New Porsche 991 GT3. - _CHRIS HARRIS

[Sebringjetta]

[BrewRifle]

Do want. It also makes me appreciate our high revving V8 engine even more. You gotta love the sounds high revving engines produce.

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by BrewRifle

Do want. It also makes me appreciate our high revving V8 engine even more. You gotta love the sounds high revving engines produce.

I LOVE BOTH.....would need to own both !!!!!!!!!!!

[mattrob]

It's amazing how fast he's willing to whip the car around on those back roads. Such balls. Beautiful car.

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by mattrob

It's amazing how fast he's willing to whip the car around on those back roads. Such balls. Beautiful car.

well when its your job to drive 100k dollar cars....you cant afford to make a mistake!!!!!!!!!!!

[adc]

Originally Posted by mattrob

It's amazing how fast he's willing to whip the car around on those back roads. Such balls. Beautiful car.

It's amazing how fast you're willing to go if it's not your car, your tires or your own insurance at stake.

Beautiful car.

[M3guy3]

dam bro easy with the threads today. your now reposting. hehe

[nick3753]

Originally Posted by M3guy3

dam bro easy with the threads today. your now reposting. hehe

He was on quite a roll there.

[M3/4 life]

Makes me wish BMW would of just improved on the current platform instead of messing up a good thing with this twin turbo crap (hell gas mileage isn't even that much better I thinks I read it's like 17/26 the E9x gets 14/20 with a V8).

If BMW would of just made the current E9x lighter & increased hp & torque & improved the brakes I would of been the first in line for the new M3/M4! Can you imagine an NA V8 at 3200lbs 475hp 350lbs ft torque with ceramic brakes it would of had Porsche & everyone else on standby.

That would of been BMW moving the M forward, BMW took a huge step backwards imho with this new M. It's one thing to keep the NA V8 and also offer a turbo version like Porsche & Ferrari but to scrap the best engine ever put into an M was just plain stupid! The only thing that kept the current M from being the best all around car at everything was it's weight! Take 400lbs. off the current M and the current brakes & torque would have been more than sufficient!

Hell I would of even been willing to pay $75,000 or even $85,000 for an M like the one I described! The Carrera S ran the same times as the new Corvette with 400hp & 325 lbs ft of torque weighing in at roughly 3200 lbs.

end of rant sorry for I just have always loved the M3 & BMW went & messed up my dream car with this stupid turbo sh*t. And who makes a sports coupe lighter but makes it longer.....

[PhillyNate]

Originally Posted by M3/4 life

Makes me wish BMW would of just improved on the current platform instead of messing up a good thing with this twin turbo crap (hell gas mileage isn't even that much better I thinks I read it's like 17/26 the E9x gets 14/20 with a V8).

If BMW would of just made the current E9x lighter & increased hp & torque & improved the brakes I would of been the first in line for the new M3/M4! Can you imagine an NA V8 at 3200lbs 475hp 350lbs ft torque with ceramic brakes it would of had Porsche & everyone else on standby.

That would of been BMW moving the M forward, BMW took a huge step backwards imho with this new M. It's one thing to keep the NA V8 and also offer a turbo version like Porsche & Ferrari but to scrap the best engine ever put into an M was just plain stupid! The only thing that kept the current M from being the best all around car at everything was it's weight! Take 400lbs. off the current M and the current brakes & torque would have been more than sufficient!

Hell I would of even been willing to pay $75,000 or even $85,000 for an M like the one I described! The Carrera S ran the same times as the new Corvette with 400hp & 325 lbs ft of torque weighing in at roughly 3200 lbs.

end of rant sorry for I just have always loved the M3 & BMW went & messed up my dream car with this stupid turbo sh*t. And who makes a sports coupe lighter but makes it longer.....

I feel you. Echo the sentiment. I just think turbocharging was the quick, cheap and easy fix for BMW...and seemingly everyone else now. Even the next gen Porsche Boxster's and Cayman's are gonna have turbocharged 4 cylinders. Eventually SOMEONE will think outside the box in regard to naturally aspirated engines again...but it won't be any time soon.

[Hujan]

Originally Posted by M3/4 life

Makes me wish BMW would of just improved on the current platform instead of messing up a good thing with this twin turbo crap (hell gas mileage isn't even that much better I thinks I read it's like 17/26 the E9x gets 14/20 with a V8).

If BMW would of just made the current E9x lighter & increased hp & torque & improved the brakes I would of been the first in line for the new M3/M4! Can you imagine an NA V8 at 3200lbs 475hp 350lbs ft torque with ceramic brakes it would of had Porsche & everyone else on standby.

That would of been BMW moving the M forward, BMW took a huge step backwards imho with this new M. It's one thing to keep the NA V8 and also offer a turbo version like Porsche & Ferrari but to scrap the best engine ever put into an M was just plain stupid! The only thing that kept the current M from being the best all around car at everything was it's weight! Take 400lbs. off the current M and the current brakes & torque would have been more than sufficient!

Hell I would of even been willing to pay $75,000 or even $85,000 for an M like the one I described! The Carrera S ran the same times as the new Corvette with 400hp & 325 lbs ft of torque weighing in at roughly 3200 lbs.

end of rant sorry for I just have always loved the M3 & BMW went & messed up my dream car with this stupid turbo sh*t. And who makes a sports coupe lighter but makes it longer.....

Agree 100%. The S55 could have powered the M2 and an N/A S6x V8 could have powered the M3/4. In that scenario, the M2 would have been akin to the Porsche 911 Turbo S and the M3/4 akin to the GT3.

If they have shaved off 300 lbs. (carbon drive shaft, carbon panels, wheels, brakes, etc.), tweaked the motor, and added a taller 8th gear for freeways, I bet they could have found significant improvement in MPG.

Add a modest bump in power, carbon ceramic brakes, and the sold subframe and the thing would blow the E9x out of the water.

These would be time consuming tweaks, but no more difficult than designing a whole new car and engine.

[adc]

Originally Posted by Hujan

Agree 100%. The S55 could have powered the M2 and an N/A S6x V8 could have powered the M3/4. In that scenario, the M2 would have been akin to the Porsche 911 Turbo S and the M3/4 akin to the GT3.

If they have shaved off 300 lbs. (carbon drive shaft, carbon panels, wheels, brakes, etc.), tweaked the motor, and added a taller 8th gear for freeways, I bet they could have found significant improvement in MPG.

Add a modest bump in power, carbon ceramic brakes, and the sold subframe and the thing would blow the E9x out of the water.

These would be time consuming tweaks, but no more difficult than designing a whole new car and engine.

That is just not possible. M doesn't start with their own body shell, they have to work with whatever the current chassis BMW has in production.

I think they could have tweaked the engine with DI though, plus a small displacement bump to 4.4L, and have a winner. They could have offered it in just 2 chassis, the M3/4 and Z4, to justify the racing program.

Oh well. I still have to drive the damn thing, and it is certainly good value. I don't see myself staying in the current car more than 6 years, so next year will be time for a change of some sort. Either I get an M3, or I go for a combination of DD/weekend car and buy a used Cayman.

[W///]

Originally Posted by M3/4 life

Makes me wish BMW would of just improved on the current platform instead of messing up a good thing with this twin turbo crap (hell gas mileage isn't even that much better I thinks I read it's like 17/26 the E9x gets 14/20 with a V8).

If BMW would of just made the current E9x lighter & increased hp & torque & improved the brakes I would of been the first in line for the new M3/M4! Can you imagine an NA V8 at 3200lbs 475hp 350lbs ft torque with ceramic brakes it would of had Porsche & everyone else on standby.

That would of been BMW moving the M forward, BMW took a huge step backwards imho with this new M. It's one thing to keep the NA V8 and also offer a turbo version like Porsche & Ferrari but to scrap the best engine ever put into an M was just plain stupid! The only thing that kept the current M from being the best all around car at everything was it's weight! Take 400lbs. off the current M and the current brakes & torque would have been more than sufficient!

Hell I would of even been willing to pay $75,000 or even $85,000 for an M like the one I described! The Carrera S ran the same times as the new Corvette with 400hp & 325 lbs ft of torque weighing in at roughly 3200 lbs.

end of rant sorry for I just have always loved the M3 & BMW went & messed up my dream car with this stupid turbo sh*t. And who makes a sports coupe lighter but makes it longer.....

And how would they magically shave 400 lbs off the car? It's easier said than done, when the car it is based on is the size of an old E39 5 series. And if you really start adding CF everywhere, the price goes up accordingly and you'll have people btching about how it's too expensive for a "3 Series" (hell you already have that now).

IMHO, I wouldn't be surprised if the 991 GT3 is the last NA GT car available from Porsche. I don't think we are far off from seeing Audi and MB only offering turboed engine through the entire range either (if it's not already the case).

[W///]

Originally Posted by Hujan

Agree 100%. The S55 could have powered the M2 and an N/A S6x V8 could have powered the M3/4. In that scenario, the M2 would have been akin to the Porsche 911 Turbo S and the M3/4 akin to the GT3.

If they have shaved off 300 lbs. (carbon drive shaft, carbon panels, wheels, brakes, etc.), tweaked the motor, and added a taller 8th gear for freeways, I bet they could have found significant improvement in MPG.

Add a modest bump in power, carbon ceramic brakes, and the sold subframe and the thing would blow the E9x out of the water.

These would be time consuming tweaks, but no more difficult than designing a whole new car and engine.

Carbon fiber is light, but it's not THAT much lighter than some of the aluminum parts already on the E9x, the hood for example. The E92 already has CF roof available. So what does the M4 add? A CF driveshaft and CF trunk. Still doesn't add up to the 3-400 lbs you guys want to lose.

A huge chunk of it could be lost if they offered CF seats, but again. how much would that cost?

[sgrinavi]

Hmmm... used in 10 years they'll be under 100k... I'm there.

[JRV]

I can only dream

[M3/4 life]

Originally Posted by W///

And how would they magically shave 400 lbs off the car? It's easier said than done, when the car it is based on is the size of an old E39 5 series. And if you really start adding CF everywhere, the price goes up accordingly and you'll have people btching about how it's too expensive for a "3 Series" (hell you already have that now).

IMHO, I wouldn't be surprised if the 991 GT3 is the last NA GT car available from Porsche. I don't think we are far off from seeing Audi and MB only offering turboed engine through the entire range either (if it's not already the case).

Not sure if you realize it or not but the E46 M3 weighed in at 3415lbs. do you realize if they would have put the S65 engine in that car (by the way which weighed in at around 30lbs lighter than the 3.2L inline 6 engine) and added a carbon fiber roof to that platform you would have had an M3 weighing in at 3200 lbs.

As far as price of the 3 series goes, the 3 series is BMW's best selling series and IMHO the sports car of BMW the other series are just to big & heavy to be sporty. And the M is/was suppose to seperate the boys from the ///Men that's where the money should be poured the M3 is/was completly different from any other car BMW offers. I mean what's sporty about a 4200lbs M6 or an 4400lbs M5!

I doubt Porsche will ever completly abandon their NA program they understand its place, that’s the bulk of their sales not the turbo. Not to mention the typical community that buys the Porsche is usually we older car enthusiasts who are die hard NA fans.

[sgrinavi]

Originally Posted by M3/4 life

...
I doubt Porsche will ever completly abandon their NA program they understand its place, that’s the bulk of their sales not the turbo. Not to mention the typical community that buys the Porsche is usually we older car enthusiasts who are die hard NA fans.

I dunno, they sure abandoned a manual gearbox without looking back - we older car enthusiasts are die-hard MT fans too.

[M3/4 life]

Originally Posted by sgrinavi

I dunno, they sure abandoned a manual gearbox without looking back - we older car enthusiasts are die-hard MT fans too.

Yes, we are but I must admit the DCT as well as the PDK are downright awesome on top of the fact quicker than rowing your own gears. And the bottom line with that comes down to an article I read detailing the reason Porsche only went with the PDK in the GT3. And while it was something they wrestled with it came down to making the GT3 faster around the track & that’s exactly what the PDK does as well as the DCT in the M3.

However, the manual is still available just not in the GT3....

[AlpineV8]

My very favorite car. One day..

[SenorFunkyPants]

I wonder what the GT3 would be like on poor road surfaces? Its all very well being super balanced and fast on smooth tarmac if it rattles your fillings out on the first sign of a bump in the road.
Does look awesome...though I think the turbo would make a better daily driver.

[phrozen06]

Gr8 Analysis by Chris. On one hand he's dissapointed in the lack of a manual but he can't find much fault in what the car has become. I swear I haven't seen a road car shift so fast. The PDK in this thing is otherworldly.