Nick Jeffery
Surrey, UK @npjeffery @npjeffery
I always wanted a GT3. For one reason or another I didn’t get round to buying one until November 2019. The 996 Carrera 4S was my first Porsche, the 996 Turbo my second. The latter was a huge mistake where I should have kept my money and waited until I could afford what I really wanted. We live and learn…
Having owned the GT3 for over two years now I thought I’d try an experiment. I always said I wouldn’t want it as my only Porsche or a daily vehicle, but in a moment of madness felt I should challenge my own thinking. This was driven by two things. I’ve arguably not been driving the GT3 as much as I should do, putting too many miles on my Carrera 4GTS and Spyder. In addition, the GT3 is going into Paragon Porsche mid-february for a new offside rear mud guard, some suspension work, a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres and full geometry, so I want to get some value from the old rubber first.
I’ve spent the past couple of weeks using the GT3 as my daily driver in an attempt to reassess the car and its ability. Yes, it’s a serious car. Yes, it demands respect and requires absolute concentration. And yet, I didn’t get out of the car on any of the given days with backache, or a stiff neck, left arm or left leg! In fact, most of the time I just had an insanely huge grin on my face!
You really could daily one if you had no other choice – and the fuel consumption wasn’t horrific, either. Of course, I caught the front splitter a few times and winced when trying to negotiate the pothole-ridden tarmac prevalent across south-east England. And yet I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one of those drives, although I avoided rush-hour travelling where possible and stuck to my mantra of giving motorways a wide berth.
The other thing I noticed, and touched upon briefly in a column a year or so back, is that when the car is used as a daily the usually obstinate gearbox and stiff clutch feel a little more forgiving and more compliant than they would when the car is left standing for weeks on end. I think the first-generation 997 has enough civility and is just compliant enough to be used as a daily driver for the committed enthusiast. It has a wellappointed and relatively modern cabin, an excellent driving position and, while interior noise levels by modern standards are unacceptably high, you could live with it. I think it would be a different story if the car were a Club Sport specification with the obligatory bucket seats. The fact that it’s a Comfort spec car with the Sports seats make it more akin to an early version of a GT3 Touring.
During the experiment the GT3 was subjected to all manner of trips, from an early morning blast across Surrey, Hampshire and Sussex (and bottoming out the front splitter multiple times) to the Porsche Club GB Surrey Region monthly meet at Redhill Aerodrome with numerous speed humps to negotiate. A trip to the local Sainsbury’s for some shopping and petrol also served to dry the brakes off after a wheel wash to remove the layers of brake dust from the 19-inch rims. One day I dropped my son to his work in Guildford town centre before a run across Surrey Hills and a walk around Newlands Corner, and fitted in a trip to my favourite circuit, Goodwood, for an alfresco lunch. It even served as a delivery truck to pick up some items on my son’s behalf to take back home from university. During this extended period of daily activity the car ran perfectly, used no oil and averaged a pretty reasonable 24.8mpg.
The experiment has served to remind me just how good the 997 generation
GT3 truly is. It’s easy to get blasé about things and accustomed to the norm, but it’s only when you take a step back and immerse yourself in the whole experience that you’re reminded what makes
GT cars so utterly brilliant and highly addictive! They really are that special!