The thesis is simple: for 66% the cost of a 997-generation Porsche 911 GT3, I can get into a 996 GT3 and enjoy 90% of the thrills. The hope is also to find a well-used 996 GT3 around the ~$110k mark, which would be by far the most expensive car I’ve ever purchased, but much more palatable to daily drive and track than a ~$170k 997 GT3.
But does the 996 GT3 really offer 90% of the 997’s thrills? A generous friend is giving me a few hours in his cherished 2004 996 GT3 to find out.
From the curb, the retinal-scorching yellow 996 GT3 appears highly modified, boasting an aggressive RUF body kit, RUF exhaust, RUF green calipers, and OZ Racing wheels. The shock and awe continue inside, as the Numeric shifter’s linkages have been left exposed. The rods and cables look as sinister as the original Terminator after its final, fiery bath.
This 996 GT3 saw track time in its younger years, and it is appropriately fitted with the factory bucket seats and half roll cage. Prior owners fortified the car for race duty by installing aftermarket harnesses, camber plates, drop links, a front strutbar, steel brake lines, upgraded radiators, and a Guard LSD. There were track pads in the calipers, too, but after squealing like a garbage truck one too many times, they were pulled for street pads.
That’s all the better, because street duty is the name of the game today. I’ll take the 996 GT3 down the highway and loop over hills. The route should offer opportunities to stretch the car’s legs and help me understand its cruising compromises.
As I leave the strip mall meeting point, I get a sense of the 996 GT3’s inputs. The steering has heft, but isn’t so syrupy that it would cause fatigue and draw complaints. The clutch is the same, firm, but not onerously so. It bites gradually and is intuitive to use, even when I’m forced to balance on its bite point and make hill starts exiting the shopping center.
Soon, I’m on surface streets and rowing the Numeric shifter in earnest. The six-speed manual’s throws are short, highly notchy, and clink metallically from gate to gate. The lever’s weighting is in tune with the other driving interfaces, and its only demerit to easy-breasy around-town rowing is the way it resists entering the next gate; the stick snags before slipping home.
The 996 GT3’s instruments are collected on five-clock dials. Front and center is the tachometer, with its stratospheric 8.2k rpm redline. Here in city traffic, I’m just using a fraction of the available revs. At low rpm, the 3.6L flat-six engine makes a deep, full-bodied growl. Its grumble is purely Porsche sound, one that is linked to the air-cooled flat-sixes from which this Mezger engine is derived.
Turning onto the highway, I open the throttle and let the revs build. The 996 GT3’s growl rises in pitch, transforming into a loud howl as the meat of the power arrives at 4.5k rpm. Now the 996 GT3 is streaking down the on-ramp, and reaching for its lofty redline. But I never get to 8.2k rpm, because third gear stretches past 100 mph, and traffic is flowing at 75 mph. Once I merge into the stream of weekend shoppers, I upshift into sixth, the revs hold around 3k rpm for the highway haul.
For the first few miles, I settle into the slow lane and get accustomed to the purring Porsche. The 996 GT3 is known to be one of the rawer GT3s, but its drive is actually quite comfortable. The sports bucket is well-padded and well-shaped, and I’m not pinched at the hips or ribs. Even the OEM suspension is comfier than anticipated; yes, the 996 GT3 has the controlled ride of a sports car, but impacts are rounded off and undulations absorbed.
Noise is the biggest compromise to comfort. Large helpings of engine, transmission, tire, and suspension racket penetrate the cabin. (There’s surprisingly little wind rustle in the mix.) The din is just within my tolerance for road tripping, though I might regret driving the 996 GT3 on worn highways that generate heaps of tire roar.
Really, though, this car’s biggest impediments to a road trip, or even a grocery run, are its bucket seats and roll cage. The bucket seats don’t fold forward, and the roll cage blocks easy access to the storage behind the seats. That leaves travellers with the tiny frunk for their luggage. At best, one person’s weekend bag will fit up there!
A glance at the speedometer leaves me surprised; the needle indicates I’m driving 80 mph when it feels like I’ve barely cracked 65 mph. Does the 996 GT3 mask its pace, or is the speedometer lying? A check of my phone’s GPS reveals that both are true; the car is travelling at 75 mph even though it feels like it’s going much slower.
Curious about the car’s handling at speed, I gently jink the wheel side-to-side to check the steering response and body-roll resistance. With the road flying underfoot, the steering has lightened, and the 996 GT3’s reactions are instantaneous and precise. My minute hand motions are turned into immediate yaw, and the Porsche’s body stays nicely level.
Soon, I exit the interstate and turn into the hills. The climb to the ridge is deliciously twisty, but distastefully clogged: I can’t enjoy the curves as I’m stuck behind a truck!
I climb the pass in second gear, appreciating the car’s traffic manners. Slow driving the 996 GT3 is easier than its track-weapon reputation suggests, as its clutch, shifter, and steering are all sufficiently slick, and its motor has enough low-end torque to climb at low rpm. I wouldn’t dread a Friday-afternoon slog out of the city in the 996 GT3, but I’d choose a softer and quieter car for my daily commute.
On the far side of the pass, I pull a U-turn to rerun the route without Class A interference. The road is clear, so I drop the hammer and hustle the 996 GT3 for the first time.
With my right foot smashed to the floor, second gear is a blur. There is good engine response at 3.5k rpm, but the tachometer needle really starts flying past 4.5k rpm. From there on, the engine howls maniacally as the fat rear tires put every pony and every foot-pound of torque into the pavement for righteously rapid acceleration. (This 996 GT3 wears 235/40R18 front and 295/30R18 rear Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires.) I upshift to third gear and restart the joyride, shooting towards the first sweeping corner with a head of high-rpm steam.
Thankfully, the 996 GT3’s steel brakes are as spectacular as its motor. The brake pedal is firm and slack-free, so when I thrust my foot forward, the car scrubs off speed with confidence. The weighted front tires bite into the pavement as my hands twist to follow the turn. From corner entry to corner apex, the 996 GT3 is hooked up and laser guided, but when I pass the apex and crack open the throttle, the front axle loses interest in the racing line and starts wandering towards the grassy verge. Yes, when turning under power, the 996 GT3’s front end pushes wide, like a FWD car fighting power-on understeer. I feather the gas and add steering angle to keep the Porsche on course.
I need more time to explore the 996 GT3’s dynamics, so I change roads and chase the ridge into the redwood forest. This ridge road is narrower, with short straights linking 45-mph twists, unexpected pavement undulations hiding in the shadows, and steep drop-offs on either side.
Save for the on-again off-again steering, the 996 GT3 quickly builds my confidence, thanks to its responsive engine, unflappable brakes, and well-judged suspension. I find myself trusting the car’s tail over midcorner bumps, building heady speed on the straights, sloughing it off again with the heroic brakes, and ripping through blip-shift gear changes.
In my hands, the steering is a delight, twittering with tarmac textures and wavering with ruts and camber changes. It is quick and reactive on center, and builds weight when the car is mid-corner with the tires laterally loaded. The flat-six engine sounds, steering communication, and chassis reactions are all spot on; I’m as happy as a fly backstroking in mechanical soup!
But that front axle, it’s such a puzzle! When I load it with braking or lifted throttle, it is a lion, prowling with an unblinking death stare and pouncing on apexes. But when I add a dab of gas, the car becomes a cow, eager to munch the grass on the road’s shoulder! Turn after turn, I experiment with waiting to add gas or simply fighting the push with more steering, but I can’t crack the puzzle in my limited drive time. I’d love a weekend at a race track to learn the 996 GT3’s driving style.
The clock on my drive is running out, so I wrap up my romp and head for the highway. I can’t help doing a full-throttle rip up the on-ramp, and then rinse-and-repeat pulls on the highway. The 3.6L Mezger engine is eager and instigating, pulling harder as the revs rise, and prodding me to chase higher and higher speeds. With 380 hp and 284 lb-ft shoving the ~3200-lb Porsche, the 996 GT3 is a quick car, but modern turbocharged metal like the Porsche (992.1) 911 Carrera S would dust it by a mile. (Car and Driver clocked a 2004 911 GT3 at 4.0s 0-60 mph and 12.3s in the ¼ mile.)
Do you know that clarifying moment when the power goes out, the refrigerator and computers die, and your home is truly quiet? It is that kind of “ah ha!” relief that I feel when I finally shut off the 996 GT3. The ever-present hum and vibration of the motor, the whir of wheels and gears, and the rush of the road all stop dead, and then there is just peace. Perhaps the 996 GT3 is a more tiring machine than I recognized in my hour of joy.
But what have I learned?
Well, the 996 GT3 is every bit as connected, soulful, and joyous as its GT3 badge suggests, and it has that superlative 911 steering that I lust after. The car is also reasonably livable and daily usable; petrol heads who want a multipurpose car will find one in the 996 GT3.
But the 996 GT3 doesn’t have the shocking speed or perfect precision of 2020’s road rockets. Its 380 hp is now below-average power for a sports car, and its pronounced rear-engine dynamics make it harder to flog than the competition.
But as Sam Smith says, “if it’s easy, that just means there’s less to learn.” Is the 996 GT3 a challenge I want to accept? Quite possibly, yes. You can decide if hustling a rear-engine 911 appeals to you.
And does the 996 GT3 deliver 90% of the 997 GT3’s thrills? An honest answer could only come after driving the two cars back-to-back, but I fear the thrill gap is bigger, as with each generation, the Mezger engine got stronger, and the chassis got sharper.
It is a moot point, though, as the 996 GT3 is the cheapest way into the analog GT3 action. Sonorous, engaging, and immensely enjoyable, the 996 GT3 is a weekend toy worth pursuing.
Mike's Steering Column 