I find this to be the case driving my race prepped Boxster S. The turbo cars pull me on the straights then go into Sunday leisure drive mode in the turns. Oh except the gap on the straights is slightly more than 20-30 mm. LOL

 

OP,

I had the opportunity of driving in a colleague's 996tt with Proto tune and it had the "classic" turbo feel of "exponential" acceleration (that's my description - meaning that as you accelerate it seems that the rate of acceleration gets higher as you go up in rpm). My 997tt with Proto tune has much more "linear" acceleration and as the reviews have noted, it feels more like a big block engine in the midband. That was exactly what I wanted b/c as much as I'd like a big block engine with stump-pulling torque like a Viper or ZR1 I just can't justify another sports car.

While the 0-60 or 60-130 or whatever numbers can be used to directly compare cars it doesn't really tell how they drive. For MY needs and wants the 997tt was far superior in terms of usable power for a daily driver.

When it came to cosmetics it was a no brainer (for me): I disliked the headlights on the 996tt and the cheesy (my opinion) interior is what kept me from buying one. If the cosmetics don't matter to you then yeah buy a 996tt for less money, put some money into mods and enjoy! Otherwise get a 997tt for a bit more money and....enjoy!

 

For whatever it's worth I have a friend who actually is a member here, just does t post alot. He had a 997tt and traded it for a '11 GTR which he found boring and gave to his wife. He got a lightly modded 996tt to replace it and according to him: 997tt is a nicer car but not 35,000$ nicer then a comparable 996tt. I think that really does put things in perspective. I like the looks of the 997tt more, IMO it is the best looking 911. The AWD is much better in accelerating from a standing stop but the price gap is still HUGE.