Just over 2 years now and I’ve still got this car! Mad eh? After having spent a not inconsiderable sum on bringing the car back to its youth again (detailing, new vinyl all over, front bumper respray for chips, wheels all refurbished back to original silver), I’ve returned home to find what can only be described as a heart stopping bit of exciting news wrapped in an A5 envelope addressed to myself.
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????
I was secretly hoping it would get the C4 body, but unless my eyes are failing I see a C2 shell. Does this mean the GT3 RS facelift is coming soon? :D
PS: Judging from those images my vote goes for the grey one.
It should still be based on the C4 shell – just not the wider C4S shell. The C4 shell is a little heavier than the C2 shell but is a lot stiffer, hence why they use it.
Porsche has got it spot on with this car, and especially the price. I think they will definitely steal a good few orders from Nissan with this one.
Grey with black wheels is getting my order. I would say go for a change of colour, You don’t want white again do you? Although it does look absolutely mental in that colour!
I wonder….I’ve recently come to the conclusion that they Nissan can take orders away from Porsche, but Porsche can’t take orders from Nissan buyers – they seem to be two distinct demographics.
I think I like the thinking with Grey also, but I wonder how close to the real grey these photoshops are…
Very nice. Don’t like the grey as rendered in those photos, but if it is a metallic grey, it should be great.
Nice that they put a silver outline on the black wheels too.
Go for it!
Amazing that it is so much cheaper in the UK than in Germany.
Yeah when you tick the ‘black wheels’ option, you always did get the silver rim – at least on the 997 models.
Ref the active engine mounts :
“Starting in autumn, the new GT3 will be available with yet another option making the car even more suitable for the race track: new and highly innovative PADM (Porsche Active Drivetrain Mount) engine bearings. These special engine mounts recognise a particularly sporting, race-like style of driving, making the normally elastic engine suspension hard and particularly resistant. This retains all the motoring comfort of the GT3 in everyday traffic, while on the race track the car is not affected by any mass forces coming from the engine, as would otherwise be the case in fast bends and on winding tracks.”
…..and go for the Grey, look epic IMO
Blowdog, I’m pretty sure the C4 and C4S have the same width, while the 2 and 2S are narrower. I just double checked on porsche.co.uk. :P
Talking about wider cars, have you considered upgrading to a preowned 997 GT3 RS rather than to a mk2 GT3?
Don,
You are correct on this, Blow Dog is talking sh1t.
The current 997 GT3 actually uses the same wider C4 shell for it’s stiffness as the RS, yet Porsche trim back the Regular GT3’s body at the rear arches….which means it must actually cost them more to make this than the RS !!!
Go figure !!!
G.
So I am actually right in saying it uses the heavier shell? kthxbye
My new GT3 brochure came in a smart red box with a black band round it with shiny GT3 lettering.
:)
Glenn, now I see what Blowdog meant.
BlowDog, I was just talking about “body” and “shell” in a completely superficial way. The car is narrow, so it looks like a C2/C2S body…I had no idea the underpinnings were C4/C4S despite that.
Anyway, I guess your avoidance of my question means you don’t want to upgrade to a mk1 997 GT3 RS?
:P :D
Let me know how much yours will be up for if you go for mk2. My GTR order is teetering on the edge at the moment!