The new toy

It's been a long time since I was around here and I think I may not have even posted about the demise of my 987 Cayman that's still in my signature, although someone else did post about it. If you want to see why my Cayman disappeared then feel free to have a read of my last article I wrote on the old girl Faceplant ......from which she did not recover. After many months of searching I came across my perfect car which I picked up last Thursday afternoon, where I managed to drive it for a whole 20 minutes before needing to rush out to my work Christmas party......and then the next day to get settled into it I was on track in it with the Porsche Club UAE!! She's rather special I think as it's a mint Porsche Approved MY2008 997.1 GT3 with only 18k kms (11k miles in old money), buckets and PTS RS Orange. The colour may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it certainly is mine, and a google search seemed to turn up only one or two other non-RS GT3's in RS Orange, so it's quite rare :banana: Already shaved 5 seconds off of my lap time at Yas Marina circuit compared to the Cayman, although nowhere near as smooth as I was in the Cayman and some mastering is required.....but great fun, and loving it. She will now take the place of the Cayman in the evo magazine Middle East fast fleet updates each month.

That looks superb. Congrats.

Outstanding and, in my mind, a proper color for a GT3. Special car, special color. All the Best.

I love it... Beautiful color that suits such kind of animal. And by all means, knowing you, I say this car fits you right. You have the passion for it and it has the instinct to satisfy you. Best of luck buddy... Enjoy it for very long safe fun miles.

Lovely bit of kit, a nice little Christmas present!!

Beautiful.

Thank you all. Forgot to say my first mod was done the moment I got it...disconnection of the PSE solenoid for the full time loud soundtrack! Love it. I loved my 987CS, and the GT3 simply amplifies those things I loved even more. Basic simple interior, mechanical engine and transmissions noises coming through into the cabin, gorgeous looking and an experience every time you turn the key. I missed the 987 when she was no longer around but after 6 years had possibly outgrown her, but the reality is the GT3 is just a more suited car for me due to it's more track focussed background. Gone but not forgotten beauty

Fantastic looking car ! Your first mod maybe the only one you ever need to do. Enjoy your new machine. Cman21

Nice car, enjoy the new ride - interesting time delta vs. your 987 experiences. Other than stomping out the odd 987/981, I would be interested in how you find the 997.1 GT3 fares either chasing down, or just running with it's cousins, the 991 GT3's. Happy Holidays, mlp

Congrats, looks great, I would definitely own an orange GT3, a special car needs a special color to match.

Perfect color on that car. Love bright colors on a sports car. It just says fun out loud. Which is why my CS is screaming yellow. My prior 2-seater decades ago was orange.

Beautiful car and beautiful color! Having Yas Marinas track near by is real handy too

It's beautiful, absolutely love the colour. Green or orange would be my choice for a GT3

Thank you. The delta is far bigger between the 987S and 997 GT3 than I can even attempt to prove currently. The biggest reason is the Cayman never had a coilover set-up on it, so here the GT3 murders it and then there's the straight line speed differential which is approximately 85hp over my modded Cayman, which is plenty to provide several car lengths on even short straights. I expect I will be about 8-10 seconds quicker than the 987 (With Trofeo's) with the GT3 on it's current Michelin Cups but that would become an even bigger gap with a switch to Trofeo R's. We have a good set of reference times with the club from guys that have been driving 997 GT3's for quite some years that range from 2:37 for a modded 997.1 GT3 driven by a guy with lots of racing experience and his own cup car, and then 2:42 which is other fast drivers with racing experience and then other quick drivers are in the sub 2:50 range......still there are quite a few over that time as well. The faster 991 GT3's are putting in already 2:41 times with traffic and with coolant/absorbent on the racing line at one high speed braking zone, and I expect we'll see them in the high 2:30's easily and then low to mid 2:30's with some more track time. There is really no comparison though, as the new cars are a far better car for going faster in and just do things with less fuss. They are far far quicker everywhere, and after driving 991's and several 981's my opinion is the new bread of cars will make a poor or average driver look good and a good driver look great, whereas the 997 will make a average driver look decidedly average or bad and a good or great driver simply look good or great. The new models are, simply put, fantastic and offer enjoyment in a different way than the older models, and a 981 GTS was on my list, but I wanted something a bit more hardcore and a little more racecar-esque (minimal interior), as it's my toy after all. I let a 997.2 GT3 with clubsport package slip through my fingers, but in the end decided enough time had been wasted and this one ticked most of the boxes, although the Gen 2 is again a faster car on track and straightline speed is quite different and more than the 20hp suggests. Straight line speed the 991 GT3 slaughters the 997's and more comparable in speed is a 991S without powerkit, which may even be marginally faster on the straights with PDK. The fact is I am not out there to win races, but instead get the maximum entertainment I can and that is what my 997.1 GT3 offers....to me at least. Thank you. And to think I almost ended up with a White Gen 2! A signal green RS was one I was watching out for, but when this one became available I knew it didn't get much better as a package.

Great car! Great colour! Saw it last Friday @ Yas. I can't wait for the next track day. Unfortunately, I will not be able to make it for next month, but definitely will be there on the 6th March. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

That's a really special car--love it! When I went looking for a "new" car to replace my 06 Cayman S, I looked at Gen 1 GT3s, and they were very tempting. Ultimately I ended up ordering a Cayman GTS for about the same money, and I don't regret the decision--although I do wonder what it would have been like to experience the GT3 on a daily basis. Since my car is a daily driver, and I can't afford an occasional toy, the CGTS might be the better choice, but having driven a few GT3s, they are certainly the epitome of what Porsche stands for these days, at least to me! Drive it and enjoy it! Beautiful...

Hey Doc, it's been a while. You've definitely made the right choice for a DD, and there was a part of me saying for the same price I could have a brand spanking new 981 GTS over a 6 year old 997 GT3. What did it for me like you say is it's a toy, and I do really like the rawness and purity of the old GT3. The new models I enjoy in a very different way, with fantastic interiors, superior handling, awesome PDK shifts and dirty sounding exhausts. I though I may miss the exhaust note of the Borla on the 987, but the GT3 at full bore even on the stock system is magical. I have the luxury to go for something slightly purer and less practical and that's what I did. If I'd needed something with a little more practicality then the 981 GTS would have been an easy choice and wins over any "non-S or S 911" for me. Surprisingly the Carrera GT buckets are very comfortable and posed no issues at all after a 3.5 hour drive out yesterday in the mountains. I was also at the wheel of the 458 Speciale on the same roads yesterday and it is very 981 like in it's amazing grip levels and just constantly feels like it has traction and just copes so well with the change in loads and surfaces.....and driving it back-to-back with the GT3 just highlighted how pure the 997 GT3 is. This was a point echoed by the owner of the Speciale, who had a .1 RS but forgot how pure it was, and now is looking for a 997 GT3 to add to his garage. He's just sold his 991 GT3 as the 458 is just better all round, but obviously neither have that rawness that the 997 GT3 has, for better or worse. We had a C7 Corvette with us......which is far improved over the old models and has some very neat features, but not for me.

love it i had a 1977 corvette in that colour it was a great car but yours is my next dream HAPPY TRAILS

Love the car and the color...enjoy!

nice OP love the color!