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The more time goes on, the more I'm convinced that cars from the 90's and 2000's were the peak we won't ever beat. Every new release these days is more powerful, heavy and numb than the previous one, basically going towards being completely impossible to push on normal roads
100% I think I own the last great coupe, an OG M2, it's still a bit heavy and has a fair amount of power, but I can still enjoy it's full potential on a public road without losing my licence.
Also wider, with worse sight lines. Some of these new cars feel like they are made for the track: They sometimes don't even fit in a lane on a narrow road.
@@DjNikGnashers I really love the og M2 but it's too powerful to keep my license. For the same money, you can find a z4m roadster (both clean manual versions) who gives you higher revs, a drop-down roof, the character of an NA engine with a good bit less power that you have to fight for. The only real loss is the backseat (and weather resistance) that is a big advantage for the M2. Tldr: the M2 is probably indeed one of the last great coupes, it's simply a car of it's time with the sacrifices that implies
Brilliant cars. I owned a 996.1 GT3 Club Sport (in Speed Yellow) for 12 years and has been by far the best car I've owned. I found it a little under powered in stock form so had the Manthey K400 upgrade (re-map, exhaust cup air filter) giving around 400 horsepower and upgraded brakes from the 996.2 GT3. I took it to well known Porsche specialist, Parr Garage who did the suspension set up and was just brilliant fun on track. I prefer the 996 GT3 to the 997 and my dream GT3 is a 996 version (either Gen1, 2 or RS) with the 4 litre engine from the 997.2RS.
Brilliant. I drive a 996.2 GT3 Clubsport. Wonderful car on Swiss mountain roads. I did a test drive and immediately bought the car. Like your friend no plans to sell it. Nowadays I even like the design which I didn‘t when the car was new. But it aged really well
In time I think it will come more and more into its own design wise, as it’s the different 911 especially when everything on the road is a round electric SUV in 10 years
I remembered going to a dealer in 2002. They were almost trying to give their GT3 away. They let me drive it and I was blown away. I had already driven an older Turbo Porsche but this N/A engine was way more fun. 7500 RPM is music to the ears and an 😊adrenaline rush. Jay, thank you for sharing your experience with this wonderful car. 😊😮😊
As a kid, I wasn't a particularly big fan of Porsche. The 930 was for me the most recognizable model from pop-culture, but I always looked at them and saw "old cars". In circa 97, the PS1 videogame Porsche Challenge came out, featuring only the Boxster, and I fell in love with it. It was a modern look for a 90s car, and clicked all my buttons, and I sarted to like Porsches. In the year 2000, as a 15 year old, I used to work on my vacations to pay for stuff (videogames and upgrades to my PC), and in one of those vacations, I was helping my father building a small roof in a rich guy's house, and something from the guy's garage was needed. He opened the door, and bam! a red F355. Drop dead gorgeous, beautiful sound. The guy reverses the car, and takes a left turn to a part of the house I was unaware of. As I follow that F355, bam! a silver GT3. Coincidentally, at that time, I was playing NFS: Porsche 2000/Unleashed, and that was one of the cars in the game. I was hooked, and to this day, the 986 and 996 GT3 are my favorite Porsches. I currently own a 986, but with the asking price of nearly 100k for a GT3 in Portugal, it's probably nothing more than a pipe-dream. Funny story, when I asked the owner about the cars, his response was: "The GT3 is a girl's car, the 355 is a man's car."
15:21, the best description I’ve heard of how a great sports car should feel, similar to how the best bicycle saddle should feel (you just forget it’s there). Fantastic video 👍
The fact is, 360bhp is still a LOT. Sure plenty of 'normal' cars churn out that kind of number, but they're all quick cars. And with the 996 being a lightweight compared to modern cars, it will definitely go in the 'bloody quick' category. It's more than enough power to have a lot of fun with and get into a lot of trouble. I have a big soft spot for the 996, it was the current 911 when I really got into cars and I've always like the looks, especially the GT3 and Turbo.
6:38 The US never got the the road going 996.1 at all. There were a handful of track-only GT3 cars campaigned in Grand Am and American Le Mans in the US, but until they hit 25 years and start getting imported, you won’t see any on the street. The closest we got were Carreras with the factory Aerokit and Sport Design wheels. The 996.1 GT3 is definitely one of the best looking water-cooled 911
We are a fifteen year limit in Canada. They’re ‘99 GT3s that can be imported now, you’d find a bunch in Canada, and of course 2000, 2001 years coming up. That’ll put upward pressure on the Canadian market. For those who want one start soon. This is one of the rarest special Porsches out there. For my money (literally) the .1, the OG GT3, is the best looking 996.
Canadian owner of a JDM Euro Spec 996.1 GT3 here. I love the fact that I love this car because every time I get in to drive it I am reminded of how fortunate I am to drive it. It gets a bit of attention, it has a hell of stance un-modified, people sense that it is something special, the noise of the motor is something even at idle. For the most part it goes unnoticed beyond the usual bit of attention a basic old white 911 gets. This car for me reminds me of the racing bicycles I used to ride in city streets you feel every little bit of the road’s nuances. When I realized that was my experience I suddenly understood how seriously sublime the ‘3 is. I drive it like it’s stolen Honda, it does everything I ask of it! Bumped the motor to 3.8 for an added 50-60 NA power. I have not received a ticket in it either, knock on wood.
This is _SUCH_ a forbidden fruit. Thank you for letting me live vicariously 😉. We didn't just "not get that option", we did not get the 996.1 GT3. Never seen that wing in person. But yes, i think all the 996.2's had the cage. Wait, it's 25 now? Hmmm, how much is shipping across the Atlantic? A clean 996.2 goes for north of $100k 🤔
James, very good presentation, on an amazing motor vehicle. I remember sitting in one at a dealership thinking this thing would be amazing to steer. I bought a 997 GT3 many years later. What a car. All GT 911’s are amazing to me. A very special line of car whose ancestor was I believe 2.7RS of the time.
This will always be, to me, the prettiest and best looking (and my favourite) GT3 generation of all. The 996 is already a pretty car imo but the mk1 GT3 specifically, with that subtle bodykit, that gorgeous sculpted rear wing and the multipiece wheels, just looks stunning! Please James, do buy one while they're still (somewhat) affordable! But remember that once you do, please never sell it!
I've restored over 50 early 911 bodies so have driven a fair number of cars. I can honestly say that my favourite, by far, was a 996 GT3. Abosutely epic in every way, and chalk n cheese compared to my (then) normal 3.4 manual 996 C2. That said, my C2 was 1/4 of the value to be fair!
Wow ! I remember the day like it was yesterday ! I got to drive a gorgeous 996 Clubsport in red to Doncaster from Sleaford AW Accident Repair, to the other repair garage, before they closed at 5.30pm. Under strict instruction from the owner, I had to get there without fail before closing time. The instructions from the owner were, "drive it how it should be driven". I left just after 4pm, and got there at 4.55pm. Awesome fun, and scared silly too. I hope that lovely chap subscribes to your channel and reads this comment. It was a definite bucket list tick for me 😊 If I knew your email address James, I'd send you the pictures. Loving your channel too BTW. I wonder. Could you find a very rare Cortina XR8 or Cortina Piranha here in the UK to have a go in ? Cheers duck 👍
I've wanted a Porsche for years. This one would be perfect. You are clearly loving this car and really enjoyed you enjoying her. Thanks for sharing it to the owner. Love your channel Jayemm, God bless you.
993 GT 2 was just recently sold on Sotherbys at 2.4 million dollars. This is valued like 10-15 times less. It's insane. This must be the best bang for the buck special Porsche you can buy.
Excellent review of this car. I sold them in period in Sydney and you nailed the spec. Only point worth adding is that the rubber suspension bushes were replaced with brass ones. That alone transformed the feel of the car through the wheel. Gone was the rubbery slight disconnect from the unsprung components featured in the stock 996, it talked to you. The price premium over a std 996 was 10%. I rang half a dozen of my best clients when the rumour was confirmed and showed them a photocopy of the spec. All of them ordered one. A week later they were sold out. Those customers never stopped thanking me.
As a fan of engine sounds, and in an age where cars are losing this essential part of their character - either through legislation or powertrain type - your videos are an absolutely essential part of my car enthusiasm. Your audio is so clear and so well captured, and along with the sheer variety of cars you feature, makes you my favourite UA-camr by far. Just top, top work all round. Thanks James, I appreciate the work you put in.
Great video 👍 I own a mk1 GT3 Clubsport, 106 mk1 GT3s were UK c16 imported cars of which 28 were Clubsport spec, these 28 had a single mass flywheel, two battery cut off switches, deletion of side airbags, factory fitted half rear roll cage in black with provision for the front section, Nomex fire retardant seats. Some had a plastic dash top and no onboard computer as mine came. l love the older Porsches but personally this model is where it stops along with the purity and analog driving pleasure later models lost, just my opinion 😊
Peter was the previous owner of my 964 and ported the reg plate over to his GT3. I recognised it instantly! Interesting that we both kept our respective new Porsche’s as long term owners 😊
Funny, I think they’re good, but as many “special” porches are, I think they’re totally overrated and overpriced. I say this as an ex owner of a 996.2 gt3, so fairly similar to this one.
All important points well-made! Especially on avoiding the garage queen. I describe to freinds the driving experience of 6.1 GT3 as "No Condom". Also when you floor it at 5500-7500 (or it goes a bit more), you get might as well be the best sound you could ever get in a car. I don't think JayEm revved that hard up that high on these roads, or the mic didn't fully capture the sound.
I picked up the cheapest (to my knowledge) 996.2 GT3 back in March... best car I've ever driven and I was never previously a Porsche fan, always an old school Ferrari fan. If it wasn't priced so well, I wouldn't have considered it as all the other example are much too expensive for me. I was hoping I'd get there and not like it but I went to have a look, jumped in and within 0.2 secs of moving the steering wheel and it having THAT feel... SOLD. A truely epic car I can't to put thousands more miles on.
Love this one man. I agree with the idea of newer more powerful and complete idiotic cars feel less enjoyable. To some degree anyway. I only have my C2, and I am running 305 rear and 235 fronts, and the grip is great. I need nothing more to enjoy this thing. I do want a 996 GT3 though. Using the modern power and grip is more difficult here stateside. A great vid as always.
It's refreshing just how simple and unadorned the 996.1 GT3 is. Compare that to the 992.1 GT3 with all of its bells and whistles, 996 looked positively dainty and demure. I don't even mind the fried-egg headlights as much as I was back 10 years ago, though the 996.2 is a better-looking car in my book. My favourite is still the 991.2 GT3 (arguably the best-looking 911 generation full stop) but I would not kick the 996 out of bed. Not when there's that Mezger six at the back.
One of my favorite cars as a teenager. A guy who owned an exotic car shop near me had one. Supposedly he crashed it at the track and then tried to fake an accident to collect insurance. It sat broken for years in front of his shop. 😢
One of the best reappraisals of the GT3Mk1. I am lucky enough to own the Biarritz White Mk1 Clubsport and it is simply the best analogue car ever. Perfect for fast road and track. As you say.. narrow body, enough power to go fast and the car does actually shrink round you ( invisible). Tyres should be 285s on the rear on 10” rims tho. ( it can also take 295s For a pure driving experience and “ that wing”… it’s hard to beat. Thank you.
I have the same .1 in Biarritz White, but Comfort, I have taken the liberty of swapping the Perlon CS seats into her. If Jay thought the car dissappeared in the regular seats, he might lose his mind with CS seats! Cheers!😅
Hold on to that puppy not too expensive to maintain, depreciation is not an issue and its smiles per miles galore 😂! I have a ‘99 in Ocean Jade Metallic. Stupendous vehicle! What colour is yours? What year?
Great review Jay, these are definitely underappreciated cars at the moment. It would be interesting to see a comparison to the same car with the X51 package vs. the GT3. The X51 was a lighter car with the C2 chassis and a factory HP bump over the standard Carrera. Maybe someone out there has one for you to review!
Great review, they struggled to sell the early GT3 variants in some locations - because they were considered a bit uncomfortable/noisy/track focussed. Great cars but its still the RS variants that have that extra essence that makes them stand out.
One favourite GT3 snippet is that apparently the 996 GT3s will always be the closest to the actual race cars as 997 onwards the adaptive suspension on the road cars vs race cars means it’s not exactly 121
I remember when the GT3 first launched to such fanfare and I thought it was plain hideous. Now I would kill to have one, and although I already have one, I still want one from every other generation.
Hey Jay - next time you take a 996 out for a drive try shifting at higher RPM's. As you pointed out, the redline is at 7500 RPM, so if you want to get into the fun zone don't shift until you get past 6500 at the lowest. If the car is track ready, this won't suffer a but (it is a Porsche after all !).
I think it's fair to say the late 90s and early 00s were peak car! A time when manufacturers built stuff for the roads rather than the ridiculous BHP race and obsession with nurburgring times that we have now. With cars so quick that you can only ever drive them at 10% in the real world.
This car did the Nurburgring thing back in ‘99-it was the first passenger production car to break the 8 min mark. It’s on UA-cam driven by non other than Walter Rorhl (sp?)!
Privileged to have owned an Arctic Silver .1 GT3 for 2 years in Australia. Sold it with about 140,000kms on it, it was the 2nd highest mileage one in Australia. When I first owned it I didn't care much for the taco shell wing, when I sold it I was convinced that was just about the best bit of it :-) Loved it!!! Now regretting sale of course......
@@cctoronto Getting old ;-) Wife didn't like riding in it - says seats not designed for women with good child bearing hips, and I did find the ride was becoming too harsh for me on our country roads which I preferred to drive on rather than highways - couldn't exercise the car properly on the highways. Plus the post Covid 60% rise in value was attractive, so i ended up swapping to a 996.1 Carrera 2 which effectively owes me nothing. Still miss the raw power of the Mezger though :-)
@@peterhaworth5432 I have both, I can understand that logic… they certainly did go up over COVID I bought mine at the right time, first week of March 2020…
@@peterhaworth5432 Just curious, did you essentially drive it during your ownership for net nothing? I’ve long since gone into the red on mine, but I drive it like it’s a Honda Civic. I don’t think about its value at all. There isn’t a better car for dealing with flowing, medium traffic than a 911. Especially NB 996s and I would assume air cooled as well, they’re so damned small on the outside in traffic. Is your Carrera an Aerokit?
Owned and drove most of the GT3 and I mostly tend to think that the 996.1 is meh, the engine is crap and never does 360hp, most are 320/330. Chassis from factory is not very different from base carrera and you mostly pay for a badge. On the contrario, a 996.2 the first Preuninger car is one of the greats, true 380hp and almost 400hp on some. Chassis revised to a whole new level, and almost similar than a 997GT3 meaning you can swap lot of parts and tuning evolution. I would avoid the 996.1 GT3 and go straight to a 996.2 if someone is in the market, driving pleasure will go a longer way than looks for those cars. Personally in the end i kept a 3.8RS but i could happily swap it with a 996.2 GT3 with a few mods as the driving pleasure is on par.
@@hadrienlf23 996.2 uses the same M96/76 engine as the 996.1 only with some minor tweaks. Also the base of the chassis of both cars is the same. Please less big talk.
@@seabass223 Please enlighten me, I am a former racing driver whom has driven few 996.1 and .2 gt3. The difference between the cars are abyssal from factory. Of course they are minor tweaks maybe 5% of the car but it contributes to a much much better car. And yes if you comment is going towards "you can do this and this a .1 to make it like a .2 it is a few tweaks away, sure everything is a few "minor" tweaks away but there is a real 60hp difference and a much better chassis plus the brakes which are a class above.
I partly agree and I have both. My yellow lhd 996.1 (first one in UK) was featured with me in Evo Magazine Targa Floria edition in 2000. I still think it's chassis is slightly more feel some on track. My 03 996.2 I'd agree has better engine gearbox and steering and overall drive on the road is better. Rgds
GT3 is the truest expression of what they should always be. each generation gets progressively bigger, Heavier and more Grand Tourish. becoming more like a modern 928
Hi , I currently have a 991.2 GT3 CS Manual , Ive been thinking of changing it for an older model ( narrower ) 911 - what would you have in my position , thought I'd ask as you've pretty much driven everything :)
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Hey Jay, would it be a bad idea if we did a collab and I would film one of your episodes in VR ? BTW. great work as always.
The more time goes on, the more I'm convinced that cars from the 90's and 2000's were the peak we won't ever beat. Every new release these days is more powerful, heavy and numb than the previous one, basically going towards being completely impossible to push on normal roads
100%
I think I own the last great coupe, an OG M2, it's still a bit heavy and has a fair amount of power, but I can still enjoy it's full potential on a public road without losing my licence.
Also wider, with worse sight lines. Some of these new cars feel like they are made for the track: They sometimes don't even fit in a lane on a narrow road.
@@DjNikGnashers I really love the og M2 but it's too powerful to keep my license. For the same money, you can find a z4m roadster (both clean manual versions) who gives you higher revs, a drop-down roof, the character of an NA engine with a good bit less power that you have to fight for. The only real loss is the backseat (and weather resistance) that is a big advantage for the M2.
Tldr: the M2 is probably indeed one of the last great coupes, it's simply a car of it's time with the sacrifices that implies
All my cars are in that era. Don’t see the need to change!
new 992 actually is lighter than 996) and much much faster on any kind of road)
Brilliant cars. I owned a 996.1 GT3 Club Sport (in Speed Yellow) for 12 years and has been by far the best car I've owned. I found it a little under powered in stock form so had the Manthey K400 upgrade (re-map, exhaust cup air filter) giving around 400 horsepower and upgraded brakes from the 996.2 GT3. I took it to well known Porsche specialist, Parr Garage who did the suspension set up and was just brilliant fun on track. I prefer the 996 GT3 to the 997 and my dream GT3 is a 996 version (either Gen1, 2 or RS) with the 4 litre engine from the 997.2RS.
Hi Geoff ...I have your old car now and she's still going strong 👌👌
@@andyirwin70, Hi Andy, that's great to hear. I hope your continuing to have a lot of fun with that wonderful car.
@@geoffclarke3796
Why don’t you still have the one you had?
Damn... What a small world we live in
@@geoffclarke3796 🤤
Brilliant. I drive a 996.2 GT3 Clubsport. Wonderful car on Swiss mountain roads. I did a test drive and immediately bought the car. Like your friend no plans to sell it. Nowadays I even like the design which I didn‘t when the car was new. But it aged really well
In time I think it will come more and more into its own design wise, as it’s the different 911 especially when everything on the road is a round electric SUV in 10 years
996.2 owner here, just back from a 4K km euro trip. GT3’s are epic cars, no question!
I remembered going to a dealer in 2002.
They were almost trying to give their GT3 away. They let me drive it and I was blown away. I had already driven an older Turbo Porsche but this N/A engine was way more fun. 7500 RPM is music to the ears and an 😊adrenaline rush.
Jay, thank you for sharing your experience with this wonderful car. 😊😮😊
Great review. It has successfully persuaded me to go out and purchase a Porsche GT3
Matchbox car 😂
Oh my James, the growl of that GT3 on full chat is absolutely awesome! Nice one!👍👏👏👏♥️
Yep, the boys really love an old-school growler.🤭
As a kid, I wasn't a particularly big fan of Porsche. The 930 was for me the most recognizable model from pop-culture, but I always looked at them and saw "old cars". In circa 97, the PS1 videogame Porsche Challenge came out, featuring only the Boxster, and I fell in love with it. It was a modern look for a 90s car, and clicked all my buttons, and I sarted to like Porsches. In the year 2000, as a 15 year old, I used to work on my vacations to pay for stuff (videogames and upgrades to my PC), and in one of those vacations, I was helping my father building a small roof in a rich guy's house, and something from the guy's garage was needed. He opened the door, and bam! a red F355. Drop dead gorgeous, beautiful sound. The guy reverses the car, and takes a left turn to a part of the house I was unaware of. As I follow that F355, bam! a silver GT3. Coincidentally, at that time, I was playing NFS: Porsche 2000/Unleashed, and that was one of the cars in the game. I was hooked, and to this day, the 986 and 996 GT3 are my favorite Porsches. I currently own a 986, but with the asking price of nearly 100k for a GT3 in Portugal, it's probably nothing more than a pipe-dream. Funny story, when I asked the owner about the cars, his response was: "The GT3 is a girl's car, the 355 is a man's car."
15:21, the best description I’ve heard of how a great sports car should feel, similar to how the best bicycle saddle should feel (you just forget it’s there). Fantastic video 👍
Speed Yellow 996.1 GT3 Manthey owner here....you describe the feeling of driving these cars perfectly 👏
Small club. I’m glad to be in it!
Big fan of these, the 996 has been the only obtainable 911 for me. Glad to see it getting some love. For now I have a 986 Boxster which is a riot too.
The fact is, 360bhp is still a LOT. Sure plenty of 'normal' cars churn out that kind of number, but they're all quick cars. And with the 996 being a lightweight compared to modern cars, it will definitely go in the 'bloody quick' category. It's more than enough power to have a lot of fun with and get into a lot of trouble.
I have a big soft spot for the 996, it was the current 911 when I really got into cars and I've always like the looks, especially the GT3 and Turbo.
6:38 The US never got the the road going 996.1 at all. There were a handful of track-only GT3 cars campaigned in Grand Am and American Le Mans in the US, but until they hit 25 years and start getting imported, you won’t see any on the street.
The closest we got were Carreras with the factory Aerokit and Sport Design wheels. The 996.1 GT3 is definitely one of the best looking water-cooled 911
We are a fifteen year limit in Canada. They’re ‘99 GT3s that can be imported now, you’d find a bunch in Canada, and of course 2000, 2001 years coming up. That’ll put upward pressure on the Canadian market. For those who want one start soon. This is one of the rarest special Porsches out there.
For my money (literally) the .1, the OG GT3, is the best looking 996.
Canadian owner of a JDM Euro Spec 996.1 GT3 here.
I love the fact that I love this car because every time I get in to drive it I am reminded of how fortunate I am to drive it. It gets a bit of attention, it has a hell of stance
un-modified, people sense that it is something special, the noise of the motor is something even at idle. For the most part it goes unnoticed beyond the usual bit of attention a basic old white 911 gets.
This car for me reminds me of the racing bicycles I used to ride in city streets you feel every little bit of the road’s nuances. When I realized that was my experience I suddenly understood how seriously sublime the ‘3 is.
I drive it like it’s stolen Honda, it does everything I ask of it!
Bumped the motor to 3.8 for an added 50-60 NA power.
I have not received a ticket in it either, knock on wood.
This is _SUCH_ a forbidden fruit.
Thank you for letting me live vicariously 😉.
We didn't just "not get that option", we did not get the 996.1 GT3. Never seen that wing in person. But yes, i think all the 996.2's had the cage.
Wait, it's 25 now? Hmmm, how much is shipping across the Atlantic? A clean 996.2 goes for north of $100k 🤔
James, very good presentation, on an amazing motor vehicle.
I remember sitting in one at a dealership thinking this thing would be amazing to steer. I bought a 997 GT3 many years later. What a car. All GT 911’s are amazing to me. A very special line of car whose ancestor was I believe 2.7RS of the time.
Very definitely the loveliest spoiler I have ever seen.
What you said about the car becoming invisible is spot on. How 'I' feel about my 675LT and MX5 which is why they will never leave me.
131k !
Do my eyes deceive me ?
That’s a well used car 👍🏻
Naah, it's the clock: half-past one. 🤭
Probably on the original Mezger too.
I drive the stink out of mine, it never falters.
This will always be, to me, the prettiest and best looking (and my favourite) GT3 generation of all. The 996 is already a pretty car imo but the mk1 GT3 specifically, with that subtle bodykit, that gorgeous sculpted rear wing and the multipiece wheels, just looks stunning! Please James, do buy one while they're still (somewhat) affordable! But remember that once you do, please never sell it!
Pretty? 🤔
@@resnonverba137
Absolutely!
I've restored over 50 early 911 bodies so have driven a fair number of cars. I can honestly say that my favourite, by far, was a 996 GT3. Abosutely epic in every way, and chalk n cheese compared to my (then) normal 3.4 manual 996 C2. That said, my C2 was 1/4 of the value to be fair!
Great to see the mileage on this car. As a 996 owner, this warms my heart
Wow ! I remember the day like it was yesterday ! I got to drive a gorgeous 996 Clubsport in red to Doncaster from Sleaford AW Accident Repair, to the other repair garage, before they closed at 5.30pm. Under strict instruction from the owner, I had to get there without fail before closing time. The instructions from the owner were, "drive it how it should be driven". I left just after 4pm, and got there at 4.55pm. Awesome fun, and scared silly too.
I hope that lovely chap subscribes to your channel and reads this comment. It was a definite bucket list tick for me 😊
If I knew your email address James, I'd send you the pictures.
Loving your channel too BTW. I wonder. Could you find a very rare Cortina XR8 or Cortina Piranha here in the UK to have a go in ? Cheers duck 👍
Great post. Glad to hear you had such a great moment! Good share!
Finally my favourite car of all time! Love this exact model and spec so much ❤
When you’re not thinking anymore, it shows it’s a great car. Great video😊
I've wanted a Porsche for years. This one would be perfect.
You are clearly loving this car and really enjoyed you enjoying her.
Thanks for sharing it to the owner.
Love your channel Jayemm, God bless you.
That sound of the engine is like a raughty sorbet, the fried egg head lights and those smooth body lines. Classic Porsche.
993 GT 2 was just recently sold on Sotherbys at 2.4 million dollars. This is valued like 10-15 times less. It's insane. This must be the best bang for the buck special Porsche you can buy.
The 996 GT3 mechanicals are every bit as interesting as a 993 GT2. They share the same gearbox for starters (996 one is slightly modified)
@@detonator2112 yes, for sure it is.
Excellent review of this car. I sold them in period in Sydney and you nailed the spec. Only point worth adding is that the rubber suspension bushes were replaced with brass ones. That alone transformed the feel of the car through the wheel. Gone was the rubbery slight disconnect from the unsprung components featured in the stock 996, it talked to you. The price premium over a std 996 was 10%. I rang half a dozen of my best clients when the rumour was confirmed and showed them a photocopy of the spec. All of them ordered one. A week later they were sold out. Those customers never stopped thanking me.
Love Jay Emm for the mix of cars keeping us all interested
My most trusted reviewer
I can’t stand modern Porsche’s but I LOVE this era.
Best 911 generation honestly, glad I’m able to experience one!
Won more EVO COTYs than any other generation.
Another great video, reminds me why I love old porsches!
I'm really enjoying your leaning towards Porsche.
The acceleration sound is religiously brutal and sublime
wonderful review
As a fan of engine sounds, and in an age where cars are losing this essential part of their character - either through legislation or powertrain type - your videos are an absolutely essential part of my car enthusiasm. Your audio is so clear and so well captured, and along with the sheer variety of cars you feature, makes you my favourite UA-camr by far.
Just top, top work all round. Thanks James, I appreciate the work you put in.
Was never a fan of the 996 cars but the gt3 variant i have always liked from every angle ,it looks s organic and is not overly wide
I’ve always wanted a 996 GT3. I’d take mine in comfort spec in dark blue.
Great video 👍 I own a mk1 GT3 Clubsport, 106 mk1 GT3s were UK c16 imported cars of which 28 were Clubsport spec, these 28 had a single mass flywheel, two battery cut off switches, deletion of side airbags, factory fitted half rear roll cage in black with provision for the front section, Nomex fire retardant seats. Some had a plastic dash top and no onboard computer as mine came. l love the older Porsches but personally this model is where it stops along with the purity and analog driving pleasure later models lost, just my opinion 😊
Peter was the previous owner of my 964 and ported the reg plate over to his GT3. I recognised it instantly! Interesting that we both kept our respective new Porsche’s as long term owners 😊
Porsches...
That Peter is me! So glad you enjoyed the 964 and have kept it for so long. Best air cooled Porsche I’ve owned
YES
Amazing car, and beautiful, although I do love a fried egg so might be a bit biased.
Absolutely amazing cars
These are still massively undervalued.
Good.
Funny, I think they’re good, but as many “special” porches are, I think they’re totally overrated and overpriced. I say this as an ex owner of a 996.2 gt3, so fairly similar to this one.
That’s true. These are much more limited numbers and rare the. The newer ones. Another over looked car is the 996 Turbo S. Very few made. Cheers
Oh, I cannot wait to watch this - what a lovely motor vehicle!
Dream car for me. Remember an article in Evo a yellow one touring Italy when they first came out.
Excellent synopsis ,,,your point of the car vanaishing was a wonderlul piece of genious ,,,a driver and the road ,feeling it .......very nice indeed
That exhaust note!!!
All important points well-made! Especially on avoiding the garage queen. I describe to freinds the driving experience of 6.1 GT3 as "No Condom". Also when you floor it at 5500-7500 (or it goes a bit more), you get might as well be the best sound you could ever get in a car. I don't think JayEm revved that hard up that high on these roads, or the mic didn't fully capture the sound.
If you like sound ..Check out videos of the 6.1 Manthey K400 variant with the induction and exhaust mods.
it looks beautiful i dont care what anyone says
I picked up the cheapest (to my knowledge) 996.2 GT3 back in March... best car I've ever driven and I was never previously a Porsche fan, always an old school Ferrari fan. If it wasn't priced so well, I wouldn't have considered it as all the other example are much too expensive for me. I was hoping I'd get there and not like it but I went to have a look, jumped in and within 0.2 secs of moving the steering wheel and it having THAT feel... SOLD. A truely epic car I can't to put thousands more miles on.
I had a similar experience. I just turned right around after 30 seconds and wrote a cheque without blinking an eye. Porsches have changed me.
Love this one man. I agree with the idea of newer more powerful and complete idiotic cars feel less enjoyable. To some degree anyway. I only have my C2, and I am running 305 rear and 235 fronts, and the grip is great. I need nothing more to enjoy this thing. I do want a 996 GT3 though. Using the modern power and grip is more difficult here stateside. A great vid as always.
I love your, very appropriate, shirt 😁👍👍👍
Fabulous review, I will let you drive the turbo next week! just go easy on my tyres!lol, fresh set again
That noise... 🎼🎶🎼🎵
The noise of a clattering old beetle. 🤢
Yet another fantastic review. Thank you for that. ❤
It's refreshing just how simple and unadorned the 996.1 GT3 is. Compare that to the 992.1 GT3 with all of its bells and whistles, 996 looked positively dainty and demure. I don't even mind the fried-egg headlights as much as I was back 10 years ago, though the 996.2 is a better-looking car in my book. My favourite is still the 991.2 GT3 (arguably the best-looking 911 generation full stop) but I would not kick the 996 out of bed. Not when there's that Mezger six at the back.
One of my favorite cars as a teenager. A guy who owned an exotic car shop near me had one. Supposedly he crashed it at the track and then tried to fake an accident to collect insurance. It sat broken for years in front of his shop. 😢
@@wil4741 sad, hopefully it was rebuilt one day…
Shhhh!!! I’ve been hoping these .1s would stay somewhat affordable!
One of the best reappraisals of the GT3Mk1.
I am lucky enough to own the Biarritz White Mk1 Clubsport and it is simply the best analogue car ever. Perfect for fast road and track. As you say.. narrow body, enough power to go fast and the car does actually shrink round you ( invisible).
Tyres should be 285s on the rear on 10” rims tho. ( it can also take 295s
For a pure driving experience and “ that wing”… it’s hard to beat. Thank you.
I have the same .1 in Biarritz White, but Comfort, I have taken the liberty of swapping the Perlon CS seats into her.
If Jay thought the car dissappeared in the regular seats, he might lose his mind with CS seats!
Cheers!😅
Superb video and car
Amazing… I have a C2 manual 996:1 with Gt3 aero and M030 for three years. Still love the taco wing sculpture. Second best to this dream car….
Hold on to that puppy not too expensive to maintain, depreciation is not an issue and its smiles per miles galore 😂!
I have a ‘99 in Ocean Jade Metallic. Stupendous vehicle!
What colour is yours? What year?
TACO CLUB
if you’re ever in Orlando, i would love you to review my manual F10 m5! it’s monte carlo blue and a north america exclusive
Glorious sound
Great review Jay, these are definitely underappreciated cars at the moment. It would be interesting to see a comparison to the same car with the X51 package vs. the GT3. The X51 was a lighter car with the C2 chassis and a factory HP bump over the standard Carrera. Maybe someone out there has one for you to review!
Excellent and Outstanding!!!
I drove the white one they had @ Silverstone PEC...it was epic! 😄
Biarritz White!
Great review, they struggled to sell the early GT3 variants in some locations - because they were considered a bit uncomfortable/noisy/track focussed. Great cars but its still the RS variants that have that extra essence that makes them stand out.
Sounds glorious
One note on the steering racks of modern cars. A lot of modern cars have such quick steering that it’s harder to feel the tire through the steering
One favourite GT3 snippet is that apparently the 996 GT3s will always be the closest to the actual race cars as 997 onwards the adaptive suspension on the road cars vs race cars means it’s not exactly 121
Specifically, the .2 RSes were the last direct connection to race cars
Excellent review, I own a 996GT3 RSC which to me is a better drive even than my 550 Maranello
Cheerio mate!!!!!!!!!!!
I remember when the GT3 first launched to such fanfare and I thought it was plain hideous.
Now I would kill to have one, and although I already have one, I still want one from every other generation.
6:45 The Americans never got the 996.1 GT3 at all!
Great job
Hey Jay - next time you take a 996 out for a drive try shifting at higher RPM's. As you pointed out, the redline is at 7500 RPM, so if you want to get into the fun zone don't shift until you get past 6500 at the lowest. If the car is track ready, this won't suffer a but (it is a Porsche after all !).
I think it's fair to say the late 90s and early 00s were peak car! A time when manufacturers built stuff for the roads rather than the ridiculous BHP race and obsession with nurburgring times that we have now. With cars so quick that you can only ever drive them at 10% in the real world.
This car did the Nurburgring thing back in ‘99-it was the first passenger production car to break the 8 min mark. It’s on UA-cam driven by non other than Walter Rorhl (sp?)!
It looks great but the sound is… *chefs kiss*
Am I the only one wishing that James would miss that muddy puddle at the start of the intro?
If ljk setright had done you tube videos----😊 brilliant meausured and insightful 👏 .
Wow! There’s a name from long time back. I was a teen reading him, and I usually didn’t get it!
@@cctoronto no neither did I but the bits I could understand made certain cars ----the ac cobra in particular----sound rubbish 😅.
We had a black 8k miler in stock it was great to drive. Problem is price was near a 991 GT3 - which id have over the 996.
thank you for this video!
997.1 Turbo will still the best fuel burning car from Germany when it´s an oldie ;)
Fun, quick, attractive, Mezger engine reliability & cheap (relative to exotica)…
The 992 gt3rs being overhyped to hell on tik tok - it all started here ❤️
Privileged to have owned an Arctic Silver .1 GT3 for 2 years in Australia. Sold it with about 140,000kms on it, it was the 2nd highest mileage one in Australia. When I first owned it I didn't care much for the taco shell wing, when I sold it I was convinced that was just about the best bit of it :-) Loved it!!! Now regretting sale of course......
Why’d you sell?
@@cctoronto Getting old ;-) Wife didn't like riding in it - says seats not designed for women with good child bearing hips, and I did find the ride was becoming too harsh for me on our country roads which I preferred to drive on rather than highways - couldn't exercise the car properly on the highways. Plus the post Covid 60% rise in value was attractive, so i ended up swapping to a 996.1 Carrera 2 which effectively owes me nothing. Still miss the raw power of the Mezger though :-)
@@peterhaworth5432
I have both, I can understand that logic… they certainly did go up over COVID I bought mine at the right time, first week of March 2020…
@@cctoronto Bought mine end of Jan 20, so similar timing 🙂
@@peterhaworth5432
Just curious, did you essentially drive it during your ownership for net nothing? I’ve long since gone into the red on mine, but I drive it like it’s a Honda Civic. I don’t think about its value at all.
There isn’t a better car for dealing with flowing, medium traffic than a 911. Especially NB 996s and I would assume air cooled as well, they’re so damned small on the outside in traffic.
Is your Carrera an Aerokit?
I have a Speed Yellow Carrera 2 Aerokit for sale if of interest… its on eBay today 👍🏻
I do like these, and would choose the 996.2 over it.
TY 🙏🙏
Owned and drove most of the GT3 and I mostly tend to think that the 996.1 is meh, the engine is crap and never does 360hp, most are 320/330. Chassis from factory is not very different from base carrera and you mostly pay for a badge. On the contrario, a 996.2 the first Preuninger car is one of the greats, true 380hp and almost 400hp on some. Chassis revised to a whole new level, and almost similar than a 997GT3 meaning you can swap lot of parts and tuning evolution. I would avoid the 996.1 GT3 and go straight to a 996.2 if someone is in the market, driving pleasure will go a longer way than looks for those cars.
Personally in the end i kept a 3.8RS but i could happily swap it with a 996.2 GT3 with a few mods as the driving pleasure is on par.
spot on 😂
@@hadrienlf23 996.2 uses the same M96/76 engine as the 996.1 only with some minor tweaks. Also the base of the chassis of both cars is the same. Please less big talk.
@@seabass223 Please enlighten me, I am a former racing driver whom has driven few 996.1 and .2 gt3. The difference between the cars are abyssal from factory.
Of course they are minor tweaks maybe 5% of the car but it contributes to a much much better car. And yes if you comment is going towards "you can do this and this a .1 to make it like a .2 it is a few tweaks away, sure everything is a few "minor" tweaks away but there is a real 60hp difference and a much better chassis plus the brakes which are a class above.
@@seabass223incorrect on the engine.
I partly agree and I have both.
My yellow lhd 996.1 (first one in UK) was featured with me in Evo Magazine Targa Floria edition in 2000. I still think it's chassis is slightly more feel some on track.
My 03 996.2 I'd agree has better engine gearbox and steering and overall drive on the road is better.
Rgds
GT3 is the truest expression of what they should always be. each generation gets progressively bigger, Heavier and more Grand Tourish. becoming more like a modern 928
Hi , I currently have a 991.2 GT3 CS Manual , Ive been thinking of changing it for an older model ( narrower ) 911 - what would you have in my position , thought I'd ask as you've pretty much driven everything :)
Go drive a few!
i prefer the sound of this to the current generation of GT3s
These go for well over $100k in the US…
Same in AUS 🇦🇺
Nah…
The sound of this one reminds me of TVRs(?)
When are you going to review a 996.2 gt3?!
How does it compare to the 997 gt3 as an experience to drive or how fun it is
My dream ride...
Love to see the 997.2 version. GT3 rs 4.0 would be my dream car.