Previous 997 GT3 or Cayman GT4 owners?

[Exige604]

Got a chance to test drive the Exige 350 and 380 recently, and absolutely fell in love with the drive. Wasn't a lot in it between the cars but the 380 definitely sounded better and a bit faster though hard to tell unless really punching it. But am going to aim to get a 380 next year (used if I can find one), I had also been looking at various P-Cars...always love the 997 Turbo but it's a little too understated. I'm curious if anyone has come from a 997 GT3 since 997.1's run similar money, without having driven one, the 380 seems more special to me with it's looks and personality. 

Anyways, would love to hear from others, I tried the search but didn't come up with anything.  

[DJW]

Ran a 997.1 GT3 CS about 6 years ago. Cracking car, but only got a buzz from it when fully on it , at which point silly speeds for the road !  Sold it for early £50's.  Silly prices now. 

Being 10 years old now, you can also expect some hefty maintenance bills.

Have you seen the yellow 380 at £65k ?  Good price for nearly new car  

[alias23]

I had a 997.2 GT3 CS best performance car I've ever owned. Worst decision ever made was selling it.

That said with the stupid balloon prices of Porsche today you couldn't enjoy it on track as you'd be fearful of damaging a £100K car! 

You never know 12 months time the bubble may have burst. Something will happen in time for sure.

[DK7]

I sold my v6 exige for a 997.2 GT3 CS best decision ever. 

I wish i had bought the gt3 earlier! 

 

[DJW]

23 hours ago, alias23 said:

You never know 12 months time the bubble may have burst. Something will happen in time for sure.

When I was selling my GT3 you could get a 997 RS for £75k and these cars were sat on forecourts for months not selling. Will be interesting to see where prices are once speculators start dumping their investments. 

Edited June 27, 2017 by DJW

[Exige604]

On 2017-6-25 at 23:21, DJW said:

Ran a 997.1 GT3 CS about 6 years ago. Cracking car, but only got a buzz from it when fully on it , at which point silly speeds for the road !  Sold it for early £50's.  Silly prices now. 

Being 10 years old now, you can also expect some hefty maintenance bills.

Have you seen the yellow 380 at £65k ?  Good price for nearly new car  

Haven't seen that specific one...but wife says we need to buy a house first so car decision has to wait til next year lol...I just thought the Exige felt so nimble and direct, and the suspension was surprisingly good on not so great pavement...I hear the GT3 is quite stiff for the road? I bought a 987 Boxster S a few months ago and just did Brands Hatch today, not a great track car but it held it's own...just seems painful to pay loads more for a car with same headlights...I know they are different animals lol. 

23 hours ago, alias23 said:

I had a 997.2 GT3 CS best performance car I've ever owned. Worst decision ever made was selling it.

That said with the stupid balloon prices of Porsche today you couldn't enjoy it on track as you'd be fearful of damaging a £100K car! 

You never know 12 months time the bubble may have burst. Something will happen in time for sure.

I need the housing and car market to crash lol 

[Exige604]

1 hour ago, DK7 said:

I sold my v6 exige for a 997.2 GT3 CS best decision ever. 

I wish i had bought the gt3 earlier! 

 

Anything in particular you like better about GT3 vs the V6? 

[Schnitzel]

If it was a black Boxster, I saw you on track. Popped up to see what was on.

 

 

[DK7]

19 minutes ago, Exige604 said:

Anything in particular you like better about GT3 vs the V6? 

Go out and drive a GT3 as hard as you can and you know it.;-)

[DJW]

Would prefer a GT3 for track, but Exige for road ( feels more special at road speeds) .   I would imagine upkeep of a GT3 on track would be multiples vs an Exige mind you

[alias23]

1 minute ago, DJW said:

Would prefer a GT3 for track, but Exige for road ( feels more special at road speeds) .   I would imagine upkeep of a GT3 on track would be multiples vs an Exige mind you

Not really it's quite fair to be honest... the Exige is not cheap on consumables and track usage.

[Exige604]

1 hour ago, Schnitzel said:

If it was a black Boxster, I saw you on track. Popped up to see what was on.

 

 

Indeed 'twas me, what were you driving today? 

[DJW]

22 hours ago, alias23 said:

Not really it's quite fair to be honest... the Exige is not cheap on consumables and track usage.

TBH I never kept my car long enough to get hit with bills other than £900 for set of rear tyres. 

It was more the examples of money spent I saw on other cars at the time and now these cars are 6 years older.  When I saw a warranty bill for £52k to replace engine on an RS, plus was quoted £10k for replacement PCCBs when I thought I had damaged one , you know you're playing in a different league for maintenance / repairs. 

[Exige604]

2 hours ago, DJW said:

TBH I never kept my car long enough to get hit with bills other than £900 for set of rear tyres. 

It was more the examples of money spent I saw on other cars at the time and now these cars are 6 years older.  When I saw a warranty bill for £52k to replace engine on an RS, plus was quoted £10k for replacement PCCBs when I thought I had damaged one , you know you're playing in a different league for maintenance / repairs. 

Dave - V6S -> 350 good improvement? I know the gear shift is improved and suspension setup

[DJW]

Yep I'm very happy with it, especially the areas you pointed out. 

[DK7]

Drive a gt3, gt4 and decide your own. Advice from other people will not the best for you.

imho 997 gt3 have sublime Engine/gearbox and sound. And is miles more rewarding when you master it. Gt4 and exige go fast is easier and you dont need the driving finesse as with the gt3. 

[PeterSweden]

I have driven the 997.1 GT3 RS a lot on the nurburgring. I do not like it . Driven the 997.2 RS a lot on the Ring as well. Completly different and second best car I ve driven on the Ring

 

Btw. I have owned a 996 RS and have a Sport 350 on order

Edited July 1, 2017 by PeterSweden

[DK7]

Whats best? 

[PeterSweden]

CSL, but 997.2 is close. Have not driven 991, but I dont like "robot cars".

Drove 7:42 in CSL.

And have not driven any Lotus on the Ring. 

The Ariel Atom though was crazy.

[PeterSweden]

This is a lap that I made in my old stock Megane RS, a really fun car. I have a Golf Clubsport now as a daily driver / family car. Love that as well.

 

 

[The Pits]

How many ever actually mastered the beetle layout? Close to zero owners despite what they may claim down the pub! The GT4 is much easier to drive fast and much better match for the average skill level of its owners. You don't even have to learn how to heel and toe. Easy to see why so many like it.

[PeterSweden]

Master it? You dont need to "master" it. It is actually very easy to drive fast in (eg) a 997.2 RS. And that is the basic definition of a race car, ie that it is easy to drive / master. 

I have driven very fast laptimes in Porsches, and I am no master ;-)

[The Pits]

Back when they used to be common sight on trackdays more often than not the cause of a red flag was usually a 997 GT3 in the barriers. I don't think I've ever seen a frontal impact, every one of them had gone in arse first!

I can't agree that the basic definition of a race car is that it is easy to drive or master. Most racing cars are set up for people with exceptional driving ability and are only fast 'in the right hands'. Serious race cars make downforce. Is that easy to drive or master? Quite the opposite I'd say.

Nobody else could drive Schumacher's race cars, he liked a pinned nose and loose rear. Very fast in theory but also very hard to master and demanded extraordinary car control. A 911 typically has a loose nose and a pinned rear. Also a considerable challenge.

I have enough difficulty with nicely balanced cars, and a long way off mastering those on track. I have no need of greater driving challenges or interest in learning new techniques for making oddball layouts work. All credit to those that can but the beetle was never designed for racing, neither was the 911. They found a way to make it work, well, until recently anyway when they moved the engine forward for this year's GTE entry. Going mid-engined brought a whole raft of benefits including options with aero dynamics that they just couldn't consider before. The main benefit of the rear engine is the space for two rear seats which many owners do use, it remains a strong selling point for them. For so many years the 911 was the only remotely practical, daily useable high-end sports car. From a financial point of view Porsche had to keep going with the 911. From an engineering point of view they've been trying to replace it since the late 70's!

I'm sure some of my Porsche fan friends (of which there are many here) will be along shortly to criticize the Exige layout for being sub-optimal too. It's a transverse V6 layout mounted just forward of the axle for a similar weight distribution to a 911. However I just feel I can trust an Exige on full power exiting corners. I'm aware that the 911 produces great traction, as does the Exige, but I just find Lotus set cars up to be confidence inspiring. Porsche GT3s are certainly fast in the right hands but I find the average trackday driver seems to get more of the potential out of the Exige. Steering feel and communication is on another level with the Lotus too, just as build quality and engine quality is in the 911.

[PeterSweden]

From my experience I think you are very wrong.

I can assure you that on the Nurburgring, the more "easy" (ie race car like) the car is to drive the more easy to get good lap times.

 

I have driven a Volvo v70 on the Ring. To get the max potential of a V70 is harder than in a GT3 RS

[The Pits]

It's hard to know what you're actually claiming. GT3 RS is not a real race car. Not even close. A real race car would have all the safety understeer dialled out because it's assumed the driver is more skilled than your average road driver. With good car control a less stable car changes direction better and is faster over a lap, providing the driver can keep it from crashing. It's set up to be unstable though, not to be easy anyone to get in and drive.

Very few amateur drivers have ever gotten the full potential out of a 911 GT3 around the Nurburgring. I would definitely fancy my chances of getting closer to Walter Rohrl's time in a Volvo V70!