Test Drive: 2007 Porsche GT3 997
2007 Arctic Silver Metallic Porsche GT3
The elusive Porsche 911 GT3. Let me tell you, it’s probably as hard to drive one of these things as it is to get behind the wheel of a Ferrari. To start out with – there are only two GT3’s currently for sale in the Seattle area – and only one of them is a 997 body style, the other is a 996. My first two attempts to drive a Porsche GT3 were targeted at the 996 because it was at an independent dealer and I thought they may be a little more relaxed about letting me drive it. However, both efforts were thwarted within minutes of my arrival. Finally I thought I would contact the local Porsche dealer and see if they were a bit easier to deal with. Luckily my third effort was a success. I have to admit – after being rather disappointed by my first two Porsche 911 driving experiences, I was very nervous as they maneuvered the other cars out of the showroom to access the 2007 Arctic Silver Metallic 911 GT3 that I was interested in. Oh yeah – a 3rd Arctic Silver 911. Seriously? People need to get out more and realize that there are other colors that Porsche sells.
The day was pristine – about 75 degrees and perfectly sunny. As the dealer ran back in to pull the plate, I took a moment to take in the beauty of this rare car in front of me. I have only ever lusted after a car like this the way I pined for my M3. The sales guy came back with the plate and he hopped in the driver’s seat while I sat in the passenger seat. In a perfectly quintessential manner he turned the key and fired up the engine – then turned to me and said “okay, let’s just get one thing straight. If you buy this car you HAVE TO track it.”
It was at that moment that I was relieved to have this particular sales guy in the car with me – I knew he wouldn’t care if I put the hammer down on it.
We gingerly pulled out of the parking lot and he explained the route we’d be taking as the needle on the tach slowly climbed into the 3000 rev range. The hollow raspy exhaust note of the 997 GT3 was very similar to a regular Porsche Carrera or Turbo at the lower end. Over the next couple of miles the salesman explained to me a few things about Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) and sport mode. Pulling into a nearby parking lot, he turned the car around and pulled the e-brake: My turn.
As I hunkered down into the seat, it wrapped around me like a bear hug. It was quite a bit more firm than the seats in my M3, but supported me similarly, so they weren’t at all uncomfortable. All controls for the seats were manual, as they removed the power seat feature to save weight. The black leather felt great as I became accustomed to the cockpit and the alcantara was super comfortable. My hands wrapped around the black leather steering wheel, which was shaped fantastically, but had slightly less girth than my M3 steering wheel, which is perhaps the only thing about the car I wish was different. Looking through the steering wheel, sitting directly in front of me at eye-level was the huge light-grey tachometer that revved to 8,400 RPM. The speedometer sat just to the left of the tach and wrapped to an incredible 225 MPH. The salesman pushed the PASM button and the sport button, and immediately the exhaust became louder and growled with a slightly shallower note. Gripping the wheel with my left hand, I pushed in the clutch with my left foot – thank GOD there was actual sensation in the clutch pedal! I released the e-brake with my right hand and grasped the alcantara shift knob and pushed it into first gear. This was the moment I had been waiting for, the moment of truth: YES, I could actually feel the gates drop as first gear became engaged. This was possibly one of the biggest disappointments for me in the 996 Turbo and Carrera 4S – because their clutch and gearbox were smooth as silk, but completely and utterly numb to the senses. With a smile on my face as big as Christmas morning, I eased the clutch out and toed the gas.
The GT3’s throttle was easily as sensitive as my M3 in Sport mode – possibly even more so. As we rolled out onto the road the exhaust howl grew. Like a Ferrari, even at low revs with sport mode engaged the Porsche’s exhaust sounded vicious, like a caged rabid dog. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we were stuck on a straight road with a speed limit of 30 mph for the longest distance. I took the time to accommodate myself with the interior of the car and let the engine warm up a bit more. The gearbox was very firm and fantastically tight with every bit of communication you could hope for. I gave the throttle a few gooses to get a sense for how quickly it revved and it was noticeably faster in 2nd gear than the M3.
A couple miles down the road I put my signal on to turn left onto the freeway. Ahead of me laid a long sweeping right hand banking on-ramp with three cars in the right lane and a wide-open carpool lane on the left. The sales guy could tell I was looking hesitant and volunteered “You can take all three of those cars on the left.” Without a second of hesitation I gunned it. The exhaust howled as we were thrown back into our seats and the revs screamed northward. Second gear topped out just before I entered the corner and I had already passed one of the two cars. I popped into third and feathered the throttle as we entered the corner – the rough road and tight suspension jostling us around, but the grip remained solid. I will say that the acceleration didn’t hit us like a tidal wave like it did in the 911 Turbo, but the GT3 pulled consistently hard as the speedometer climbed toward 100 mph. I would describe it as noticeably faster than the M3, but not neck wrenching like the Turbo. The flat torque curve insures that the car accelerates very fast indeed, but like in the beemer it’s super smooth throughout the entire rev range. With the stiffness of the suspension, when the Porsche hit bumps it affected the steering and I had to be much more cautious with it because the car is so responsive to small adjustments of the wheel. I wouldn’t say this is a negative, just something I had to adjust to. At any rate – in the time it took for you to read this, I had already passed the other two cars and whooshed deliciously out of the turn and was now holding steady about 7,000 revs in third gear as I merged onto the freeway. The sound – oh the sound was like nothing I have ever experienced before! The engine screaming and the exhaust whaling like a banshee, the sound coming from behind me sounded like Metallica with the San Francisco Symphony at full blast.
We merged onto the freeway and most of the next couple of miles was spent between 70 and 95 mph. Also like the M3, this car is very manageable below 4,000 RPM, but keep the tach above that mark and it’s a savage beast. Dodging amongst a few cars, I took the next exit toward a connecting freeway, which contained another banked right hand turn. Blipping the throttle, I dropped the car to third gear and prepared to enter the corner at about 70 mph. This being my first high-speed turn-in with the Porsche I was expecting something similar to my car, but with the slightest turn of the wheel the svelte German machine immediately shot in too deep and I blew through the apex. “Whoops” I said with a bit of embarrassment to the sales guy. Pulling through the corner was pure ecstasy and I rocketed through 3rd gear once again, allowing it to spin down as I pointed the car toward the next off-ramp. Downshifting for the stop light was a beautiful experience, and I pulled through a left turn at the intersection, accelerating out in second gear I transitioned to the right and prepared for another right turn into a decreasing radius onramp to head back toward the dealer. I swung the Porsche wide and prepared to enter the next turn. Still in second gear, I allowed it to rev down as I entered the corner. Again the turn-in of the GT3 was so sharp that I missed the apex a mile too deep. Feeding gas back in and pushing the revs skyward the g-forces mounted as the corner began opening back up. We sling shotted out of the corner, wrapping the RPM band out almost all the way to the 8,400 RPM redline. I hit third gear and pounded the gas again, causing the sales guy to erupt in laughter. “Oh god, I have to say this is so much better than taking some old lady out in a Boxster,” he said, looking with a huge grin. Again I pushed the car to about 100 and let it coast back down as we merged into traffic.
The joyride continued for another few minutes and as we pulled back into the dealer, I could feel my hands and legs shaking with excitement.
The Porsche 911 GT3 was simply an amazing machine. This is what a Porsche is. None of that turbo charged 4 wheel drive bullshit. After even just a short experience like that I now fully understand why the GT3 is considered a benchmark sports car. In short The 997 GT3 was exactly like my M3 – except better in every single way. Turn in was amazingly sharp. Agility was unmatched by anything I’ve ever driven. Confidence in the corners was unflappable, and almost zero body roll was present. And even though I clearly wasn’t pushing the car to its limits, I think you’d really have to work at it to produce a snap-oversteer event. Oh – and the interior was sick too.
Driving the 997 GT3 completely restored my faith in Porsche.
