The differences from aero are only going to be a factor in faster corners. But the tire-size differences and (possibly) rear-steering-programming differences give it a nimbler feel even in lower-and-medium-speed corners. It's something you can toss around more easily than the GT3 RS (although again, all things are relative -- my 2400-lb 1972 is another animal altogether).

I liked that it was a 6-speed and not a 7-speed manual gearbox. I believe the gearing is lower than the Carrera manual transmission (although, again, that might be incorrect -- I don't see it in the official literature). There is nothing faster than the paddles in the GT3 RS. But for driving in any kind of street situation, it makes (for me, at least) a better tactile experience to be using my right hand (and left foot) to upshift and downshift. It auto-blips downshifts in sport mode, but you can defeat that if you want to go for the full-on old-school feel.

The weight difference between the 911R and the GT3 RS is something I'd be hard-pressed to say I felt in the driving I did. Both are light by contemporary standards (and also heavy, relative to the old 911 I drive). But I'm very happy to see Porsche making a new model that's lighter, and I hope they make good on their talk about getting out of the horsepower arms race and finding ways to reduce the weight (and size, if all my dreams came true) of future models. Modern Porsches feel very light on the track, because of the sophistication of their suspension systems. But I'd be thrilled to see them become actually lighter. There's no substitute for reduced mass when you take a car through a corner.

So which car would I own if I had the money and an allocation? It's not easy to answer. Porsche makes it clear that it does not see the 911R as primarily a track car. I don't think the half-cage is even an option on it. So if I were going to the track with one of these cars as often as I do with my 1972 911, then the GT3 RS would be my choice. You are either faster or slower on a track, and the GT3 RS is phenomenally rewarding to drive in those conditions. The paddles just amaze you as you go up or down. There's a lot more tire. Everything about the car is positive.

But for recreational street driving and even trips out with your wife, the 911R would be the winner. It's so much fun to drive. There's more personality to its 'tossability' and rowing through the gears on a canyon road is a fundamentally different experience than tapping paddles. And while I fully understand the value of a big wing in 80+-mph corners, it's a different experience when you pull into a restaurant, where people might (in some way) lump you with the type of drivers to bolt wings to their Civics. Having no tail looks cleaner. It shows off the lines of the car better. And my wife would probably agree to sit in it.

Along those lines, I would say that the 911R would absolutely make a viable daily driver. Granted, I drive a 1972 911 with a cage around town, so my comfort level is pretty broad. But the 911R is comfortable, not too loud (there's an exhaust button for when you want the sound to echo off the mountains), and it hasn't been stripped out so much that it feels unsafe or flimsy. It's got all that going for it -- and then it will feel a little more nimble and driver-controllable (if that makes sense) than the GT3 RS would on ordinary roads. So again, if I was a guy who was going to go to the track once or twice a year but drive around my favorite roads more often, the 911R would be a Porsche that would be more rewarding for me, connecting the heritage of the old cars with the technology of the new ones.

 

Wow, how lucky is that. Congratulations !

Now a couple of questions:

1. How 911R steering size, feel and response was compared to GT3 RS?
2. How's the road noise for 911R considering it as a daily driver ?
3. The one that you drove was single mass fly wheel or dual? How quick the Revs were vs RS?

Got many more questions but let's go with these for now !!

 

Great writeup and review Jack.

 

Thank you for sharing, Jack!

It'd be a tough choice but I agree with you assessment. DD probably the 911 R because it still has the back seats. For more track duties, GT3RS

 

No 911R doesn't have back seats...

 

Thanks.

1) The steering on both cars felt very similar to me. I'm sure that's mostly because I'm used to a car with a lot of front tire and no power steering at all. The rear steering for the 911 R is supposed to make the car slightly looser. But it's a subtle change. We filmed corners where it's moving the rears in the opposite direction as the fronts (slower) and parallel with the fronts (faster). What's surprising to me is how little you notice it at all in real-world use.

2) On the road noise issue, it's hard to say. I wasn't wearing a helmet with either car, but I was on a skid pad and a test track. And again, my reference point is a 1972 with all the soundproofing taken out. So both seem super quiet to me. In the first weekend of April, I'll be driving the 911 R on a hill climb stage in France -- I'll pay attention to what the road noise is like then, and report back. As I understand it, the plastic windows won't be available in the US, so the domestic version will be quieter than the European one.

3) The one I was driving had the single-mass flywheel, I'm pretty sure. The engineers were still talking about ways to dampen the vibration from it in the final production cars. But I can't say I felt any significant difference in the engine revs. It's tricky, because you're not shifting in the same way on the GT3 RS. And I'm not so familiar with either car that subtle differences like that would jump out at me, unfortunately.

So…

I know this isn't as helpful as it might be. But the comparison was pretty quick, and both cars are very new to me. They are more alike than different, from this guy's perspective.

And as I said, I'll be doing more driving on a real road in April, so hopefully I'll have more to add.

 

Thanks for the inputs. Yeah, heard about vibes with the single flywheel vs double. Look forward to your impressions from the drive in France

 

Well, here's the first video where you get to watch me acting (ouch!) and driving (fun!).

(Click HERE to see the video.)

 

That was a great review.

Nonetheless, the new Porsche 991 911R is bringing a big mark-up to MSRP due to the current excitement. Excuse me, but I never would pay that.

 

Ohhh...so that's you. My son and I just watched it over the weekend. Nicely done, especially sliding through the circle...seemed like fairly easy thing to do, was it? Also I'm sure that wasn't the only drive you had..got to drive more/longer?

 

I would pay that if only I could get on a list.
@PorscheCarsNorthAmerica... make this dream come true.

 

Thanks.

Throwing the rear end out isn't all that difficult on a skid pad when you're maintaining a constant radius. That said, I'm not really a very good drifter. My instinctive response is always to get the rear end back in line. It's a hard habit to break.

And yes, there's more driving coming. I think the 'heel-toe downshifting' lesson is next, which was also shot on the skid pad. Then there's the 'driving line' lesson, where we go through a few different corners of the Weissach track. Then (for non-US audiences) there's a 'drifting lesson' back on the skid pad. (I think they used some of the drifting lesson's footage in this recent oversteer/understeer clip. And I'm not 100% sure that all of the drifting shots you see in this current clip are with me driving.)

And then there's one final clip, which hasn't been shot yet. The other driver and I go to southern France at the beginning of April for that one, which will have us driving a hillclimb stage in the Pyrennees that was won by a 1969 911R in the old Tour de France Automobile race.

Obviously, the lessons are mostly for show. I've been driving my 911 on west-coast tracks for 16 years now. With a fair amount of time trialing and club racing on my resume -- no one needs to teach me the difference between understeer and oversteer. But I think the videos are to give prospective 911 owners a glimpse into that world. So I'm acting in the clips -- but I'm fine with doing that if it means getting to hang out with pro drivers and the motorsports guys from Porsche while also driving this new 911R (and also the latest GT3 RS).

No complaints here, except that in the clips I've learned that I have bad posture and a bald spot.

 

So what's the deal to have this car have big horsepower and no rear wing?

I guess all the wing options throughout the 911 line are just for show?

Did they give the 911R an underbody aero package?

 

As they explained it to me, the whole idea of this car was that it's a street car. They wanted it to be easier to throw around. So while there is a diffuser underneath the engine, it has less overall aero downforce, and skinnier tires (and more-lively all-wheel steering) than the GT3 RS. The idea is not that it's the fastest possible version of the 911 -- especially on a track (that's the GT3 RS) -- but the 911R supposed to be the most involving and the most fun to drive.