Quote:
Grant said:
I just notice the Ferrari F430CS is much lighter and have 80+hp over the RS. I am wondering how's the RS keep up with that?
Well, Ferrari tends to overstate power and understate weight, but even so, it will be hard to catch (and should be at almost double the price)
Ferrari is a different "price league". I wouldn't compare the GT3 RS to the F430 (CS). The GT3 RS is actually a car which has no real competitor, as funny as this may sound.
And even the GT3 is some sort of special model because it doesn't really fit the typical category of certain cars. It is no real race car but it is no real road car too.
This is actually the reason why I can see a F430 owner owning a GT3 RS too and vice versa. Different kind of beasts. The F430 CS is a different story but I wasn't aware that the streetlegal version is already available.
Regarding engines: Porsche does a pretty bad job advertising the engine of the 997 GT3/GT3RS/Turbo. I know many people who still think that the engines are based on the same construction design. Whenever I tell them that the 997 Carrera engine doesn't have anything in common with the 997 GT3/GT3RS/Turbo engine, they look at me like I've just told them that an UFO just landed in their backyard.
It was the same story with the 996 but apparently the message hasn't come through yet.
I even have the suspicion that Porsche doesn't actually want that people know that there is a difference in engine construction design. This would probably make the 997 Carrera look "cheap". The truth is: the 996 Carrera engines were not really what I expected from Porsche. They had a lot in common with the Boxster S engine and at the beginning, reliability wasn't the best.
With the "new" M97 engine used in the 997 Carrera S (not Carrera!!!) things have changed. The M97 engine is a highly improved version of the "old" 996 Carrera engine, the M96.
I would even say that the M97 engine is pretty much the engine I expected to see in the 996 a couple of years ago.
It may not be racing-proof but it certainly is up-to-date.
The 997 Carrera engine is a different story, this car still uses a slightly improved version of the M96 engine. Not bad at all but not much "left" for upgrades or mods.
Still: the 997 Carrera (non-S) and the 997 GT3 are in my opinion the "best value for money" Porsche models right now.
Of course only if you really have to care about cost.
The Carrera 4/4S models are somehow a little bit overpriced and the wider body really is for good looks only. I'm waiting to see a Carrera S with widebody at the end of the production 997 cycle...I wouldn't be surprised at all.
The GT3 RS is a rip-off in my opinion. The wider body looks great, the rear wing too. But take a GT3 and add the clubsport package and you get almost the same setup. Only the offset of the rear wheels is different, nothing else.
With PCCB as a standard option, the GT3 RS would have been a very good offer. But without...just a very expensive pumped-up GT3 without the steroids.
Would I buy a GT3 RS? In a second. I know, I know...just looks for a lot of money without a major improvement over the GT3. But still...a very nice and aggressive car and one thing is sure: it won't be slowlier than the GT3.
