PORSCHE Lovers

[Gast]

[ames]

Mooie 996!!

[Gast]

[wotr]

Driving the Hybrid

From the cockpit, Patrick Long -- America’s lone Porsche factory pilot – says the Hybrid is a shot in the arm to GT racing and to Porsche’s DNA:

“What I didn’t expect was how intuitive the car was. The ABS knows what I want as a driver. Next, I expected the boosting to be a gradual thing. I thought it would be like switching to an overtake map where you get some extra power, but not a lot. The first time I used it, it was WAY more than that. It gives you a BIG shot of power. The car is already quick, and when you add the power boost, it’s just amazing.

“The next part of my first impression was that using the system is very strategic. The system isn’t always charged when you want it, depending on when you were on the brakes, so I found myself driving and thinking of how to best use the extra power – to be wise with how you use it. On each lap I was looking at what speeds it might work best, what kind of grip you have available on the track in certain corners, and so on. It isn’t just a magic button that makes the car do whatever you want. If you have some understeer on the exit of a corner and call for the boost, it’s going to make the car push even worse, so you definitely have to be very present when you are driving and look to find the sections of the track or the situation with other cars where it can help you. It’s there to help, but you have to think about when you use it, so I like that. It doesn’t take the skill of driving out of your hands; you’re engaged and working with the hybrid power the entire time.

“Compared to my 911 GT3 RSR, you can feel the extra weight when the Hybrid’s not boosting. But it’s more technical to drive and I like that. You have to be very precise and smooth. You have big tires and you can’t abuse them in the Hybrid, but with the system acting like four-wheel-drive, you get better tire wear too. I’m not a fan of a tiny lightweight car with big power that you can throw around whenever you want – a car where the bravest guy wins. I like a car that you have to methodically drive and manage it through a corner, and that’s what the Hybrid wants. It’s a very harmonious car to drive. It has this incredible hybrid system in it, but it doesn’t take away the feel of the car or dumb things down. Driving a racing car should never be easy and the Hybrid maintains that challenge.”

Zalig stukje automobielgeschiedenis! Benieuwd wat dit in de toekomst brengt.

[Gast]

Ziet er zo gedateerd uit...

[Gast]

[Gast]

Ziet er zo gedateerd uit...

De zwarte velgen maken hem wel terug een pak moderner vind ik.

[Gast]

Mooie 996!!

[Gast]

@Matteus: heb jij wat meer inside info over werknemers van Porsche die eind vorige week, en begin deze week, incl vandaag, en misschien nog tot eind deze week, naar Leipzig vertrekken.

Heb zo al sinds een paar dagen een Saab 2000 die vanuit hier (Antwerpen) vertrekt en naar Leipzig vliegt. 't Zit vol Porsche-dudes.... Parking staat bijgevolg ook elke keer vol. Zo'n 50 man per keer....

Weet ik niks van!

[Gast]

Ziet er zo gedateerd uit...

Desalniettemin een zeer knappe 996 Turbo.

[Pablo]

desalniettemin een zeer knappe 996 turbo.

2222222222

[3000]

FCB olé olé. Machtig!

[Jokke_vlo]

FCB olé olé. Machtig!

Ge hebt duidelijk op geen enkel gebied smaak

[3000]

Ge hebt duidelijk op geen enkel gebied smaak

Nee, je moet al behoorlijk gezopen hebben de dag voordien om deze combinatie te bestellen bij je dealer... Zeker als er genoeg deftige standaardkleuren zijn.

[Gast]

Gt2 rs:

as for driving impressions...

Well, major caveat here: I didn't get to try the car on a test track, and unfortunately, the roads around stuttgart on a monday morning are not exactly traffic free. So while there were opportunities to take it to redline on some backroads and the autobahn a couple times, its pretty hard to get a full picture of such a powerful car on public roads.

With that being said...

The most striking thing about the car has to be how it truly is such a capable jack-of-all-trades. Saying that it is track focused, yet can be used everyday seems to the litany that porsche spurts out ad nauseam about their "gt" cars, but it seems they've taken it to yet another level here.

The car is really easy to drive on the street, and rides at least as well as the current gt3rs. Ok fine, so the clutch is still on the heavy side, but it felt lighter than on a regular gt2 (based on how i remember the gt2's,) and lighter too than my 997.1 gt3. I particularly noticed-- and liked-- the clutch's engagement point. You know how there's some cars where the clutch bites early near the bottom of the pedal travel, and there's some where it bites late, towards the top of the travel. The test car's clutch stuck out in my mind as having the most perfect bite point of any 911 i've ever tried. For those wondering, "my" gt2rs (the silver one in my photos) had 11,000+ kms on the clock.

Can someone confirm whether the gt3rs is rose jointed? Preuninger clearly says in my video that the gt2rs has rose jointed suspension. If this car is that way, and the gt3rs uses more rubber in the suspension, then that simply underlines what a hell of a job porsche has done on the 2rs, for it to ride as well as it does.

As far as the power goes... Ok, yes its obviously very fast. But truth be told, i don't think you can really notice the diff between a gt2 and this car at "sane" speeds on public roads. I actually attempted to do a 60-130 vbox run in the car, but the autobahn section i was on simply didn't allow that, unfortunately! It didn't feel much faster than a stock gt2, nor did it feel much slower than my rt12. Which is simply to say that for cars at this level, my butt dyno isn't sensitive enough to tell the difference, given the limited driving conditions.

What i did notice, is how healthy the torque curve is. From say, just below 3k rpm even in the higher gears, prodding the throttle results in a near instantaneous slug of torque. Not saying that the car goes ballistic immediately, but you definitely feel nice quick pedal response, and virtually none of that "wait for it-- ah there's the boost" effect that you sometimes get with certain high output turbo motors.

Preuninger makes a lot out of how close this engine gets to the emotion of a normally aspirated motor. Imo its still quite a ways off from a sweet high revving motor in terms of pure feel, but... Yes the motor in the gt2rs did somehow feel more "alive" or more... "alert" (?) than other turbocharged flat-sixes. Its not a night & day thing though, vs the regular gt2's.

I can't comment on the handling unfortunately, for reasons already mentioned. The car steered just like a regular gt2 at the speeds we were driving at. So i can't with honesty say i felt the benefits of all the weight savings, as that sort of thing shows up on track or on a nice clear winding route.

In all other respects, the car is like a regular gt2. Interior, exhaust note, etc. That's good or bad, depending on your pov.

So, to summarize (and i'm afraid there's nothing here you wouldn't already have read before):

pro's:

• drivability: Lovely clutch feel, great torque curve
• everyday usability: For a car designed for the track, and arguably better on-track than cars even a price class above it, it truly can live on the road w/o compromises (other than chin clearance)
• power: Basically you're top dog, unless you run into some crazy modded p-car, lambo or gtr

con's:

• nothing on the inside to differentiate from lesser 911's (the two-tone scheme doesn't count in my book, as i'd never have my car with that);

[Gast]

Ge hebt duidelijk op geen enkel gebied smaak

2 that

[Gast]

De office car van Preuninger

[Gast]

gisteravond geschoten in st tropez :

[Gast]

Toch vreemd dat ze op de GT2RS goudkleurige velgen voorzien, dat slaat toch nergens op ? De standaardkleur (titaniumlook) past bvb 10x beter op de GT-zilverversie (en ook op de rode trouwens).

[Gast]

gisteravond geschoten in st tropez :

Schitterend!