[Tengocity]

Interesting new car launch week, with Porsche sticking to their tried and tested formula, and McLaren bringing a step change to their 2 seat supercar formula.

I'll be honest, didn't find myself all that excited by either of them really, which concerns me as a petrolhead!

I am sure the GT3 is amazing, but I think the 991 version looked better inside and out. No doubts that the NA engine that revs to 9000rpm will be incredible though. Apparantly it's 13 secs or so quicker round the Ring, partly due to increased aero, but mostly due to having the really sticky Cup2 R tyres.

The Arturo looks decent, but not particularly exciting or good looking as some other supercars. The hybrid powertrain sounds like it will add a lot of torque infill so that turbo lag, throttle response and gearchanges are even sharper. 19 miles of electric running is handy too, but not sure it's going to be what the Knightsbridge supercar owner wants!

Anyway, which would you have?

Personally, I'd have the GT3 I think.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/n...leashed-503bhp

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/n...hapter-mclaren

[SuperHamz]

The looks of Porsche have always grated on me, but in more recent years I've softened towards them a little bit.

And while the McLaren isn't the best looking of the sports car, it does look stunning still (at least to me).

The GT3 is definitely going to give you the more RAW driving experience and while I can't afford either of them, if I could afford one, I'd probably find the McLaren a lot easier to live with.

[225]

Obviously never having driven an iteration of either I'm an armchair reviewer, however I'd have the Mclaren every day precisely because it ISN'T a Porker.

Like the previous poster I am only recently warming to the 911 again and one of the reasons I went TVR over boxter many years ago was the image. Well plus the TVR monstered the boxter at the time as well

[Ronstein]

McLaren for me. Better looking and more exclusive.

[Bryans69]

Would be the McClaren for me. Never really been a 911 fan anyway, and when I saw the new GT3, my reaction was, meh, another 911 with a different spoiler.

I'm sure the GT3 will be very good, but to me there is nothing 'special' about it

[Nibbles]

McClaren for me as the GT3 is more of a track day car.

[lethbridge]

Porsche for me - it would only be the McLaren on looks - McLaren are turning the corner I think but reliability and service experience is poles apart from Porsche (and most other mainstream brands). Give it a few years (when I will probably be in the market for one) and I may change my tune... GT3 residuals are rock solid too and a £50k less starting price (in theory)... Issue with the GT3 is actually being able to rock up to a Porsche dealer and buy one new...

[F30Andy]

I would have both.

[Cootie]

Porsche I think. Engine is a cracker - only the 430 Scuderia and Huracan Performante hold a candle to it imho - and still a question mark in my mind on McLaren reliability based on a few people I know’s experience. Porsche is also a relative bargain price wise. If however McLaren have cracked the reliability element and the new limited slip diff has addressed their propensity for the brake steer to chew through discs and particularly pads, I might revise my preference (if I had the cash obviously, which I don’t)

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by Cootie

Porsche I think. Engine is a cracker - only the 430 Scuderia and Huracan Performante hold a candle to it imho - and still a question mark in my mind on McLaren reliability based on a few people I know’s experience. Porsche is also a relative bargain price wise. If however McLaren have cracked the reliability element and the new limited slip diff has addressed their propensity for the brake steer to chew through discs and particularly pads, I might revise my preference (if I had the cash obviously, which I don’t)

I asked Jon this question already... unsurprisingly it's the GT3 by a long way!

[Watsey]

Of those two specific choices, GT3. 911 is still THE everyday sports car.

If I had free choice and it had to be only one car I'd perhaps choose something along the lines of a 991 Touring, but a 911 it would definitely be.

[Bryans69]

I wasn't considering things like reliability, as it's academic anyway.

I think the concept of an 'everyday' sports car interesting. If you have a commute that involves not too much traffic, and a few interesting roads, and you really would do it daily, but still want a blast at the weekends, then I get the 911 to a certain extent. That's what I did with the Boxster, but even then I eventually got fed up sitting in traffic in it (not helped by crap ride quality on poor roads). But to me, now, the whole point of a sports car (given that I don't do track days, and can't drive at anywhere near it's limits) is something that should be a bit special, that makes you tingle when you look at it or sit in it, or listen to it, and to me a Porsche just doesn't do that.

[Cootie]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

I asked Jon this question already... unsurprisingly it's the GT3 by a long way!

Yes, he didn’t have the best ownership experience with his McLaren. I’ll be interested to see though if the latest GT3 cures the slightly fidgety b-road damping that his 991.1 had. By contrast his 991.2 RS isn’t plagued by that at all and is a considerably better road car as a result.

[Ennoch]

Aside from the cost, these cars increasingly hold no appeal to me. I'd rather have something smaller, lighter and older. Sure, they're great handling and ever faster but the speed element is getting ridiculous in most of these things so unless you take them to a track day you can;'t even begin to tickle them, and even then they still get outclassed by other stuff that's a pure trackday toy. They're simply a bit of willy waving for rich kids in places like Dubai, and for people on YouTube to make the finance payments on from clicks and views, IMO.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

so unless you take them to a track day you can;'t even begin to tickle them, and even then they still get outclassed by other stuff that's a pure trackday toy. They're simply a bit of willy waving for rich kids in places like Dubai, and for people on YouTube to make the finance payments on from clicks and views, IMO.

To be fair, many GT3 owners do take them to track days. They can be driven there, lapped like a pure track toy, then driven home again. But it's still a very good road car, still available with a manual box too.

Any pure track day toy that's outclassing a GT3 is likely to have been trailered there, and not suitable for doing any sort of road trips, daily driving, so it's apples and oranges.

For me it's the Ferraris and Lambos which are the choice of Arab rich kids, not Porsches. Maybe McLarens get a look in there too, but a GT3 is far too ordinary for them I'd have thought.

[isleaiw1]

There are a fair few McLarens in London, as well as GT3s and such (Turbo S, GTS, whatever) as the performance is vital for the 0 to 10 sprint before you stop again....

[pmgreenwood]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

To be fair, many GT3 owners do take them to track days. They can be driven there, lapped like a pure track toy, then driven home again. But it's still a very good road car, still available with a manual box too.

Any pure track day toy that's outclassing a GT3 is likely to have been trailered there, and not suitable for doing any sort of road trips, daily driving, so it's apples and oranges.

For me it's the Ferraris and Lambos which are the choice of Arab rich kids, not Porsches. Maybe McLarens get a look in there too, but a GT3 is far too ordinary for them I'd have thought.

Plus my understanding is that if you wish to be allocated a GT3, it is best to have been a regular customer of your local Porsche Centre for some of their lesser models

[XAlp]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

but the speed element is getting ridiculous in most of these things so unless you take them to a track day you can;'t even begin to tickle them,

I had a passenger ride in a 720s on A roads. It was stupendously fast, and at the time frightening / exhilarating. But looking back it was far too fast, and it left me mainly hoping the owner (or others) doesn’t come to harm. And I’m not sure I’d accept another offer of a ride. A few years ago it would have been a dream day.
Ah well, back to the cocoa, and where are my slippers...

[DaveA]

GT3 for me... Rightly or wrongly I always thought of Porsches as sports cars done right, in terms of engineering, reliability, costs of looking after etc (look at some of the service costs for some of the other manufacturers for instance).. and the GT's and Rs's etc are proper focussed cars that will "work"...

However... the real answer is "neither" as I cannot really justify anything like that for my usage these days... and if I "won the lottery" I'd be looking for a 997 GEN 2 GT3RS...

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by pmgreenwood

Plus my understanding is that if you wish to be allocated a GT3, it is best to have been a regular customer of your local Porsche Centre for some of their lesser models

Certainly used to help... but more relevant for RS models etc that come in more limited numbers...

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by DaveA

GT3 for me... Rightly or wrongly I always thought of Porsches as sports cars done right, in terms of engineering, reliability, costs of looking after etc (look at some of the service costs for some of the other manufacturers for instance).. and the GT's and Rs's etc are proper focussed cars that will "work"...

However... the real answer is "neither" as I cannot really justify anything like that for my usage these days... and if I "won the lottery" I'd be looking for a 997 GEN 2 GT3RS...

The real answer is boring though! Few in here could even contemplate affording one so the pleasure is in that escapism.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

The real answer is boring though! Few in here could even contemplate affording one so the pleasure is in that escapism.

.. and I appreciate that in giving my boring answer I am also coming from a background where I actually got to scratch this particular itch...