Porsche 911: All the same, crap to drive, just crap!

Housey

Housey

Housey

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The Porsche 911 GT3 RS has emerged victorious in Autocar’s annual Britain’s Best Driver’s Car comparison for 2010.

All seven of Autocar's judges placed Porsche's latest lightweight special at the top of their list, beating off stiff competition from nine other brilliant driver's cars launched during the past year, as well as last year's winner, the Lotus Evora.

See all the cars in action at Autocar's Britain's Best Driver's Car 2010 contest

The three-day test took place at the recently re-opened Donington Park circuit in Leicestershire, as well as some of Britain’s best B-roads that surround Castle Donington.

The 911 GT3 RS took victory ahead of the Noble M600 and, surprisingly, the Ferrari 458 Italia. The Ferrari may have been the quickest around Donington, but its quick steering and transition from understeer to oversteer wasn’t to all of the judges’ tastes.

The Evora finished in fourth place ahead of the Renaultsport Megane 250 Cup, Lotus Elise, Mercedes SLS AMG, Audi RS5, Jaguar XJ Supersport, VW Scirocco and Alpina B5 S.

Editor-at-large Steve Sutcliffe described the 911 GT3 RS as “very possibly the best road car any of us has ever driven around a circuit”.

Chief road tester Matt Prior said of the Porsche: “It’s the most frenetic on-road experience here but, when you’re in the mood, absolutely one of the finest.”

For the full story, see the 13 October edition of Autocar magazine, on sale today.
 
Why the GT3 RS won
Steve Sutcliffe

I’d imagine that one or two of you may be wondering why the 911 GT3 RS has now officially been declared Britain's Best Driver’s Car, despite being beaten – on lap time at least – by both the Ferrari 458 and the Noble M600.

The answer is fairly straightforward; although it was fractionally slower against the stopwatch around Donington – and when I say fractionally I mean tenths, not even seconds – there wasn’t one single tester who subjectively preferred the Ferrari over the Porsche. And although one or two of our more ambitious staff thought the Noble got far closer to the GT3 RS overall, in the end even they admitted that the mighty M600 couldn’t match the 911’s extraordinary depth of appeal.

So what is it about the current GT3 RS that’s so special? For starters, it just handles so beautifully around a circuit like Donington. It feels balanced and pure in its responses where other cars, even the 458, feel edgy – as if they may simply let go and spin through corners in which the GT3 RS remains glued.

It also has exquisite steering and brakes, plus a lack of inertia when changing direction that enables it to be driven harder, with more confidence, than any other car we invited to Donington.

It also feels 100 per cent bullet-proof. Its brakes simply don’t fade at all, even when subjected to lap after lap of abuse. Its manual gearbox may not be a match for the robotized dual-clutch affairs of some rivals but, again, it felt as sweet on lap 100 as it did after lap one.

And then, of course, there is its engine; its turbine smooth, sweet sounding, thumpingly powerful flat-six engine whose throttle response is as crisp as freshly laid snow, and whose power delivery is so strong it actually takes a while to get used to during the first few laps.

Finally, don’t think of the GT3 RS as being little more than a thinly disguised racing car that just so happens to wear a set of number plates and a tax disc. Perhaps the most extraordinary thing of all about this car is that it can be used every day on the road as well.

Its ride is firm but no more so than that of a Ford Focus RS. And its interior, though somewhat sparse compared with “normal” interiors, is in fact a rather wonderful place to spend time in once you get used to it. You could easily drive the GT3 RS to the south of France in a day, for example.

But the best place to drive it is on a track. Flat out, on the edge, balls to the wall. That’s where this car reaches it zenith. And that’s when it becomes untouchable – even by cars as brilliant as the Ferrari 458 and Noble M600. Which, believe me, is saying something.
 
'Untouchable', given the company it was in that is a fantastic approval of the car!
 
It's hardly a shocker the 911 won, it’s got great appeal on and off the track, with all the fun of the Ferrari without suffering from Italian reliability problems.

The 911 is simply a fantastic package, yes seeing a normal 911 driving around it like looking at a Mondeo, but both cars have good reasons for selling well, if I had the cash and wanted a multi talented car I’d buy a 911 in a heartbeat.
 
Yet still spotty oiks in their teens and early 20's will attest till they are red of face that all 911's are boring because we all own one and it's the same car they sold 40 years ago. If my choice was simply a single car it would STILL be this. In my book, having been lucky enough to actually drive a few nice motors I have found nothing that offers up what the 911 does. Lambo and Ferrari hell yes, of course, but for ME this is everything I want in a car and while I appreciate that it's not everyones choice, something I totally appreciate, to call them boring is the act of a cretin.
 
Indeed Housey, every single Porsche i've taken out for a drive has impressed me in its own unique way, i'm yet to drive a bad Porsche i've loved every single one, i really need to drive a GT3 at somepoint so i can fully appreciate the praise they get.
 
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Housey said:
Yet still spotty oiks in their teens and early 20's will attest till they are red of face that all 911's are boring because we all own one and it's the same car they sold 40 years ago. If my choice was simply a single car it would STILL be this. In my book, having been lucky enough to actually drive a few nice motors I have found nothing that offers up what the 911 does. Lambo and Ferrari hell yes, of course, but for ME this is everything I want in a car and while I appreciate that it's not everyones choice, something I totally appreciate, to call them boring is the act of a cretin.
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If they could roll all that up and put it in a ferrari I'd be very happy! The one thing that lacks is the way it looks in comparison to its greatness as a car.
 
I love the GT3 RS, especially this new one, I thought the new decals were really naff but have really grown on me, it's just everything I want in a car.

My only small criticism of it is the exhaust note at idle which is just pants...the rest of it just about makes up for that though :p

Not enough pictures in this thread though! Here's a couple of pictures by moi at some no-mark racetracks:

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Morba said:
If they could roll all that up and put it in a ferrari I'd be very happy! The one thing that lacks is the way it looks in comparison to its greatness as a car.
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I see that as an advantage, dont want to sound like a **** but iv had Ferarri's, Aston Martins etc even this Bentley iv got now, they all attract the wrong attention, you cant park them out of sight while you have a meal without some ***** scratching it or laying on the bonnet while his drunk mate takes a picture.

They do break down, they aint fun to drive in traffic, now with a Porsche you have none of that ****, just a 100% usable fabulous car.
 
tvr has a reputation for not being particularly durable, with a noble, how do owners get along with technical issues given that there isnt exactly a huge network of dealers?
 
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