question ?

[Guest]

After owning my first 996 C2 for 6 months I now feel the need for more power. 2 choices 996 turbo or GT3 old shape. I know the difference between the both. Im driving the the turbo this weekend but my dealership have not got a gt3 to test drive. Any one driven both? What are the on road differences in main and what are the insurances differences or similarities.

thx

ben

 

[Grant]

Hi Ben, great choice to have to make.As the saying goes," one mans meat is anothers poison" , but here are my thoughts for your consideration. Both are fantastic cars, but totally different. The Gt3 is without doubt the more focused drivers & track day car, great sound, great for that weekend blast. BUT the VERY firm suspension & high noise levels make it very wearing as a daily car. If the car is for track days & weekend only this is a super choice, although I think that it shoul have PSM. BUT it' s not for me, having had two C2' s (one the new facelift)
I fell in love with the TT, it can be a comfortable mile eater, has all the toy' s (great stereo, PSM etc etc ) & is a simply great drivers car when you are in the mood.
I could not believe how much faster point to point it was than the C2' s, it' s the combination of the upgraded chassis, brakes & engine grunt !! Be assured the 996TT is as awsome as (all) the press say it is, probably the fastest point to point car on the planet. It' s biggest drawback is the grunt is addictive & you easily find yourself doing speed' s you shouldn' t...sorry officer. The GT3 may offer that little extra driver interaction, but the TT isn' t far behind & offers so much more besides, grip, go & grunt in all weathers or cruise home with all the bells & whistles !! Best of luck with your decision.

 

[Gary Bullen]

Walter Rohrl has driven a few Porsche in his time and reckons the GT3 to be one of the all time greats. Had to drive the nuts off a GT2 around the Nurburgring to beat the GT3 times. GT3 circa £72,500 996 turbo circa £90,000 GT2 Circa £120,000
Think I would stick to a GT3. buy yourself a nice car for everyday use and blow the cobwebs away with a proper porsche at the weekends. Looking for a secondhand GT3 go to www.titanic.co.uk/GT3 and contact around 75 existing GT3 owners worldwide. Several owners are changing their cars as the new model arrives. Good one in Leicestershire in Guards Red about to go on the market. If you want more onfo contact me on 01732 220 996 (mines in Cobalt Blue so it' s not my own car I am talking about)
Regards
GJB

 

[Guest]

If your principal use is going to be on a track, then the GT3 is the choice.
If you want to drive around on normal roads, then the turbo is the more sensible choice, since the ride on the GT3 is hard and there are fewer creature comforts.

Whilst the GT3 may be fantastic, this is only if driven hard. In Walter' s case he does not pick up the servicing, the new brakes, the new tyres, etc. so can drive it at 10/10ths. For me, I do not think I am would be good enough to really extract (or notice?) the benefits that the GT3 has to offer.

If you want to get really serious amounts of power though, then you need the turbo, since there is far more scope for tuning. Ruf and Gemballa use the turbo as the starting point. Gemballa have the lap record for the Nurburgring with a 600bhp car, and now are said to have around 750bhp and plan to go back to try to beat their 7 min 32 time. However, it should also be noted, that this is not a cheap route to take!

 

[Guest]

Thanks for all your replies. Im driving the Turbo tommorow, its a 2000 X 14,000miles silver with silver leather heated seats and something else...The dealer wants 74k what do you guys think about the pricing.

I really do love my C2 its a T reg and done about 25000 miles, and I only drive it on the weekend. The thing I like about the C2 is that I really feel conected to the road, the fact that it has not got 4wd means there' s allways that carefullness about driving it.

On another point is the turbo sound much different, after all both cars are 3.6 just one with turbo' s? And I think I could live with the harshness of the gt3 as my c2 has the sports suspension.

I have not done a track day yet but im planing on it, my sole condiration is that I enjoy the car when pressing hard but also to retain a little bit of luxury so I have a strong feeling its going to be the turbo.

 

[Guest]

Is your the C2 the full 30mm lower?
The GT3 is 30mm lower.

The turbo and C4S have the sport suspension as standard, which is 10mm lower. As an option I think you can get the turbo 30 mm lower than standard, I think this includes a sump guard. Also new for this summer is a 20mm lowering option.

I don' t know, but I suspect they do sound different.
The sports exhaust is not available for the turbo (sounds great though on C2/C4S). This is one of Grant' s issues.
I don' t know about the GT3, I would guess the sports exhaust would be suitable (however, it is not so track day friendly).

 

[Guest]

ahh no, sorry its only the 10mm kit. I recall my dealer saying that the gt3 was a much harder ride. (recent conversation) I do how ever have the porsche tech art roll cage although I doubt this adds to the harahness of the ride.

 

[Grant]

Ben if you aren' t looking at an OPC, make sure the Turbo is a Uk spec (e.g code C16) car & has a full service history. i recon the trade price is around£65-69k for this car, phone a porsche buyer, give them the details & ask for a valuation, they know their stuff. With regards to 4Wd all the roadtests agree that this adds to the " feel" of the current 996 range, making them the slighly better drivers choice, even if you don' t need the extra traction unless you have the Turbo. With regards to the exhaust on the Turbo, yes it could do with being louder inside the car under full throttle, it sounds great, just right outside the car, & inside under part load, but I would prefer an ear lobe full of exhaust rour at high revs, am looking at my sports exhaust options at the moment. Let us know how the test drive goes, this is a car you will LOVE even more than your superb C2, honest.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Grant. Test drive has been delayed another day!

The car is an OPC so is the price still ok? options are porsche sound upgrade (dont know what this is like) heated seats. Has FPSH but 3 owners. Should I be concerned? Dealer says this was because people bought the car to sell on over list when it first came out

 

[Gary Bullen]

The number of owners should not phase you when purchasing cars at this level. For example Dick Lovetts (now Porsche centre Swindon) had a guy buy a car one day and take it back the next. I met him at Swindon last October and he has more money than sense. He has had so many cars from them that they could not even hazard a guess as to how many let alone the models he' d had from them. The salesmen must love it when he turns up at the door.
Numero uno on the list is history and preferably OPC history.

As regards Turbo v GT3 it really comes down to whether you want the car to drive you (turbo) or you want to drive the car (GT3). IMHO both of them are too quick to be used properly on todays crowded roads. That is why track days are now such big business.

Keep us up-to-date on progress.
GJB

 

[Grant]

Ben, all Porker high end models are under price pressure at the moment,short term only because of the stock market etc, so it is a good time to buy & because of over supply there is a big choice of S/H Turbos around at the moment. The old shape Gt3 will also drop heavily once the trade in' s appear for the new model.
the safe way to but is via an OPC, but they will have around 10percent in the car
I personally got mine 6 months old in a private sale, had it checked out by an OPC & it still has it' s warranty. BUT it is a lot of hard work chasing around negotiating & selling your own car, still the saving' s made it worthwhile. I was told by the OPC buyers that Sat Nav is an important option for best re-sale on Turbo' s, mainly because it will be on most cars soon & when someone pays £80k they expect a few toys. If it hasn' t got Sat Nav it' s worth less.
As I said before phone another OPC buyer & get a valuation on this car for an definite idea what they have to play with. the sound upgrade is a must on pre-01 cars as the standard stereo was crap.From 51 reg onwards the BOSE system was fitted, I have seen a couple at this age for just less than £80k.
Take your time, shop around & push hard for a good deal Ben, it' s the right time for " deals" !!
With regard' s to Gary' s comment that the Turbo drives itself, he is wrong it is still a fantastic driver tool, sideways action is still on the cards, coming home last night
with damp cool air it simply FLEW, I had to hang on..who needs a roller coaster !!
Having said this if track days are a big thing for you test drive a GT3 as well, great car. Keep us posted.

 

[gordon]

Test

 

[Guest]

I am still struggling to finalise the spec for a turbo cab - have to decide by tomorrow (Monday).
Already decided on engine upgrade, sports seats and tiptronic; other useful stuff (satnav, bixenon etc) is standard now on TT.

UNdecided still on :
lowered suspension (30mm in TOTAL)
sports exhaust.

I know Grant's views on suspension but welcome others
thanks