Been a while since I had second thoughts on selling a car. Looking around on forums, it’s quite clear that this green car had touched more than a few chords. It went in today for an inspection at JZM and it passed with flying colours which perversely, made me more upset. Knowing the car was immaculate and, I quote, “The cleanest RS I’ve ever seen”, made me want to just keep it forever.

I had cherished and worshipped the car with much wax and tears. In the 5000 miles I did over the past 6 months, it made me smile at every mile.

It was also the most dramatic 911 I’ve owned as it garnered enough attention from the public to make it a minor celebrity. I will be back in a 911 GT3 before long, they are too good to be away from for too long.

So, no more spine tingling at 7500 RPM. No more expertly crafted, precision engineered cornering characteristics. No more drifting on bends at 45 degree angles, carefully balanced by throttle and steering input so delicate and flexible that each 500rpm on the rev range provides another +/- degree of attack. No more raucous sport button induced reverb off low, brick walls as you pass them. And finally, no more staring at perhaps the finest green ever placed on a car after applying a thick layer of expensive wax.

Right, enough tears, what’s next?

Sport chrono
Centre console painted body colour
Harnesses
Alcon JZM discs
RS29 pads
Uprated brake fluids

The car has had no expense spared in my care and is set up already by Fearnsport for geometry. It was also inspected by them prior to my purchase and Matt said it was almost showroom condition.

What’s wrong with it? Not much really. It needs a touch up where there are a couple of small stone chips on the bonnet and it also needs a new set of tyres (still on original set). I would replace them myself, but a new prospective owner may have a preference. Other than that, it wants for nothing.

I’ve just had a stamp from Porsche East London for its recent service and I’ve also just taken out the all important Porsche International Warranty together with the roadside assist module. My recent bill there was almost £3,000.

I’ve also just purchased a new front splitter so the car looks fantastic.

Looking for £77k.

I hope Nathan doesn’t mind me using his images.

It’s that situation that plagues me now, where only a couple of days ago, in fact only a few hours ago, the mere thought of a new car was but a distant impossibility. Now, having evaluated my boredom, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need at least another two cars. Let me explain….

Anybody who reads these inane ramblings will no doubt understand that nothing is ever rational, nor is it borne from a school of logical thought. Our ideas are as fleeting as the British weather so they carry neither rhyme nor reason.

However, it is quite clear that I need some form of every day transport. No, I do not drive to work, but that is, of course, irrelevant. I simply need to have transport that would carry me with comfort, style and not without some power. I was at a petrol station last week late into the night at the motorway services. Anybody who’s familiar will know that these can be ghostly arenas late at night devoid of traffic both in mechanical and human variety. As I pulled up to the pumps, there was a car in front of me that had overtaken me a short while ago on the M1. As I got out, the driver was getting into his car having filled up and paid his duties and made to pull off.

The sound of his engine starting was a cerebral shock. How could such a once respectable, mass manufacturer of quality executive class cars be so irresponsible in their creation of something so unholy. Not only did my trousers vibrate in its wake, but I also did not notice that I had embraced a fierce smile that would have placed my sanity to the duty attendant into question.

The car, of course, was an AMG C63. 6.2ltrs of V8 goodness. SIX POINT TWO LITRES. How did that thing get through planning stages at Mercedes? Was it an April Fools joke, played upon the board of directors that someone was forgotten about as it got passed onto product development??

Regardless. That night, I was on Pistonheads classifieds pouring over these immense, German hot-rods. I’ve given up trying to justify it to the wife and have already considered contract hire rates versus 2nd hand options. Having chatted to a few ex-owners, it’s quite clear that they leave a positive lasting impression where they often regret the sale. One friend said his C63 was so awesome, he actually got run over by his own car as someone attempted (successfully) to car jack him during a faux sale process.

Am I certifiable?

I’ve decided to sell the RS and it’s time for something that isn’t 911 shaped. I’m on my 5th GT3 and I’m getting bored of hearing myself wax lyrical about them. It really isn’t very becoming of me to continually bleet about a car so obviously brilliant. It’s sickening, really it is. It’s also utterly mental that I want to sell something that is so obviously brilliant too. It’s superb to look at, utterly intoxicating to drive, aurally stimulating and people love to watch, listen and ride in it. So why on earth am I thinking of selling it? Because, my non-existent, imaginary, binary friends, the grass is always greener.

What were my choices then? In no order of preference:

Ferrari 599
Ok, let’s just get this one out of the way. I like my V12 Ferraris, except I can never seem to afford them until they are at the end of their cycle run. Sub £100k is where I’m at, so Mr. Fiorano, another day perhaps.

Audi R8
Now that prices are down to sensible levels, there’s a lot to like about Audi’s offering. There’s also a sprinkling of choice, from V8 to V10 to the Spyder. Each model has its merits and they all make for a compelling argument. There’s real world practicality to consider, then there’s the every day accessible supercar performance coupled with a fantastic soundtrack. Aesthetically, it’s a bit of a disappointment in certain companies.

Porsche (insert a billion acronyms here)
The whole reason I have itchy feet is because I want to try something different. So that rules out a GT2, which I’ve been eyeing up for a while. I haven’t been as excited about a car in a long time as I have about the GT2RS. By all accounts it’s a monster and one of the fastest production cars ever. Georg Kacher, awesome Car journalist, recounts:
“I’m not sure that there exist enough Walter Rohrls to fully realise the true portential of the ultimate rear-wheel drive 911. Porsche can guarantee that the GT2RS has every piece of technology to humble any Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bugatti. Except, perhaps, an adequately talented driver.”
Colour me shallow, but that’s just a red rag to me. I fancy myself.
As for the GT3RS, I’m still a bit pissed with Porsche’s attitude to the whole sales process. I sent another email to Porsche GB asking them why, when I had been denied a car, were there well over a dozen cars currently for sale at speculators. I got no reply. Still, I shouldn’t cut my nose off to spite my face and it takes a fool to deny the GT3RS the merit it deserves – it truly is a spectacular car, I will have one next year I suspect when the prices settle down. At the moment, it’s not £40k better than my current car.

Which leaves me with only one other option. A phone call was made earlier today. :)

“But Dawg, the VW is a train wreck of a car, what the Christ?”

I know the Touareg was awful, but this is the new 2011 car completely rebuilt and redesigned. It’s got the 3.0TDi, mated to an 8 sp auto gearbox. With over 200kg shaved off the car it replaces, it can only be a major step forward.

It’s ridiculously cheap too as VW have introduced the car to the market with some excellent contract hire rates – it should make for relatively cheap motoring. Fully loaded with sat nav, full leather and a host of other mod-cons, I’m looking forward to it.

Oh I’ve also gone for pimp white with pimped windows. God have mercy.

Best image of the car I can find here

In honour of this tradition, the 997 Turbo Convertible and I did check each other out in the reflection a couple of weeks back, when the weather was glorious, that one weekend where we had 32 deg sunshine all day. Yeah fine, shoot me, but it was a perfect day for many reasons and glancing at that oversized Gap shop window, I couldn’t help but feel I was blessed with the luck of the gods for that afternoon. And I felt that the bond was complete.

There I was, sat in that car, good looking woman sat in my side, the shopping bags of excess in the back seats, hood down and the world at my feet. Suddenly, I understood the joys of owning this car. Granted, that kind of day comes once a year, if that, and you need to weigh up the incredible sense of wellbeing generated on that one summers day, versus the remaining 364 days of depressing rain in the UK. It has, after all, been a cloudy summer ever since that day and I’ve not seen a clear sky since.

Of course, that’s a harsh assessment, but it does imply some truths. Life’s all about balance and that sliding scale is adjusted according to the kind of person you are. For me, that one particular day, cruising around in central London, posing in a car pretending to be 2011 summer-wear catwalk model, judging by the sheer number of photographs taken of the car, was so obscenely awesome that the compromise was almost worth having to drive the car with the hood up for the rest of the year.

And it is a car about excesses and perfectly suited to the life of someone who spends a lot of time in central london. The black wheels really set off the car and it gains both admiration and derision in equal measure, probably for the same reason. It demonstrates a type of lifestyle which even I succumbed to, even if it was out of my own reach in reality.

The lazy tiptronic gearbox works terribly when in pursuit of raw thrills, but for cruising around town, soaking up the sun, it was merely sufficient as it gently shifts from one long ratio to the next, allowing you instead to bask in your own glory.

Make no mistake though. Even though the tiptronic makes brisk progress difficult (the gears were way too long for a turbo charged car with such a specific power band), once you did get those turbos spooling, it really was a very quick car and I suspect there’s no more effective a way of giving yourself a scalp massage. I remembered later on when I drove my RS again I was almost slightly underwhelmed by it’s power delivery. Almost.

Frankly, the only reasons for disliking this car can be very quickly made better by adjusting the options list. Dump that awful gearbox in favour of PDK, get a better, thick rimmed steering wheel and maybe even add the letter ‘S’ to the boot.

I was actually quite upset to see it go, even if i was comforted by the approach of imminent rain. Since then the weather hasn’t been anything like it was for that week I had the car and that’s consolation in itself, as I’d have been truly depressed if it was.

Would I swap my RS for one? I’d almost certainly consider it. Given how few track days I’ve done this year, the RS is almost wasted on the driveway. Lately I’ve been needing to drive to work in the City a lot and in the RS that’s been an exercise in self control and tolerance. Only today I attracted the unwanted attention of City police again, driving erratically, swapping lanes often and doing, wait for it, FORTY miles per hour. I’m just a giant animated bill board on wheels selling crack cocaine to small children. The Turbo in contrast was a joy with it’s compliant suspension, four seats, auto box, sat nav and Bose sound system. I will stress though, this car needs a companion in the passenger seat, perhaps even in the drivers seat. Just make sure he/she is good looking!

It’s a fabulous car and if you can afford such a luxury as a second toy, nothing really ticks as many boxes. It massages your ego, tickles the senses and fools you into a false sense of delusional grandeur. I know, I’ve changed my tune somewhat. But I guess that’s what a few days of awesome weather does. It puts this car totally into perspective. It’s not a pure drivers car in the manner I’ve come to judge. A quick drive in the RS yesterday up and down the road had me reversing back into my garage with my heart beating and my legs shaking – no joke. But the Turbo offers itself as a driving pleasure that can only be truly savoured at the right time and the right place. Reach that zenith and you’ll have your awakening.

Excuse me whilst I engage in the pastime enjoyed by all car enthusiasts the world over, I’m just going to pour over the classifieds.

Have always been curious on the merits of the 911 Turbo. Having driven a GT2 a few years back, I remember the ferocious power delivery of that scarcely manacled beast. However, time has moved on since then and our perceptions and benchmarks have shifted somewhat.

Glenn has just taken delivery of a Gen 2 Turbo S Convertible. In an almost unbelievably coincidental display of fate, my courtesy car has ended up looking identical to Glenn’s Gen 2 in all but detail. His car is positively savage and it’s one of the few 911’s you can hear before you can see it, with the most unholy induction noise you’ve ever heard. Coupled with a PDK gearbox, his car should be criminalised. To think that you cannot buy alcohol in an unlicensed place, but you are able to walk into a showroom and buy this missile is surely a parody sketch on the state of modern day society?

Regardless, “Speed is relative” I remind myself as I set into my ’standard’ Turbo. It’s a Gen 1, which means it’s a 3.6, rather than a Gen 2 3.8. It’s also not an S, which gives leaves it with 40BHP less at 480BHP. It’s still a powerhouse of an engine with each overtake acting out as giant lunges through traffic, chomping huge chunks of road and cars, sucking up every object into its airbox, tied down or not. It becomes comedic and you have to shift your sense of what’s possible when you overtake cars as everything is SOOO easy.

Select gear, nail throttle, wait for the lag, count to one, two…whhooOOOOSHH and you’ve got warping stars, Millenium Falcon style. With the hood down, tears start to stream as you realise you way past triple figures and you’re desperately trying to readjust your sunglasses that seem to have made their way around to the back of your head. As you haul hard on the brakes (because you really had no idea just how fast you were approaching that car!), you repeat the process again. Over and over and over.

The brakes work fantastic, if a little out of sorts with the chassis. I’m not certain if this was isolated to this particular car, of if I’ve been warped by the rigidity and hardness of a GT3, but the 911 Turbo can’t seem to escape a somewhat lofty personality under hard braking, with the nose dramatically pointing downwards under heavy braking. Also under hard throttle, the car does the opposite with your headlights pointing to the birds in the sky.

But the one thing that kills the car is also the one thing that I cannot forgive nor ignore; the gearbox. I’ve never driven a tiptronic before, why anybody would spec such a magnificent car with such a travesty in technology is an enigma. If you see any Porsche’s with tiptronic gearboxes, I’m telling you right now, the owners can’t drive for toffee. It’s simply a glorified automatic.

Shifting it to manual mode, you are granted with two steering wheel buttons. Up and down. When it carries out those actions, however, is really down to how the gearbox is feeling at the time. Shifts actioned by the button rarely get carried out exactly when you want them, especially if coupled by an urgen, nailed throttle. This delay in shifting gears often has you bumping on the rev limiter, forcing you to recalibrate as you end up having to shift 2 seconds before you really need to. Electric, eh?

We live in a colourful world filled with subjectivity. That’s why I can comfortably say I could never buy a Turbo. It has none of the electricity of my GT3 that allows me to enjoy and cherish each hurried gear shift and subsequent pinning of the throttle, giving out that scream, filling my ears with ecstasy and meaning. The Turbo also doesn’t have the immediacy that you come to expect from a N/A car. Accelerating in the Turbo almost requires forethought and planning as you end up acting out all movements 2-3 seconds before you need to, just to get around the turbo lag. That is huge fun at times, but rather dangerous at others, as you occasionally try to take advantage of small, immediate gaps in traffic.

And I tell you what, nobody let’s you out of traffic in a white turbo cab! Big drive this weekend, I hope the weather’s good so I can respond with an informed decision.

Four days at the Nurburgring, two of which would be on bikes, two days at Spa, an incredible cross country drive demonstrating some of the most verdant, beautiful coniferous green lands between Germany and Belgium and a solid helping of 30 deg heat throughout is surely a recipe for any petrol head.

Include the tools of surgery, them being two green GT3 RS’s and two Nissan GTR’s, and we’re either going to get into a massive fight or gain divine insight into the makings of automotive heaven.

The bravado had started months before, of course. Depending on which car you owned, the GTR was either an extraordinarily advanced automotive equivalent of HAL, leaving very little for the driver to do, or a revolutionary step in motoring, raising the bars of expectation. Similarly, the GT3 was either a prehistoric remnant of a romantic ideal no longer suitable for today’s audience, or it was a precision, scalpel like device that rewarded it’s drivers as much as it demanded from them. Either way, hearts would be broken, egos bruised and lap times championed.

It still surprises me just how much attention the green RS gets both on the road and in the paddocks. Put two of these cars together and the effect is amplified further. On motorways, other enthusiasts jostle, sometimes dangerously, as they undertake, overtake and pull over, with cameras in hand, just to be part of the convoy. The two GTR’s equally attractive, doing their bit for the decepticons, resplendent in their high tech paint work echoing shadows of Transformers-like aggression.

The three evening sessions Thursday to Saturday at the Nurburgring are to be the most sane of the whole week. As the weather showed signs of glory, every car club in northern Europe descended upon the place creating both a Mecca for car fans, but also frustration for those wanting to do some laps. Most people choose to use the ring carpark for posing, with many others having to queue for up to an hour just to get into the car park. Saturday we couldn’t even get on to the track as some banzai driver binned his car on his first out lap, causing the circuit to close for the whole day.

That’s the risk out there. I must have counted at least 15 trashed cars in 4 days and countless ambulances ferrying drivers to the nearest hospital. Its both a problem and, perversely, part of the attraction as adrenaline addicts flock to do the (£15!!) laps, oblivious to the threat of death. With tyres squealing at 165MPH, there simply is no time to contemplate mortality.

Sunday, being the only true all-day tourist day, open from 8am until 7pm, was a true comedy day. To think that our actions were completely legal must have been a sick joke upon the Germans. As a group of four, we bullied our way across the ring as we raced, raved and raped the german track and its inhabitants. Back into the ring car park, I removed my sweat drenched helmet and felt with guilty pleasure the buzz of having enjoyed yet another eight minutes of knife edge recreation unavailable anywhere else in the world.

So which car is the ring daddy? No doubt about it, the GTR is simply unbeatable. It quite literally has been built with a single purpose in mind, to dominate the ring and it does with aplomb. The GT3’s are out powered, out handled and out techno’d by a car fit for the 21st century. Not only does it have enough power to rotate the ring around the car itself, but its clever 4WD system makes the deploying of that power so damn efficient, it does not waste a single BHP in transition. The ring has many uphill sections which makes mince meat out of the normally aspirated GT3’s, without the torque, they just cannot compete.

Still, there’s no doubt that the Nissans are one track wonders. With soaring transmission and engine oil temps, the cars are unable to do more than one lap effectively. Add to that a 4 lap fuel tank, melting tyres and overheating brakes and the allure starts to diminish.

If lap times are your ultimate goal, then the GTR is unbeatable, but there are huge compromises as mentioned. The RS’s in contrast are bulletproof in comparison. Respectively, the Porsches are back-to-basics cars with little technology aside from chassis and handling expertise.

Incidentally, we did two laps of the ring on our mountain bikes. If you have a cycling interest then you MUST attempt this opportunity. We did the bike ride during an endurance race at the ring. It really was a spectacular, challenging and unique ride that had you following the 24km circuit around the outside.

Spa was a totally different story and all were amazed at the stark differences in car performance between the Nissans and the Porsches. To put it bluntly, the GT3’s were right at home as the cars were surgically woven from one bend to another in the fast, rapid switchbacks offered at Spa. The 1800kg weight on the GTRs could offer no comfort to any amount of technology as the GT3’s danced from one section to the next, deftly balancing braking, power and chassis dynamics.

Finished off a wonderful day at Spa by destroying a set of rears with some synchronised drifting with Richard Meaden. He was at Spa with a Porsche GB Gen 2 GT3 press car, Dickie can peddle and made for many awesome laps. When my fuel trip computer showed “– miles” in range, I then stayed out for another 5 laps, thats how much I was enjoying myself at risk of coasting the starved engine to a standstill. Got some nice drift footage which I’ll put up as soon as I get the DVD.
Edit: here it is

But the most memorable snapshot I brought back with me is an insanely beautiful drive across Europe as we took a scenic route between Germany and Belgium. Suddenly, lap times don’t matter and all we’re interested in is the noise of each others’ downshifts and throttle blips, no matter the car of choice. As we briskly accelerate between narrow tree lined roads, the sound of our exhausts reverb off the low walls bouncing back into our open windows hand in hand with the glorious sunshine of middle Europe.

It really is a defining experience of what makes the perfect motoring moment. The unnecessary heel and toeing, the intentional aggressive throttle between 3k-4k rpm, forcing the butterfly valves on the exhaust silencers to open and close at will and the physical leaning into each and every bend making the travel across this time locked land a magical experience as we chased the sun into the west.

I am naturally biased but with £100k in the bank, would I choose a GT3 again, or buy a GTR and put £40k away? Let me just say I have no regrets.

Edit: First video posted. Host car is Glenn’s, chasing mine.

Saturday morning and I’m browsing Google looking for any firm that provided convertible hire. Finding firms that catered for this wasn’t hard, but finding stock was impossible. The good weather has lasted all week so people were way on the ball and way before me.

Prestige Car Hire in Hemel Hempstead came up with the goods though, providing me with a choice of either a Z4 or a 330ci, with the Z4 coming at a killer price making the choice an easy one. Besides, I’ve always found the new shape really handsome and this pretty much hit the spot for the weekend.

After a super quick transaction, I was out on the M1, hard top electric roof down (rather slow mechanism, but effective transformation!) having my scalp massaged at speed. It’s a liberating experience that is savoured by those of us unfamiliar with convertible ownership. In the three days I had the car, the roof only went up when the car was parked. I never even got to sample the car in its coupe form.

I love the design of this car, I rank it one of the best looking roadsters on the market. It’s a quality car that demonstrates BMW build standards that hark back to the 80’s. Ruler guided shutlines with roof open or closed, switch gear that feels punctual and components that want using. As an ownership prospect, it ticks all the right boxes and looks fabulous parked up on the drive with the roof in either position. Not sure black is a good colour though, the remnants of Bangles flame surfacing need a brighter colour to exhibit its lines. Personally, I’d be brave and go for a white Z4. And those wheels are amazing, filling the arches gracefully giving the effect of a very modern roadster, together with its short overhangs.

Boot space is generous when the hood is up, but once in convertible mode, the roof sits on top of any luggage as the photo suggests, making access to your gear very difficult. In order to properly get your stuff back out, you need to put the hood up again, which wouldn’t be so bad if the roof didn’t take so long to go up and down.

Otherwise the interior is very comfortable with shapely leather seats and a nice, chunky steering wheel completing the GT feel. Unfortunately my car wasn’t equipped with sat-nav which was a pain, but the sound system provided great entertainment with the punchy speakers complimented by the AUX cable in. Although the bloody sound compensation thing was irritable to say the least as the volume kept self-modulating, making for inconsistent volume.

Driving this car is a mixed affair and I get the impression it’s trying to maintain a split personality but failing at both, it’s neither a proper GT, nor is it a sports car with dynamics to match. It’s a 6 speed manual and the gearbox itself is a slick affair, with each shift smooth and easy and heel and toeing working best from the ball of your foot. However, there’s no reward to your hard work and despite the classic BMW silky smooth 3.0 6 living up to its reputation, it didn’t ever feel like anything other than an arranged marriage between transmission and engine.

Frequently I’d feel the effects of chassis lag as the elastic feel of the engine would be working against my perfect gear shifts. Whether it be wobbly engine mounts or some sort of weird gearbox bounce, the car would often wobble when startled into acceleration. It’s a throbbing lump and sounds meaty, but without menace. Sport mode would sharpen up throttle response and would exacerbate the strange chassis lag rather than fix it.

The engine felt lethargic and with a fairly 2010 average weight of 1500kg, shouldn’t have felt so. I never quite knew how to get the best out of it as it didn’t feel comfortable being revved, nor did it ever feel like it had the tractability of low down torque, sometimes even getting bogged down at low revs.

This feeling of disappointment is compounded by the inert handling. I’d imagine this is how the American classic cars handled, heavy at the nose and very little feedback through the over-servoed steering. No matter how much I’d lean into the car, it would never communicate its limit to me, feeling often unsafe and unpredictable, even in Sport + mode. It was, strangely enough, remarkably difficult keeping it in a straight line as the car would often graze the lane on the motorway, from one dotted line to the other due to its overly sensitive dead-ahead steering. And dammit, if I want to do a burnout from the slip road and paint black lines on the tarmac, that should be my prerogative. I don’t want an ECU doing the decision making for me by cutting power!

In comparison to the 2.7 Boxster I drove, it’s not even close dynamically. The Z4 makes up a lot of ground with that modern roof, but it had none of the chassis brilliance, nor did it have the perfection of engine and gearbox union that always distinguishes a Porsche from its peers. The Boxster was a car that I simply wanted to drive right out into the middle of the night in winter. I never had the inclination to do that in the Z4, despite its better looks, superior build quality and modern design in ergonomics – but BMW are masters at that.

So, if you want a cab to pose in (and who’d blame you), the Z4 is the more appealing, aesthetically. But if you want a rewarding, engaging roadster that tickles the spine when nobody is looking, then the Boxster is for you.

EDIT:
Bart has emailed me pictures of his new Z4. As I said, if I were to have bought this car, it would be in white and here’s the evidence. It looks spectacular!

Enjoy Bart.

Have eventually pulled the Alpina out of the workshop it was in. After a whole year in their care, all they had done was a respray on the shell. It’s the same story all over that 99% of people doing what I am will recite with almost pin point accuracy. The temptation to pull in new jobs whilst working on a major project is too great for the small workshops, so deadlines are never met.

I’ve now moved to a new firm who have guaranteed a 3 month turn around on the car – I really want the car back by summer, hoping not to have to pack it away for the winter. Really looking forward to this, hope the new firm do a good job.

Meanwhile, the Q7 is about to be dumped in May. It’s time for a replacement, but as always, nothing ever goes to plan. I’ve had repeated call back failures from two different Audi dealerships. I’ve literally left half a dozen messages, I’m actually shouting down the phone “Guys, I wanna give you some of my cash!!” but it’s to no avail. I often wonder if the car industry have any clue as to why it’s crashing and burning. Even Nissan have been awful. I’ve been looking into Qashqai’s as a possible ’sensible’ replacement, but again, they simply do not return calls. In fact, I’ve left 4 messages for Porsche too! No call backs. Either my phone’s fucked, or I’m on some kind of car dealer blacklist!?

On top of that, some dickhead went into the side of me on the North Circular. He came out waaaay worse, but irritatingly, said he would be defending his case. I didn’t bother pursuing with notifying insurers. Today, I found 2 beautiful, massive door dings. And all my tyres are shot. Lovely, £300 a corner.

Finally, had the RS detailed by Nathan at Cambridge Autogleam. Always does a wonderful job, but I think the car needs a proper 2 day restoration job. Still, took only a few days before some twat decided to use my front bumper as a parking sensor. I mean for christ sakes, how can you not see a florescent green Porsche GT3 behind you?

Drove the car into work Friday and decided to take a tour of the west end on the way back. The weather was glorious and the RS was magnificent, resplendent in its new coat of wax. It was a surreal experience as the car attracted an immense amount of attention. Last time I had pedestrian traffic like this was in the Nissan GTR. But this was something else. I stopped off at the awesome Princi at Wardour Street for a chocolate eclair and I swear, I was frozen in the car. I simply could not get out as I counted at one point 5 people taking photos of me.

Eventually, I plucked up enough courage and stepped out, walked into Princi only to see the car getting a ticket on the windshield. A £50 chocolate eclair then. In front of 1000 people. Awesome.

It’s a given that at any time I have an organised event involving the car, I can almost always guarantee rain. Let’s not forget that this was my second scheduled visit as the first one was canceled due to snow. Regardless, I’ll not let the process of precipitation ruin a drive in one of 2010’s most anticipated cars, the new GT3 RS Gen 2.

The Experience Centre is a fantastic place, it’s a very cosy, intimate environment housing very expensive cars such as the LMP Spyder, Carrera GTs and the odd Silk Cut car. Each visit has a different set of cars so it’s a dynamic, changing place with great hospitality and even better food.

My instructor and I enjoyed the fantastic roast lamb lunch and soon made our way through a rather simple briefing session which is catered quite clearly for people who’ve never driven a fast car before. The centre provides experience days for every new car purchase from Cayenne Diesels to 911 Turbos so the diversity of character and experience is vast. 15 mins later and I’m sitting inside the new (soaking wet) RS.

Initial impressions are of course, wonderful. I challenge any petrol head to maintain a consistent BPM just looking at it. It’s one of those few cars that looks fast just parked. With an exaggerated aerokit promoting downforce by way of its massive, beautifully shaped carbon fibre spoiler and its deep, sculpted front skirt, it’s a candid car that simply does not hide its intention.

Stepping inside and here some cynicism prevails. Going from a purely functional aesthetic on the outside, seeing some of the minor gimmicks made me chuckle. Such as the cord pull doors (which really save nothing but add consternation when closing the door) and the delete air-con function, no sat-nav and lightweight car battery are weight saving features that cannot beat a pure and simple diet!

Starting the engine and we’re introduced to a fantastic baritone note that is ever more prominent thanks to the perspex rear window. In note and pitch, it’s the same sound as my red Gen.2 GT3, but slightly louder, owing mostly to a titanium exhaust and perhaps a more liberal carbon airbox. It’s a delicious note and I couldn’t help but constantly prod the throttle when at idle throughout the whole day, you cannot tire of it. Notch one to the RS.2.

Snick the gear lever into first, release clutch and you also notice that the car has become civilised. There’s less clutch chatter, the gearbox is well behaved and the new carbon seats don’t creak. Naturally there’s a lot to be said for a brand new car, but this had 1500 miles on the clock versus my 3600, so it’s not a huge difference. Also, this was a pre-production model, the only RHD car on the road – or not, as it’s not legally allowed on the road.

The first thing you notice is the new front end – with that wider track, it offers a near elimination of understeer. Even in the wet, once the tyres were warm, it had tenacious grip, allowing that oh so familiar delicacy of balance between front and rear wheels. Oversteer is also on demand, typically in lift off fashion again, but the over zealous protection of the instructors refused me any deselection of traction or stability control. Irksome to say the least, but from the hard forced tail out moments that even went beyond the intervention of any technology, it’s quite clear that the car retains its progressive and benign nature on and off the limit.

That 3.8 is a magnificent engine. It’s a true spiritual sibling to the retired 3.6 lump, sharing all the characteristics of its high revving nature without any of the set backs of capacity increases. You can notice the difference between the Gen 1 and Gen 2 cars, that extra 200cc makes some small, but noticeable, difference with a more tractable low revs pick up, leading to slightly punchier mid-range making some of the high rev shifting typical with the previous generation GT3’s a little redundant. I found myself short shifting a few times, apart from that delightful howl, there really isn’t a valid reason to wring its neck all the time anymore.

There’s even better stability in the harsh left – right switchbacks too, with the balance of the car remaining unprovoked. That wider track providing excellent reassurance. There’s a wonderfully poetic moment when you get a bend right in the RS called the slingshot. Get your angle right, as you wind off your lock coming off a bend, hit the throttle at the right spot on the apex and the car is slung with supernatural efficiency onto the straight, reinforcing the slow in, fast out methodology of the GT3. It’s devastatingly rewarding and demonstrates the absurd levels of mechanical grip offered by an off-the-shelf car. I can only imagine how insane it could be with a track geometry set up.

After an hour and a half of abuse, the heat build up in the car brought on a sweat in me (no air con guys, c’mon!) so I decided I’d had enough. As I pulled it in, it was quite clear by the onlookers which car was getting the most attention. And who’d blame them? The RS really does look fantastic. Incredible given how the internet was so scathing of it when wraps were first taken off. Can’t help but feel I’m smitten.

Walking away, I stepped towards my car with those comparative thoughts of ifs and whys. The most comforting thought is that I’ve got £30k sitting in my bank – ultimately, is it £30k better? Probably not, no.

But then that’s a logical, pragmatic decision out of sync in a world born from passionate ideals. And who wants to be sensible when you have a Grey and Red in the garage?

That wasn’t so much of an issue, most of you will know that I have no fear of the rain and in fact can take great enjoyment out of it. Thankfully, the rain cleared and we were blessed with a dry circuit for the whole day. But there were high stakes at play here, with most of my fellow racers come track day regulars were here in force to prove superiority over one another.

Oulton really is a unique circuit and is a great shame that it’s so far away from my house (about 3 hour drive in clear traffic). It’s got incredible, sweeping undulations, with more blind crests and bends than any other place I can remember, bar the Nordschleife. Like the 911 RS, it’s a multi-faceted place with layers of difficulty peeled off the better you become. It can reward and punish with equal measure, with very little run off on some of the massively hard braking areas, requiring you to depend on your hardware more than any other circuit I know of.

However, I simply was not on the pace. Good friend Glenn McMennamin, who recently won his ProAm 2 championship title in the Porsche Carrera Cup, was always a great benchmark. Even though he was always faster overall, I was able to at least make comparative judgment on the differences. At Oulton, however, I don’t know what happened, but he was simply in a different league, as was Ken, who competes in the Lotus Elise Cup. All three of us in 997 RS’s, I just simply couldn’t maintain the pace. I’d also just picked the car up from Fearnsport after a track geometry and suspension set up, together with that, I exchanged my standard discs for a set of awesome Alcon discs and Pagid RS29 pads all around. The discs, although expensive at £1600 for the pair, provide absurd levels of longevity, with my last set on the white car having lasted about 15 trackdays. The pads are also standard GT3 fare. Finally, brake fluids are changed to high boiling point Castrol.

No matter, I couldn’t get my power down, brakes just weren’t biting and ABS was not cutting in. It doesn’t take a genius, but at the time, I couldn’t see the problem, even though I was staring it down the face!

This was a major dampener for me so I consoled myself by resorting to drifting everywhere. Even on and off the circuit as I went out to buy petrol from the local Shell garage. Unfortunately, this earnt me two different warnings, both outside the circuit and inside! “Compliments of Race Control sir, but please could you stop your tyres from squealing everywhere?” Game over for me…

The GT3 comes with the Michelin Pilot Sport Cups (the tyre on the right) from factory. I knew that my tyres were original from new, now over two years old. Although they had some tread good enough for the road, Cups really need to be fresh to get the most out of them on track. I still wasn’t convinced until I stole Glenn’s spare set from the tyre support crew and got them fitted to my car. These were the new Pirelli Corsa R’s. Not only are they a better compound, offering some high tech science behind its grip levels, but they were also oversized, comfortably fitting a 325 section over a regular 305.

Oh. My. God.

It quite literally felt like a different car from the very moment I turned my first corner on track. Sure footed, solid, extraordinarily grippy with an almost total elimination of understeer and oversteer. It felt so amazingly different that I immediately knocked at least 5 seconds off a lap with them, perhaps even more. It truly was a revelation and I’ve never before felt such a stark contrast in tyre performance and technology.

The curious thing is that I’ve actually had these tyres before on my white GT3, but I do not ever remember being so blown away by them.

There are, of course, caveats. They cost £1700.00. Got back up yet? Here are a few alternatives for your £1700.00 :)

Are they worth twice the price of a set of R888’s? Are they worth a 50% premium over a set of Michelin Pilot Sport Cups? Well, how much do you value those seconds? And to be frank, it’s not just about the laptimes either, they are soooo surefooted, they present a new dynamic to your car previously unexplored. For me, there simply is no question, they are a necessary investment for anybody looking to get good performance on track.

I’ve waxed lyrical about them, so I’ll just end on saying the day was finished on a high note.

Full album can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blowdog/sets/72157623613201356/

Highlight photos:

Pros
It has one of the best 3.0TDi’s in the business. The BMW unit is more modern and the twin turbo more powerful, but they don’t hold a light to the smoothness of the Audi unit. Dishing out 400 lb/ft, it’s also a surreal proposition. Seeing a 2.5 tonne car being hauled with such ease is off-putting at best of times.
Fabulous gearbox. The six speed auto is smooth and responsive. Sport mode is very effective too, with a far more dynamic use of gears, preferring to hold gears much longer, giving better response. Paddle shift available also for those pretending it’s of any use.
It is very comfortable. With the standard air suspension, it’s a cruiser on all types of terrain. Its high seating position also giving it a naturally comfortable vista, allowing even the wife to navigate the car with suspicious ease.
Surprising agility for a behemoth with adjustable suspension settings providing flexibility based on your mood.
Mountain bike fits right in, no problem. Don’t have to disassemble anything.
Oh, can also fit motorbikes in there too

Cons
Fuel consumption is horrific, averaging 25MPG, making fuel stops a frequent and irksome pastime, especially as each tank costs £100.00, taking absolutely forever to fill up at some courts.
Size is intimidating at first, but even after getting used to the fact that it doesn’t drive like a big car, you realise 80% of parking spaces suddenly become unavailable. You cannot fit in anything other than a completely empty space.
Build quality is typically Americanised. It’s got thin paintwork, exposing tiny scratches. I’ve had trim fall off, minor electrical components fail and fascia dent very easily.

What’s my shortlist? I’m going to hell, but I really like the concept of a roomy, 4×4. With two kids, both with car seats, and a pushchair permanently in the boot, it’s either a 4×4 or people carrier. And I’m not quite the quaker yet.

Audi Q7 – the new ones have engine modifications so they incorporate stop-start tech. This will help the fuel bills no end.
BMW X5 – The dynamic class leader. Not as big as a Q7, but that isn’t such a bad thing
Cayenne Hybrid – too expensive!

Whatever I choose, I will miss this car. It’s been fantastic and easy to live with. A true fire and forget car.

Full set here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/blowdog/sets/72157623431857407/

I’m both terrified and extremely excited by the prospect of driving this car. Naturally, I’m as keen as anybody to see how much difference there is between not only my current RS, but also the Gen2 GT3, and the new Gen2 RS. It’s all getting complicated. However, I’ve also placed a mind-block upon myself, I’m psychologically blocking all RS.2 related material from cranial considerations. If I can’t get one, then they don’t exist right? Why torture myself!?

Autocar have just launched what is probably the best review of the car I’ve seen. Not only is the guy well informed, but we’ve got some real nice video footage of the car. :

There are a multitude of other video and magazine reviews out now, Porsche have no doubt just done the Press launch. Keeping a media black out on these reviews is proving to be very very difficult and I just hope that I’ll get in it and, well, hope it’s not all that better.

To boot, weather is looking spectacular :(

Having suffered an irksome spell of snow and bad weather over the past month, I was happy with anything other than more snow. So when the weather report said ‘Heavy showers all day’ I was jubilant. I’m no alien to a bit of damp and as I hadn’t yet had time to change my discs and pads to more powerful items, what better way to consummate my relationship with my latest GT3?

So the soldiers with me, Henry in his beautifully pristine Cobalt Blue 997 GT3 and Guy in his powerhouse Dark Grey Metallic Nissan GTR. Warriors into battle, not a shred of fear amongst us. As a threesome we’ve together done a multitude of international events. We’ve probably travelled to Europe together dozens of times. We know the best viewing points at the Nurburgring (They’ve done the Scuderia Hanseat 3 times each) We’ve done trackdays together in the 100’s. And this has been going on for nigh on a decade. It’s this experience that we’ve collated, not only as trackday drivers, that allows us as a trio of guys to anticipate each others moves in such a safe and fun experience, regardless of environmental influence. I remember once in Papenburg, northernmost Germany, I had severe tyre damage on 2 wheels. I had to drive back from Germany to London at 30MPH through the night. It took me 9 hours to get home. Henry and Guy (with chest infection) did not leave my side and stuck with me the entire journey.

It’s this trust that allows the three of us to attack a trackday employing the ferocity we desire, with zero visibility, without risk to ourselves or others.

Enough with the pleasantries. How was the RS? [broken record mode]Absolutely bloody brilliant [/]. I have no other word to describe it. Rain or shine, this car is the king – undisputed. It really was non-stop rain all day and the GT3 is not a car to take liberties with. But I know this car, I’ve lived with it for years. I know its habits, its foibles and its idiosyncrasies. I know when to press it, I know when to submit.

The RS was so similar to the cooking vanilla GT3 that I’m really struggling to find some difference. I do notice an eagerness to rev – this is down to both the free-revving nature of the lightweight flywheel and also an effect of noise driven by the lack of rear window insulation (it’s made of lightweight plastic). I also noticed that when provoked into a drift (which was practically a permanent state yesterday), the car had a tendency to snap back into your line of sight with aggression. If not checked, this can lead to snappy fishtailing. I’m blaming this on a number of things; Firstly, the road conditions were totally chaotic – with the deep freeze over winter, this was followed by monsoon-like weather. What this did to the track surface is anyones guess. Secondly, I hadn’t had a geo done on the car yet, so I’m not sure what kind of camber this car has out of the factory. Rumour has it that camber settings from factory are often inconsistent and need adjusting, regardless of setting. Finally, and almost obviously, we have a wider track on the RS. This would possibly account for more grip on the rear, something you’d notice when coming out of an oversteer/drift moment.

Two other things I’ve noticed about this car. There’s the noise. It really is a stupendous, epic, shrieking banshee wail that entices at 3k rpm, exhilarates at 6k rpm and brutally rapes the senses at 8.2k rpm. Halving the thickness of the rear window and turning it into plastic has amplified the acoustic brilliance from inside the car and the pursuit of revs continues over and over again. The other thing to notice is the fantastic braking stability with that spoiler. It has none of the shifting, fidgety nature the GT3 has, allowing you to haul in under hard braking time and time again with sure-footedness. It’s reliable, dependable and controllable right up to the stopping inch, allowing you to focus on your approach line with clarity.

As it’s thinner brother proved before it, the RS is a delicate tool. The GTR a crushing carpet bomb of excellence as it devours anything in its path with utter abandon, the RS choosing instead to surgically remove its targets one by one, micro-managing inputs, gracefully crafting a line from one corner to the next and allowing itself to be adjusted minutely as it communicates the level of each and every wheel, one by one. It really is a revelation in driver communication and the low level seating of the fixed carbon seats places your arse right bang in the middle of the front and rear wheels. I have full dolby 7.1 DTS surround and I’m watching Avatar from the best seat in the house. It’s still no match for the GTR’s power on the straights, nor its incredible technology when juggling drive distribution through its four wheels. Coming out of a chicane onto a straight, the RS is no match for the GTR as it just opens its maw and chews through metal, tarmac, flesh and bone combined. The only hope you have is to fix up a number of consecutive bends – at this, the GTR struggles to contain it’s leviathan weight as gravity simply cannot be overcome – regardless of how many GB of processing power you throw at it. Still, I know which car I’d rather drive home in and the GTR is no doubt worthy of the many international accolades it has collected. Speaking of, has anyone questioned why Michael Bay hasn’t used one in Transformers? It’s perfect!

What was surprising was the wet weather ability of the RS – especially given it was on Michelin Pilot Sport Cups – horrible wet weather tyres. I suspect with the Pirelli Corsa R Systems, the car would have ripped a hole in the fabric of space time continuum. Although grip was severely restricted, the sheer level of communication allowed for healthy progress.

Henry in his GT3 provides the comedy. We’ve always enjoyed the odd black flag at Snetterton as we cannot resist the odd showboating. Today was a little different with the marshals as they appeared to be quite laid back and relaxed, considering there were only 20 cars on the track that’s no surprise.

I still maintain that there’s very little difference between a GT3 and its RS stablemate. It’s just as competent and equally effective in both rain and shine. I really am loving the colour scheme though, as loud and offensive as it may be, it’s quite suiting really. The ultimate test will be on a dry day after I’ve done my track geometry set up. Then I will be in a position to compare and that day can’t come soon enough.

My name is Cem. I am a GT3 addict.

As my predecessor elected to retain the car upon the inverse of his garage, I came to the car and discovered it buried underneath 2 inches of snow. Anyone who’s anyone knows GT3’s hate the cold for long periods. They are wild, feral beasts that choose to dance upon warm environments and work themselves into sweated frenzies. Anything more than a couple of weeks in sub-zero temperatures, the battery dies.

And my battery was dead.

First trip to Halfords and I bought another trickle charger (typical when you REALLY need your trickle charger, it’s actually 50 miles north because a friend borrowed it). This was plugged into the car and after 6 hours, ignition turned. Great, still nothing. Another trip to Halfords and I returned with a new battery and £120 lighter of pocket. Official Porsche one costs £300.00 – I hope I will not need it come warranty inspection time, later this month.

At last, I’m out, winding down doing 40 mph on the North Circular with pleasant satisfaction upon myself. Not much can do this, I find being in a familiar car environment is the great antithesis to stress.

This is my first 997 in RS guise. After periods of ridiculing RS buyers for having too much money to burn, I find myself open to revenge criticism.

Comparisons between the two inevitable of course, but I’ll not be qualified to do so until limits are explored on track. What I can say from the off is how incredible susceptible the RS is to tramlining, the wheels finding solace amongst the rutted valleys within the tarmac. Especially so of late, as the snow and low temperatures have made a mockery of UK asphalt. I inadvertently went over pot-holes tonight that were violent enough to shatter my spinal column.

Noise is also amplified. Not only is the rear window made of plastic, so less able to insulate noise, but also the single mass flywheel makes for a very noisy clutch. The acoustic effect is there to accentuate the ‘trackday’ aspect of the RS, but what I found it does is make the standard GT3 so much more hospitable in times when you aren’t on the racetrack.

But these are minor negatives to what is, of course, a staggeringly good car. Perfect heel and toeing – not because I’m a heel and toe master, but simply because the car’s been built to allow me, nay, entice me to do it. In the same way the steering wheel position, relative to your seating height and arm length is just spot on and even when you’re at a traffic light you can’t help but feel you’re on the grid. It feels like that scene in Avatar where the Na’vi connect with various animals via the nerve receptors at the end of their hair. It’s just a raw, primal, fleshy connection between man and car.

Tonight’s weather conditions were treacherous, given the amount of crap on the roads, that wasn’t surprising. But the GT3, being the delicate tool that it is, is subtley attuned to these variations in road and weather conditions. Care and attention is required to avoid any heart in mouth moments that require quick flicks of the wrist and brave maintenance of throttle and steering alike, lest you end up like the poor Z4 driver tonight who inexplicably buried himself into the very foundations of Hammersmith flyover at 50 MPH. I couldn’t find the front of that car for the life of me. It simply was no more.

2009 was an appalling year, both commercially and personally. After having been subjected to countless burglaries and various episodes of the law working against me, it’s nice to be back in something that is familiarly excellent.

It doesn’t make 2009 alright, but it does make it easier to swallow.

Spot the coffee cup.

How quaint

It’s the one true time in the whole year where I can relax, in the purest sense. The type where I can run a bath in the middle of the day and turn my phone off, knowing I’m under no pressure.

It’s also a dangerous time as idle hands become the devils tools and I can demonstrate better than anyone that a fool and his money are easily parted.

The week before Xmas, I gave Porsche the bird. I will be publishing an open letter in the new year, unless they get in touch with me which will be as miraculous as seeing Jesus Christ come out of my garden shed as I’m reaching in for another pack of kitchen rolls. As a result, I decided that I no longer wanted £10,000 in their care so I also asked for a refund to my deposit. Right now, my toys are being thrown everywhere. I’ll get over it, but right now I want them to know they’re being dicks.

So. I went and bought a car. A deposit of £7k has been placed and I hope to pick it up on Wednesday. Can’t wait :)

However, in my deliberations concerning the continued reasoning of these opportunists, I’ve come to the conclusion that they are perhaps after the Focus RS. As a result, I made a rather hasty decision and sold it back to Perry’s Ford.

Hindsight always does cast a rose tinted projection of the past as I’m already missing it, despite hardly having used the car in the past few weeks.

I still maintain that it was one of the best and most dramatic looking cars on the road. It is positively overflowing with aggression and machismo with it’s bulldog like stance and flared and winged decorations. I wonder if it actually shares any panels with a normal Focus.

I do have a disadvantage, however, in comparing this to other cars of this genre. Fact is, the last hot hatch I owned was back in 1992 when I owned a Mk2 Vauxhall Astra GTE 2.0 8v so as a result, I have no experience in casting any benchmark comparison. I do, however, understand the concept of driver involvement and fun and for that reason, allow me to place judgment…

There seems to be a lot of press lately about the gross exageration of the Focus RS power figures. Although stated at about 305BHP, many journalists are claiming to have dyno’d no more than 275 – bringing it down by 30BHP. Coupled with a 1500kg weight, you’d expect a minor struggle, but it simply isn’t case with a ferociously addictive lunge that reels in cars in the horizon far quicker than any figures should give it credit for. It feels powerful, weighty and absorbed and does not let any of those qualities deter its delicious turn in. Even in the wet, sharp, quick turns of the wheel are followed by obedient, crisp adjustments. It feel dialed in completely, even with my tyres part worn.

But it’s also in the wet where the frustrations start to creep in – unfortunately, it’s pretty much rained the entire time I owned this car. Anything over than 50% throttle will spin the wheels in 1st, 2nd and sometimes 3rd gear – even with traction control on. Now, I don’t normally mind wheelspin, in fact I find it challenging. But in a FWD 300BHP car, it’s simply annoying. You see, the wheels don’t just spin away, the entire front section of the car jumps up and down like an agricultural pile driver. It makes an awfully embarrassing show of itself and I often wonder if people on the outside hear the massive bangs the suspension arms perform as the chin of the car makes out like Bruce Forsythe. It really is unseemly and all it does is stop you from accelerating hard again which kind of ruins the fun.

Another really annoying thing is the bloody mindedness of the entire lux pack 2 system. For a start, why oh why does it not come with the iPhone connecter cable from the begining? I mean what’s the point in providing all the technology and then leaving the owner to then subsequently go out to Ford and buy a £20 cable? No sense. However, that’s only the start of the problem as you try to define some logic in the arbitrary success of the unit. Sometimes it recognises your iPhone, sometimes it doesn’t. Today I spent 30 mins trying to fix the bluetooth, then realising that I’d arrived at my destination. Except the sat nav dropped me off 10 miles away from where I wanted it.

Finally, there’s the build quality, which is appalling. First, I had a large piece of plastic fly out from under the sat nav and land on my lap. I couldn’t fit it back on again so back to dealer. Except this time, the whole dashboard kinda punched itself out by about 2 inches on the left. So it went back to the dealer again, but not before deciding to vomit out all the screws that keep the inner wheel arch linings together (apparently a Ford recall).

However, get a few choice moments behind the wheel where you’ve connected up a couple of tight bends and it simply doesn’t matter anymore as the Focus RS bathes you in waves of comedy character. It’s boisterous fun, it sounds superb and just knows how to show you a good time.

I’m certainly going to miss its immense practicality, with its full 4 seats and massive boot space, with reversing camera, keyless ignition, pray-and-beg bluetooth and ipod connectivity, sat nav and telephone module. If I was in the market for a £25k hot hatch, there would be no contest! But I’m not. I’m in the market for a GT3 aight?

Huge thanks, meanwhile, to Perry’s Ford in Aylesbury who were cracking to deal with.

There were three cars there on view, photos below (Many thanks for the assumed permission for the photos from Layo, a user on Pistonheads). They really are quite abusive and shocking in their appearance with the GreyBlack and Red appearing the most suitable. White and red looking fantastic, but I’ve done White way too much lately with the last 997 for two and a half years.

That carbon spoiler is a work of art, though, and it is a fantastic combination of sculpted carbon and crafted alloy. All in all, the car is a sharpened tool that leaves no doubt in the mind as to its intentions and capabilities.

I managed to enjoy some good lunch with Geoff Turral, MD of Porsche Marketing GB, where we had a good head to head about Porsche’s current ordering and vetting processes which have caused me much deliberations of late. No promises were made but good headway was reached regarding my issues.

There’s no question, there has been a LOT of work gone into the recent RS with considerable effort to make the distinctions between GT3 and RS. However, there is also pressure on the driver now. If you turn up to a circuit with this, nothing else than ‘fastest’ should matter.

For those who didn’t know, my Alpina turned out to be a toffee apple. It’s a term used in the trade to describe a delicious looking skin that disguises rotten bodywork underneath. My car turned out to be a bit of a dog. So we went right back down to the shell. The whole car was stripped, cleaned, galvanised, sanded, wielded and repainted in its original Lachs Silver glory.

It’s starting to look fabulous again, even though it’s just a shell. Next step is to rebuild the original Alpina C2 2.7 engine.

Update soon.

1) I place order for a GT3 gen2 at Porsche Reading
2) Car arrives, I’m deliriously happy – so much so, that I want to go for an RS gen2
3) I get an opportunity to take a friends order for a 1st place RS. Dealer in question agrees to the swap.
4) I decide to sell the GT3 in anticipation of the forthcoming RS. Porsche Reading make me an offer and I accept.
5) Porsche ask questions about this ‘RS’ I’ve organised. I say very little. Shortly after, a memo gets sent around to all dealers – “No order transfers are allowed”.
6) I lose my slot on the RS
7) I ask Porsche to sell me back my GT3 – they agree on the Friday. I ask for some short time to arrange finances
8) I call back Monday multiple times and email them to arrange transfer
9) Tuesday I receive email that explains car has been sold to somebody else.

This makes me sick to the teeth. I’m pretty much convinced Porsche Reading have had a hand in ensuring that this RS order got rescinded. Still, having just purchased my 3rd GT3 (only parted £90k with them a month before) I’d have expected a little common courtesty over the weekend by way of “Hi Cem, I’ve got somebody interested, do you definitely want the car back?”. Nothing.

Even now, I am sending emails to them asking for Dealer Principle names and I am being ignored.

Perhaps I should have done what any other budding opportunist would have done by way of making a massive premium on the car when I sold it. I could easily have put a £10k sticker on top.

Ugh…

That’s a saying we laughed about as kids when we were young. It came after a period of relative wealth during my early teens which had us in BMW’s, Jag’s and Merc’s for a few years. Leading out of the recession of the 90’s, I was in a 4 gear Corsa 1.2.

So it was with some frame of reference I was able to refer back to the Equidaen saying from 20 years ago. Having nurtured a GT3 for the past two years to a point where I experienced Zen every time out on the track, venturing out in the Focus RS was…….enlightening.

Forgive me. For many people, the Focus RS represents a real world aspiration wrapped up in a real world car. A sub £30k hot hatch that wraps up violent design, murderous ambition and uncontrolable urge in a socially unacceptable package. It really is a comedy sketch.

The day at Silverstone started wet, which meant the Focus RS really doesn’t know what to do apart from ensure that its driver is shrieking at every minor indescretion. Understeer, oversteer, drifting, torquesteer, bumpsteer, scrub, grind and many other popular latino grooves. You name it, it will throw it at you. Thankfully, it’s still a lot of fun and any of those crazy dance moves are delivered with full notice as you’d expect from any fwd hot hatch.

It feels a little cumbersome with its full 1500kg weight apparent on the high speed bends such as maggots, but otherwise has a delicious turn in that works well until you need to drive out of it. In the dry, you can moderate throttle and adjust steering each time the wheels start spinning to pull you out of a turn but in the wet, it’s just a hopeless balance of throttle and a few prayers.  Otherwise you just witness the revs shoot up and the car drift way off line, sometimes dangerously off the tarmac.

Which brings into question the traction control. Ford have done a fantastic job with this. On the road, I’m often looking at the dashboard for any signs that it is intervening, it’s so subtle. On the track, it’s obvious. With traction control on, it works pretty well accelerating out of the wet bends, but get the car into oversteer or any drift, it’s intrusive and stops you from pulling the car back into line again. With TC off, you can play with some ridiculous angles, but forget about those bends.

As the day dried out, so did grip and all 300BHP can be put to effective use. It’s a really fast hatch, no question. Naturally, it loses its punch after about 110MPH when things start to slow down a bit. On Silverstone, that’s noticed as all the GT3’s start to thunder past, providing me with reasons for not wanting to be in the Focus. The odd tussle with R26.R’s were great fun though, with the Focus RS more than a match for the track focused hatches. The closest to a fight was with a car chipped, giving it more power than the Focus RS.

A comment needs to be made about the brakes though, they were fantastic. They offered great peddle feel, did not fade at all and maintained their consistency throughout. The car behaved wonderfully in fact. But it still left me longing for my GT3 as I came out of it feeling as though I’d taken the car as far as I could – there really was nothing further to learn.

Henry, having seen the look of melancholy in my face, handed me his keys to his GT3 and said “Go knock yourself out”….. I really didn’t need convincing and what followed was 10 laps of pure, undiluted, non-filtered bliss. It was an utter joy and within minutes, I was again exploring the many depths, peeling layer after layer from the GT3, only to find new aspects of its character that had previously as yet been undiscovered. “Do you mind if I showboat a bit, Henry?” preceeded some 60deg drifting, naturally for the crowds, in what is the greatest car ever made (TM).

Driving the GT3 after a whole day with the Focus RS was like finding your children after having lost them in a shopping centre. The Focus RS is a magnificent hot hatch, but the GT3 is a touch of divine glory.

Have always loved this car from launch. Even after having seen it at the Geneva motorshow for the first time, I was smitten by how ridiculously agressive the design was, from its drooping fat chin, to its over exaggerated spoiler on the boot. It was basically a charicature of the hot hatch and in no way could it be launched in concept trim!

Except it was.

I need a car to enjoy over the winter and what better way than a White Focus RS. Nearly new with 2k miles on the clock, the Focus RS is a pretty special play toy. With over 300 BHP and 325 ft/lb torque, any hard acceleration can simply be regarded as nothing other than comedy! I know for a fact that I’m going to be chewing through tyres in this car. Slam your foot down in 2nd, 3rd or even 4th and your arms suddenly start wrestling with the wheel as it tries to break free from its shackles and throw itself out the window in a glorious escape to freedom. It’s also ridiculously cheaply made. I’ve already had bits of plastic trim from the facia fall off in my hand. But then, this is a £26k car. It’s basically a Ford Focus 1.4 underneath, only with anabolic steroid abuse.

Have you ever seen such an aggressive front before?! It’s positively drunk and off its face and you look it in the eye and you’ll be guaranteed to house a bottle in your temple before the nights out.

So, agressive looks, hyperactive steering – is there anything that is vaguely normal about this car? Actually, no. Weirdly enough, it’s about 100kg heavier than the GT3, weighing in at about 1500kg. So it’s not light, but without appearing blatantly predictable, it’s actually pin sharp in delicacy and pointedness. Even in damp conditions, roundabouts are adhesive and it’s only with aggressive use of mid-corner throttle does the car look you in the face and shout ‘LOL PHYSICS’.

There’s something wonderfully endearing about owning a £25k hot hatch. With a 90k GT3, you can’t talk to people about it without them thinking you’re a wanker. The Focus RS is the Barry McGuigan of the car world, a people’s champion, not concerned about false pretences but merely tasked with getting a job done without compromise.

It’s also got a wealth of toys that put the GT3 to shame, especially given its price tag. Reversing camera, touch screen sat nav, keyless entry and go, ipod connector etc. Those seats are also pretty darn rad.

I’m at Silverstone this weekend with a bunch of others in hot hatches – the GT3’s are being left at home. This time, I don’t mind so much :)

Oh and watch this bleeding video!

After my trackday at Snetterton, my brakes developed an unpleasant noise and vibration. An appointment was made to Porsche Reading to rectify said problem, although my fears were cemented by then – it was obvious the steel brakes were simply not up to the task. A huge disappointment, given how Andreas Preuninger waxed lyrical about them at the launch. Frankly, they’re a huge disappointment and I decided at that point to never spec steel discs on a GT3 again (more on that later!).

Regardless, I was told by Porsche, after countless photos and videos sent to Porsche Germany, that the brakes had been subjected to abuse and would not be covered by neither goodwill nor warranty. I came away perplexed, if there’s one thing I do not do, that’s abuse my cars. I know better than many the cooling cycles necessary for discs during trackday use. So I came home and after some careful consideration, decided to put the car up for sale. I figured winter was coming, it wasn’t going to get any good use and I had the RS coming in March (more on that later!!).

Within a day of putting the car up for sale, Porsche called me and offered to buy the car there and then. Deal done and sold. The car was already at Porsche Reading having the brakes investigated, so it was simply a case of coming to my house to collect the V5 documents. However, after having committed to the sale of the car, I shortly got told that due to dealer process restructuring, I also wouldn’t be getting the GT3RS!

The temptation to cancel my sale on the eve of the buyer turning up was immense and took a number of phonecalls to trusted colleagues to sway me from one side to another. In the end, it took a sensible approach and I let the car go. It’s a MASSIVE shame and I’m more upset about this epic trackday booked for this Sunday at Silverstone. It’s practically a who’s who of trackdays. Still, I’ve just bought something else for the weekend….

As for the RS, I’m going to have to hunt one down in the new year come spring time. I’ve heard there are very limited numbers planned with only about 40 cars due to the UK. This is going to make it very difficult to source one without a premium, but I’ll keep looking.

And my Guards Red GT3? Well, given that it was only in my hands for a few weeks, it’s difficult to really justify the £30k premium over the Gen1 GT3, which, let’s face it, is a stupendously good car. Really, it’s utterly magnificent. And the Gen2? Well, it’s faster, that much is certain – the fact that it can now keep up with a Nissan GT-R on full chat says a lot. It’s also very good looking with significant improvements to it’s overall aesthetic – that rear spoiler is truly epic. It’s also updated with mod-cons such as touch screen sat nav, ipod connector etc.

I’ll miss this car for sure, I didn’t get to really bond with it – I guess I’ll leave that for the RS. Speaking of RS’s….

Regardless, it wasn’t long before a dry line appeared on track and as traffic increased, so did traction, allowing me to further push the GT3 into the farthest reaches of our universe. I’m near on 500 miles with the new GT3, but I can really start to feel the increase in power – not as an absolute, but the minor changes to the map making an overall improvement throughout the whole rev-range. With an unnamed friend in his Nissan GTR (warranty blah blah) acting as reference, I was quite expecting to be left behind, only making time up on the straights. But it didn’t quite pan out that way with a frentic number of sessions consisting of nose to tail action, cementing the fact that the new 3.8 is more than a match for the massively fast GTR.

A forever changing cat and mouse game, the GTR would make progress on the two straights of Snetterton, but the light weight nature of the GT3 made a killing under hard braking and sharp turns. Again the Nissan would take large chunks out of the GT3 from some of the very tight chicane exits, where its four wheel drive would aid exit traction when I’d be crossing my arms trying to keep the car straight (which has been immense fun!).

Where are the improvements? Well, the overall speed of the car is a minor, but noticable difference. There’s also a better connection between steering wheel and front wheels under hard acceleration and turn. I always used to notice a lack of gravity up front as though the steering was searching for some feedback, in vain. That appears to be remedied with some real proper feedback, including less understeer and better communication. But the most significant improvement has to be in its aerodynamics. Hard braking in the Gen1 used to be hugely amusing with sweepstakes trying to determine the direction the car would take – quite often at the point where your braking pressure is at the maximum point before the ABS cuts in. I remember quite clearly in the Gen1 at the huge long straight at Snetterton (Revett straight) you’d be coming down from 140MPH really hard on the brakes, perhaps harder than any other circuit – and the car would jitter and swerve all over. The deep front dam and the exagerated spoiler seem to have given the car impressive road holding that has ultimately aided its on-limit stability.

So, not a huge amount of differences. I have to ask my dealer if I actually got my dynamic engine mounts, because frankly I can’t feel any difference and I’d be mighty pissed off if I’d been sold a marketing gimmick that had no functional value. It’s still a ridiculous car and there really is nothing like it. It’s supremely quick now for a 3.8 normally aspirated car and still retains that unique nibleness and litheness that makes it the envy of cars with twice its horsepower.

Just a word, meanwhile, to the people on trackdays who seem to think it’s OK to piss fuel/oil all over the circuit and remain on the racing line while plumes of smoke destroy your chances of credibility. I know sometimes ‘things’ happen that are outside of your control, but please for the love of god use some common sense.

It’s proper quick. There’s an added sense of urgency now, low down. I remember a slight latency at low revs, but that appears vanquished as the car offers a typically relentless banshee howl. And what a screamer. I’m positive this car is louder, it’s certainly more vocal and I’m really digging the opportunities to bounce sound waves off of low walls.

It also appears, unless I’m mistaken, that Porsche have placed the engine back into the front. That sense of disconnectivity the car had with the road in the first gen GT3 when hard accelerating and turning has all but evaporated, with a real added feeling of weight way up front. Real confidence inspiring stuff.

Snetterton booked for this weekend coming, although not sure I’m going to have a geo set up in time. I’m curious to see how these dynamic engine mounts are on track. And why the hell can’t I play video on my TFT??

I originally expected this car to be ready for pick up sometime yesterday. It’s amazing how much of a drama queen you become when that estimate doesn’t become firm reality. However, pretty sure it was due to happen today, so I took a day off in anticipation.

8.03 am the photos of the car started to trickle in to my mobile phone from the dealer, with the car having just been unloaded from Germany. Generally, a Porsche dealer needs about 3 days to do a full and thorough PDI on a new car. Mine was completed in about 6 hours and they did a sterling job – no doubt a driving factor was my incessant communications trying to establish where exactly the car is!

My initial thoughts after driving about 150 miles (most of which were admittedly horrible motorway miles) are a little surprising. Can I say “The same, but better” without appearing to recite from the Book of Cliches? It’s very very close in character to the original car. The main big area of change is in the aesthetic. Considering we’re taking about an evolved Porsche, that may come across as an oxymoron, but for someone who’s lived with GT3’s for a collection of about 4 years, these are big changes.

That spoiler is the money shot. It’s big and bold without being at the expense of cohesion, there’s no indication that this may well be an aftermarket bolt on option as often the RS models appear to be. The added height and size does make a minor difference to rear-view visibility, but I saw that as a bonus as it hides many of the flashing headlights I seem to acquire shortly after overtaking someone…

The wheels are also spectacular in form and function. The single bolt effect has 2 benefits, one being lighter rotating masses and second being a fast wheel swap, great for trackday tyre swaps. Looking down from above the wheel, the blades have a protuding style that makes them look big. Coupled with the gun metal finish, they look fabulous as a contrast to the red. And what a red. I’d not have thought that guards red would look so fresh, but somehow this GT3 gives it a new lease of life and today it looked vibrant and alive in the sun of our indian summer here in UK.

The daytime running lights give it an air of quality as some of the Audi’s often do. They are LED’s, as are the excellently designed rear clusters, and do a brilliant job of announcing the car as a ‘different’ 911. The main xenon’s are so powerful that they annoyed the hell out of my fellow GT3 driver who I drove up the M1 with today. On full beam they practically wake the birds at night from their peaceful slumber.

Otherwise, apart from the added vent in front of the bonnet, deeper, longer front skirt and reshaped rear bumper, it’s business as usual with the classic 911 tear drop given added menace from an emphasised addition of wings and aerodynamics.

Inside, things are familiar and despite the new PCM3 (sat nav and comms), everything else is predictably Porsche. There is no design in the interior as you’d find in an R8 or an Aston Martin, but the layout of the switchgear is usable and easy to find. They’ve removed a lot of the buttons from gen 1 as the interface is now touchscreen. Coupled with my iPod connection option and the telephone bluetooth module, my iPhone now sits tucked away in the glove box with all my functions available either from the PCM screen or my stalk. The interface is well designed, easy to use and is fast processing too. There were no delays in browsing music or indeed navigating the awesome touch screen sat nav which has a fantastic POI integrated too. With my telephone module I was also able to utilise live, dynamic traffic reports on the fly.

Club sport, light weight buckets are business as normal with the only difference being that they didn’t creak anymore like my old ones! A minor problem with carbon fibre seats. The steering wheel has changed, it’s not very pretty to be honest, but the size is good and with fresh alcantara, felt very comfortable in my hands.

How does it drive? Well, the cars come ready run in on bench dyno’s so the car is good to go, despite some prudence required to run in gearbox, clutch etc. As the new starter motor quickly chirped over, the first thing I noticed was how much smoother the gearbox was with the gearstick moving effortlessly into it’s pockets with satisfying clunks, unlike the gen 1 which had a tendancy to grumble a little – especially from cold.

Power is certainly noticable, mostly in the mid to high range there’s a sense of added urge. It’s still a brand new car so despite the obvious tightness of components, there’s definitely a nice power improvement, at least you can feel the extra 20bhp. Not sure most people would, but having spent 2.5 years with a gen 1, it was nice to see a subtle increase to power without compromise to balance.

The exhaust appeared to be a lot more vocal than before too – I assume a result of managed airflow. It’s louder, no doubt, even at idle, and strangely enough, with the windows open, there seemed to be a lot more driver focused noise. It’s great to hear and the provision of the sport button allows this noise to be modulated.

Brakes were superb on the road. They made for difficult heel and toeing, but this might be because of an elevated pedal height due to brand new pads. On heavy braking, heel and toeing is much easier as you’re pressing the brake pedal much harder. The feel was great, with a touch of the brake pedal returning an appropriate response with feel modulated all the way down to the stoppers. At the moment, I’m happy to have not opted for the PCCB’s as the steel’s have proven excellent on road. How they perform on track is a different matter but I fear they may melt into oblivion.

Suspension too is even better sorted. There’s a feeling of utter compliance and it appears to be a little better than the gen 1 at soaking up undulations and changes to road surface. Whether this is an actual revision or an effect of placebo is unknown. The front ARB is from the GT2 which now has adjustable settings. This will be explored soon, together with a better track day geometry and suspension set up.

Didn’t get an opportunity to play about with the stability control. There were 2-3 eerie moments today when it appeared there was some over zealous control of the traction with power appearing to be cut down on slow speed bends. The old car would not have needed traction control at these points so I’m wondering if it’s because the tyres are still new. I hope that this sorts itself out otherwise the installment of the new stability control will be switched off by me.

All in all, an accomplished car that is pretty much identical to the previous car it replaces, but with a whole catalogue of very small changes. There’s a sense of tightness with the car, a lack of any slack, that allows you to extend on its immense repertoir of capabilities knowing full well that there is a clear line of communication between car and driver that is always vibrant and energetic. In my opinion, the original 997 GT3 was a perfect car. To elaborate and improve on so many areas has led to the development of a car that is yet again without peer.

I have a couple of trackdays booked, that’s when I’ll test out the new dynamic engine mounts. Can’t wait.

At some point today, it’ll be ready to pick up. I think I’ll just head down to the dealer today and lick the window all day.

Frankfurt show was huge and I must have walked at least 10 miles today, glad to have got off the plane and into home. Some truly spectacular stages were set, especially the BMW stage with its elevated circuit across the stages. Some fantastic design and use of video and audio created a wonderful motorshow experience. Some of these sets must have cost in excess of multiple millions, it shows that the car industry is not quite knocked out yet and showed how important the German market is.

Porsche GT3 RS was fabulous. In the flesh it’s looking the proper tool of function we’ve come to expect from Porsche, as you use a hammer to drive a nail in, so you use a GT3 to best circuits with. Previously, the GT3 was good enough, but this new iteration has a wealth of differences between cooking vanilla GT3 and RS to warrant my interest. I’ve got a first place position and cannot wait.
Colour is interesting, it’s called ‘Black Grey’ and is one of the four options. However, it HAS been confirmed that there WILL be colour to sample, which means a variety of different colour options. However, these will not be offered before early summertime 2010. LHD deliveries are expected to start November / December with RHD UK deliveries due February time.
The good: That spoiler is a work of art.
The bad: The cloth door pulls are really wrong.
The ugly: Clashing colour schemes?

Panamera had the most ridiculously big brakes.

Ferrari 458 looks much better up close and personal with some dramatically futuristic design cues. Very angular, very sharp – it’s a future proof design, but often they’re the kind that age quickest.

New BMW 7 series looked fantastic in white. Really loved that car and a proper highlight.

Sanity is still fighting with emotion, but for the first time in many years, the RS appears to inherit all the characteristics of the GT3 but with a key number of added wow’s.

Not an exclusive list, but:
Short ratio, short shift gearbox
15bhp +
Titanium exhaust
Wider front track
RS specific PASM suspension
Bigger wheels
Dynamic engine mounts as standard

As for looks, opinions are divided. At first I was bewildered by the choices afforded, but time has been sympathetic and now I want one pretty badly.

I’ve rang pretty much every dealer in the country and the order books are already filled. My dealer says he can get me one – but I’m looking at 5th place in the queue there. I guess it serves me right for not acting quickly when I had the chance!!

New YouTube version (I think I’m gonna migrate to YouTube all my vids)

Great article in Evo a month or two back where Henry Catchpole wrote:
The ‘So what’s your favourite car, then?’ question is tricky. I get asked it a lot. It’s a staple query from random, well-meaning people at christenings and engagement parties, most of whom like watching Clarkson & Co on Sunday evenings. I used to launch into a small speech about why it’s simply impossible to pick a favourite and how you need a big barn with at least ten parking spaces so that there’s room for a car for every situation. Five minutes later, just as I’d be explaining why an F40 is not really a choice but a necessity, I’d realise that their eyes had glazed over – they didn’t like cars that much and this wasn’t the quick, satisfactory answer they wanted.
Then I drove a GT3. I still maintain the ten-car principle, but now I always say that if I won the lottery I would walk straight out the next day and buy a 911 GT3

Evo Magazine Review of GT3

I concur old boy, I concur.

Regardless, I must go on. This car is MINT guys, you will not find a cleaner example at this price.
so….

In anticipation of my new arrival due end of September, I am now putting up for sale the best car I’ve ever owned.
Most of you know this car, but for those that don’t:

• 997 GT3
• White
• Club Sport spec
• Carbon bucket race seats
• Red belts
• Drivers and passengers harnesses
• Centre console painted in white
• Bi-Xenon lighting system
• Porsche Communication Management (PCM) including navigation module
• Sound Package Plus incl. CD storage box
• Carbon kick plates
• Porsche floor mats
• Wheel centre set
• Windscreen with grey top tint

Brakes
FRONT: PF Discs and pads on front (over 75% life left)
REAR: OE discs and RS29 pads (over 75% life left)
18,500 miles
Remainer of extended Official Porsche Warranty (8 months)

Full Porsche Service History

In addition to this, there’s a suitcase full of receipts, some I’m proud of, some I don’t like looking at! They represent the level of care that has gone into this car.

It’s just had another service at FearnSport, supplementary to service schedule requirements.
The car has also recently had a non-essential gearbox oil change. RMS was done recently under warranty and has been replaced by the now indestructable metal piece. All GT3’s will need this at some point.

It has gone through it’s entire life with vinyl protection (this has been replaced fully once a year). The front skirt is brand new and the front bumper is resprayed (as all OPC cars are).

Wheels do not have a SINGLE mark on them, no kerbed alloys.

This is a car that looks and feels like it has just come out of the showroom and needs not a penny spending on it. Matt at Fearnsport has brough this car to new condition and I daren’t see it in case I drive it again. It’s even got a brand new windscreen dammit!

Price to release car is £65k. No further offers as I have committed considerable spend on the car recently to ensure it’s showroom fresh. It has literally cost me thousands.

Inspections welcome. It’s currently sat at Fearnsport and will remain there until it’s sold.

For some of my more memorable exploits with this car, you can read here:

why-the-997-gt3-is-the-best-car-ive-ever-owned

1000-miles-and-my-honeymoon-period-is-over

200mph-the-world-sideways-and-conquered-fear

monza

We eventually found an awesome spot in the back of the Tesco’s distribution centre. However, the shelf stacker got an opportunity to demonstrate some authority and had us out of there too. Essentially, the whole night was a failure. Even Guy was pulled over by the local police, not for breaking the law but simply because they were curious about ‘whether this was the new GTR?’.

Despite the lack of success throughout the night, as each minute passed I became more enamoured by the sheer presence of Guy’s GTR in the night roads. I had the same feeling watching the car cruise in the midnight light, with it’s rear LED’s, as I felt when I used to watch Knight Rider as a child. There’s this sense of scale and competence that was quite overpowering. I couldn’t help but follow in it’s shadow as it’s rear lights painted red lines across the evening landscape.

Photos were scarce, but here’s one for kicks.

Today I attended the special GT3 preview event which discussed the results of the survey and also went onto disclose a whole host of detailed information about the next gen. GT3. This was coupled with breakfast, a number of hotlaps in a 997S, skid pan, wet plate in a Cayman S and also an ‘ice-hill’. All hugely fun and the best memory is of the 997S. It was a manual with the GT3 carbon bucket seats and was a real revelation. It’s all the car anyone would ever need really and with Carrera S’s in the £30k’s now, they are a far more attractive alternative to the Caymans. Also drove the PDK in the Cayman today and boy that was weird. Not sure if it simply wasn’t suited to the Cayman S (perhaps not enough power?) but the whole set up wasn’t attractive to me.

As for the colour debate, I’m almost positively kind of sure now that Guards Red is the colour to go for. With the harsh, motorshow spotlights absent, the car was at last shown in a normal light and really did look excellent. That spoiler is the best looking spoiler I’ve ever seen and the small subtle changes work really well, such as the change in wheel design.

Andreas Preuninger, 997 GT3 and RS project manager was there to answer some questions and teamed with the rest of the organisers, really did put on an informative, entertaining day out. He also leaked out some information about the forthcoming Gen 2 (Mk2) GT3 RS:

• More power (14BHP more)
• RSR Front suspension
• Titanium components (Exhaust)
• Wider front track
• ‘Stealth look’ colour schemes – not so brash or loud this time
• Hinted at string door pulls
• New decal scheme
• Shorter gear ratio’s
• £15k – £20k price premium over vanilla GT3
• October unveil, February production
• Frankfurt Motorshow unveil.

All in all, enough to warrant a premium this time over the normal GT3. It appeared the heaviest criticism levied on Andreas’ team was the fact that there was not enough differentiation between the two models to justify the premium. I’m almost tempted to transfer my deposit. Almost….

Now, I’m all in a kerfuffle as I’ve seen another option, Riviera Blue (yeah thanks Glenn). It’s a shocker, for sure. But it does hark back to a time where Porsche’s came in all manner of inappropriate colours. What do you guys think? The wife thinks it’s hideous and called it a bubble-gum car.

EDIT – First two pictures directly below are from another source and allegedly a more accurate representation of the colour.(Thanks Alex)

Images below courtesy SportAuto (German Car Mag)

It’s currently getting pampered with some TLC in preparation, but before I surrendered my car to its next owner, I wanted a parting memory that would be fresh for ages. I made this decision very last minute and decided to take a gentle drive to France and back.

Journey started by punching a random location into the Satnav – taking me about 50 miles north of Paris. As always with France, the Autoroutes aren’t much to write home about. Apart from the obligatory launches from each toll-booth (encouraged behaviour by the booth operators), the otherwise monotonous activity of covering ground space across 100’s of miles of concrete road is pretty dull.

After a night in a local hotel, my return journey would be back home, but with some choice options selected on the sat nav – notably ‘avoid motorways’ and ’shortest route’.

What followed was a medley of beautiful roads, stunning weather and idyllic French rural countryside. A combination of A and B type roads, most were furnished with what appeared to be newly laid tarmac. This made it possible to really stretch the legs on the GT3, allowing me to cruise and coast from various speeds between 100 and 150mph (all private roads, bien sur!). As if planned, turned out this day was a French national holiday so the roads were practically deserted. It really was a fantastic, low effort, fast paced drive across beautiful pastures.

I stopped at one point at this fantastic master-bakers in some villiage in the middle of god knows where and had some incredible olive bread for lunch. I added to my car a huge loaf of local, fresh bread for delivery back home, put on my ‘Urgent Bread Delivery’ stance and made fast progress across the remainder of the journey.

As always, I am utterly in awe of the car, with it’s sweet exhaust note punching holes in the otherwise quiet ambience of French countryside, soundwaves bouncing off trees as I pass them creating a gausian blur photoshop landscape. Flashbacks of computer games are momentarily provided as I see similarities between some of the arrow straight roads and their digital representations.

I’m also forever contemplating the freedom we actually enjoy on the roads. Despite cries of opression, there is still a lot we take for granted. Most of Europe is wonderfully unpoliced and free from the technologies of capture and prosecution. I wonder that if we were to look back in 30 years time, how much will we live for the past?

Still, it’s the now that counts and I’m having a hoot enjoying one of life’s most rewarding experiences.

May 22nd 2009

A massive undertaking this car, but the results are pretty neat. As car makers continually strive to maximise profits and cut costs, a recent trend is to cut depth of paint reducing the protective nature of the laquer. Finger nail marks, scratches and swirl marks appear so quickly it dulls the otherwise deep black shine. After the treatment, the results were hugely impressive.

The GT3, resplendent as always, triggered thoughts of sale and closure. With an operation to my shoulder due imminently, there’s going to be very little use for the car in the coming weeks/months. Sale ad up soon :(

Cue, super-Cem. Had no idea if the bike would fit into the back of the Q7 but some rumaging around and it was a super easy fit with space to boot (ho ho). Thankfully the leaking of fuel was sheltered by the canvas lining I placed underneath it.

Picture below of loltastic escapade.

After coffee and biscuits, we’re sat at the order kiosk and go through a whole host of options and specifications for the next GT3. Right about now, excitement starts to snowball and bringing Guy with me was a bad mistake as he seems to convince me to order ever spec going. For what it’s worth, here’s what I went with:

• PCM 3 (Porsche Communication Management touch screen Sat nav)
• Bluetooth
• Sound System Plus
• Universal Audio Interface (iPhone/iPod plug in)
• Centre console painted exterior colour
• Lightweight Carbon bucket seats
• Club Sports package (roll cage, fuel cut out, fire extinguisher and harnesses)
• PCCB (Porsche Carbon Ceramic Brakes)
• PADM (Porsche Active Dynamic Mounts – magnetic engine mount dampers)
• Carbon outer door sill guards

Only problem I have is colour! I simply cannot decide and I’ve rounded it down to either Guards Red or Carrera White. Red looks fantastic in photography, as seen by the excellent Drivers Republic write up, but remarkably dull in the flesh. As for white, it is de rigour, but I’ve done white for 2.5 years now and, well, I’d like a change.

There’s always Reims blue…(see pic below)

After the hard work, we were taken around for a tour of the grounds, which really were quite surprising. Porsche Reading are the only official dealers trained to service the 959, Carerra GT and the GT1 – all of which were there in the workshops. There must have been 5-6 GT’s in the back. The million pound GT1 was quite the sight too.

Walking back to the car, conversation turned to my current car. I’ve been advised to sell it prior to the trackday season so I may get a good return in advance of my new car arriving. This was naturally a prequel to sad thoughts as I have had such ridiculously good times with this car, I will be heartbroken to see it go. It’s a great spec and the dealer mentioned it would fly out the doors, based on club sport + white.

I’m also first to take delivery in the country, due in September. Can’t come soon enough.

Some great write ups already:

Drivers Republic
Autocar
Times Online

This week, Henry realised a life long ambition of mixing it with the big boys by getting rid of his E92 M3 and rolling up in his replacement 997 GT3 in Cobalt Blue, a unique colour for this car. His spec is freakily identical to mine with the only addition the PCCB carbon ceramic discs. Jokes all day about his brake dust free alloy wheels, we scoured the beautiful area of Slough for Mcdonalds drive throughs and trading estates for some photo opportunities.

Nerds amongst you should recognise the building on stilts! It was like a visit to the holy land for me!

It’s quite a lethargic powerplant, but this time round I’ve realised this car is just desperate for a 6 speed box. The given five gears are simply way too long and does nothing other than accentuate the lethargy of the engine. Still, it’s not without character and coupled with the energetic, somewhat surprisingly masculine soundtrack, is sufficient in encouraging a sense of conflicted urgency. The gearing makes for comical heal and toeing though, the blips in throttle followed very quickly by a low rev engine note out of tune with the action.

Handling is of course class leading, with a lithe, nimble approach to every road condition and a reactive, accommodating chassis that communicates and follows instruction without hint of debate nor complaint. It really is quite a funky little pet. £17k gets you one of these and for a quality, well built convertible that is used strictly as a second/third car, it’s hard to beat. Its lack of toys and in-cabin luxuries are offset by a chunky, quality texture to controls and input. The roof control is as simple as is efficient, with the roof coming up and down in a matter of seconds.

I have to say though, coming from a white GT3, it may come as a little strange to admit to feeling a little ‘exposed’ when driving the car. Not in the sense a convertible would leave you feeling ‘exposed’, but a genuine feeling that everybody else on the road thinks you’re a total and utter wanker.

It was just a feeling, that’s all.

I’ve never been a fan of Silverstone, often treating it as nothing other than a large expanse of asphalt too boring for anything other than F1 where cosmic speeds require such wide expanse of runways. However, having destroyed Silverstone this weekend, it is with much regret must I revoke my prior claims of boredom and malcontent as with an increased pace and confidence have I discovered that Silverstone is far more technical than I have ever given it credit for.

I’m using my oversized Corsa Race tyres on the car which have proven to be a revelation in tyre tech, but more importantly have given me the freedom to depend reliably on the tyres enough so I may focus on improving lines and absorbing the very characteristic of my car, which continues to be the utterly benign and predictable beast I’ve come to expect from it.

It’s funny as this week I’ve also had a GT3 specific survey from Porsche. It’s sent to current owners and goes through about 8 pages of very interesting questions – some of which really do prove that Porsche are extremely focused in ensuring this car is very different from the other 911 models. It gladdens me to see Porsche continue to cater for the minority and I hope to god no idiots checked the boxes which suggest owners need more ‘comfort’ or ‘on road civility’. I humbly ask Porsche to ignore any such requests.

So it is with huge respect to Porsche that I continue to gape and gasp at the sheer capability the 997 affords and entertains me. Naturally, the car isn’t a puppy as is often demonstrated – another white 997 GT3 on the same day unfortunately blended in holy matrimony with the tyre wall and, I suspect, cost its owner dearly by way of writing itself off the planet.

But I digress, my car and I are still in love; even after I drive home from an exhausting trackday 100 miles from home, unpack my bags (helmet is permanently left in car) and reverse into the garage, opening said garage the next day to polish out the black rubber marks off the bodywork by turning the key and driving 10 feet out to my drive for a wash, I am filled with a sense of euphoria and complete and utter satisfaction.

I was offered a good price for the car today – a very good price. And I refused it. On what grounds? I hear you ask. Well, there simply wasn’t another GT3 on the market that I wanted to replace it with. Even though Porsche claim ‘Everything has the capacity for improvement’, when asked to list things that disappointed me about the GT3, I was digging for scraps in a barrel and came up with “No iPod connection”. It really is utterly perfect.

When on circuit, in your GT3, when in the ‘zone’, with the alcantara steering wheel working in association with your clammy hands and beads of sweat dripping from your helmet down the side of your temple, the soft chirp-chirp of tyres working at their absolute limit, disputing with the laws of physics as to how lateral grip is working beyond the call of duty, there is absolutely no other place I want to be when chasing that extra percentage.

997GT3 at Silverstone chasing Baff in his RS from Cem Kocu on Vimeo.

GT3 at Silverstone chasing Ken and Pete from Cem Kocu on Vimeo.

GT3 chasing a race 360 at Silverstone from Cem Kocu on Vimeo.

GT3 at Silverstone from Cem Kocu on Vimeo.

VIP sections visited:

Ferrari - That midget Jean Todd was there. At first they wouldn’t let me on, but when I told them who I was they crapped their pants. Pretty lame dining behind the scene. Cars were ok but the Ferrari 599 FXX or whatever was supreme. Scud convertible was pretty impressive and equally pointless.

Lamborghini - As always, great espresso’s and they have simply the best models in the show – the one on the door made me weep for baby jesus. Murci SV was a special piece of kit and the secret GT3  Gallardo upstairs was impressively made.

Porsche - Didn’t try to get into VIP but sat in the new GT3. Felt remarkably nonplussed by the event and the colour chosen was a very bad choice. They needed to introduce something new and exciting for this, guards red just didn’t work.

Bugatti - VIP tour of the cars and the backroom, one of the most charming salesman I’ve spoken to – and extremely knowledgable and winner of countless races too. When the car started up, my spine went weak.

Nissan - Spec V in the VIP room is pretty pointless and only serves to show just how exceptional value the standard GTR is (Spec V is £100k). The new car is spectacular in white with black wheels and goddamnit I’m disgusted to say I’m tempted to go back into a GTR again – it certainly looked more dramatic than the GT3 did :(

RUF - Alois and his wife were incredibly friendly hosts and the new CTR3 reeked of his blood, sweat and tears – it was his child and they were both proud of it. So they should be, as I think it was the best looking car of the show. Really an amazing car, beautiful.

Alpina - The best VIP snacks in the show, some real nice cheesy crisp things and awesome chocolate florentines – went down very well with an americano. Their new B7 is supreme too. Interesting fact of the day – Alpina have a massively successful global wine business.

As spring rears it’s anticipated head, the beehive of activity surrounding this community of events gains momentum and the contagious energy shared by anyone interested in cars and octane reels in fanatics alike to the many locations across the UK, now amongst the most active trackday scene in the world.

It’s not just glory and fame though, with the pleasure gained from the few hours destroying tyres from increased friction, the eroding pads from over-zealous braking later and later by the minute, and the visible evidence of fuel being burnt at alarming rates – not least those who find misfortune and misery buried deep in the tyre walls of our championed locales. No, these moments of memory can be overshadowed by the vast quantities of funds that can be swallowed whole through the pursuit of these sports.

The GT3 is a remarkable benchmark, offering supercar levels of performance, but with relatively low running costs. Employ a modicum of mechanical sympathy, however, and your car is constantly being looked after by independants and official Porsche centre’s alike. Oil changes, filter changes, gear boxes, brakes, pads, discs, suspension, wheels, tyres, vinyl protection, resprays, ad infinitum.

I won’t disclose the small fortune this week has cost me in preparation for this week’s trackday at Oulton Park, but it’s enough to challenge your on-track sympathy. I can also see the logic of using a smaller, lighter, cheaper car for trackday thrills – something that uses smaller brakes, uses narrower tyres, has running costs so low it’d be cheaper to buy a new engine than to rebuild it.

All those thoughts evaporate after another spirited drive in the car. I am actually quite excited to pick the car up from Fearnsport tomorrow. By all intents, it should feel like a new car with almost all consumables refreshed to new standard. Add to this the fact that Porsche have just charged me £1400.00 for one year warranty renewal, I’m on top of the world (of debt).

Titled “From the inner sanctum; The new 911 GT3″, it was not without frenzied demolishing of said envelope and subsequent careful removal of enclosed glossy envelope, I spent the next 20 minutes reading cover to cover and then reading again details of the Mk2 997 GT3.

As ever with 911 evolution, the product is never broken enough to warrant redevelopment from the ground up, but instead a careful considered review of essential upgrades that could constitute some reaction to owner wish lists. The list of changes are healthy enough for me to start deliberating colour choices already, but those that stick out are:

• Bored out engine to 3.8 (0-100mph in 8.2 secs!)
• Adaptive engine mounts (not sure about this – am hoping it doesn’t provide an artificial handling characteristic)
• PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management)
• One piece new design GT3 wheels (excellent for fast race track exchanges)
• Front axle lifting system (great for London driveways and speed ramps)
• PSM (Porsche Stability Management – thankfully it’s switchable)
• Larger brake discs (380mm)
• GT2 style carbon buckets (they recline now instead of one piece fixed)
• PCM (Porsche Communication Management – touch screen sat nav with ipod connectivity)

There are sufficient upgrades for me to warrant the upgrade cost from mine, the only question is – what colour – Red, White or Grey????

After having read the great Car article yesterday as they took a new Abarth 500 across the alps, I had to go see one again. After all, I need a train station car and what better than this?

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the car in person (I’m a week early) but my interest is peaked. I’ve been pouring over the (incredibly stylish) A4 teaser they gave me, that comes together with pictures of the Assetto Corse package – a track day pack that comes with special wheels, lowered springs, uprated discs and pads, ecu flash that takes power from 135bhp to 160bhp and some other tasty add-ons. Standard car is £13,600 and the package costs another £2,500.

This is a very, very cool car.

So what are my contemplations?

Well, how about this fantastic Gallardo Spyder, in my opinion the best looking open top there is. Its price has dropped pretty violently in the past 3-4 months and with all the right options too – sat nav, white, ceramic brakes, callisto wheels etc. And at 85k before haggling, that’s a veritable bargain! The Spyder is also based on the 06 model Gallardo which came with a whole heap of upgrades and improvements over the original launch car. Only caveat is the launch of the new LP560 – naturally this will have a knock on effect on prices of existing cars. Still, ultimate pose mobile?

Another Gallardo, but with more function. Proven already as a competent track tool, the Gallardo Superleggera is probably the best looking production track car ever! They’ve becoming increasingly popular lately as a result of their sudden price drops from £160k + options down to £90k bargains. Stunning lookers but with a horrible transmission that you just know will betray you when you least expect it. Only other caveat is running costs of a Lamborghini track car. If you need to ask, you can’t afford it. This one is £99k with only 3,000 miles on the clock. Crazy.

“What’s this?” I hear you ask. Yeah, the GT3 is so goddamn hardcore, I’m looking for another. But as with housing, you buy cheap, you also sell cheap. I’m also quite interested in a change of colour and this black example looks rock solid. Only problem is finding a spec that I want (club sport, PCCB brakes and sat-nav). That combination doesn’t come up often. I’m even looking for a possible RS. Still, there’s something to be said for GT3 residuals. For a car that cost me £86k new over 2 years ago and is still commanding £60k + prices, that is an absolute awesome result. This particular example is on for £67k

Or hour about this, the 599 Ferrari? It was only 6 months ago that these beauties were available for no less than £230k. They really were sought after and now, they’re hovering from £125k onwards. Not quite affordable, but a certain bargain for sure? This made Evo’s car of the year don’t forget and as for looks divides opinion, but for me it’s one of the most dramatic cars on the road today.

Still not convinced? I know, this V12 monster is right up your street. An £80k Murcielago can’t be ignored so blatantly, no other car arouses as much interest, especially in this orange. As far as traffic stoppers go, what else for this money? I can think of no other. It is agricultural, uncouth, abrasive and certainly inappropriate in today’s climate – but you can’t deny the Lamborghini daddy.

Best place one can be is with no cars and the cash in bank. But then, who says anybody with petrol in his veins is sensible?

A last minute affair, I pretty much confirmed only the day before that I’d attend which should go some way to explain the terrible preparation. I had no idea if my tyres, pads, discs were up for another session on circuit, but considering the weather and reports, it looked like it was going to be a wet, sodden day so there was no huge risk of overcooking the car. Still, mighty disappointed that I left my camcorder at home, would have had some excellent footage otherwise.

Silverstone in the wet is one of the best circuits in the UK for car control and its wide tarmac and wide run offs are perfect for experimentation and seasoned drivers alike. I was in my element with lap after lap of opposite lock tomfoolery. Thankfully, the marshals were relatively tolerant of this behaviour, despite skill levels they are often inclined to black flag anybody who’s off the racing line.

As the day dried out, so did speeds, but having spent the whole day sideways, that didn’t change my driving attitude. Unfortunately, I am not at my fastest at Silverstone. I’m not a big fan of the circuit and I cite it as having bland scenery, repetitive complexes that are unsuited to cars slower than F1 and wide, open tarmac that dulls your sense of speed. Conversely, as a drift circuit, it’s excellently suited.

PDK transmission
Direct fuel injection
Updated PCM with touchscreen sat nav, ipod connection, tv (don’t laugh – this stuff is awesome when you’re doing a 4 hour journey across heavily policed motorways!)
And this awesome colour!

I’ve had my name down on the Porsche dealer network for 2 years now, but in traditional dawg luck, I will be 10th in the queue or some such.

With true loyalty to its number plate, its pompously cheeky rear is in defiance of society’s willingness and obligation to lean proportions. And does this fat lady sing or what? V8 vocals have come of age with German vehicles of late, from the RS4 to the C63, these slick coupés now come with soundtracks that earn them proper GT status.

We’ve both had some fantastic fun on the circuits, especially one occasion at Snetterton when we were both black flagged for pretty much driving the entire circuit sideways. The race controller was amused, thankfully, but asked us to tone things down a bit! Unfortunately, we’re recognised now at Snetterton as the “two white cars”

Despite some minor problems with his 7speed transmission (sometimes when choosing a gear, his computer says no), he’s still able to enjoy its rear drive characteristics aplomb.

997 GT3 and 535d BMW on Autobahn
Henry in his ridiculously fast diesel carries his speed through as I quickly dip in between cars to allow him to pass all of us. German Autobahn.

997 GT3 at 200MPH overtaking Monaro
Unconfirmed by lack of GPS but indicated speedo of 200MPH. Cars overtaken are CL65 (were it not limited it would have blown me away!) and Monaro which I overtake at 170MPH. Route is German autobahn, conditions good and traffic clear

997 GT3 at 207MPH
This is naturally indicated and in no way proven, although I’d estimate 200MPH based on 8000+ RPM at 6th gear. Car feels remarkably stable at this speed and vastly different to the previous generation 996 at same speed. Route is German autobahn, conditions good and traffic clear.

It’s the 3.0ltr tdi V6 engine and that affords excellent performance and agility for a car that can sustain an entire species from within. I won’t lie, it’s not economical, not as I’d hoped, but I really do love it and 6 months into ownership, I have no regrets.

I’ve been looking for an E30 BMW (80’s 3 series BMW) for a couple of years now and have just been watching them with that kind of passive interest someone has for something they feel they’d never really get in the real world. However, whilst going through the Piston Heads classifieds, I happened upon this almighty Gem of a car.

This model is the C2 2.7. There were only 159 of these cars made worldwide in all the variants, including convertible and touring models. It basically left the factory as a 325is and is then immediately sent through Alpina to turn it into the C2. It’s bored out to 2.7, gas flowed head, mahle pistons, Alpina camshaft, Alpina ECU, Alpina suspension, Alpina exhaust and the awesome body kit.

Now, the car’s not been looked after so well by the last owner who was, quite frankly, an idiot who didn’t understand the unique nature of this car, choosing instead to treat it like a piece of shit 318i. It’s got a few things wrong with it, like it’s been fitted with cheap shit springs, the exhaust is not original anymore and there are a number of cosmetic points that need attention.

Overall, the bodywork – at least externally, is in great condition and I’m amazed at how many heads it turns – more so than the GT3 sometimes. My aim with this car is to bring it to it’s original glory and invest in some good suspension, brakes, exhaust etc. It has been quoted for a full restoration and subject to timing, I will be going through with this.

I’m really in love with this car, it sounds fantastic and looks superb – I’m quite simply amazed by the attention it gets. I’ve had a ridiculous amount of people stop me in the street and ask me to buy the car. I had one person follow me home in his car and made an offer there and then. Only 3 weeks ago somebody left a note on my windscreen with his full details asking to buy the car.

It’s also what’s called a ‘Tech 1′ which is the chrome bumper versions and pre-facelift. Personally, I think the Tech 1’s look better and this car will always command a premium over standard versions. As an example, a nice 325i will go for about £3-4k. I’m hoping with enough TLC, this will be valued at circa £15k.

The latter photos are from the Total BMW cover shoot it was part of a few years back.

The photos were taken in a photographers cove, a unique room that has no angles and is curved throughout – I will only assume this is to stop angular reflection of light or something, but the awesomeness of the photos were realised when they sent me the prints shortly after.

It’s taken me, ooh, 5 years to scan them, but here they are in all their glory. Please try not to distribute them as strictly speaking, they are copyright the photographer – but christ knows who he was. Professional courtesy and all….you understand.

Aside from rain at the ‘ring (that’s a whole different story), I actually look forward to wet conditions as I’ve discovered my strengths have accumulated over the years, especially having done the drift training days at Papenberg. Some circuits are of course more suited to wet conditions than others, but I am found to jump in the car with renewed vigour at the mere hint of changing conditions.

Snetterton is such a circuit where you can approach and loiter at the limits of your car and skill as it affords generous width of circuit and plenty of bends that entertain 90 degree opposite lock activities without endangering yourself nor fellow track users.

As the weather cleared up and dried, so did my overall speed and commitment and the pace that we maintain can only be described as a revelation when compared to my skills only 12 months ago. I know not if this car and I are becoming further ‘at one’, or if my testosterone is increasing by the trackday, but I am surprising myself at just how quick this car is.

Look for the video of this day in the videos section.

Anyway, here’s a video of a chase with the camera in my car and following Glenn who’s a Porsche Cup racer (had to add that in) in his GT3 RS.
Apologies for the stupid camera placement, I’m a recording n00b and I should know better.

Cem’s GT3 + Glenn’s GT3 RS Snetterton Dec 08 from Cem Kocu on Vimeo.

What’s changed? Not much actually. As the credit crunch chews small businesses for snacks, spitting out bones, I try to keep my head low and watch from afar the effects of our decaying economy. People are scared, the city is silent and the phones are dead. It’s an eirie place to be in the city.

Still, the GT3 is ever more the hero with no love lost. If anything, I continue to accumulate my respect as I grow to learn it. I’ve no doubt had plenty time to familiarise myself with this car, nigh on 2 years, yet I still learn something new about it every time I take it out. As a mark of my attachment to it, I actually cancelled my GTR order – shock horror. Multiple reasons for doing this, most notable is my loss of faith in Nissan. I wasn’t even able to get onto a Race Academy day yet as GTR Register forum owner I do nothing but read about the wonderful experiences of others. Aside from that, buying a new car in the midst of a recession isn’t a clever thing to do.

Still, whoever says our actions are dictated by logic is a fucking idiot!

Meanwhile, forgive the layout problems, some major re-writing required, all galleries are dead and do not work.

A friend contacted me by text message “Monza, July”. It was all the words I needed and in my haste, I was the second person to sign up for it. Not only was Monza on the cards, but we were to travel via the Simplon Pass in Switzerland, do Monza, return via the Nurburgring and come back home thoroughly fucked.

Day one was, as first days always are, an exciting, adrenaline fuelled occasion. Date and time set, we all meet at the Euro-tunnel to commence the first part of our journey. 30 Porsche’s, Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s are always a treat for onlookers as when you’re in such an electric group of cars, everyone’s a showman and revs, blips and throttle nailing becomes obligatory. Once through, we’re on our way through France cruising through the Autoroute at relatively low speeds.

Europe has wizened up to the UK exodus that occurs weekly and it’s no longer a green card zone where speed limits don’t apply and the police are simply tourist attractions. Big fines are common with impounded vehicles and overnight stays in lockups a frighteningly frequent occurrence. After first hand tales of totalitarian law enforcement, we are acutely conscious of our speed. Well, for a while at least.

With so many potent cars on tour, it’s not long before the speeds gently start to ascend and whatever the lead car sets is almost immediately followed by the cars in tow. A short while later, radio’s are going and 5 cars have already been pulled over by the French police. We rein our enthusiasm back in again and make a steady beeline to the Swiss Alps.

It’s near impossible, and often discouraged, to maintain a large group of cars in convoy as we attract an unfeasibly large amount of attention. We are not gumballers or Cannonballers and would actually hate to be associated with the neanderthal, retard activity of racing across the continent. We blame them for the recent rise in harsh policing of European roads, and not without merit. They are dangerous, carefree and boisterous and their lack of any financial sympathy means a speeding fine is simply a road toll. As a result, it’s not long before we splinter into a group of 5 cars.

As the breathtaking vistas of the Alps in the French/Swiss/Italian region begin to draw themselves, the hypnotising landscape soon ensures that despite sat-nav technology being what it is, a closed road means we fast become lost in back roads that sat-nav simply doesn’t recognise. And so begins the most incredible two hour detour I’ve ever experienced. What I can only describe as a 150 mile lap of the Nurburgring, we are tossed from side to side as the hot sticky asphalt melds our tyres to become Siamese in an astonishing balletic dance that has us across the finest mountain pass roads I’ve ever experienced in my life – bar none. Fast sweeping 130mph roads meet with tight, 2nd gear hairpin tracks as we negotiate turn after turn after turn.

At the peak of the summit, we park our cars and look across Lake Geneva with sweaty palms, beating hearts and the focused clarity only adrenaline can provide. If I were to die right now, I’d be happy and only now do I truly recognise the term “motoring nirvana”. That night, in Switzerland, I am often awoken just before drifting off as visions of late braking, understeer and miscalculated turns pull me back from sleep in nightmarish fashion as I desperately try to fight off residue adrenaline. It appears to be a common malady over the next few nights.

Day two and we’re making our way to Milan in Italy, but not before we negotiate the legendary Simplon Pass. Our enthusiasm is apparent in our somewhat optimistic speeds through the beautiful valleys of Switzerland and unbeknownst to us, we’d gone through a Swiss speed trap and as we came to the end of the Autoroute, the Swiss Police force had kindly decided to throw us a welcome party by way of presenting a full force of armed personnel. How utterly delightful!

Conversing in French appeared to soften them and they turned out to be friendly and polite, despite the incredibly expensive fines. As I handed over my Am-ex, they ripped the slip in half and gave me a discount from 400 Euros to 150 Euros. Splendid chaps even posed for a photo! In total, from our group of nine cars, we estimate a windfall of approximately 4000 Euros – not bad for an hour’s work. We even made it on to the Swiss Police website

Following the signs to Simplon, it’s difficult to imagine anything beating my experiences of the day before and my fears are largely realised as despite the odd moment of freedom between bends and overtaking opportunities, there are seldom moments of solitude as the road appears to be filled with slow moving traffic generated by lorries and coaches. Reaching the summit, the sudden drop in temperature is violent and t-shirts are no longer appropriate. It’s a disappointing experience but I imagine it had a very hard act to follow from the day before. In its stead, we enjoy spaghetti bolognese on the peak with a cup of coffee.

As we migrate en mass through to the Italian border, the police and carabiniere do their best to remind us that they have been following our exploits across Europe and have strategically placed mobile speed traps from here to our destination in Milano. Turned out to be a sombre drive across the early part of Italy, but the incredible sights and heavy traffic removed any temptation regardless. There was still a lot of entertainment, or rather, entertaining to do! The traffic found great delight in our convoy and we aimed to please by the repeated show of engine song and bravado. Oh, a word of warning. If you’ve a Gallardo Superleggera in tow, tell him to get to the back of the convoy. Suddenly, GT3’s become decidedly average.

Day three and it’s Monza time, but not without some interesting Milano culture. It’s 7am and I’m making a solitary early morning departure from the hotel to get to the race circuit in good time as my rear pads need changing. As I approach a non-distinct corner in my travels, I notice an attractive woman standing on the side of the road. She’s got the smallest mini-skirt you can imagine, long slim legs and beautiful dark hair that has fallen down one side of her face. As she sees me she holds out her thumb in a polite request for a lift and as I slow down for a closer look, I clench my anus in fear, let out an involuntary yelp and drop a gear as I notice her cheekbones are a little too pronounced for the female variety. What attracts all the trannys to Milano is anyones guess but for the remainder of my time in Milan I reserve my judgement in ‘women’ until I’m absolutely sure.

Monza is the fastest race circuit I’ve ever driven on. It’s a combination of absolute throttle and absolute braking with no in-between. There’s no coasting, no feathering of the throttle and certainly no pussyfooting. It’s a power circuit for sure and the Superleggera shows the rest of the group a fast set of heels with its power advantage, balanced handling and outright competence. The GT3’s are also very well suited to the circuit, but it appears the Lamborghini is playing home terms today. Brakes are eventually destroyed by many people in the group as frequent braking down from 160MPH to 30MPH over and over again takes its toll on anything other than the most effective race prepared braking systems.

With the distinct lack of legislation and regulation in central Europe, there’s a much more primitive and uncontrolled nature to track-days. With no overtaking rules and only a polite request to not bump into anybody, it’s not long before it becomes race-like in its concept. Often we’re three abreast leading into bends in a race to outbreak each other and there are many instances of contact between cars – something I’ve not experienced before. Regardless, it makes it exciting and the fast paced race environment becomes competitive and risky, adding to the unique experience of Monza.

As always, I take my car away from the circuit early to avoid mishap. The car is not without injury though as a huge rock is thrown from the tyres of a GT2 in front and catapults itself directly into my windscreen, creating a 5 inch thick bullet-hole. I’m optimistic about it anyway as I needed a new screen having suffered many stone chips.

A sauna, jacuzzi and swim is followed closely by a fantastic meal at the Bulgari restaurant hotel in Milan. It’s an ostentatious affair that has all the glamour and glitz you’d expect from one of the finest diners in the heart of the fashion capital of the world. As we try to distinguish escort from wife, the evening is made complete as I drive Harry’s Gallardo back from Bulgari to our hotel. Driving through the heart of Milan in an Italian bred supercar is an experience I will savour for the rest of my life. As legends have it, I am greeted, cheered and championed as I ensure all ten vertically opposed cylinders are heard by the entire populace of Milan as I send glorious 5ltr notes ricocheting across tight, narrow cobble lined roads like a sound byte trapped in a pinball machine. Each corner has its voluntary marshal gesticulating the famous “wind-it-up” request only happily reciprocated by my right foot punching a hole through the footwell. Disappointment follows as we approach our hotel where my decidedly average white GT3 sits sulking in unloved fashion.

Day four and I’m travelling home. Harry and I leave the rest of the party to their devices as they plan and scheme the next leg of their journey to the Ring and then to Spa. For me, I’ve done both those tracks to death and frankly, I’m shattered. I drive the entire journey home to the UK in one sitting, covering 850 miles in just under 12 hours non-stop. I manage 3 fuel stops and a baguette in the car whilst driving at an average of 120MPH the whole journey, where appropriate.

I’m at home and the car is in need of TLC. I’ve booked it into the car clinic, it’s getting a makeover by my detailer and will soon sport a new windscreen. This is the epic journey of 2008 and I will take this to my grave.

Next stop, Imola?

Enjoy the pics, not many of track action – too busy driving it

Most were from in car, so apologies for boredom factor for some, but the scenery should say it all!!

In the time we had it, the car gave us absolutely no problems and was a surprisingly agile car with a healthy powerplant supporting 2.0ltr diesel power and a dynamic chassis that would entertain and comfort in equal measure.

Just before it was sold, Nathan from Cambridge Autogleam gave it a detailing workout.

Some pictures:

Right now, there simply is no other better sounding car to my ears. With a Tubi exhaust, the car is given lungs to match its design. Volume hand in hand with melody, the Gallardo starts with a bark and continues to blow out angry mutterings under full throttle.

I first heard a SuperLeggera a few weeks back at a lunch party with some friends. It made the free flowing Murcielago that drove out seconds before sound bronchial as it blew out the showroom windows of Maranellos in Egham during a Top Gun fly by. It took a friend to elbow me so I could remember to close my mouth. Great experiences, these, as it’s normally a childhood memory that accompanies such stark, joyous reminders of seeing supercars in action. Aged 34, I’m delighted to see my receptors are still acute to the abusive, intrusive act of using an italian exotic to its full potential.

Harry some will know. Some may also know of his amazing stable of cars that include this SL, an Aston Martin Vanquish, a 800BHP Nissan Skyline R34 GTR and a Holden with a 7ltr Corvette engine in it. Personally, I only like the fella for his Gallardo. I blew him out on New Years Day (my car was stuck up my drive!!) but vowed to go out again with him as my love for Gallardo’s continue to grow. I’ve got an itch and I know it needs scratching soon.

Harry turned up at my house earlier today with a car that looked just spectacular. If I had to make a minor criticism about it…hah, who am I kidding? This is perfection. Designed by someone who just doesn’t exist on the same plane as us, the Gallardo Superleggera is a car that is designed to do nothing other than tell everyone else to STFU and listen. It’s brash, brazen, bold and boisterous. I fell in love with it and all of a sudden, lap times and journalist reports didn’t matter one iota.

With supercars, it’s all about the emotion. The spine tingle you get upon accelerating, the thumbs up you get from fellow road users, the feeling of NOT wrapping somebody else’s £160,000 car around a lampost. Actually, this last bit is easy as the car is a doddle to drive (as most modern cars appear to be lately??). Paddle shift transmission was a piece of cake with only the odd intrusion of computers deciding on the balance between clutch and throttle, causing a little bit of hesitation on hard acceleration from stand still. I still think the Nissan GTR transmission is unbeatable as it was smooth, incredibly quick and efficient. The Gallardo version in contrast was a little harsh and uncivilised. Were it not for the exciting downshifts that were accompanied by a blip of the throttle, there’d be little about it I’d like.

It’s hard to be objective about this car when there’s a mini black hole being generated in the approximate location of the exhaust tips. Following it earlier as I led Harry through the Hatfield tunnel in his SL and me in my GT3, the Gallardo was keen to show its teeth time to time with frequent flashes of lean, unburnt fuel as it ignited on exit. Great fun that tunnel, despite my ears bleeding for three hours after. Without harbouring too much on the noise of this car, it really needs to be experienced by anyone interested remotely in cars. Or mini black holes.

Interior was amazing too as you can see by the photos with liberal use of alcantara and carbon fibre. It’s tastefully done too and the cabin does a great job of reminding you how much money you’d just spent on this piece of automotive art. Suprisingly, though, for a car that demonstrated itself as an easy car to drive, the pedals were seriously offset with both your legs pointing uncomfortably to the left. Harry warned me that if not careful, you could quite easily slam on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.
LOL THANKS HARRY – just the kind of thing you want to hear as you pull out of your drive with a car equaling the price of an average mortgage.

Speed is academic in these cars. 500BHP + will obviously put a smile on a dead mans face, but there is such a sense of occasion about this car, it’s not just about pure performance – it’s a seat in the pants sensation that can only be measured subjectively and no amount of high tech measuring gadgetry can convey the feeling a full throttle burst a Gallardo SL will give you.

I remember a moment when Harry had obviously been chatting away to me, but I’d been utterly oblivious to his discussion, instead I was bathing in the noise, atmosphere and joyous ambience of the SL. Only on the downshift when the car blipped its throttle did I yelp a cry of joy, eventually waking myself from this moment of euphoria and grabbing the last word or two from Harry’s dialogue. I just nodded in mock understanding, shifted down a gear again and pushed my foot through his awkward footwell for a repeat, drug-free trip down mental-headcase lane.

Is a SL worth two normal Gallardos? Can you afford 2 Gallardos? For me, it’s worth every penny as nothing can make you feel as right as driving a SL down a road with a bunch of people grinning like the joker as a result of a full bore rape of the A1.

It’s expensive, harsh, has a flawed transmission and also does you no endearing favours to the public. Would I swap my GT3 for one? Hell yes.
Thanks Harry – your car is AMAZING.

After Ben Linney (GT Culture) kindly invited me to his abode today, I really was looking forward to seeing the GTR in the flesh for the first time. I’d passed up many opportunities recently to see the car face to face, either in Tokyo or in more local arenas. I’d brushed alongside them many times on the ring during their testing, but never seen one in production trim. Today was an opportunity to finally put to rest my opinion on its aesthetics and hope to grab a ride as a passenger.

As an owner of a 997GT3, I have treated the arrival of the GTR with mixed emotions. Porsche have continually provided its userbase with cars that are exciting, reliable and extremely capable, so I knew if the GTR was to succeed in any way (at least, at a subjective, personal level), it needed to be VERY special indeed. The car market is such at the moment where the benchmarks are very high with a plethora of models available at that price range.

Driving down the country lane where Ben resides, it was only the massive streak of white I passed tucked behind a high wall and bushes that made me slam on my brakes and reverse back up the road. Standing proud in front of the house, there’s no questioning its imposing stance. Butch, squat, wide and fat, it has the presence of an angry gorilla.

It is big, no doubt. But it’s no bigger, at least by first impressions, than the R34 was. In fact, the R34’s boot gave it a slightly elongated look. The 35 by comparison is clean in design and sharp in detail. I figured out what gave it its big look, it’s those wheels – they are absolutely huge and are further accentuated by the dark metallic finish, the whole area around the wheels are lost in shadow.

Looking at both cars from the rear, it’s clear that the GTR wears its size with pride as it makes no attempt to disguise its high back end. In fact, with the boot-line ending high up, it appears to be an exaggerated design feature. It has a look of a space shuttle about it. The GT3 next to it was positively dwarfed. However, the GT3 rides a lot lower as some of the photos show and were it not for the non-existent gap between tyre and wing, I’d say there was a few inches one could lose from the ride height of the GTR.

I’m still not convinced by the interior. As much as anyone would deny it, it’s only really when you sit inside you can see that it is ‘only’ a £60k car. An Audi R8 puts it to little shame, although some may argue the R8 is over designed. Still, we’re talking about a car that costs £30k more at the moment. Despite the budget switchgear, I still don’t like the way the centre console seems to have an air of arbitrary placement about it. No real thought seems to have been placed on the location of the consoles and it doesn’t quite gel together. Gran Turismo dials do give it some credibility though and I look forward to hours of fun tinkering with the touch screen display.

I ask Ben if he plans on ever getting the car dirty by way of hinting for a ride. Next I know he’s sitting in the passenger seat and I’m beckoned into the hot seat. Now, I’ve been given the keys to a lot of cars – everything from Ferraris to Lamborghini’s to every kind of Porsche model made (including GuyR’s 600BHP Ruf). I almost always say no because this kind of thing always ends in tears, but for once in my life I make an exception – there is no way on earth any man would pass up this opportunity.

The GTR has keyless start with the fob needed only in close vicinity for the Start button to be active. Once pressed, I’m overly surprised by what is a very mechanical and certainly menacing engine bark. Strangely emanating from the rear too. I half expected a more electronic feel to this car but the presence of a nuts and bolts car can’t be denied and I’m pleased by this minor observation.

It sounds great and shows a lot of promise. I’d hyped the car up so much myself (no thanks to the massive positive press lately) that I was afraid it just couldn’t match my expectations.

Press the button on the gear leaver and slot into D, release the brake and the car creeps forward. An overly enthusiastic prod of the throttle sends the car leaping forward – holy cow that throttle is so sensitive! A little more discretion this time as a feathered massage is all that is required. Last thing I want right now is to launch Ben’s spaceship into the Oak tree right in front of us that seems to be mocking me.

“Does the front ground?” I ask as we pull out of his drive. “No, it’s quite high” replies Ben, and he’s quite right, it clears with plenty to spare. Pulled out of his drive, I’m impressed by the low speed weight of the steering and I’m so absorbed by the comfort and intimacy of what is a very cosy environment, I’m suddenly shocked to see the gear indicator showing [6]! Have I had a black out, or has this car just gone through all 6 gears in 10 seconds without a hint of ever having done so? I suspect this transmission is going to be quite the toy.

A few km later and I’m really enjoying the ride. It’s firm, taut and incredibly resolved. There’s this sense of gravity about it, but not in the manner of pure weight. It feels absorbed into the very tarmac it rides upon and I am feeling a level of assuredness only possible in a 4WD chassis – every corner of this car is sending a signal through my buttocks.

Ben encourages me to switch into manual mode – you can either pull the gear lever from A to M, or you can quite simply tug on one of the paddle shifts to take control. I do the latter and bring the gear down from sixth to fifth. And down to fourth and finally third. It’s perfect. Immediate, smooth, vocal – I’ve not seen a gearbox so awesome in my life and all of a sudden, I’m a paddle-shift convert.

“You’re in R mode now” says Ben, his grin reminiscent of the devils own. Glancing down I see all the lights are glaring at me bright red. Solid encouragement if I’ve ever seen some.

The road suddenly clears and I have a good view so I bury the throttle and…..OMGGGG holy shit this thing is fast! I mean, REALLY fast. Porsche GT3? Forget it, doesn’t have the torque. 997 Turbo? We’ll stop later and wait for it to catch up. This car is truly, sensationally fast and I have a sudden understanding when Chris Harris calls it a baby Veyron.

Any gear, any speed, press the LOL pedal and your back compresses all the layers of fat from your back, out of your ears in a way that’ll have you reciting school assembly hymns for the love of god. My fear for my license keeps me at bay – I’ll save the top figures for the Autobahn or the circuit.

See, this is the thing about lap times. Essentially, nobody gives a shit as the real world performance of a car is infinitely more relevant. That means in-gear times, torque, throttle response – in this context, the 997 TT is simply playing catch up.

And the car handles it with consummate ease with its trick suspension and 4WD super chassis doing an incredible job of telling Einstein that all his theories were wrong and in fact we’ve been studying the wrong laws of physics. It’s true, the GTR demonstrated that E most definitely doesn’t equal MC squared. How else can a car with 1700KG appear to be so lithe and nimble, so fast and manoeuvrable? That apple was rotten, Newton.

It’s a focused driver’s machine, no doubt. It’s so ridiculously fast I suspect each squish of the throttle will do nothing but fuel an addiction that will have you institutionalised in some form or another.

Oh another thing, this car is not for the discreet. If you enjoy the Hollywood lifestyle, or at least aspire to it, then this is the quickest way of buying into fame. Everyone stares – give this car a few more months exposure and it’ll be monumental. In white, you’re the messiah, returned. With a Mr T haircut.

I give Ben the keys to my car and encourage him to take advantage of the GT3. I’ll leave it for Ben to tell that story, but he appears to have huge fun as you can see by the picture. As I get back into my car, I am by no means ready to dismiss it. It’s a totally different car. The GT3 I suspect is still the king of the circuit based on its infinite feedback. But for an everyday proposition that does everything you could ever want from a car, the GTR is king of the road.

I’m hoping to be one of the first in the country with a UK car, today’s drive was the carrot at the end of the stick and I cannot wait for my car to arrive.

I’m sat here at home writing this and the single memory I can’t shake is the sheer power of this car.

I just wish I could afford to keep both the GT3 and the GTR, in their own disciplines, they’re both unbeatable.

Thanks again Ben, a privilege indeed!

Still, here you’ll find Glenn in his 997 GT3RS (host car with camera) chasing me in my white 997 GT3. It’s a pretty good video and shows the differences between the two cars (read: none!)

My ritual begins with the Porsche key. What does this stand for? Trust, quality, cohesion, thrills, solidarity, reliability? This and more and all it takes is for me to pull out of my parking spot to have these keywords reinforced. Having engaged 1st gear and pulled the wheel to the left, there’s an immediate sense of unison between all controls and it doesn’t require me to push any boundaries in order to qualify this craft of precision engineering.

Before long, I’m on an A-road comfortably enjoying 5th gear at which point, as I’m going for 6th, I suddenly realise there isn’t one. Slotting back into 5th, I settle for a cruise speed at a range of revs slightly higher than I’m used to.

You see, I’m not in the GT3. I’m in a vanilla Boxster.

My car has developed a minor oil leak and Porsche have kindly provided me with a 2 day old Boxster as a courtesy whilst my car was in for repairs. This car isn’t the ‘S’ model, so it’s cooking at only 245BHP from its 2.7l. You may be forgiven for berating the car’s relatively lethargic powerplant – especially if you’re used to over 420BHP in GT3 chilli form. However, that would be missing the point entirely and I’d then proceed to ridicule you for not understanding the concept of a roadster. I’m just going to come out and say it:

This is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best cars I’ve ever driven.

There, I’ve said it. Cue jokes regarding my gender and sexual preference, but I digress, I will stand and fight for this car. It has a chassis and steering setup that is possibly even better than my GT3’s. It offers incredible balance, poise and handling – the likes of which I’ve not witnessed before, and despite its underdog performance, provides enough poke to keep you concentrating on the handling and entertainment so you forget about any power deficit. I can only imagine the ‘S’ is a revelation!

With my roof down at 12am on a Saturday night, it was probably only my hooded top that stopped any leery comments from drunken yobs, but once outside of the suburbs and into rural home counties, I was engrossed in the solitude you can only feel when exposed to the night sky on a summers day. I watched the temperature drop from 15deg when I left home to 7deg when I eventually parked up. The heaters are suitably equipped to keep you warm and there is a sensible decorum in the cockpit when at motorway speeds. Having your windows up further enhances calm in the cabin, but at the expense of the raw experience a convertible can offer.

Brakes were reassuring and offered wonderful stopping power, although feel was a little on the soft side – a fair deal considering its well mannered intentions overall. The chassis handled the power with consummate ease, demonstrating its ability to change direction at full throttle without a single hint of confusion nor consternation.

It also drives like a pussy-cat through traffic and London calming measures and continued to reinforce the point that, really, this is all the sports car anybody actually needs in today’s world of legislation and increasingly oppressive driving laws.

I think the facelift has also matured the car into a very handsome object. I cannot see any worthwhile competition to this car and in fact can only question the motives of someone choosing a Cayman over a Boxster S as a decision that simply makes no sense.

As I came out of the car at nearly 1am, I looked around it and whilst circling the car, soaked up its compact dimensions, which no doubt aid the highly impressive handling characteristics. How much these personalities have to do with the mid-engined layout is unknown, but an educated guess can only credit the layout versus what we’re used to in a 911.

At £33k, it’s certainly not cheap, but it takes a fool to deny the value of what’s on offer here. Also, with 20k mile, 2 year old examples going for £26k, they also appear to offer ridiculously healthy residuals. Honestly, you can’t go wrong.

A call from the dealer 4 hours after dropping the car off confirmed that the oil leak was just a simple seal and it had been fixed and was ready to pick up. I looked out the window, recognised it was a Friday in the midst of an Indian summer and said to the engineer “Actually, I’d like to keep the Boxster until Monday if that’s ok?” I can give no better praise than that!

Possibly the best muscle car ever made

I can easily become totally absorbed with something I enjoy, to the point of allowing it to consume me. Such is the situation now.

I’ve just returned again from another hopeless trip and for the first time I wished I was in a different car. You can easily get addicted to the Nurburgring. I’ve been 6-7 times this year as it truly is the greatest circuit ever. But it demands commitment of the kind I am simply unable to provide. You cannot learn this circuit in anything less than ten visits. They say it takes 50 laps to start to learn the ring and another 50 to learn the lines. That’s over 2000km of track time. Ouch.

After having returned from the Ring yesterday, the third consecutive failure, I’m beginning to think about my purpose there. It absolutely pissed it down all day and some places had zero visibility. This was also supposed to be a Ring training day with the Scuderia 7 training organisation. After 4 laps of ducks and drapes, it took 3 moments of abject terror in the car for me to accept a warning when I’m given one from him upstairs. That’s it folks, I’m going home.

Even getting home was without doubt one of the most traumatising events I’ve ever experienced in a car. I’ve often waxed lyrical about the wonders of European roads and their total lack of UK traffic (although the amount of roadworks in Germany lately is worrying), but if you’ve ever driven in torrential rain in Europe, you’ll know what I mean. Almost all autobahn’s are made of concrete, which is possibly down to the fact that tarmac melts at high European temperatures. But the problem with concrete is it doesn’t absorb any water and it simply doesn’t know what to do with it, it just sits as a huge 200 mile long puddle. Add to this a Porsche GT3 with Michelin Cups and you’re basically as responsible as a suicide bomber. As you can see from these treads, it was largely impossible to not act like I was having an epileptic fit at the wheel everytime I encountered standing water. I suspect I did the entire return journey sideways. Must be a world record there?

My entire journey home was drenched in contemplation as I was overtaken, ironically, by £1000 cars with less than 90BHP. I simply could not keep up and considered what a joy it would have been to have done the journey in my 2.0TDi Golf, which in real world terms, is A Better Car.

And another thing! If I see another bratwurst or a schnitzel, I’m going to staple my eyeballs through broken glass. There literally is no such thing as German cuisine and, in stereotypical fashion, food appears to be nothing other than a source of energy. A means to an end.

I arrived back at home utterly drained. So much concentration was absorbed in trying to get home at 50MPH, I suffered a neurological meltdown and collapsed at home exhausted. Waste of a 1000 miles. Waste of a £1000.00. Waste of 2 days. I’m all ‘Ringed out now and looking at the web-cam, it looks utterly deadly even now. Credit to the instructors who persevered at the event. For me it was a futile exercise as I cannot learn anything on the ring when the foremost thought in my mind is to not die. By the time I left the Ring at 10.30am, there had already been 3significant car casualties.

I’m bitter. Whilst UK weather was scorching for the first time in god knows how long, I spent it like a loser on my own in a strange German B&B peering out of the window as it was pounded on by horizontal rain drops wondering what the Jesus tap dancing Christ I’m doing here.

Don’t finish the box of chocolates in one go folks.

So, after a 2 hour wait in the car park (I’m sure he’s getting me back for another earlier misdemeanor), sat in the “HGV’s only” car park (safer from Joe Idiot), it’s the incredible noise that awakens me from my near comatose slumber whilst on the mobile to a friend. Sleek, feline, almost certainly predatory, David’s Ford GT is as blunt a statement in arriving as anybody can make. Resplendent in Blue with white stripes, I am certifiable in my excitement as anyone who has an interest in not only cars, but modern art too, should be.

As he reverses next to me, he cannot resist an exagerated blip of the throttle. I have always been steadfast in my opinion that the best sounding car is a Gallardo V10 with a straight through Tubi. However, an imminent sound off is innevitable – now that David has a backbox free from obstruction, his V8 is as vocal and loud as pragmatically possible. I get a veritable rush of goosebumps and involuntarily yell down my phone to the person I was speaking to, “Er, I gotta go….BEEEEEEEP”

Although blue is not my first choice for a Ford GT, you cannot deny the presence the car forces upon its near vicinity, regardless of colour. It has beautiful haunches to cover the massive rear wheels, an fascinating drop in the bonnet cleverly designed to hide the cooling fans and classic wedge in the nose that defines this timeless profile. The designer needs to be congratulated as the car has incredibly close ties with its ancestor without losing its modern statement.

As a passenger, the car feels large. And it is, huge. Even the seats are epic in size and design, down to the space age switch gear and hi-tech floor mats. Unfortunate that there is quite literally ZERO compartmental space. No glove box, boot, luggage storage area – nothing. In fact, it suits my needs perfect as I enjoy travelling solo, using up the passenger seat as a litter bin for all my Red Bulls and malteser wrappers. Strange it is, also, to be sitting in a car where the rear haunches are taller than your head.

As we pull away, windows up are no longer an option – in fact I’ll go as far as to suggest the windows go down automatically as the engine starts – rain or shine.
Driving around on mostly A roads and dual carriageways, the car has appears to have a forgiving demeanour about itself and does not seem to intimidate as a supercar of 600BHP normally could. Apart from the obvious width disadvantage, of which David appeared to have master, the car was a pussy cat.

Dropping the hammer is always eventful. However, it’s always hard to concentrate on the, naturally vivid, performance, when you have 5.4ltrs through eight vertically opposed cylinders attempting to make you bleed from the ears. It’s also a car with a 220 MPH potential, so this should give you a suggestion of the rapid accelleration, but it’s smooth and useable – not in the least frantic or chaotic. Just clean, sure fired, brutal power.

Later, as he follows me, I find it hard to judge how much bigger his car is than my GT3. This is apparent as a major fuck up later, my sat nav has led us into perhaps the narrowest farm track B road ever – it’s quite embarassing, but amusing all the same.

Also, some may know that South Mimms service station is very close to the Hatfield tunnel. Yes, you know what comes next. I pulled over and opened my window. As I was about to indicate for him to pull past, he’d already begun to do so, requiring no encouragement whatsoever – a petrol head at heart eh? As he drove past me, full throttle, in a tunnel, with my windows open, I believe, for a short moment, I was transported to an alternate plane of existence as he ripped the fabric of space time continuum. I then woke up 2 weeks later in a padded room reciting a mantra that went something like “Fuck me, my ears”

Erotic stuff.

THE GT3 IS STILL THE BEST CAR I’VE EVER OWNED.

Blah, blah – stuck record, etc. I know, you’ve heard it before and some people are a little tired of my incessant ramblings, but I cannot help myself, this truly is one of the all time greats.

So what have I been up to? Well, I’ve engaged in a few Nurburgring tours. It’s not been totally stress free. Of the past four trips since January, two have been from the safety of the car park.
Back in May some may know we did a ‘Ring and Spa weekend, both of which were total washouts. I came back home with nothing other than the mileage to show.
We returned back in June again but were faced with exactly the same situation. Sheepishly, we returned back to the UK and started to prepare for the RMA trip in July.

I can happily report that the weather was certainly in our favour with the majority of the weekend captured by wonderful sunshine and clear blue skies.

It’s now nearly 8 months since I bought the car, am I still in the honeymoon period? Absolutely. I’m still overawed by this car as much as I was back in January when I first picked it up. The car has an incredibly steep learning curve, with handling characteristics not apparent until such point where you extend your levels of experimentation. It’s incredibly benign for one. Handling is accentuated by simple feedback characteristics. Grip is simply monumental (I am on 9,000 miles now and through to my 3rd set of tyres) and traction unbreakable in the absence of violent input. Even on wet circuits, full throttle 2nd gear 45deg bends fail to perturb the rear of the car. How?? I don’t know, it’s unbelievable at times. When it does break away, communication is positive and clear with perfect drifts an arm lock away. Don’t underestimate the placement of the engine though. It’s still a very powerful rear wheel drive car and any carelessness can be rewarded by swift retribution.

Nearly 10k miles, I’ve not noticed anything out of place. The car feels tight, cleanly calibrated and accessible as ever. I’ve since had a number of changes to the car. TheAlcon discs from JZ Machtech have proven to be very effective, but do allow a little trepidation from user by way of considerable groaning under tight braking. It’s not unlike the sound you hear from badly warped discs, but naturally without the judder. I understand this is an effect of the RS29 pads and the C-section holes on the discs. They certainly appear to last well though, contrary to the standardOEM Porsche steel discs which gave incredible performance and feedback at the cost of longevity. Overall, I expect this to be a more economical route.

I’ve also had the suspension geometry adjusted with 3deg camber. The effect of this is better traction and grip on circuit with better consistency in tyre wear. I should see my tyres last at least 100% more. At over £1000.00 a set, this is a welcome adjustment (a friend in his 997 GT3RS has the same amount of miles, but is now on his 6th set!). The change to the geometry has meant an increase in tramliming, but this is a small compromise. Driving over any standing water is as horrific as ever though with any venture in heavy rain met with contempt from the tyres – they simply do not know how to disperse the water.

It’s still a very special car though. With 200MPH performance on tap at a squeeze of the throttle, the immediately accessible power is never anything other than facesplittingly hilarious. Sport mode on, windows down and a rummage through any of the six gears, hit 3000RPM and the exhaust baffles open up to make noises that simply do not deserve to be in a 911. It’s quick too – REALLY quick. I’m not ever found wanting for power as the band is so wide, there’s always an available sweet spot, whatever the gear. In fact, starting from low revs in any gear and nailing it to 8400rpm takes just enough time for you to relish the crescendo perform, ending right at the point when you start over again. You just stop accelerating when you run out of space/points – delete where applicable.

I’ve not had a more effective cleaver for motorway traffic either. On the autobahn, consistent high speeds are almost encouraged by the stark invitations made by cars pulling out of fast lanes. The comical hesitations apparent by cars that indicate to overtake ahead, notice a white shooting star and desperately attempt a humble change of opinion as they scatter back into their slow moving lanes, doomed to slipstream caravans andHGV’s – always a hoot to watch.

My spec has been well thought out with the carbon bucket seats an invaluable addition to this car. With incredible lateral support ontrack-days and figure hugging proportions making long transcontinental trips a breeze, I’m yet to complain about any posture problems. Sat-nav indispensable with accurate,European roads. I’ve often been taken all the way from my front door to the car park of our hotel in Germany. Fast to re-route, good dynamicpathing (avoids traffic) and crystal clear interface. White with black wheels is also so dreamy!

It’s 100% a ten out of ten car. I want to marry it. I’ve got ring training next week and I am very much looking forward to this. After that, I’ll hang my ring hat for the year. The car will then be pampered until the end of the year.

I’ve been told, disappointingly, that my order for a new GT3 will no longer be honoured as production has been cut drastically short. However, I DO have my name down for the 997 Mk2. This is of course unofficial, butinternet rumours about, there appears to be a bored out version of this 3.6 unit, taking it up to 3.8 ltrs. Don’t know for sure, but we can expect at least 30-50 bhp gains here together with the obvious chassis tweaks that make these cars so interstellar.

Going to tattoo 997GT3 on my ass I think.

After an excruciating drive across Europe to Germany, it was obvious the rain wasn’t about to stop. It seems the beautiful UK weather decided to drag it’s ass eastbound and follow us cross-country. A 70MPH journey is not an ideal way of staying awake during a 5 hour drive, but a prod of the accelerator had me praying to all seven gods in unison whilst my sternum was doing it’s best to ensure my heart wasn’t about to burrow it’s way out of my chest. Lethal conditions aside, the constant threat of Beligian police is another recent discomfort, not least considering my recent apprehension by said forces.

So it was with much dismay that I arrived at the Nurburgring to be confronted with a horrid, wet, incessant downpour which would at times arrive at a hortizontal trajectory. Cars and bikes creating red flags and the non stop use of the trackside emergency vehicle did nothing other than warn me about the dangers of venturing onto the Worlds Most Dangerous Circuit (TM) in a 90k car with slicks. Back to the hotel it was for much deliberation about our plan B. Unfortunately, it was a bank holiday. In Germany. For anyone that knows the place, Sundays are like town when the Lollipop Man arrives in chitty chitty bang bang, it’s simply vaccant. The remainder of the day was left in silent contemplation and general wishes that the proceeding day would grant us limited sunshine to enjoy the pre-booked day at Spa.

Of course, that would be asking for too much.

It was like somebody had moved Niagra Falls conveniently onto Eau Rouge without ensuring sufficient overflow plumbing was in place. Alas, I’d forgotten my life jacket at home so the day was left to those who were brave, stupid or had walked out of a lobotomy half finished.

A miserable drive back as the moment we left Spa early that morning, the sun broke and I enjoyed the use of my sunglasses the whole journey home.

I daren’t return as it was obvious, Europe did not want me this ill-fated weekend. I took consolation in the fact that I didn’t need replacement tyres/brakes/insurance/car (del. as applicable) and was able to reverse into my garage with barely dulled anticipation of the event that never was.

I await my next journey end of June. By god it better not rain.

The GT3 steel brakes are amongst the best in the business – but they haven’t lasted, so on go the Alcon discs and uprated Pagid RS29 pads. Initial feel is great on the road, impressive bite and good feel. Look forward to seeing how it works on track.

I’ve also had the track set up from JZ Machtech so now I have better surface area contact on tyre tread – this should give me better turn in and grip on the circuit and also provide me with much better wear rates on the prohibitively expensive tyres. On road impressions are good again, with crisper turn in and confidence inspiring traction on lean in bends. Although there has been a noticable increase in tramlining, I guess the 3deg adgustment now has the tyres hunting out changes to road surface.

Aside from the service it’s had with engine and gearbox oil changes, I’ve also resprayed the wheels black. They look awesome and are even better in the flesh. I’ve opted out of the black gloss that comes with the RS’s and instead gone for a mat finish which appears to have worked fantastic on the white car. Very happy with this decision and the Alcon discs look huge behind the wheels.

Looking forward to the Ring at the end of this month!

I asked to speak to the dealer principle as I wasn’t prepared to be fed some low level bullcrap by some part time sales trainee who’s mate had a 40,000 HP GTR from a superchip he collected out of a cornflakes packet.

Unfortunately, the dealer principle was not in today, so I was given his phone number which went direct to the voicemail of the person in charge of Brand and Marketing.

Credit to her, I was given a call back later that afternoon. Having described my position as owner of the GTR Register and founding member of the GTR Owners Club, I was then privvy to a collection of glaring errors and dangerous assumptions.

Apparently, the GTR stopped production over 10 years ago (actually, in 2002) and was only sold in a dozen dealerships (actually only one). I was since promised a phonecall but I still have no faith in them as a dealership.

This is Nissan’s biggest problem with the GTR. They currently do not have the capability to migrate into selling a 70k supercar in the same dealership that _shifts Micras day in day out. If they are to succeed, then a splinter organisation must occur, similar to that of BMW and Mini, or Lexus and Toyota, which will allow buyers such as myself to develop confindence enough to walk in with a £10,000 deposit knowing we’ll get the aftersales to match.

Allegedly, 3 orders have already been placed with a £5,000 deposit and they anticipate themselves being a dealership with franchise permissions enough to sell the GTR. Contradictory it seems as conflicting reports indicate no other dealers are taking orders as yet.

Nathan from Cambridge Autogleam came down and gave the car a fantastic once over. Results are obvious as you can see with some of the before / after shots. Some may wonder how much of the cleanliness is down to the photos, but I assure you the reality is the car appears as new. Oh and it smells awesome.

From time to time, a select group of individuals are invited to take part on a drift day on this course. When Henry invited me to this event, it was obvious there could be no yes/no answer to the invite. It was simply a calling and despite any reservations, your presence was required.

It was also decided that as we were in Germany, it was clearly necessary to make the obvious pilgrimage to the Nurburgring on the public Monday too. Plans afoot, a trip of epic proportions had been thus organised. The story would be told to children when greens were left uneaten.

So started this incredible weekend.

With 3 track days under the GT3 belt, the thoughts of tyres began to surface my pessimistic mind. I do not dally on the German autobahn, so the thought of worn tyres working close to the double tonne was a concern. Add to that the combination of a drift day and a ‘ring day, the initial dilemma soon became the bleeding obvious. Thanks to Steve at Simply Tyres and the considerable weight saving plan of my wallet (£1000.00 for a complete set of Michelin Pilot Cups), a new set of rubber was fitted right in front of my home the night before departure.

All that was left was a sufficient stock of the usual checklist (Redbull, water and Tic-Tacs) and an alarm clock at 5.30am. Kept awake by waves of anticipation and excitement (and the caffeine from 3 cans of back to back Coke), it took until 2.00am before I was able to dream of synchronised, balletic Scandinavian flicks.

Day 1

7.00am and I’m part of a 4 car GT3 convoy heading down towards the Euro Tunnel. Glenn in his orange 997GT3RS, Pete in his black 997GT3RS, Ken in his 996GT3RS and me in my white 997GT3. It’s always a pleasure to be part of such magnificent convoys. There is always a titanic sense of occasion and constant photography and almost paparazzi style attention from other road users can often be hilariously flattering.

Once over the border together with our latest convoy addition, Henry in his M3 CSL, we make our way across to Papenburg, the location of the test facility which will eventually host our drift event. We decide to go via Duisburg, as this route will eventually provide us with a 100 mile stretch of de-restricted autobahn. It proves to be a good choice. However, it’s not long before we approach Belgium when we are targeted by traffic police. As soon as I see the collection of police motorbikes on the central reservation, I haul in the brakes and everyone behind me follows suit. But I know it’s futile, the moment you see police, it’s normally too late. Eventually, the biker pulls up beside me and signals me to follow him and to pull over. The rest of the convoy continue whilst I take one for the team. It’s not a huge fine, 135 Euros for doing 157kph (120 speed limit), but it does demonstrate that the Belgian police are serious about maintaining and policing their speed limits.

I pull away and head for the next service station on our route, a meeting point as always after any incident. I am greeted with inquisitive faces and everyone has a 20 Euro note attached to their hands. It’s good to know you’re in a convoy where each individual is concerned about the welfare of the others, so I reluctantly accept the generous offer.

Leading the convoy (I have factory sat-nav – where are the whingers now!?), it’s not long before I notice the approach to the long de-restricted stretch of autobahn, so I pull into the petrol station for the third time that day. A quick fill up later and already we’re cruising at 150MPH. My comatose brain rudely awakened, I’m grateful for the sudden rush of adrenaline and fresh blood to my core neurone functions. Maintaining fastidiously the 75MPH speed limit for 2 hours was mind-numbingly dull.

Of course, 150MPH is nowhere near satisfying enough in a group of Porsche’s with double tonne quoted top speed figures. We’re soon heavy on our throttles accelerating hard and fast and before long, we’re sat at 175MPH. Henry is pretty much on the limit in his CSL, but I’m interested to see how much faster my car is on the autobahn than my previous generation 996GT3RS. In that car, I saw 200MPH on the speedo exactly, but it was quite terrifying as the car was very light and quick to move based on road camber and steering input and could change lanes at the blink of an eye.

With Glenn in his bright orange RS filling my mirrors, we both find a gap in the traffic and simultaneously reach for the top end. It doesn’t take long before I see 190MPH, the remaining incremental digits appearing in sure, patient fashion. When I hit 200MPH, I’m amazed at the composure of the car which reflects its older sibling as a relatively poorly dynamic car at high speed. This car feels stable, sure footed and only some scary cross wind moments force me to slow down at 203MPH. I’ve broken my personal record and I’m slowing down. Slowing down, of course, an absurd statement as I look down and see I’m travelling at ‘only’ 150MPH. I guess I better really slow down to let the others catch up!

As Glenn comes to my side, we slow down further and gesticulate our vmax’s. He tells me he’s just hit 200MPH. Deep down, I know I’ve got more in the car. It may be the odd 2-3 MPH, but I’m determined to see it and bury my curiosity once and for all. Naturally, I come across the next bend and I see a stretch of road further than my eye can see. I downshift to fourth gear and bury the throttle. Fifth, then sixth gear, 190 approaches very quickly and I count the digits as they rise slowly. 195, 200, 201, 202, 203….

At this point, I detached myself from reality. Any contemplation regarding your current activity can do nothing other than hamper the immense amount of concentration I am dedicating to this pursuit. It’s ridiculously reckless on my own part, futile in reason and utterly pointless. So why do I do it? Well, why does one climb the mountain? Why do we skydive?
Quite simply, to push our own boundaries in thrill seeking can be a very human motivation. 200MPH in a car is the most mesmerising joyous activity I can think of, bar the obvious other one.

I can see the autobahn bending a little ahead. What appears as a straight road at 100MPH can be quite different at twice that speed. I decide to press on regardless in my quest to travel through space and time. I see in my mirror nobody close by, but cars are still being overtaken at over 200MPH – it must be a surreal sight for the other road users, but I ensure my main beams are always on so as to provide sufficient warning for my strafing run. But my time has come to an end, the road is getting busier and I decide to lift off. I quickly glance at my speedo to check my final figure. 207MPH. I start to smile to my self and let out a violent yelp – I’ve forgotten to breathe for too long. Thank Porsche also for the provision of an alcantara coated steering wheel – my hands are clammy and my heart is racing. As Glenn pulls up next to me, I mime “TWO OH SEVEN” out my side window. His eyebrows are raised in disbelief, but I’m happy knowing the GT3 is faster than the RS on the autobahn. Mostly do to with the narrow body aerodynamic and also the simpler spoiler which doesn’t provide huge downforce at the expense of top end speed.

A short while later and we’re at the petrol station, again. Incredibly, it’s taken us exactly 45 minutes to deplete a whole tank of fuel. I’m not even going to begin to work out our fuel consumption, it’s a given that we’ve raped not only the German roads, but also their ecology too.

We decide to cruise to our destination at a sensible 150MPH all the way. Strangely enough, despite my earlier “Make it so” speeds, this still feels incredibly fast so as a result, it’s still a fantastic trip of the journey. It’s 7pm by the time we arrive at our hotel and my sat-nav has brought us right to the front door. As the end of the first night approaches, we’re sat at our meal exchanging stories of crazy moments and vapourised bugs.

Day 2

The security personel at the top secret test facility at Papenburg firstly confiscates any equipment that can serve a photographic purpose and then ask us to sign a plethora of documents. We witness with our own eyes many test mules and development cars, but these are to be committed to memory only and no pictures are allowed. Which is a HUGE shame considering the sideways nature of this drift event. If ever I needed evidence of being a hero, this was it. The event consists of about 20-30 cars altogether and a vast majority of them are E30 BMW’s. Bangers basically. As we ponder the potential reaction of these people as we turn up to McDonald’s wearing a dinner suit, the feeling of being overdressed is soon evaporated as the incredibly friendly nature of the regulars rubs off on us. Consisting of mainly Dutch drivers (for some strange reason, they are amongst the best drifters in the world), everyone is keen to help and take you out for a few laps for familiarisation.

We even have with us Andre who is a semi-pro racer but also a champion drifter. A few laps in his BMW 130i just has me laughing like an idiot, raising imaginary 10 cards. With his display of exemplary car control, I was saddened by the notion that I’d never be able to drive in such fashion. His ability to connect Scandinavian flick to lift off oversteer and the following switchbacks meant I was watching the rear of the car through the side windows. I was blown away.

As I went out in my GT3, Andre explained the braking points and the sections at which I was to force my car to lose traction and encourage full four wheel drifts. A difficult task at first as the very nature of a drift is to lose control of your car. Psychologically, this isn’t easy in a £90k car. It took many minor spins and a few major ones before my inhibitions evaporated and before long, I was throwing the car in to fast, 60 MPH apexes with full throttle powerslides and relishing the fan-base cheering from the side of the pit lane.

As the day progressed, so did my bravery. The tractor and its water tanker dampened the corners every 30 minutes or so, so the tyres were kept relatively cool and in good order. It’s a surprisingly low stress event for a car. Unfortunately, only Henry in his CSL gelled with the concept of drifting and a couple of spins for the others did nothing other than dampen their bravery further. It’s a hard barrier to cross, but it does require a few failed spins to really understand and learn the true limits of your car and your subsequent reaction. The rest of the team went a day early to the ring to catch some evening sessions, leaving just Henry and I to play Makinen.

Towards the end of the day, I was itching to see what a true pro drifter would do with my car. As I asked Andre if he wanted to borrow my keys, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. I sat in the passenger seat and gave him the pre-flight.

Andre: “What’s this?”
Me: “That’s the dampers setting.
Andre: “We’ll have that on hard – what’s this?”
Me: “That’s sport mode – opens the exhaust valves fully, releases more power and allows slip from the traction control.”
Andre: “We want sport mode then, finally what’s this?”
Me: “That’s traction cont….
Andre: “OFF!”

Now, drifting a GT3, a rear engined, rear wheel drive car with 12J x 19 with 305/30 ZR 19 tyres on the rear is a task in itself. First, it grips like a newborn and has traction that has been known to cause rips in the fabric of space time continuum. But when the rears let go, you need to be on the ball as there is a pronounced pendulum effect that throws the rear right the way around. Once caught, it’s relatively benign and holding a drift can be quite straightforward. For the initiated.

Andre took a whole half a lap to familiarise himself with the car before he was sideways on every single bend. With accurate and precise use of the throttle, the car was balanced in a beautifully poetic dance as he linked one bend to the next. Not only was he sideways everywhere, he was also devouring everyone else on the track. After 5 laps of amazing skill, he pulled into the pits, jumped out and claimed that his car was now on the market and he wanted a GT3. My trust in him was rewarded with a display of awesome competence – if ever he’s around, make sure you validate this opportunity!

Day 3

Henry and I travelled up to the Ring to meet the rest of our group that same evening. Unfortunately, my frequent visits to the gravel trap meant my car befriended a number of unseen stones in it’s hidden folds. It was only when the car was hitting warp speed on the autobahn again that they decided to part company from my car. Normally, this isn’t a problem, but when you’re being closely followed by a friend in his car, the destruction of his windscreen is inevitable. 175MPH stones took 3 size-able chunks out of his window. In addition to this, there were a number of peppered dents put into his front end. Henry was nonchalant about the affair and no amount of arguing would change his mind over the refusal to accept my contribution to repair. Sterling chap.

The next morning saw the five of us at the ‘ring car park. I was immediately teleported back to the first time I drove on the ‘ring, almost 5 years ago in my GTR V-Spec Nur. I recall enjoying a relatively well paced lap in this state of the art car that had just cost me in excess of £60,000, when a stealth black, Mk1 GT3 totally and utterly annihilated me by overtaking me on the outside of a bend whilst leaving me two thick, black marks across the circuit. Not only had I been dismissed so unconditionally, but the perpetrator also saw fit to leave me with his autograph, as though proud to showcase his incriminating evidence in what was, essentially, a brutal murder. I loped back to the ring car park that ill fated weekend and made an instant decision. I must buy a GT3.

So here I am in my third GT3 – a car which could comfortably claim to have been built specifically for this exact purpose. Parked up under the cafe, the car was battle-scarred beyond comprehension. Having survived a drift day, a drive across 3 countries and a 200+MPH jaunt across the autobahn, it looked like it needed a weekend trip at a luxury spa and golf hotel for some pampering. With a layer of dirt thick enough to change its colour and the nose cone home to an insect holocaust, there were no aspirations to grandeur today.
With Glenn and Pete’s gleaming RS next to my car, I may as well have been a Mondeo parked up beside them, such is the effect of it’s wounds from the three days before.

Eight tickets purchased, but I first want a lap with Henry in his CSL. I’m gagging to see Henry drive out here. He’s really set himself up for a fall as all weekend he’s been giving everybody advice with tips and tricks for the ring. He tells me I don’t need a helmet as we’re out only for a casual lap, windows open, have a chat on the way etc. I’m about to start stirring the Nescafe when we he sticks his ticket into the toll booth, qualifying a lap. What happens during the next eight and a half minutes was a revelation. Aside from eating my pessimistic hat, I was a front row witness to a spectacle of speed, knowledge and prowess. Every four miles, Henry would turn to me and ask “Are you alright?” as I would allow a rush of blood to escape out of my arteries back into my skin cells to allow the colour to form back into my cheeks. The surreal thing is, every single bend, curve, straight and narrow was described to me in minute detail, whilst at the same time my palms would get clammier and my yelps would get ever more silent. Upon returning to the car park, Henry asked if I wanted another lap out. Bears, Adenau forest etc?

The rest of my day was in the shadow of those first two laps with Henry. That’s not to sound too pessimistic. A ‘ring instructor once told me if you come to the ‘ring knowing everything, you will learn nothing. I emptied my brain, passenger seat and bladder of its contents and proceeded to enjoy seven laps of the best place on earth. There simply was no other place I’d rather have been. I am someone who relishes solitude. This is very relevant on a track day, but on the ‘ring it’s amplified ten-fold due to its immense size. Aside from the octane overdosing, it’s surrounded by beautiful forest backdrop and if you squint, you can imagine yourself on one of the colourful Gran Turismo 4 imaginary circuits. It’s like a walk in the forest. At 150mph.

The GT3 is in its element. It’s fast, competent and remarkably usable on a circuit that has a death toll in the 100’s. Its outright speed is stupendous and the ‘ring is all about carrying speed through the bends and using brakes as little as possible. In this context, I know of no other car out of the box that can compete at this level. Everything on this car is 100% factory standard and the fact that Porsche developed this car here shows. My courage develops as the laps tick over and as the day progresses, the circuit starts to empty as tourists begin their long journeys home. I’m not timing, but estimates from other cars that did time suggest a lap time of around very late 8 Min’s, leading up to 9 Min’s dead. This, for me, is deliriously quick. I’m still a minute behind Henry, but I’ll never attempt to achieve those kinds of figures, lest I decide to return home in a coffin. Impressively, Glenn in his RS is also stupendously fast and makes quick work of me as he appears in my mirror then disappears into the horizon shortly after.

As always on a track day, I leave my last lap on my ticket unused and I decide to return home on a massive high. I have been intoxicated, rejuvenated, liberated….I am already thinking about my next booked event here back in July. It’s too far away and when I get back to the UK, I eventually put my name up for an event in May. But for the now, my drive back to the UK is a serene, hypnotic affair. We chase the sun for what appears to be the best part of four hours. When we reach Calais, my eyes are fatigued from the squinting and my body feels weary from 2500 miles of serious driving. My bladder is large enough to levitate the next Virgin Atlantic crossing attempt but I still manage to grab a cafe noir before we are ushered onto the train. I’m certain Noah had more time to gather his animals. The analogy is amusing as I arrive in London with my own hot branding on the rear of my GT3 in the shape of the Nordschleife circuit.

The UK motorways bring with it a nauseous, overcrowded depression and my thoughts are singular in ‘just-getting-home’ as I navigate from one extended roadworks sign to another. I have another three hour journey but I make good time by listening to classic FM on my upgraded sound system whilst depleting my final Red bull – ensuring my last leg is both drama free and efficient.

As I reverse back into my garage and pull my handbrake up for the last time, I turn off the ignition and my ears are buzzing, my eyes are bleary and my body aches from dehydration and abuse.The carbon backed buckets have done a fabulous job of keeping my body in one shape (losing 6 kg has helped this, no doubt!). I feel slightly guilty as the car has had a battering 3 days and truly needs some love and care. I’m curious though, and I start the engine one more time, just to make sure. As always, the revs are blipped by the starter and then it settles to the GT3’s unique baritone flatline.

Good as new.

Bedford was a stark comparison to my first trackday with the 997, which was at Silverstone. Firstly, the beautiful weather assisted in getting the rubber up to optimum temperatures throughout which in turn provided the supernatural levels of grip that I’m still quite unused to. The two long straights at Bedford are connected by a high speed left right that had me attacking it at even greater speed as the laps progressed. The switchback letf right was so sudden, the grip demonstrated through this 80/90MPH section was bewildering.
Additionally, the long straights at Bedford made overtaking an absolute delight. The long straight in particular had me overtaking five or six cars in one sweep manoeuvre, so powerful is the the GT3. I really don’t believe the car is at it’s quoted power of 410BHP – it feels closer to 500 at times.

Bedford is set in rural surroundings, which makes its policing of the noise limits draconian in effect. So it wasn’t long before I was black flagged for breaking the noise limits, yet I wasn’t even in “Sport” mode. I was given one more chance to go out as they employ a “2 strikes and out” rule. So some creative noise manipulation later (didn’t use full throttle during certain moments), I was able to stay out and enjoy the day. As a result, my traction control remained on all day, but this isn’t any ordinary traction control. I was still able to enjoy some lairy power slides, but they can still bite. A comical spin when playing with Guy in his CSL proved that.

As the day progressed, so did my skills – the GT3 has limits beyond my comprehension and to assume to be close to those would be foolish. However, Beford has a range of dynamic (albeit bland) complex curves, hairpins, S-Bends and straights and linking these together became the most fluid of exercises I’ve ever engaged in in a car.

As I always do on a trackday, I left early, content with the knowledge that I’d been able to return home in one piece with another day of pumping adrenaline abating through my body.

I was at first a bit worried with it being an Easy Track day, as there were all sorts of cars present, from 20 year old Astras spewing smoke and oil, to Cavaliers with squealing tyres. But I couldn’t have been more wrong in my assumption as the day turned out to be incredibly well behaved and the cars on the circuit displayed a level of etiquette I hadn’t seen in years.

Looks like I need the clay bar again.

Rewind to 2nd January and I’m at the dealers collecting my car. As a New Year’s present, you can’t top a brand new GT3. I’d had an order down for the car for nigh on three years and my anticipation leading up to collection had been borderline delirium. Since collection, the last three weeks have largely been snapshots of memories from one intense moment to another as I try to compile some order to my recent experiences.

I’m sure we’ve all been spoilt with news of how the 997 GT3 has become a creature comfort tool. Don’t let recent stories of compromise delude you; this is still a very focused car. I’ve gone for the extreme end of the spec with carbon buckets (which are superb and maintain comfort and rigidity in equal measure) and the club sport pack (rear roll cage, harnesses and other trackside toys). Both of these add an air of menace to what appears to be Porsche’s attempt to bring the interior of the 997 into the 21st century. It’s a mighty fine job as my 996GT3RS had an appallingly bland, albeit functional, interior.

The damper button has been utterly useless on UK roads – I’ve booked three track days so I’ll reserve judgement on this until then.

My favourite feature is definitely the loud button that they’ve ingenuously marked as ‘Sport’. It does two things. It relaxes the traction control without turning it off, but most importantly, it opens a valve in the exhaust that turns the car into an operatic sequence of gearshifts. Recent Porsches rarely sound great – they sound menacing and gruff, but vocally they’re devoid of music. I’m happy to say that it has been rightly addressed as this car now displays an addictive array of notes that has you hitting 8200rpm at every opportunity. It’s challenging when you’ve only got 12 points to play with as it is a massive exercise in self-control, but it really does present itself as an excellent excuse to nail the throttle at every opportunity. In fact, I’ve often been told to slow down by people in other cars when I’m comfortably within the speed limit. Two weeks ago, a businessman came running up to my window and cried foul as he adamantly tried to warn me against speeding beside his office again. I had hit an almighty 27MPH.

There appears to be an incredible cohesion about the car, starting from the banshee power plant, right down to the hi-tech tyres that display supernatural levels of grip and traction. With reports already about owners having to replace these tyres after four thousand miles, you can see why. The soft compound Cups make for reassuring driving in all conditions, but a recent drive across torrential rain gave me a moment that terrified and dazzled in equal measure. At about 85MPH I hit some standing water on the M25 and before I knew it, my backside shook so violently, I’d have immediately qualified as a hip-hop groupie. The car soon regained composure and whether that was because of my frantic corrective gestures, or the benign nature of the car is a point of contention. Regardless, the comical disparity and contradiction of Vivaldi through my optional Sound Package Plus system as I screamed Holy Mary Mother of God was as direct a lesson in the limits of the tyres as I can imagine. I’ve since learned to avoid puddles.

The ’sling-shot’ is ever more pronounced in the 997GT3 though, with fast in, faster out being the apex approach of choice. There’s still an incredibly rewarding process of nailing the throttle just on the exit to a bend and witnessing an experience only possible in a rear engine, rear wheel drive car. As a meteor skims orbit, the GT3 is catapulted out of the corner with ferocious vigour.

The engine, too, is a diamond with a breadth of ability that demonstrates a diverse range of talents, from the low down, no quibble pick up, straight up and beyond to the deliciously intoxicating scream at the top end. It takes a while for you to remember that when your natural reaction to shift up presents itself, you’ve actually got another 2000 revs to use. Get into the flow of using the whole range and you’ll learn to enjoy the relentless urge as the car picks up its torrent of revs in a remarkably consistent and obstinate fashion.

The only option I’ve skipped is the carbon ceramic brakes. I’m still unsure as to whether this was a right decision, but with £5k replacement costs, that’s 10 times the cost of steel equivalents and at the end of the day, it just comes down to whether you can afford them or not.

It’s Sunday evening, about 6pm and I decide to take the car out for a drive. I punch in some random town names in the amazing sat-nav, uncheck the ‘motorways’ box and select ’shortest route’ to guarantee some traffic free A and B roads. What followed were six hours of sheer drama. With freezing cold temperatures outside, my windows fully open (sound is amplified from the engine and exhaust) and my heater on maximum attack, the experience is one I have not had in many years. As I rolled back into my garage at 1am, having covered four counties and over a tank and a half of fuel, I felt exhausted as an entire evening of hard-wired adrenaline started to catch up with me. Ears ringing from almost 300 miles of flat six pounding on my lobes, I collapsed onto my bed as thoughts of fluidity, traction and sheer capability drilled into my consciousness kept me awake for many hours. It was surely one of the most electric drives I’d experienced in a long time.

This is not a car for the faint hearted. Focus, concentrate and you are rewarded with driving pleasures that hark back to the time before speed cameras and Livingstone.

As I throw my thoughts into words, it pleases me to find difficulties in est