It was a very merry Christmas as my GT3 arrived! (Pics and review)

I picked her up last Saturday. The weather was perfect and from the first drive I knew that I was driving a special car. After picking her up and took her home and did the whole polish and wax thing. Needless to say that occupied a large part of the weekend.

I have also been able to take a long drive to Ocala (I was looking for Money’s blue GT3 as we drove by the Villages) and found some open and curvy roads around my house where I was able to hit some curves and stomp on the brakes to test them out. I have almost 300 miles on the car after taking delivery with 10.

This is my review of the first 200+ miles on the GT3. As you can tell by my signature, I also have an ’11 Carrera 4s. I have also had a ’09 Cayman, “06 Mustang GT, ’06 Z06, an ’08 335i, ’11 528i, an ’09 G37 and my wife still has the X5, 50i. (This is to give you guys some background on what I’ve got for comparison). I’ve also had some time c/ a ’14 Cayenne S, an ’08? M5, multiple M3s of the previous generation and the current 335i.

Looks: OMG. The GT3 is drop dead gorgeous. I’m not going to talk a lot about this because everyone already knows that this car is drool worthy. There is a reason that most people are getting white and that is because it’s the best color. Lol. The rims are amazing and the brakes are huge! Going to be difficult to get into the calipers to keep them clean.

I really like the look of the black headlights. Gives the car a slightly more menacing look. It is definitely useful when they turn with the car to illuminate the road ahead.

Interior: Definitely a nice step-up from the 997s. Imo not too big a change but just enough to keep the interior fresh. I ordered the 18 way seats (my back would not appreciate the LWBs). Basically the same seats that I have in my ’11 and they remain the best seats of any car I’ve been in. I find them to be comfortable and they hold you in place (not sliding around like in the ’06 Z06. Those seats were horrible. Like truly. If any of you have never taken a fairly spirited turn an a C7 it’s a must. Be prepared to use your outer thighs for support).

I ordered the full leather and I’m glad I did. I really like the platinum stitching in the car. I also ordered the extended leather dash which is only ok. I don’t mind that the stitching is around the round center speaker but I think that it would have looked better if the stitching was around the rectangle in the center where the clock would go. No big deal to me. I have seen photos where others seemed to have a different shape for the center speaker along with having a different stitching pattern. No clue why that is.

I didn’t realize that the car tells you when to upshift when in manual mode. Kinda like an old Fiero.

I also ordered the yellow seat belts. I guess I should mention that my wife wanted the full death and yellow seat belts so I went along. I actually think that they make the interior look even better. I think that colors can be overdone, but in this case it looks good. I didn’t go for any of the colors for the instrument panel. I like the black. My ’11 has white.

I probably would have ordered the car with full leather on the seats and on doors instead of the alcantara if offered by Porsche but I have to say that I’m pleasantly surprised that I like the alcantara. It’s got a nice texture and is very comfortable to touch.

I do find it very hard to see out the rear of the car. The wing is in the way. Oh, well. Even looking out thru the side mirrors is marginal at best in terms of being able to see.

I have the upgraded stereo and I have to say that it isn’t bad. I have an aftermarket system in my ’11, (the Bose was terrible). I didn’t get the xm or HD radio because I have everything on my phone which I just bluetooth in. Plus no wart on the roof. It actually does look better that way.

I ordered the light design package, which like others have mentioned is no big deal. I wouldn’t order it again.

I have read that some people had squeaks and rattles in their car but mine has been rattle-free so far. I can hear the tranny switch gears at time and engine and exhaust noise but since insulation is minimal, I would hope to hear these things. I have had absolutely no other unpleasant sounds so far.

Sound of engine/exhaust: My favorite part of this car. When you open her up she lets out the most perfect roar I have ever heard from a car (Ferrari’s not withstanding). It almost sounds like some kind of strange militaristic undertaking when you hit the exhaust button and then stomp on the gas. For those of you who don’t have your cars yet, I think that you are all going to love the sound. I would have to disagree with Money on this (I was just reading his journal, again) when he said that he wanted to go aftermarket. I thinks it’s perfect the way that it is.

I have been breaking the car in and have not gone past 7k rpm as of yet. And that happened only once and briefly as it revved a bit faster than I was expecting. Anyway, I have been going to 6k at this point. I can’t wait to hit the last 2k and really listen to her scream!

I have been varying the engine’s RPMs and plan on not laying on her too hard until 500 miles. I think that’s when all bets will be off. I have also had the opportunity to make some rather quick stops, maybe 4-5. Not enough to get the abs to do its thing but fast enough. I have read that it is good to break in the brakes.

Performance: This car is fast. It is MUCH faster than my ’11 4s. There really is no comparison. This engine revs and quickly. If you put your foot down and are in manual mode, you best be ready to shift! The GT3 changes gears in the blink of an eye. Incredible. I can hear the gears engage at low decibels of volume and I find that it’s nice to not be so isolated from the car.

The steering in the car is fantastic. It’s certainly lighter than my ’11 4s and I can’t really say that I have a preference. I will say that the electric steering is far better than any other electric steering that I have seen. My wife’s X5’s steering is pathetic. The GT3 turns unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. It’s not as jumpy as before. In other words, you don’t feel every little pebble or imperfection in the road. Yet the steering in the GT3 is every bit as precise and you have the same amount of one-ness with the car but different.

Breaking is unreal. It’s like the car’s tires run into a very sticky adhesive. I got the PCCB’s and love the way that they look. It’s nice to have a little bling. Zero brake squeeI so far. I never have had any in my ’11 either. I will say that over the first 200+ miles that they don’t feel as “grabby” as in my ’11. Not a bad thing, just different. You need to Push the pedal, but when you do the smile on the face is worth it. Perhaps this will loosen in time. Incidentally it completely different to my wife’s X5 50i. That thing has way too much boost. Even you even so much as contemplate braking, they grab.

The ride is firm but not harsh. It feels to me to be somewhere between the normal and sport settings on my ’11. The GT3 does seem to not get as antsy as my ’11 when hitting a bump or a rut in the road. There is less feeling of wheel hop in the GT3. It actually feels much more solid. When the ’11 could get jumpy the GT3 just blasts on thru. So I ‘d say that the ride is almost more comfortable than my ’11, if that makes sense. At no point in my driving did I find the car to be uncomfortable.

I got the front axle lift system which is probably a must have if your driveway is a little steep. I really didn’t want to pay for this but I guess it’s better than losing the front end of the car while pulling into my office. I’ve scraped my ’11 on with the aero kit so many times that I’m immune to it at this point. And then there is this…

This vehicle is low to the ground. Like really low. It’s actually quite a bit lower than my ’11 with the aero kit. Most of the pictures that I took were with the car raised as I forgot to lower it prior to picture time. If I have difficulty getting up the drive in my ’11 the GT3 would never make it alive!

Fit and finish: I noticed zero problems. The tolerances appear to be tighter than my ’11. Sounds solid. Like I said earlier, I haven't notice any weird noises other than more engine noise and sometimes being able to hear the tranny, which I think is cool. But guess what… if you don’t want to have that type of experience with your car, Porsche does make a very nice turbo.

My car came with the Dunlap tires. Truthfully, I didn’t care. The odds of me using these tires to their fully capabilities is exactly 0% anyway, so whatever. There was another GT3 in the dealership waiting to be picked up by another lucky person and that car had the Michelin’s. I have to say that I actually prefer the look of the Dunlaps. FWIW.

Incidentally, the other GT3 was guards red. This is probably 1a as my favorite color with white, (smurf colors notwithstanding since I didn’t have a PTS option). If I had ***** I would have ordered red. Since I don’t, I didn’t. Lol. Actually my Z06 was red and that was a mistake as the LEO’s seemed to have it in for me.

I already had the windows tinted, my V1 hardwired and had the amber side markers changed to clear. The amber ones are not good looking…

I’m thinking of breaking down and doing the whole clear bra thing. On my first expedition with the car I already got 2 chips in the windshield. I guess I’ll do the whole front end, etc.

There are two things that I think that my car is missing. The first is getting the center console in leather. It’s fairly inexpensive and I think that it would be a nice addition to the car.

The other is sports chrono. I have no need for it whatsoever, but I for one like the look of the clock on the dash. Is a clock worth $1800? Not for me. If we still had the option of adding it for $400 and skip out on the software, that would be the way to go.

Overall: The car is just better in every way vs my ’11 4s. I still love the ’11 but appreciate the large improvements of the 991 design. I can’t honestly say that any car is worth $160k. But if any car is, this is it. I would absolutely categorize this as a super car. I can’t imagine that there is much out there with this combo of performance, reliability, and soul.

My wife also loves the car. Thanks goodness… I had to give her my soul in order to buy it. :-)

Anyway, here are some pics.

Thanks for reading everyone!

 

More pics.

 

Even more pics...

Sorry that some are sideways. Not sure why.

 

Congratulations! Your car looks great in classic white and yellow seatbelts! Enjoy!

 

She is a beauty. Hope to see you out and about in SW FL.

 

Fantastic write-up and HUGE congrats!

Wish the pics were straight, but I get the gist--it's a bad mo fo!

 

Assuming your screen name means you are a Chiropractor, Im going to ask for free treatment for the back bending and neck tilting due to viewing the pics LOLOLOLOL

All joking aside, congrats on the buy and welcome to the 991 GT3 team!!

Great looking car and in the best color ...

 

So awesome man! I was out and about this weekend. I can't believe anyone would ever disagree with me.

 

Beautiful enjoy!

 

Congratulations! The car looks very nice.
Thanks for taking the time to write a detailed review.

 

Great post! Really enjoyed reading it. Glad to be in the GT3 club!

 

Nice review! Enjoy your ride

 

Thanks for taking the time writing the review and congratulations on the new car It's a beauty!

 

I figured that I may get some business if I posted the pics sideways.

 

Sweet ride and terrific review! You're going to really love the sound as the miles increase and the engine gets "angrier", especially when you hit 8-9K rpm! Can't argue with your color choice either Have fun!