This past Friday on the commute home I noticed a familiar shape merging onto the highway. The iconic swept-back roofline was unmistakable as the early-model long-nose 911 came into view, a shade of green that under the setting sun appeared nearly black. In it was a middle-aged gentleman seemingly too large for the decades-old car, his upper head completely obscured into the inner roofline. The car was a stunning sight amongst the sea of mundane sports-utility vehicles; the classic 911 joining in on the commute, with the pinkish glow of golden-hour light as backdrop.
The driver could’ve been far more comfortable in any modern machinery, but his passion for the Porsche crest means driving his beloved 911 under all circumstances.
‘Passion’ is the word that overwhelmingly comes to mind as I surpass the one-year ownership mark of my own 911, the GT3. It’s not enough that you should buy sports car and drive them lots: the 911 represents the quintessential sports car experience, and you won’t understand it until you’ve owned one. It doesn’t have to be a pricey trim like a GT3: any 911 is special, even 50-year-old samples of the first-generation model, as demonstrated by the gentleman I encountered that evening.
Indeed, it’s been over a year since I’ve signed the biggest check of my life for a preowned 2015 911 GT3, and over the 6,000 or so miles since, I’ve come to comprehend fully the passion for the Porsche flagship. The 911 is an unique and magical car, one that’s due entirely to its peculiar engine layout. Placing the motor completely behind the rear-axle isn’t something an engineer would do starting from a scratch today, but I’m thankful the legacy that began with the very first Volkswagen Beetle continues on with every new generation of the 911.
The alluring shape aside (and it’s indeed a super beguiling profile), it’s how the 911 drives that truly makes it a must-own for any car enthusiast, and the paragon that other sports cars are compared to.
The pendulum-effect of having 60-percent of the weight over the rear-axle gives the 911 a tremendously playful character in how it rotates mid-corner – there’s no other car like it. Slow-speed turns is where this characteristic is most apparent: the rear-end has this uncanny ability to follow the front, a sort of secondary assist after making the initial turn. There’s a multitude of options for the driver to manipulate this: a stab of the throttle, a lift off the brakes, or a quick steering action. It’s like dancing with a partner, and once you’ve learn the quirks of the 911 layout, you can make the car dance beautifully.
The other key variable to the 911’s magical equation is the steering feel. Even with modern electrical assistance instead of hydraulic, the 991.1 GT3’s steering rack retains the classic Porsche feel that owners have long raved about. Again, it relates to the weird drivetrain layout: with only 40-percent of the weight situated on the front-axle, there’s no need for spectacularly wide tires to support it. Porsche 911s are known for running relatively skinny front tires, and the 245 sections of the GT3 are fairly narrow considering some family sedans these days are fitted with tires of the same width.
Narrow tires mean it takes less force and effort to control the smaller contact patch, which in turn allows engineers to run a less beefy power-steering unit. The GT3’s electric power-steering doesn’t quite communicate every road pebble and imperfection like a good hydraulically-assisted rack can, but it still writhes and moves to the road wonderfully, able transmit more than enough information on what the front-end is doing. I’ll never forget the first time I felt through the hands the progression of the standard Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires going from cold to operating temperature. No need to check the pressures: steering feel alone will let you know when the tires are ready to attack.
The 911’s superb steering is the one feature I miss most when I get into other cars; dull and lifeless in comparison.
And then, there’s the engine. Not the placement of it, but rather, the sound it makes. The reason you pay six-figures for the GT3 trim is because it’s the last modern 911 to feature a naturally-aspirated engine – the rest of lineup have turned to turbocharging, and the 3.8-liter 9A1 flat-six is as sweet and melodious as advertised. It revs freely like a motorcycle engine, and on the long crescendo towards the mighty 9,000 RPM redline, the final 1,000 climb sounds like one, too. Throttle response is instantaneous: you can actually hear the throttle-plate cracking open behind your ears as your foot presses down on the gas pedal.
Windows down. All the time.
You can certainly find the same handling characteristics in far cheaper 911s, but the GT3’s atmospheric engine is worth every bit the additional cost over the typical Carrera. Speaking of costs, it definitely isn’t cheap to keep my 911 on the road, especially with the amount of miles I put on it relative to other GT3 owners. Rough calculations have it just under $8,000 in total expenditure – insurances, gas, and maintenance – for year one, a significant chunk of money that only the most enthused of car enthusiasts are wont to pay, especially if they make middle-class income like me.
It’s not just a passion for Porsche, but it’s a passion for cars. That’s the reason I’m willing to spend nearly a third of my income on one vehicle. Admittedly, there were a few moments throughout the past year that the high cost of running the GT3 weighed on me like an albatross. The financial sensibilities that got me into the position of affording the 911 in the first place was up to its old habits, ringing huge alarms bells on why I’m spending so much money on a car that I only drive on the weekends. I can’t say it was quick to get over those psychological barriers, though driving the car certainly helps to focus the mind and remind myself why I bought it in the first place – for the 911 magic.
I’m a big believer in seeing decisions made through to the end. Even if I don’t keep the GT3 forever – which is still the plan, by the way – I’m determined to hold onto it at least until the car is fully paid off, four years from now. Finishing off the loan will return some flexibility to my financial situation; by which time I think I’ll be at a better position to reevaluate the ownership prospects.
Whatever happens though, this one-year experience with the GT3 have proven to me I’ll always need a 911 in my life. The driving characteristics of this rear-engine sports car is absolutely singular in the automotive world. I can now see why people will come back to the Porsche icon after dabbling in more exotic metal - there’s really no substitute.
I hope my 911 story continues to be this very Sapphire Blue sample for a long time to come. The car hasn’t put a single foot wrong, even as I take it to roads and weather conditions that similar 911s won’t ever see. There’s a bit more patina on the exterior after one year, but the car wears those with great pride. Perhaps decades from now, I will be just like that gentleman I saw in the green long-nose early-model, driving home for the weekend in my blue GT3, still running splendidly after all the years and miles.
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Nothing much at all to report for January, as expected. I was away the first two weeks of the month on vacation, so the GT3 did not get driven at all. In returning to the States, it took some time for me to recover from travel fatigue (it’s definitely a thing as you get older), which in combination with the usual cold and wet winter weather meant I barely squeaked pass 200 miles of mileage for January. The car just had its service in December, so any big-ticket costly items are way far ahead into the future, which at this moment I’m quite thankful for (had to pay for that vacation, obviously).
February is a short month, so I’m not sure I can get up to anything interesting. March is actually what I’m looking forward to: if the cards align, the GT3 might make its first big road trip.
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Date acquired: January 2019
Total mileage: 29,230
Mileage this month: 206
Costs this month: $310.73
MPG this month: 16.41 mpg