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New GT3.
- Thread starter davidf
- Start date
Amazing car...I wish I still worked at porsche so I could drive this beast!
Yes pretty amazing that technology that they have developed:
4 wheel steering - developed by Honda some 30 years ago
Aluminium body - Honda NSX 25 years ago
9000 rpm redline - Honda S2000 15 years ago...
Automatic GT3??? Not even a manual option??? Not for me!
- Joined
- 18 June 2011
- Messages
- 232
Not to act like I could remotely afford the thing....
But I couldn't have said it better. Really bummed out that they would make an alleged track version meant for driving enthusiasts...but only offer some fancy "flappy paddle gear box."
I'm going to just leave this comment here: When I'm on the road, grinding my way through a canyon....I don't notice the 16 seconds I saved, or care about how much faster I must be accelerating after the turns because my auto can out-shift me. I'm a driving enthusiast. I'm a human. I have feelings...feelings of enjoyment and feelings of accomplishment.
Shifting a manual transmission is part of the accomplishment.
I love it. Even with the PDK. The combination of the aggressive front and the voluptuous 991 fenders looks perfect.
Chris Harris review here, he goes on a bit but there's some nice footage.
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=27908
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=27908
Gotta disagree with this. Track days are NOT races. Lap times are irrelevant. In the track days that I attended, recording lap times were prohibited, passing other cars could only occur on only certain areas of the track and you need a wave-by from the car you're passing. The point of track days is to have fun and use some of the performance in your car. Yeah, so manuals would not be as fast as automated transmissions, but that is beside the point. Now, having driven flappy-paddled cars, I kind of like them, but also enjoy a true manual, so I don't really care either way. But the supposed benefits of faster lap times is irrelevant for the vast majority of people, except those who actually race their vehicles.
I would have to disagree about the Clarkson viewpoint as well. He may be a buffoon, an entertainer, or whatever you want to call him, but at the center of it all he is still a car guy. For years he has railed against the continued isolation of the driving experience that manufacturers build into their cars, with "flappy paddles" being a part of that movement. He knows that from a technology and racing standpoint that it makes for a faster car. But he, as a consumer, would rather have involvement in driving rather than being driven. And on that point, I cannot disagree with him.
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I love the PDK transmissions in these cars. However I bought our '10 C4S with a 6 speed because both my wife and I like to shift and feel it is a large part of the driving experience. Now my brother bought the exact same car but got the PDK because he would rather not shift. I drove his car 1/2 way back from LA, +-200 miles, and the PDK was sweet. I do wish the GT3 came with a clutch option. Regardless, these cars are sweet.
I said "If you are SERIOUS ABOUT TRACKING" which means Laptimes are most important to you. A DE can be just a fun wknd at the track or a getting to know your new at the track wknd. That isn't typically what a GT3 owner is looking for. More than 50% of GT3 owners track their car on a regular basis. They are the core target audience for Porsche Motorsports.
Btw, one odd thing is that a 911 comes with a 7 spd. manual but the GT3 doesn't. That doesn't quite make sense to me.
Btw, one odd thing is that a 911 comes with a 7 spd. manual but the GT3 doesn't. That doesn't quite make sense to me.
If you look around online (I'd post a link for you if I knew where it was off hand) the head of the GT3 program explains the decision fairly well. The additional development costs versus the expected number of 7spd sales just didn't make economic sense. I think it was something along the lines of the GT3, provided it remains a low production, highly focused vehicle, will always have only one transmission option. Trying to tune and design the car for multiple drive train configurations cannot be done with their resources and high standards. Someone correct me if the GT3 had more than 1 transmission option in the past.
I prefer three pedals, however, assuming that the "flappy paddle" system doesn't interfere with my commands, then I would enjoy driving one of those, as well. Not as much as a proper manual, but still fun. I did dirve one car with the paddle shifters (reluctantly so: a salesman wanted me to take a test drive in the 2012 Camaro while my car was in for service, so I figured "what the heck"). Knowing that this car had about 100 more horsepower than mine, I wanted to see what it could really do. I was at 1500 rpm in 2nd gear when I decided to shift down into 1st. I click the left paddle and nothing. I look at the dash to see which gear is indicated and the digital display simply says: "shift denied." Not that I was going to buy the car, but that alone would have spoiled the deal for me. As it turned out, despite the horsepower advantage, I did not feel any more Gs on acceleration than I do in my own car. So that was also a major failing point, in my opinion.
The other problem I see with transmissions now-a-days is that the "sequential" 5- and 6-speeds are really no different than traditional autos. You cannot upshift on your own, or leave the car in a higher gear for whatever reason you might want to.
The other problem I see with transmissions now-a-days is that the "sequential" 5- and 6-speeds are really no different than traditional autos. You cannot upshift on your own, or leave the car in a higher gear for whatever reason you might want to.
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