New to the board. 996 Question.

Hi, I'm new to the board and new to Porsche. I am interested in buying a 2001 911 Carrera which from what I can tell has been modded to replicate a GT3. I know the car has the standard Carrera 3.4L engine but it also has: Yellow Paint GT3 Brakes GT3 Suspension GT3 Seats (rear of seat is painted to match car) Center Console is painted to match car Seat belt match car color as well GT3 Roll Cage GT3 Emblems on rear, also on the rocker guards, E brake, and shift ****. GT3 3 spoke steering wheel GT3 Pedals GT3 Spoiler GT3 Body kit GT3 18" Wheels Litronic Headlamps Stability control GT3 Headers Essentially eveything a GT3 has except for the engine. (Unless I'm missing something) What I am interested in knowing is this... Was there some package option from Porsche in 2001 to make a standard Carrera into a GT3 replica? I have been searching the internet high and low but I can't seem to find anything out about this. Not even another car like it... Is this a one off car or a dealer option? If it is a one off, perhaps someone can give a little insight into why a person would go a spend a fortune making a Carrera into a GT3 when they could put that money towards a turbo model... Im still learning about Porsche so forgive my ignorance. Thanks for any help/insight you can share. Oh btw the car looks identical to this.

Some of the items could have been ordered from Porsche that way, but there's no way Porsche put GT3 emblems on a non GT3 car. So given that, I would guess it's all owner mods. Look at the option sticker under the hood to find out what, if any, came from the factory. Insight? They wanted their car to look like a GT3 without spending the money to get one. Lots of us would choose the normally aspirated 996 over the turbo.

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In a word, no. There is NOTHING that can replicate it. You could order the aero kit when ordering the car which gives it the GT3 "aero" look but that is as far as it goes. There are too many differences to go into here but I promise you that is does NOT have the full GT3 suspension. Further, it much more than "just the engine". Owning both, they couldn't be more different (GT3 and 996CAB). Post up the link to the car for sale and we can give you a better idea of what it "REALLY" is and help sorting out the options, etc.. Good luck on your search.

well for starters... the C2 frame will never be a GT3 frame (it is much stiffer on the GT3)

It's a C4 tub.

I think there was one of these on Ebay recently...

Cut the guy some slack. He didn't do the mods, he just bought it that way and didn't know he would need a flame suit when introducing his car. My recommendation to the OP would to remove the GT3 badging and enjoy the car. If the car had everything else listed, they are some very good mods.

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no flames here... just answering his ??? Lots of people here do these mods he listed (including me).... and I enjoy the heck out of my car. Agree w/ removing badging and enjoy as is... sounds like a heck of a car.

Some people have more money than brains, and when the mod bug bites they go for it. It becomes a GT3 that ain't.

Targa4life, What you are looking at is a very nicely modded Carrera 2. Somebody spent a lot of money to make it that way. It is not a GT3 in many minor details, but for the 99th percentile it makes no difference. It looks and sounds like a very nice car from what you have written. You will never miss the miniscule GT3 differences that are not there if this is your first 996. Welcome to the Rennlist board. Welcome to the 996 Forum. Please enjoy your stay here. Nobody means any harm if the things they write appear harsh. It is the defect of writing on the internet without the benefit of voice inflexions. Everyone here is working in your best interest. More important than its provenance as a GT3/clone is the real mechanicals of what you have. It would behoove you to have a very quailfied Porsche trained mechanic do a thorough inspection of the car for you before you buy, particularly the engine and drive train to determine if the car is in truly good condition, or a worn out car with a nice paint job, so-to-speak. Always, the first and best money you can spend is on a first class inspection by certified Porsche mechanics with all the right tools and test equipment before you lay down big money. If this car has reasonable mileage, is in truly fine mechanical shape with a well documented service history, then it is worth considering. I certainly would. Most of the 996'ers eventually make some modifications to their cars to personalize them. This car is an excellent wish-list for most of them.

+1 other than the color it sounds good

I don't know where you are, but I am going to assume you are in the US. The car you are contemplating is a 996 styled to resemble a Mk I GT3 based on the 1st gen 996 (1999-2001 MY). The real Mk I GT3 was never available in the US market, only in the rest of the world. Porsche sold the MkII GT3 in the US in 2004. US owners could upgrade a Carrera to make it look or perform more like a GT3, but it would never be cost effective to go all the way there. The GT3 is built on a Carrera 4 chassis for stiffness (no AWD of course). The engine is completely different. I suppose if someone was really intent on it they could rip out the stock parts replace all the brake and suspension components with GT3 parts. Is the entire brake and suspension systems GT3 parts or is it mixed parts? What is the asking price of this car? Unless you were planning on buying a base Carrera and adding all those mods, it's not worth much of a premium. However if the mods are well done, and you were thinking of installing them anyway, it could save you some time and $.

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+1 The only difference is that the GT3 uses the C4 chassis because it has extra reinforcement (and is a little stiffer) up front. Other than that, no frame difference.

To me, the most important part of the GT3 IS the engine.

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+1 - I highly doubt the car is exactly as advertised. That's not to say it hasn't been modded well, or isn't a nice car but think of it this way....the seller started to *lie* about the car when he put the GT3 badge on it.

Well firstly thanks for all the quick replies. Its nice to see that this is a very active forum. As for the car.. Since I live in Newfoundland Canada and the car is in the US we have no easy way of looking the car over. Although we have had it brought to a Porsche dealership and had them go through it completely and all relevant documents faxed to us from them. They were amazed at the condition of the vehicle and have given their "seal of approval". All that was wrong was one of the two horns wasn't working and a light in the drivers door wasn't working... Maybe a bulb? They checked the RMS and found it to be completely dry so no immediate concern there. The car only has 17,000miles on it too. I have since done some research and found a few things. I realize that the actual GT3 has the Air cooled engine... Or at least the block which is a much better and reliable platform. As for any minor differences from the actual GT3 and this car, were not going to loose any sleep over it. So long as the car is in good shape mechanically and cosmetically then we are very happy. As for the price... We are spending roughly $30,000USD. From pricing other Porsche's we though this was a good deal. Any opinions/advice? Even if this was a stock Carrera would this be a fair price? BTW the current owner (for the last 6 years) is 73 yrs old and finds that getting in and out if too difficult nowadays so hes selling.

I would say $30k is a lot for a base '01, but like others have said, if you like / want this car as equipped, you're getting a deal.

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It's water cooled not oil cooled. The GT3 motor is a GT1 derived M64 motor. And no, oil cooled is NOT more reliable than water cooled but we're not going to have that debate. "minor"? not even close. As I said, the only thing they share is a basic line. The differences are MAJOR and there is no similarity or sharing. Unless you count stuff like the steering wheel 30K is high. 25-30K is fair and as you are approaching 30K it's a better deal for the seller and 25K is better for the buyer. Please don't fool yourself into buying a car that "looks" like a GT3 and makes it worth paying a premium. A nice aero 996 would be more preferred and then a stock C2 and add a aerokit.

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Another way to think about it is $30K is base 2002 C2 territory. The Mk II has small improvements all around, including a slightly better engine (3.6L). Yet another way to look at it is that it's not going to be easy when it comes time to sell the GT3 replica - unless you find someone looking for that sort of car. In general mods don't add much value, especially something as extreme as this.