Top Ten supercars of Last Decade – Porsche 996 GT3
Author: Chris Barker
Published: 22 August 2008
Certain MT employees it’s fair to say are sort of semi-retired boy racers – reformed and what not – who are now found at weekends floundering with adult responsibilities, such as plasma TV-purchasing, elderly relative visiting hours accommodating and shuffling aimlessly around local retail parks in a shabby parka, peering through the windows of the various outlets that make up their number. As opposed to exercising their hand-brake turn and doughnut demons outside of the self same establishments when lit more dimly, with other examples of juvenile mobile delinquency.But if this MT employee could revisit their old stomping ground, chances are they’d choose the Porsche 966 GT3 as their updated gimp chariot. A car that is fly, hip and would very much be classed as ‘down with the kids’ who choose to spend too much of their leisure time outside of McDonalds. A genuine supercar that is beyond compare, and travels beyond the previously realistic boundaries of rhyme or reason.But enough of this fence-sitting, and a bit about the car in awe, sorry, question would be nice wouldn’t it?
Porsche 996 GT3
Cost: £84K when new between 2004-2005Speed: 190mphClaim to fame: Referred to as the serious Porsche driver’s ultimate 911, the GT3 is widely acknowledged as a modern day classic.Why it gets our thumbs up: Shrouded in secrecy, the generic 996 is essentially the 911, seemingly only invented to entertain Porsche purists at the expense of confused pin-striped city boys.Porsche traditionalists will love us, whilst city bankers will wear a look of perplexing and a bead of sweat thinking they've splashed their bonus on the 'wrong' Porsche. No, you haven’t woken up in 1988, Porsche still manufactures cars for ostentatious prigs with loadsamoney.Thankfully, enthusiasts also snap up Porsches, and know their 911 from their 911. The Porsche 996 is like a secret password that real Porsche fans have to whisper to get past this sentence. As it was the German sports car manufacturer's internal name for the 911 version sold between 1998 and 2005, and which since has been replaced by the codename 997, which again, is still basically the 911.Who said Germans don’t have a sense of humour?Jokes aside, no-one ever laughed, or even smirked, at what the Porsche 996 – especially so in GT3 guise - had under its bonnet.Rammed to the gunnels with 380bhp – which it could affect at 7,400rpm for maximum impact – the Porsche 996 GT3 RS was devoid of just about any extra calories that might hamper its steady progression toward oblivion. Rear seats, stereo, sunroof and air con - all were banished along with any elementary sound proofing. So you could imagine the noise it would make when pressed into action.Porsche also offered a Clubsport edition, which was put to best use on a track, where limitations were lifted, and, if the car’s trajectory followed suit, a roll cage, racing harnesses and fire extinguisher were present for landing purposes.0-62mph was once clocked at 4.0 seconds, and in full flow the driver would embrace 190mph, a hefty return from a 3.6-litre flat six block. If you really concentrated the 996 GT3 would create 1.0g of gravitational pull, if you were brave enough to indulge in a spot of sideways shenanigans. 284lb-ft of torque played its part to perfection whenever asked too.• View the full Top 10 Supercars of Last Decade articles: • Bugatti Veyron • Morgan Roadster • Lamborghini Reventon • TVR Sagaris • Nissan GT-R • Ferrari 360 Modena • Porsche 996 GT3
• SSC Ultimate Aero • Spyker Laviolette C8 • Caterham R500
See Also:
Click here for more Porsche stories
Click here for more Supercar stories
Looks, handling, power and quality. Audi has done it first time with the R8 supercar.
Details of Aston Martin's new supercar - the £1m Project One-77 supercar.
We have all seen the Bugatti Veyron by now. Do you want one? Then you have to sign a contract with the company which - quite frankly - is rather absurd.
Aston Martin has unveiled the new DBS which will be driven by James Bond, the legendary British secret agent, in the next 007 film, “CASINO ROYALE”.
A ´twat´, a Lamborghini, a Bluetoothed video and a £20,000 repair bill.
advertisement
Jaguar has introduced the new performance-orientated diesel XF S – which also returns an impressive 42mpg. | 05/01/2009
The Audi R8 V10 will offer all-LED headlamps as standard in 2009, paving the way for the introduction of LED headlamps on more Audi models. | 05/01/2009
Rolls-Royce has unveiled a special-edition Phantom as part of its Bespoke Collection in the shape of the Phantom Sapphire. | 05/01/2009
Audi has added more Coupe and Roadster TT variants, with the addition of the new S line specification and more quattro models, available from 1 January. | 05/01/2009
Audi will launch Black editions of its A3 in three-door, five-door and cabriolet guises. | 05/01/2009
|05/01/2009
Rolls-Royce has unveiled a special-edition Phantom as part of its Bespoke Collection in the shape of the Phantom Sapphire.
|05/01/2009
The Audi R8 V10 will offer all-LED headlamps as standard in 2009, paving the way for the introduction of LED headlamps on more Audi models.
|05/01/2009
Audi will launch Black editions of its A3 in three-door, five-door and cabriolet guises.
|05/01/2009
Audi has added more Coupe and Roadster TT variants, with the addition of the new S line specification and more quattro models, available from 1 January.
|05/01/2009
The Association of British Insurers have revealed that an increasing amount of people are jeopardising their insurance cover by lying or failing to disclose information.
|01/10/2008
Euro Car Parts has acquired Pinco 1555 Ltd, including all 53 of LSUK's 53 branches, together with subsidiaries M I Diesel Products, Protech Automotive (UK) and Yeovil Rewind.
|20/11/2007
Around 400 people a day risk damaging their car by misfuelling, and filling up with gas is a mistake that could cost thousands. So what do you do if you´ve filled up your diesel car with unleaded petrol?
|06/12/2007
Fuel protests similar to those that brought the UK to a halt in 2000 are being planned by a breakaway group of disaffected hauliers, according to press reports.
|07/10/2008
Euro Car Parts has put out a statement on the closure of LSUK, stating that a closure of the business was unavoidable due to a 'lack of support'.
|06/10/2008
LSUK, thought to have been rescused by Euro Car Parts, has been unexpectedly closed by the new owners with the loss of over 600 jobs.
Search Motortorque:
No readers comments
Be the first to write a comment on this article