SUPERCAR CLUB
Hitting the streets of Warsaw in a 997 GT3.
In the parking lot beneath Warsaw’s Hilton Hotel resides an eclectic collection of cars. At first glance, it’s hard to fathom precisely why a Mazda MX-5 is parked next to a Porsche Taycan Turbo S, or why a Ferrari F8 Spider is positioned near a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, but these aren’t the tuckedaway possessions of a wealthy hotel resident with varied automotive tastes. They belong to a special club: Supercar Club. One of its founders, Kamil Dwutko, will soon tell us how everything on display — from the humble Miata to the newest Lamborghini — offers a unique driving experience for discerning club members. And driving experience is the raison d’etre of Supercar Club.
The club came together in 2010 after rally driver, Krzysztof Hołowczyc (winner of the Polish Rally Championship in 1995, 1996 and 1999, European Rally Championship victor in 1997 and member of European Parliament between 2007 and 2009), sympathised with supercar enthusiasts who wondered how they could avoid losing money on storage, insurance and servicing for cars driven sparingly. The spark that coalesced the idea into a going concern took the form of a UK magazine article about a time-sharing club for supercar owners. “We immediately recognised the appeal of transplanting the idea to Poland,” explains Dwutko, one of Hołowczyc’s business partners. With the rally man's healthy financial investment and the use of the team’s own cars to kick things off, Supercar Club’s impressive list of vehicles now includes some of the most desirable cars in the
world, all available for club members to take advantage of. “They only pay for time spent at the wheel,” confirms Dwutko. “All other costs and burdens are covered by the club, including loss of value, insurance and maintenance. Our members only enjoy the bright side: fun!”
FOOT IN THE DOOR
After handing over a subscription fee and passing an advanced driving course, members are welcome to hop into the available car of their choice. Vehicles may be collected and returned to and from any place in Europe, with the reassurance Supercar Club members are signed up for a year, meaning a car is never shared with casual users. With several top-class Porsches in the inventory, we could have grabbed the keys to a 991 Carrera 4S, a 997 Gen II Carrera S or the aforementioned Taycan Turbo S, which, as Porsche’s most recent release, would have been the most accurate comparison with the Ferrari F8 Spider Dwutko was keen to show us, but we couldn’t take our eyes off the yellow
PEOPLE ARE MORE THAN USED TO SEEING THE SHAPE OF A 911, WHICH EVEN TODAY, WITH THE 992 GENERATION, CONTINUES TO RESEMBLE THE 901 DESIGN OF 1963
997 Gen II GT3 in attendance. A 2011 model packing a 429bhp 3.8-litre flat-six, this is, in many respects, the last of the great analogue 911s. And so, despite the new, twin-turbocharged, V8-propelled, near 700bhp Prancing Horse putting forward a rather unfair fight, we decided to commandeer the Stuttgart-crested modern classic, pitching the decade-old GT3 against the latest offering from Ferrari. Dwutko nodded his consent.
“This is Supercar Club. You can drive anything you want!”
The Ferrari’s outrageous looks are always going to turn heads and, brimming with the height of current supercar technology, the F8 is as refined as it is blisteringly powerful. In all regards, it reminds me of driving the Taycan — there’s plenty of power and superior comfort, but apart from pressing the accelerator pedal, in truth, there’s not all that much in the way of driver engagement. In contrast, the GT3’S simplicity of gauges and the presence of a clutch pedal is pleasingly refreshing. The bark of the flat-six is like greeting an old friend, the confident short stickshifting beating the paddles behind the Ferrari steering wheel any day. I realise this might sound like something of a cliché, and I know many Porsche enthusiasts suffer disparaging remarks on internet forums for admitting they prefer a traditional clutch-and-stick manual over PDK, but when getting out of the Ferrari and straight into the Porsche, it's obvious modern supercars — the F8 unquestionably at the forefront — make use of so much electronic trickery that an important part of the driving experience seems to have been lost.
DIFFERENT STORY
Another curious observation is that while I was driving the Ferrari, I was intently conscious of onlookers trying to whip out their cameras quick enough to snap a photo. It seems a little strange to say it, but while driving around the centre
of Warsaw, I was concerned with what other people thought. People are more than used to seeing the shape of the 911, which even today, with the 992 generation, continues to resemble the 901 design of 1963. Even a bright yellow 997 GT3 is nowhere as sensational looking as an F8, but in the Porsche, I was smiling all by myself, happy with my anonymity behind the wheel, even though driving around the streets of a capital city, stopping at traffic lights, edging over tram tracks and giving way at roundabouts is no way to get the full experience of a GT3.
Dwutko, the petrolhead in charge of the club’s garage full of supercars and the man responsible for teaching its clients the skill of car control is an agreement with our assessment of the GT3. “It’s a timeless masterpiece,” he says without hesitation. “I love the 997 GT3 because it feels very mechanical, especially when compared to the later 991 and 992 iterations. In terms of a pure driving experience, sports cars don’t get any better this side of 1,200 kg. To find something with more tactility and feeling than the 997 GT3, you’d need to drive a Lotus or Caterham. And, of course, the 997 GT3 was developed as a manual with no other transmission option. In contrast, the 991 GT3 that followed was offered with no manual gearbox! In the 997 GT3, however, every component works as intended for a manual car. It’s also a Porsche enjoyable to drive as an everyday car, not least thanks to the light steering, clutch and smooth gear changes, but there’s a layer of robustness when you start digging deeper for performance. And boy, does this car love to be abused! No matter how good or how brave you are, this 911 can stand more. It wants more. There’s no way of extracting its full potential on the open road, of course. For that, you need to hit a track, but the GT3 still gives fabulous sensations and full satisfaction from fast street driving.”
WONDERFUL MACHINE
“The magnificent 3.8-litre boxer engine revs to 9,000 rpm, its sweet spot between 7,000rpm and 8,000rpm, developing power with brilliant linearity, enabling you to adjust torque at the rear wheels with clinical accuracy, making it easy to find the right amount of throttle, no matter what situation and road
condition,” he continues. “This doesn’t mean it's an easy car to drive, though. A GT3 demands your full attention and high skills to unlock to its true abilities. Most of the enthusiasts I meet think they drive their car hard, and yet, they have little idea what it’s truly capable of until they visit Supercar Club.”
The organisations newest venture — one most relevant to international clients and highlighting the social aspect of Supercar Club — is its offer of guided supercar tours around some of the most picturesque parts of Europe. The Alps and Croatia this autumn will be the inaugural trips, but don’t think this is simply a case of ‘follow the leader’ — on the weeklong driving holiday, participants will find themselves behind the wheel of a different supercar every day, from nimble V6, through mid-mounted V8 and V10, to exuberant V12. The world of fiery forced induction and that of precise and fluid naturally aspirated torque. A Ferrari Roma for Monday, a Lamborghini Huracan for Tuesday, an Aston Martin Vantage for Wednesday, a new Porsche for Thursday. The list goes on. All types of drive and all handling characteristics. No matter what you look for in a highperformance car, here is where you’ll get it. Expect a unique experience. “We’ll stay in the best hotels, of course, but we will also visit some of Europe’s most impressive private car collections, the kind not usually open to the general public,” Dwutko explains. Another significant advantage over traditional supercar rental is that all routes have been thoroughly researched to find the most thrilling roads. “We will be tackling challenging mountain roads, but those non-damaging for the cars. Often, inexperienced drivers spend a couple of weeks in Switzerland or Italy, zig-zagging their way across the Alps, regrettably discovering only one in ten roads are suitable for their treasured supercar.”
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY
There are other benefits to being a member of Supercar Club. Perhaps, as this issue of 911 & Porsche World suggests, you’re thinking about buying a Porsche, but wish to make an informed decision based on a decent amount of seat time in charge of the model taking your fancy. Supercar Club can help with the loan of its own example of whichever Stuttgart speed machine you’re interested in. Or, as Dwutko points out, owners of interesting cars may wish to contact Supercar Club with the offer of allowing their four-wheeled fancies to join the collection, making money when the car would otherwise be tucked away unused. There are networking opportunities, too. “Our members enjoy getting to know one another and can take advantage of discounts and special offers from our partner companies,” Dwutko adds. “This is a dynamic project which keeps evolving, reflecting our members’ changing expectations and ideas. It’s a very exciting time to be involved with the performance car scene here in Poland.”
Club members can put forward suggestions for future car acquisitions, road trips and routes, satisfied in the knowledge this novel form of automotive time-sharing is less expensive than the traditional rental model. Regardless of the supercars available, however, I’d find myself drawn to the GT3 every time. How about you? Find out by hopping online and visiting www.supercarclub.pl
PARTICIPANTS WILL FIND THEMSELVES BEHIND THE WHEEL OF A DIFFERENT SUPERCAR EVERY DAY, FROM NIMBLE V6, THROUGH V8 AND V10, TO V12