baege

So I was away for 2 weeks driving a 2015 Automatic Jetta. When I got back and went for my first drive in my Cayman GTS 4.0 I was blown away by the power, sound and handling. But 2 drives later and the GTS was my new normal again.

This reminded me of how much of a buzz kill hedonic adaption is. What I have found in the 20ish car switches I have made is that with some switches you really notice some things about the new car and are in this honeymoon period where you love it. But some time later when the new car has normalized for you, it may well be that in terms of your baseline of how much you enjoy a car isn't all that different for the new car.

Case in point, when I moved from to my 2022 GTS 4.0 from a 2020 M2 Competition, When I first got the GTS I definitely appreciated the NA throttle response, it's better sound, the better manual. I definitely felt like it was a step up from the M2 in those first few months and felt how much I missed an NA manual porsche. But once I had it for a while and the experience normalized, I realized that the baseline of overall enjoyment of the 22 GTS and the 2020 M2 was not all that different. Once hedonic adaption had kicked in I would say the GTS was only slightly ahead of the M2. I like the look of both, and they are both ICE manual cars that handle well and deliver a fun driving experience.

On the other hand, in some cases a switch to a new car does bring you to a new baseline of enjoyment even after the new car experience has normalized. An example of this is my move from a 2003 350Z to a 2007 BMW Z4 Coupe 3.0Si. Even after the Z4 experience normalized when I had had it 6 months or so, there is no question my baseline of enjoyment of that car was at a higher level than the 350Z. Even after the hedonic adaption took effect, I still enjoyed that car significantly more than I had my 350Z and looked forward to driving it way more.

So the question for me is whether a move to a GT3 manual is like the move from the M2 to the GTS or more like the move from the 350Z to the Z4, No doubt when I first get the GT3 I will appreciate the race car engine, better manual, sharper handling and beauty of the car. But 6 months later will I be like the baseline of enjoyment is not that much different than my GTS 4.0 or will I be spoiled into a new level of enjoyment?

I think I wonder about this because the porsche experience has really normalized for me as I've had 3 manual naturally aspirated porsches in the last 10 years. Is a GT3 going to fall prey to that and feel like almost the same kind of experience after a while?

And a test drive won't really help with this question, since a test drive won't tell me what the GT3 will be like once hedonic adaptation has done it's dirty work!

And yeah of course I could buy the GT3 for myself and see how it goes, but given the sales tax situation in my province that could be an expensive proposition if 6 months later I find myself thinking meh, the GT3 is not that different than the GTS 4.0 in terms of baseline enjoyment.

Anyways, a bit of a ramble, but would appreciate hearing people's perspectives on this.

rk-d

I'll give you my perspective, because this is always an issue for me. My last few cars:

M2 Competition - immediately I jelled with this car and I never really tired of it. I sold it for practical reasons, but this is a car that I could have kept long term. Fast, ridiculous but really composed when pushed hard. Future classic.

992 TTS - Too perfect, at the end of the day. Zero effort to do heroic things. Power, grip all over the place. Sound was unremarkable and the car is big though the tech masks that. After awhile, its perfection got a little boring. Sold within a year.

992 C2S - Not enough power. Throttle response was not the best. Good handling, steering feel, etc. It's a quick car, but not fast. Competent across the board and easy to drive like a 5 series if you wanted. After awhile, it just feels like a regular car. Sold after a year.

991 Turbo - Huge power, effectively the same as the 992 TTS on the street. Heavy car, though still impossible to unsettle. The 992 is more of a sports car than this car, which is a pure grand tourer. Sold within a year.

981 GT4 - Great handling, great sounding car. Lots of personality and mid engine dynamics. Low on torque, long on gearing - not quite powerful enough to be a keeper for me.

993 - after mods: very quick, but not objectively fast like the others. Razor sharp with insanely communicative steering 10/10. Razor sharp throttle response and feels faster than it is. Very unique feeling and not replaceable with a modern equivalent. Super special. Dead man's car, this one stays.

That brings it to the GT3T - I've had it a year. I am not bored with it. The engine is the best I've ever owned 10/10. Razor sharp, powerful, torquey. Taking to redline never gets old - it's crazy feeling. Great sounding w/center bypass, probably 9/10. Shifter is incredible 9.5/10. Handling is tight and responsive and the car will bite back if you're an idiot. Where the TTS is a sledgehammer that destroys the road and eliminates driver skill as a variable by sheer technological superiority, the GT3 feels like a driver's car. It's got just enough rawness to be interesting but not annoying. The car still feels special at the end of the day.

Bottom line - The GT3 is a safe buy. If you love it on a test drive, you'll love it a year later.

catdog2

Yeah the 992GT3 manual is a keeper... love it on every front, engine, handling, even though mine is a stripper with just PCCB's and 4-ways seats
You will be stretching your hedonic space-time continuum with this one...just do it!
In your case specifically, the engine in the GT3 is on another plane compared to the 4.0 in 718 (I had a 718 Spyder) and mid-range torque and hi-range response are on a another planet both dynamically and aurally and no injector clickety-clack sounds at idle, instead glorious induction hum from the 6 individual throttle bodies...

Berjar

37,000 miles and 5 years on my 991 GT3 Touring and still excites every time! Zero interest in replacing it and I have driven almost everything out there.

Tip:

If you do need a reset of exspectations I can loan you my daughters K car! It is very interesting to jump from the most boring car to a GT3!

RudyP

Simple solution - have multiple sports cars. You get mini dopamine releases every time you get back into one of your cars after driving the others for a while. I have 6 sports cars (including a 991.2 GT3T) and every time I drive one it’s a min honeymoon phase again - and I don’t have a regular daily driver type sedan/SUV/boring car either.

168glhs1986

I can't speak for anyone else and to each their own but, Every time I drive my 991.2 GT3 Touring, I understand what peak Porsche (for me) is.

I've had other GT3's that I could care less about but something about the Touring specifically. It gets me every time I slide into the CF Buckets and grab that 6 speed leather shift **** and push the pedal to 9k.

My GOAT is the picture to the left.

ldamelio

As I went through my 40s and 50s, recognizing hedonic adaptation saved me a ton of dough and allowed me to abruptly retire (i.e. quit) a lucrative job when I got disgusted without ever looking back. I was in health care and saw way too many spendthrift docs and execs unhappily working into their 70's. You can always make more money but you can't make more time.

I bought a Cayman S as my first real sports car six years ago and got the track bug big time three years ago. I've done all the mods to get it into the best shape possible for combined street/track use. I can't imagine having significantly more fun with any other car. It's close to the bottom of the rung of contemporary Porsche sports cars, but to put it in perspective, it will turn the same 'Ring tines as a 997 GT3. I appreciate and acknowledge the superiority of the GT cars and can easily afford them even at current ADMs. However, I don't think owning one would add substantively to my quality of life so I don't take the plunge. Plus there's the old adage about it being more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. I've found hedonic adaptation with many other things (houses, watches, wine, bicycles). At this point I have what I maximally enjoy and don't think about upgrading. I'm OK with $20 wines with pizza and $75 wines for nice meals. Spending 5 - 10x on that on better wine or a GT3RS wouldn't bring me a bigger smile.

When the itch to buy a new toy becomes overwhelming, I do scratch it, but that itch is rare these days. This isn't the only way to live and I'm not preaching, but it works for me.

CubanDre

I think it would come down to how you plan on using the car. I would tend to echo the others here. Find one to rent and sit on it for a week. Ive rented a GT3 twice and drove it 4 hours each time in the DFW backroads. Had a blast for 3 hours. By hour 4, the smiles wore off and it just became a car to commute in. I've also tracked friends GT3's And it was an absolute riot driving the hour to the track, the full track day (6 hours) and the hour back. So for me, I think my use case would be to enjoy a 3 or 4 on Sundays for a couple of hours, night drives, and monthly trackdays. Perhaps once you have your use case ironed out, rent or borrow a friends to test out said use case

hiroshikato1

Back in 2003 I bought a Honda S2000. Lowered, 17” BBS LM’s, Fujitsubo exhaust, Comptech CAI. I loved that car. I drove many cars over the years but the car that replaced my 9K S2000 ended up being a 2008 997.1 GT3, mainly for the 9K redline. I was about to buy the 997.1 Turbo but my wife actually told me the GT3 was more my style. Over the years I upgraded to each generation GT3, yes I know, the 997.2 to the 991.1 GT3 is a swap I will forever kick myself for although the car was way more stable and planted using a PDK on the road was like driving a Nissan GTR (not anything wrong with those). When the 991.2 Touring came out I jumped on a 2019 and drove it for two years and about 4K miles before selling it during the Pandemic. When I drove the 992 GT3 I loved the tech and the front end suspension but just could not get over the front aero for the Touring. For years I have looked for a replacement 2019 Touring in GT Silver (the color of all of my GT3’s) and finally found one last week. It killed me to pay the price I did which was $40K over original sticker but I have not found another car that makes me smile like a GT3. That being said, I also own a 2016 Spyder with long tube headers, BMC filter, 200 cell cats and Softronic tune. That cat does make me smile and is close to the S2000 ethos but my wife hates it…

Tombstone4478

did you just call a 991 GT3 "torquey" ?

rk-d

Sarcastic rebuttal.


I think that wraps it up.

AlexCeres

💯

You’re my favorite, babe. I swear I won’t look at another car again. This week. Probably

AlexCeres

Switching between cars in the garage reminds me why I bought one in the first place and what it does better than the others to keep that garage spot. Even if it’s something as simple as “manual transmission” or “back seat”.

I will say the 720 / 765 suspension and steering puts the gt3 to shame. Different league. If you need to taste a different flavor, they’re out there ….

786

My opinion, having tried lots of sports cars (McLaren, Ferrari etc), the USP a manual buckets GT3 offers you can’t find anywhere else so there is literally nowhere else to go.

Yes, there are faster automatic sports cars which are great in their own way. But if it’s engagement, sound, feel etc you crave, meaning you’re a driver first and everything else second, the manual GT3 is the total package and nothing I’ve ever driven even comes close to what it offers overall. It never fails to put a smile on your face. If you can only have one sports car, it’s the one to have. If you can afford several, great, it’s requisite in the collection.

mattyf

I can’t compare to the GTS since I’ve never owned one. But the M2 and GT3 are both extremely fun, but feel very different. I have a 991.2 GT3, but missed my OG M2. So now I have 2024 M2 along with the GT3. But the GT3 to me is a very different and special car.

It rides harsher, feels much more serious, has better steering, handling, feedback, etc. The 4.0 helps a little with the low end, but you really have to wring it out to get the fullest from it. It is never boring to drive and always feels like an event, even after you’ve adapted to the performance. It’s tolerable to daily, but can be fatiguing from all the nvh on long drives. The GT3 is fun to let the tail step out, but I’m always cautious. You may adapt the acceleration and performance, but the car will always feel special.

I still really love the M2. It’s more comfortable, has great low end grunt and can be really rowdy when it wants to be. It’s a near perfect do anything car. I found myself doing more stupid stuff in my old M2 than in the GT3.

I think they are different enough you may just find you need both 😂