Hi NorthVan ( I don't know your name). I notice you have an 06 C2S Seal Grey. Mine is identical x a yr older- 05 C2S S Grey. Imagine our cars with 55 more hp and the sport exhaust from the factory. I think it would be a rocketship! I look forward to seeing the first review in a major magazine.
Jim

 

I have imagined it, a 997.1 GT3, 60 more HP, 8500RPM redline, bigger brakes, seam welded tub. I had my buddy's 996GT3 for a few weeks, and there is something special about those cars that cannot be duplicated in the Carreras line up.

 

The majority of Gt3's are tracked and whether the advertisement is true or false would be up to an inspection and research on that specific car.

Imagine an ad saying "tracked every day to redline and beyond with a few accidental money shifts and an occasional crash into the guardrail " followed by a 120K asking price.

The bottom line is buyers prefer NOT to buy a tracked car so even the mere mention of track use on a Gt3 ad implies that it's a car primarily designed for track use .

Yes there are those who would not track the car .. (like me).
But that is not the general owners of the Gt3.

But it still won't distinguish why buy the Turbo .

-- lets ask another (Walter Rohrl on Gt3 vs Turbo) opinion .. he is far more track experienced than most .. He also picks the Turbo for daily use.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IimssB9B8ds

 

Well any panel that is repainted would be a $1500 less per panel. A GT3 that has been tracked would not scare me away if I were looking at, these cars (Porsche's in general) need to be driven.

 

There's a difference between "driving" them vs pushing the car to the limit (track).

Not that any of this matters with selecting a new car (title of the thread) and deciding which is best suited for street vs track. In my opinion both the Turbo and GtS are more street friendly choices if a person only can have one car. Of those two I think the Turbo is the better car and better value for a daily driver.

Now if a person could have several cars the thread title might not have been an either/or choice.

 

Those figures do not reflect the real world performance differences. The torque of the turbo dwarfs the power output of the GTS and it is able to put it to the ground. The GTS is a 997 Carrera S and will perform like one despite the handful of increased horsepower and the hype. You can't seriously consider the performance to be equivalent when you have turbos doing low 3's or better and 0-100 in the 8's. It's smoke and mirrors. Sometimes I worry about you guys. My advise to anyone with any version of 997: Drive more and ignore Porsches attempts at planned obsolesence, 998 included. A little cynicism is healthy in these things

 

Hmmm. I guess I can't argue against those numbers! I do like the way mine drives on the street and back roads though.
Jim

 

I agree, I will be enjoying mine for a few more years. There will always be something faster, for me it is about the connection I have will my car. The mods I have makes it a lot faster on the track then a stock one, and yet still very livable on the street.

 

Yes, no complaints about these cars at all, they are a lot of fun.

 

If some of these posters would venture to a DE for even one day, they will quickly observe that the saying...

"its the driver, not the car"

really applies when speaking about porsche's line up.

 

Agreed, however a weak driver could look quick in a Porsche, they are very easy to drive fast, especially the mid engine versions. The older 911's are a lot more work, I ran a session in my friends 964 RSA (2500lbs and 350HP) and it was a lot of work to keep it straight, and under control...but is was wickedly fast and a lot of fun to drive.

 

I've been on many DE's where drivers run GT3's in a very controlled manner, well within the capabilities of the car. (just like many other drivers of other models). Has it really been tracked?

We read all the time here about owners taking their cars out for spirited back road drives...is this any different?

When a porsche, GT3 or other, has been tracked in upper run groups, it is pretty well recognizable and becomes a possible sale to a different kind of client. Here the average buyer will stay away. But its very obvious.

Each used car purchase needs to be evaluated closely. For most buyers there really don't need to be any absolutes.

 

Here is what I know about the GTS. If any of it is wrong let me know. It is a C2S with the X51 power package. But it is put inside the widebody of the C4/Turbo. If that is the case then any C2S with the X51 power package will be the same car sans the widebody. Sure there might be a little difference here and there but for the most part it’s that same car. Very close in fact to the Sport Classic (except it has a host of interior and exterior changes <3).

The C2/S is a street car for those who like NA and want the small and light. So the GTS is simply a slightly faster version. The Turbo is a GT car. Built to move and do so quickly in every way. There really is no way to compare the two cars. It all comes down to what you want. Precession NA or GT monster? I can see how one would choose the NA over the Turbo but it all comes down to what you are looking for out of the car.

Personally if I had the money the Turbo would be the way to go. The GTS may be more collectable but if collectable is what you want you need to look for a bit more exclusive, so that factor needs to be removed from the table. The GT3 is a track car. Sure it can be used for the street but much like the Turbo to the C2/S there are less accoutrements. For some people less is more, for others they want all of the luxury one can have and then some.

There is no way anyone can settle this thought for you. If the choice was a C2 or C2S and money didn’t matter no one would say get the C2. But when you have two cars that are in different categories only you will be able to decide what you are looking for from the car. Go to the dealership and spend some time in both cars. Even if you just sit in them.

 

Yes, the mid engine design helps, but it does give some new people a false sense of secruity. In my experience I have seen more of the mid engine types go off the track (not many but some) then the rear engine counterparts in lower run groups.

The 911 crowd understand not lifting in the corners and this keeps us under control to some degree as we learn to be smooth with the inputs.

 

I watched a boxster spin right in front of me, I could see him looking in his drivers side mirror the entire time..."you go where you are looking" didn't really stick in the class room session. I have also seen some bad spins by 911 drivers, one that totaled his 996 GT3