991.2 GT3 PDK vs Boxster Spyder RS - Page 1 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

As these are now similar money, which should I go for as a fun road car (unlikely to ever see a track)? Don t particularly want a convertible but I’ve heard the cayman RS is less road biased than the Spyder. Discuss!

Looking forward to seeing the responses to this as I’m also considering either of these choices. On paper, both look great prospects but I suspect the Spyder RS would get used more as it seems more compliant on the road, with slightly less track focus than the GT3.

If you don t want the convertible roof. Buy the 991.2 GT3.

I would say the Spyder is probably the more interesting car, with the top down experience for sunny days, quite an intense induction heavy soundtrack in a package that fits down a B road slightly better than the 911. Performance in terms of engine and suspension compliance is negligible, although the 718 platform is in my view slightly more polished. Then you're considering aesthetics which is entirely down to personal preference. I would probably try the Spyder first, give it a year and if what it delivers hasn't squashed the GT3 itch then pivot to that instead. Personally, I would go GT3, but that's just down to the sum on my past experiences. HTH

Both great cars. The Spyder is VERY noisy - uncomfortably so for many people - when at higher rev ranges, which is when these cars are at their best. Suggest you check you're OK with it before committing to one Enjoy the search and making up your mind I had a 718 Spyder and previously had a 992 GT3. Personally I'd go for the 991.2 GT3 over the SRS if you're not fussed about roof off driving, as said by someone above

My first Porsche was a brand new 987 which was great and had two 997 cabs along the way but also had a fair few coupes. Not specifically looking for a cab but ok with one. Will be a high days and holiday car as it will be along side a golf GTI daily and a 997 GTS coupe manual as the other toy.

Given your current fleet and that you are not tracking the car I would opt for the SRS. Your 997GTS is a real sweet spot for 911’s in general and whilst the GT3 will be a lump quicker and much more tied down your 997 is probably a nicer road car on today’s roads. The SRS will give you what you are missing, the full fat engine experience, whilst again being nicer to use on UK roads. Plus the added bonus of the convertible. The SRS will be feral at full chat roof down compared to your 997 . It will feel a lot quicker as well, especially in the mid to top end of the rev range, sweaty palms incoming. The SRS will, I suspect, depreciate more slowly as well, there are a lot fewer of them.

You've said road car, so Spyder all day, every day. As drivers cars go its probably one of the best out there. The argument I'd make is whether you actually need the RS though, as think a generic older Spyder would be a fantastic road car for the weekends/fun, etc. Roof down, manual, back to the thrill of driving, with enough power but not too much to just end up being driven at speeds which could end up destroying a licence.

Thanks for all the comments. I am looking for something that is fundamentally different to the GTS (which I’ve owned and loved for 12 years) and it’s a fantastic road car, the description of the SRS sounds like the contrast I might be looking for (scary fast, slightly impractical, but extremely involving). Need to get in one and see how it goes. Thank you all.

I’ve owned the 718 Spyder alongside a 991.2 GT3 PDK, then upgraded the Spyder to the RS version. I don’t track, don’t need to commute in my cars and live in the north of Scotland, so great, empty roads, but not particularly warm weather. I had a Huracan Evo RWD at the same time as the Spyder RS also. I kept the Spyder for a year and the RS also for a year. I didn’t gel with the Spyder, because the wind noise with the roof off, meant I couldn’t really hear the engine and the engine noise is a big part of why I like cars. I thought the RS would cure that, with the induction noise, but I still felt that, at pace, the wind noise and induction noise just ended up with me hearing a bunch of ‘noise’. I preferred driving both Spyders with the roof on, to eliminate the wind noise (it did), but then why have a Spyder/Spyder RS ? Hence the single year in both cars. If you can get past the noise ‘issue’ I had, the Spyder RS was probably more visceral than the Huracan and drove beautifully. The hoods on both flavours of Spyders weren’t a factor - after a couple of goes, putting them up and down was easy and part of the fun. They were able to be garaged and kept with the hoods off - ready to roll, which helped. I got out of the Spyder RS into a 992 GT3 Touring, which I ran alongside the 991.2 GT3. I loved both GT3s and loved them both more than the Spyder RS - because I could hear the engine noise much more cleanly. I recall the 991.2 GT3 and Spyder RS are on the same underpinnings, which is why they both drove beautifully, especially the damping. FWIW - I ended up selling the 991.2 GT3 and keeping the 992 Touring. I found the Touring (on Pirelli P Zero corsa tyres) could do the sporty drives and the take it easy drives (e.g. with wife onboard) very well, but the 991.2 was ‘on it’, even if I wasn’t, so couldn’t do the take it easy drives nearly as well. I’d see if you can get a proper drive in the Spyder RS, with the roof down and see what you think. The YouTube’s don’t capture what it sounds/feels like and everyone perceives ‘noise’ differently. Hope this helps.

Hergiswilreid said: I ve owned the 718 Spyder alongside a 991.2 GT3 PDK, then upgraded the Spyder to the RS version. I don t track, don t need to commute in my cars and live in the north of Scotland, so great, empty roads, but not particularly warm weather. I had a Huracan Evo RWD at the same time as the Spyder RS also. I kept the Spyder for a year and the RS also for a year. I didn t gel with the Spyder, because the wind noise with the roof off, meant I couldn t really hear the engine and the engine noise is a big part of why I like cars. I thought the RS would cure that, with the induction noise, but I still felt that, at pace, the wind noise and induction noise just ended up with me hearing a bunch of noise . I preferred driving both Spyders with the roof on, to eliminate the wind noise (it did), but then why have a Spyder/Spyder RS ? Hence the single year in both cars. If you can get past the noise issue I had, the Spyder RS was probably more visceral than the Huracan and drove beautifully. The hoods on both flavours of Spyders weren t a factor - after a couple of goes, putting them up and down was easy and part of the fun. They were able to be garaged and kept with the hoods off - ready to roll, which helped. I got out of the Spyder RS into a 992 GT3 Touring, which I ran alongside the 991.2 GT3. I loved both GT3s and loved them both more than the Spyder RS - because I could hear the engine noise much more cleanly. I recall the 991.2 GT3 and Spyder RS are on the same underpinnings, which is why they both drove beautifully, especially the damping. FWIW - I ended up selling the 991.2 GT3 and keeping the 992 Touring. I found the Touring (on Pirelli P Zero corsa tyres) could do the sporty drives and the take it easy drives (e.g. with wife onboard) very well, but the 991.2 was on it , even if I wasn t, so couldn t do the take it easy drives nearly as well. I d see if you can get a proper drive in the Spyder RS, with the roof down and see what you think. The YouTube s don t capture what it sounds/feels like and everyone perceives noise differently. Hope this helps. Super useful feedback (as are the other comments on this thread). Seems like you have the direct experience I hoped for. A couple of things spring to mind. many years ago I considered trading my 997 GTS for a 1st gen Cayman GT4, as much as I loved the go cart handling, I found the GT4 3.8 in that less exciting at the top end than my 997 which has the power kit option (hence the attraction to the GT 4.0 block). The next thing is noise is super important (after 5 years I’ve just sold my Maserati Granturismo V8 which can survive wholly on its glorious noise on standard exhaust). I’m fascinated that your 992 touring was that much more road friendly than the 991.2. The write ups say the club sport and touring are on the same suspension but it seems maybe not! I say this as the 992 was also slated as being even more track focussed than the 991.2, all second hand YouTube info but maybe incorrect! My budget allow a comfortable 991.2 but tourings seem just out of reach, but I also wanted a winged / sporty looking car to contrast my ultra subtle GTS! Monday should bring some clarity as I’m seeing some 991 and 992 GT cars alongside Spyder RSs at RPM….. let’s see!

c4sman said: Super useful feedback (as are the other comments on this thread). Seems like you have the direct experience I hoped for. A couple of things spring to mind. many years ago I considered trading my 997 GTS for a 1st gen Cayman GT4, as much as I loved the go cart handling, I found the GT4 3.8 in that less exciting at the top end than my 997 which has the power kit option (hence the attraction to the GT 4.0 block). The next thing is noise is super important (after 5 years I ve just sold my Maserati Granturismo V8 which can survive wholly on its glorious noise on standard exhaust). I m fascinated that your 992 touring was that much more road friendly than the 991.2. The write ups say the club sport and touring are on the same suspension but it seems maybe not! I say this as the 992 was also slated as being even more track focussed than the 991.2, all second hand YouTube info but maybe incorrect! My budget allow a comfortable 991.2 but tourings seem just out of reach, but I also wanted a winged / sporty looking car to contrast my ultra subtle GTS! Monday should bring some clarity as I m seeing some 991 and 992 GT cars alongside Spyder RSs at RPM .. let s see! Trip to RPM a good option- all the toys!

c4sman said: Thanks for all the comments. I am looking for something that is fundamentally different to the GTS (which I ve owned and loved for 12 years) and it s a fantastic road car, the description of the SRS sounds like the contrast I might be looking for (scary fast, slightly impractical, but extremely involving). Need to get in one and see how it goes. Thank you all. The GT3 is everything you’ve described there compared to a 997 GTS The 997 GTS is a fantastic road car. I owned a manual GTS for six years, the last three of those years I also owned a 991.2 GT3. Engines define cars for me, once you’ve driven the GT3 the GTS engine feels a bit lazy…which is why I sold mine. Wasn’t getting used enough.

Cheib said: The GT3 is everything you ve described there compared to a 997 GTS The 997 GTS is a fantastic road car. I owned a manual GTS for six years, the last three of those years I also owned a 991.2 GT3. Engines define cars for me, once you ve driven the GT3 the GTS engine feels a bit lazy which is why I sold mine. Wasn t getting used enough. Again great feedback. I m ok with the GTS feeling ordinary next to the 991.2. I love that car (also a manual) and will remain a keeper whilst I m driving so happy to have the GT3 feeling like a space ship compared with it to keep the distinction and different roles. Edited by c4sman on Saturday 14th February 12:57

Have you experienced open top motoring and where is it on the priority list - surely the pertinent question?

RichDS said: Have you experienced open top motoring and where is it on the priority list - surely the pertinent question? Indeed I have had lots of convertibles (TVR S, TVR V8S, Griffith 400, Griffith 500, 987 Boxster S, 997 C4S Cab, 997 Turbo Cab and E93 M3), but I think I’ve grown out of them however. I have beenn doing a lot of thinking with the help of this thread and have now made a decision against the SRS. The clincher is I plan to potentially use the car for some road trips and fabric roofs no longer do it for me from a security perspective when parking in hotels etc. . To that point I’ve voted with my wallet and purchased what I believe is a very special 991.2 GT3 CS. Should pick it up in a months time. As usual with me a car hunt that I hope will last for weeks is over in a couple of days…. Will post here when it arrives!

c4sman said: Indeed I have had lots of convertibles (TVR S, TVR V8S, Griffith 400, Griffith 500, 987 Boxster S, 997 C4S Cab, 997 Turbo Cab and E93 M3), but I think I ve grown out of them however. I have beenn doing a lot of thinking with the help of this thread and have now made a decision against the SRS. The clincher is I plan to potentially use the car for some road trips and fabric roofs no longer do it for me from a security perspective when parking in hotels etc. . To that point I ve voted with my wallet and purchased what I believe is a very special 991.2 GT3 CS. Should pick it up in a months time. As usual with me a car hunt that I hope will last for weeks is over in a couple of days . Will post here when it arrives! You cant go wrong with that choice