Depending on how business goes in the next few years I hope to add a 997.1 GT3 or a 997.2 GT3 to keep my 997S company as it grows old.

I plan on keeping the 997S F-O-R-E-V-E-R as it was my first Porsche and I want to make it into a purpose built track demon little by little.

 

I think this pretty much sums it up. Thumbs up.

I feel the same way about my 997tt. If I had to do it over again I would definitely hold out for a gt3 because right now my car is more track than street (seats, harnesses, suspension), but it is my first porsche and I love it, I can't imagine getting rid of it. Plus the AWD does help because I can drive it year round in the snow.

 

I had a 997s and now i have a GT3 both cars were awesome. I think different cars in many ways.

But if I had to do it all over again I would end up getting a GT3 right away...just my two cents.

 

I currently have a 997 C2S... looking to upgrade to a GT3. The C2S is a great DD. I really enjoy driving it every chance I get. However, if you plan on doing track days / DEs and making mods to the car, I would go the GT3 route. I've been looking at all kinds of mods, but am reluctant to do that to my C2S. Just my 2 cents...

 

raiyu
i met you before
by coney island and ave z
car is looking great man

 

Owned a 997S for about 1.5 years and put about 10k miles on it, half of those on the track (I'm in Black). Moved to a 997 GT3 and had that for almost a year. Sold that to get into a new 2009 C2S - they are that good. The GT3 did not disappoint, it's a great car. But it was not a good street car. I can have a full trailer rig if I wanted to leave the GT3 in track mode (ie: wheels / tires, brake pads, etc.) - but I just don't want that. I really like the "arrive and drive" concept, where the night before the event I swap wheels and pads and drive myself to the track. The GT3 doesn't really allow that because of the closed-top calipers of the GT3. With the 997S it was easy - 45 minutes to jack up, pop off a wheel, swap pads, put on the track wheel. Enter the 2009 C2S with Sport PASM / LSD, DFI engine, and Gen 2 everything else (ABS, PSM, PASM, etc.). Unbelievalbe car. I will find out on the track for sure, but I have every sense this car will be potent enough for me and the key is it makes for a great street car.

It's all about what you want. If looking for a street biased car that will be great on the track, get a 2009 C2S. If looking for a track biased car that you won't street, get a GT3.

 

You have made some very strong points. I am struggling between the 997.1 GT3 and a 997.2 C2S w/SPASM, LSD, Sport Shifter, Adaptives, etc... I have driven both and came away throughly impressed with the new C2S. I am really curious how well a sport equipped MKII 6 speed C2S will fare against the MKI GT3 at the Ring.

I am not a track guy, but want my blood pressure to rise everytime I get in and start my car. My previous 997Ss and 997tt did not quite do that, although they were definately great cars, all of them. I feel the GT3 will do that, however, with a trade off; less low to mid-range punch.

I believe that the new C2S is an indication of how good the new GT3 will be. I am not taking anything away from the current one.

 

The Ring times are already posted and I think it was 7:50 for the 2009 C2S (1st test) vs. 7:48 for the GT3. Granted, there are other, more recent runs, of the GT3 that are slightly quicker - but the 2009 C2S hasn't had as much time on the Ring to record better times. So, 2 seconds on a 13 mile track - that's nominal.

Take the 2009 C2S and give it a good alignment with more camber (stock can get you to -1.4 degrees, whatever you want with GT3 control arms), better pads and tires, and see what happens

 

The 7:50 by Porsche was with PDK though. I think there was a 7:59 or so by SA. I'd like to see a six speed comparison. At least the C2S had CUP tires to put it on par with the GT3.

 

Did you think about buying a 997tt? It would give you the comfort & daily use of a 997S along w/ more speed than a 7GT3. Current turbo prices seem to be getting a little soft. Just food for thought.

 

Thanks for the insight. I m however talking about the 997.2 GT3 (which nobody has driven so far ). I m just more thinking about the fact that by adding -20mmSPASM, LSD, short shift and the likes, i m trying to turn a C2S into a wannabe-GT3 (there was no GT3 when I placed my order). I also think the noselift is a huge plus for street-driving this car.

Ow, who am I kidding, I'm just trying to convince myself I am right

 

I know what you were comparing - just trying to say that the 2009 C2S is a blend between the Gen 1 C2S and Gen 1 GT3, while being as streetable as the Gen 1 C2S. Of course the 997.2 GT3 will take things to another level, though perhaps not so much so with the engine being "old tech" and only 20 HP stronger. Many "pre" dyno pulls are showing the new C2S engine as putting out more than the 385 claimed, so with a little tweaking (bypass and software), 400-410 appears possible, closing the gap to GT3 quite a bit. Enjoy the C2S and if getting a track-dedicated car, look forward to the new GT3.

 

There is no comparison IMHO. Anyone tracking their car at significant speeds will notice the difference in cornering ability, stiffness, acceleration and top speed. I believe that even a properly set-up 996 GT3 is a better car than any generation C2S. Just be careful on the street under dicey weather conditions if you have R-spec tires...

 

I've owned both 2007 997S and 2007 GT3 and they were closer than you would imagine and I'm talking about at Red / Black (instructor / advanced) pace at Lime Rock and Watkins Glen. Faster? Yes, but by a lot? No. When I had my 997S, the guys with the 996 and 997 GT3s were really wondering why they weren't pulling away from me on the straights and how I was passing them vs. the other way around. I had Softronic, X51 headers, and AWE cats. Pagid Yellow front and Black rear, Toyo RA1s on Fikses. GT3 control arms gave me -2.5 degrees of camber. And that was it - for maybe $10k overall including wheels, tires, and pads, the 997S was right there.

 

As has been mentioned by many, I think it depends on what you want from a car. I'm in the market for a gt3.2 and recently test drove both the gt3.1 and CS2.2 for a comparison of the two offerings. I intend to do some DE and track work but also quite a bit of street driving. I took the gt3.1 out on several occasions and it was fantastic. It is tight, it is loud, it is all they say it is but it makes you feel like you're driving something special... Sure it has some clearance issues (gt3.2 likely to be much better in this respect) but even my sister didn't mind the ride comfort. Her only comment was in regards to the loudness and how it may be annoying on long drives. She could certainly see the appeal of the vehicle.

The CS2.2, I found it to be too refined however. It drove great and had heaps of power, admittedly its probably even likely to be as fast on tracks in the hands of an amateur but it was quiet, the gear shift travel was too long and clumsy at times, and it mopped up bumps up so well that it felt like driving a family sedan. I drove the whole 2 hours in sport susp mode and still failed to be inspired. If I were in my mid 40s, this would have been the perfect car and if I were wanting a DD to take everywhere, this would be it.

However, I'm in my early 30s and plan to use it as a weekender, track car and as a second car. I may not even be able to extract 50% of its potential on the track but its also about what the drive makes you feel and the 3 is SPECIAL! If I'm paying $300k for a sports car, I want to feel like I'm in a sports car and for me the gt3 is the only choice: the sound, the feel and the emotion it generates... it makes you feel geniunely special even if it has some practicality issues...

It depends on what you expect from the car! Therefore, with some luck, it'll be a gt3.2 for me...