OK bear with me:

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.