1. M t C o o t h a - A U S T R A L I A
R O C K A N D H A R D P L A C E
W O R D S & P H O T O S L e e D e a n
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2. Sitting in the grey GT3 RS with red wheels and graphics; so much of this car
is about what your senses tell you, at start up you know there is something
extra here, there is the element that a lot of work has gone into making this
car something very special. Step off the clutch and the massive rear tyres start
to move - the mechanical sounds are all around the cabin, it’s like driving a
transformer and you get the feeling the car knows more about driving than you.
Even at everyday speeds on everyday roads the car feels alive and agile, closely
stacked gear ratios keep the revs high as you move through the gears. The aural
delight as the engine note begins to build and change form under load, we find
a few curves and get into it. The revs flare immediately with the razor sharp
throttle response, the alcantara clad steering wheel feels perfect in the hand as
Today we have the automotive conundrum of
choosing a favourite child, we have a 997 GenII
911 GT3 RS and the 997 Gen1 GT2, both massively
capable, both dream cars for many people.
How would you ever choose one, let’s try.
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3. you shift up the bolt action manual. The sound changes
again and the beautifully metallic roar fills your face with
a smile, you get the feeling the Metzger engine could
possibly heal the world.
The feel of the pedals and direct nature of this car is
thrilling, the yellow marker spins around the wheel as we
negotiate a hair pin and come out the other side with 3
times as much pedal as necessary – the tyres erupt and
climb the camber of the road moving uphill, there is the
yellow marker again and that sound is intoxicating.
The good bits are a 12.2:1 compression ratio 3.8 litre
Porsche motorsports naturally aspirated engine, dynamic
engine mounts, titanium exhaust and wider track than
the Gen I at both the front and the rear, wider front
arches and a larger spoiler.
Weighing in at 1370kg it’s this figure that speaks volumes
about the cars ability and it’s 7 seconds a lap quicker than
the equivalent model GT3 around the Nürburgring in
fact it held the lap record for road there. It has 336kW
(450bhp) and 430Nm of torque.
It is really as fast and extreme on the road as anyone
could ask for or is it?
Approaching the viper green GT2, clues are obvious from
the outset that these cars came from the same mother.
The soft feel of the Alcantara steering wheel nods its
alignment with its aspirated future GT sister.
Let’s get to it, this car has one hell of a mental reputation
lineage starting with Porsche making the 993 GT2 to
go racing at LeMans; rear drive 993 with massive bolt
on guards, 320kW (430hp) and about 1200kg made a
“the yellow marker spins around the
wheel as we negotiate a hair pin and
come out the other side with 3 times
as much pedal as necessary”
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4. notorious recipe for great fun and accidents. Next the
996 GT2 which rightly earned the nickname the widow
maker due to its dynamics in the wet from the factory
causing more accidents… But with a bit of chassis
alteration the tendency to understeer can be adjusted
and you are left with something very nice. So here we
are sitting in the 997 GT2, if I’m honest one of my most
favourite cars of all time.
The figures here are 390kW (530bhp) and a massive
680Nm pushing along its 1440kg weight.
Figures don’t mean much when you are in the carbon
driver seat at speed, you know the numbers are big –
a scene from The Empire Strikes Back flashes through
my mind; C-3PO: “Sir, the possibility of successfully
navigating an asteroid field is approximately three
thousand, seven hundred and twenty to one.”
Han Solo: “Never tell me the odds!”
This really is an altogether different driving experience
to the GT3 RS, they are from the same family but I’d
be getting a new milkman. They are made for different
things obviously, the GT2 is always hunting for room
somewhere to wind it out to feel the shove that the
engine is capable of, it yearns to be in a straight line and
go, you develop a sports bike riders mentality. There
are a few training wheel settings and when you turn off
everything, the car does feel very alive and raw. You can
have fun in the GT2 and for people who like to speak
softly and carry a big stick this car is one of the biggest
one can carry.
The sound is there but it’s muffled slightly, either that or
I’m moving too fast to hear it properly. The ride, like much
of the characteristics of the GT2 is a blend
tourer and bloody hard, the 380mm ceramic brakes
are there to pull you up when you’ve over done it which
happens often as you try to explore this machine, there
“The figures here are 390kW
(530bhp) and a massive 680Nm
pushing along its 1440kg weight”
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5. needs to be an adjustment in your thinking to overcome the fact that
the world is approaching at such a rate.
You can as we have done, have a lot of fun in the GT2 and its soft
compound Michelin 325/30/ZR19 Pilot Sport Cups do a great job of
keeping you on the road.
So which road do you go to get the most out of the GT2 I hear you ask,
well they reside in territories far away, so why does the GT2 exist. It
exists for the slightly unhinged and because it’s a storming car that
makes life all the more brilliant.
The choice for today is purely individual and ridiculously
unconventional on the roads, I’d choose the GT3RS with its gorgeous
soundtrack and slightly lower achievable entertainment limit. In
a perfect world I’d flair the revs and drown out the shouts of “you
shouldn’t be driving such a valuable car” as the rear end squirms
under power as I head for the first corner. Both these cars have their
own flavour of magic and there is only the personal preference of
insanity or more insanity between them.
Special Thanks go to Dave Beard & Brad Rankin for the use of these
two very special Porsches.
“Both these cars have their own
flavour of magic and there is only
the personal preference of insanity
or more insanity between them”
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