I have never had much luck with Porsches. Like all enthusiasts, I am of course interested in them. I was also one of the earlier enthusiasts who started noticing the beauty of the 964, as I contemplated buying one more than ten years ago. However, it just never crystallized, either due to bad timing, or not making enough at the time to take on a modern classic that was prone to full engine rebuilds due to oil leaks. Admittedly, in the early days when value started slowly rising, I was also the type that thought it was ‘crazy’ that an old 964 was worth HK$300k. By the time they were edging near HK$1 million, my budget was always saved for a Ferrari equivalent instead.
Finally about 6-7 years ago I owned my first Porsche, a Cayman R in Peridot Green with the manual gearbox (obviously). It was a lovely car, great exhaust note and remarkable handling, a thoroughly enjoyable daily driver. It wasn’t a 911 though, and I have still never owned a 911 before, which is a bit shameful as I think all car enthusiasts should do so at least once in their lifetime. Not to sound crass, but to classic enthusiasts like myself there are only certain 911’s that we consider, well 911’s. All air cooled manual 911’s are 911’s, Tiptronic and those awful gigantic tanks they call the 992 today are certainly not 911’s in my books.
I still remember growing up, the most popular production model that came out of Stuttgart was the 911 Turbo, starting from the 930 all the way to the 993 Turbo. Of course, Porsche enthusiasts always appreciated other models such as the RS, but for the ordinary enthusiasts the Turbo was always the poster child. Being from that era, my absolute favorite was of course the 964 Turbo 3.6. However, when the 996 came, everything seems to have changed and Porsche was under a lot of fire for making the switch to water-cooled engine. It wasn’t until when the first 996 GT3 was released that people started given the 996 a second look, thereby ultimately giving birth to the mighty GT3 RS. Celebrated for its back-to-basics and driver-focused approach, the GT3 RS swiftly took the poster child position from the Turbo, and this remains the case today.
The car we have today is a 997.1 GT3 RS, the second generation of the GT3 RS. With a light weight engine bonnet, carbon fibre rear wing, and an utterly cool plastic rear window, it is 20KG lighter than the ordinary GT3. At a mere 1375KG, its naturally aspirated legendary Mezger engine with 3.6 litre producing 415HP is enough to provide some proper old school raw and engaging fun.
Sitting inside it, just like Ferrari’s light weight equivalent, you immediately feel the aura in the surrounding that reminds you that this is a special model. The extensive use of Alcantara, the bucket seats, and the roll cage staring right into your eyes from the rearview mirror. Starting the car, the flat six engine roar is familiar right away (this car also has the Akrapovic exhaust which is ace). This car has been upgraded with the GT3 RS 4.0 flywheel and a short gear shifter. The clutch is on the heavy side but easily manageable and the gearshift is extremely short and precise. The last car that impressed me with the gearshift was actually the Toyota GR Yaris, but this one is even more short and tight.
The steering and brakes are exactly what you would expect from a special light weight version, accurate and confidence inspiring. When stepping on it, the engine opens up after 5,000RPM, as if it has a turbo. At full note, it is theatrical like the 430 Scuderia, but different and in some ways not as dramatic. Many people compare the two, but they really can’t be compared as they feel very different. For one thing, the GT3 RS is a lot more old school with the manual gearbox and the lesser engine power – requiring momentum more than sheer power. Both cars are immense fun, and it would be pointless to pick one, so the most ideal scenario would be to own both, which is just what the owner of today’s car and the 430 Scuderia we reviewed last week has done. No, I am not jealous at all…
I want to thank the owner for his generosity in letting us review both his lovely cars, and as always thank you to the team for making this video possible:
Alex (http://www.taipanmedia.com)
Alex C. (IG: @nofishshark)
Icy J (IG: @icyj95)
See our review video here: