The GT3's weight distribution is 38/62. The 911 has a weight distribution of ~40/60. My Turbo has a weight distribution of 38.5/61.5.

Mid-engined cars with weight distributions close to 50/50 have low polar moment of inertias, which help with changes of direction, but when they start to spin, there isn't much in the way of dynamics that is available to stop them.

Rear weight biased cars work handling issues with great suspension designs.

I personally think the "ideal" platform would be a mid-engined car with a weight distribution of ~40/60....the CGT and Enzo fit the bill perfectly. If I had to give something up, it would be the mid-engine placement and not the 40/60 distribution.

 

I usually pass the 986's on the straights on the big track at Willow. Any mistakes I make in the turns at Willow Springs I can make up on the two straights by using brute force. The Turbo is quite forgiving at this track. The same applies at Buttonwillow, but not as much.

I cannot compete with the 986's on the little auto-x courses. But I’m not sure I care.

That being said, the better drivers pass me driving just about anything on any course. I regularly get lapped by an Asian guy in a MiniCooperS at Willow.

 

Kirby can pass u in his CRX and he's not even asian.

 

I read it somewhere that a boxter s was faster at some track in Germany then a 911 carrera... due to the mid engine I would think.

 

HA HA HA HA

 

A Boxster S is faster than a Supercharged 996 at Thunderhill because BrianH@Carlsen is driving it.

 

I have tracked a Boxster 2.5L, and I must say that everything being equal (driver, suspension, and comparable HP), the Boxster is much easier to drive fast than a 996. This is especially true for beginner to intermediate track drivers. A Boxster S can easily keep up or pass a 996 3.4L on tighter mor technical tracks.
What DOC said is so true of the mid-engine configuration.
The Boxster is a much better platform for a "track car". Why doesn't Porsche give the Boxster more power? Because it would easily out-sell the 996 (which has a much bigger profit margin).

My $0.04 (inflation) worth.

 

it did. it's call the CGT.

 

Well, I'm more racer than engineer, so my interpretations are in laymens' terms. IMO: You have to firmly suspend the rear of the 911 due to the aft engine mass position. It gives it a narrower window of suspension adjustability, and can result in less compliance, making for a car that releases quicker at the limit and can be a handful on rougher tracks, especially on high-speed sweepers under throttle. A mid-engine design allows a greater range of suspension tuning due to the mass location, allows better compliance of suspension, and seems to have an easier path to good handling without springing the snot out of the car. Spinning? Yes, the mid-engine car spins like a top. But, that's what practicing in go-karts is for! As for acceleration, I understand the motor mass aft of rear axle really presses the rear wheels toward the earth, but is that better than having the motor mass just fore of the rear axle? Think of where the force vector direction is coming from the motor mass under acceleration. Have you seen how light the front end of a 911 gets under hard acceleration? Have you tried keeping your foot down thru a long sweeper with a rear-engine car, and then a mid-engine car? Well, it's all personal preference in the end, and Porsche makes 2 great car layouts. What I'd like to see is a comparo with an equal-powered Boxster and 911, both with the same gearing, tire size, adjustable shocks, downforce set-up, alignment, and weight, hook data aquisition up to both, and have a full arsenal of springs handy to swap out after the baseline is established. It'd be interesting to see the performance comparison, and also the spring rates involved in each case. As others have mentioned, a great driver can pass you in many different cars, but if we compared apples to apples, closely as possible with the set-ups of these two cars, it'd make for a very interesting study.

 

What are the fastest race cars (F1)? Question answered.

When I was considering a 3600S, I spoke to Estonia Ruf on the phone. She said on the Ring, she regularly caught turbo's in the corners, although they would pull in the straights (duh).

I remember reading an article in Panorama back when the V8 M3s were spanking the 911s. The writer suggested shoving a V8 into a Boxster and blowing the M3s back into the weeds. The ability to actually FIT a V8 in a Boxster notwithstanding, the point is that the mid-engined format was chosen.

911s are faster due to sheer grunt. It will be interesting to see how quick the 300 HP Caymans are when they hit (the rumored hardtop Boxster CS). Wow, that car should be serious fun.

 

The biggest variable is in the driver. Just make sure it's the same driver who's equally capable of driving a mid-engine and a rear-engine car. Bottomline is which layout is more confidence inspiring and takes less skill and guts to achieve equal times.

Keeping your foot down around corners definitely takes gut especially when you're not sure what surprises can come up around the corner.