CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS - 458 Speciale vs. 991 GT3

Great review. Chris's love of the cars shines through but he also gives us a lot of information. This is why we like him.

 

+1!

 

Notice that he has said that GT3 sounds better

 

Subjective of course, and Chris is nothing if not consistent in his dislike of the Ferrari V8 sound. My own sense is that the GT3s sound great -- far better than the 911TTs or other 911s -- but the V8s have that certain grumble that you only get with more cylinders....

 

Maybe it's bad exhaust on Speciale?
We have thread about this issue: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/458-italia/465931-speciale-sound-crisis.html

 

All art is subjective. Even engine music. I prefer the Speciale sounds myself.

 

Just makes me want a Speciale more..


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I must be doing it wrong. I never drive my cars sideways like this and I don't know anyone who does.

 

I've always done that every safe chance I get, ever since my first car.

 

The sound in the Speciale migh just be more "noise" than sweet engine note. It's no secret the 458 leans on clever exhaust tuning to create what some may feel is a too synthetic sound. It becomes particularly obvious if you trot along at lower speeds in race mode, with the constant opening and closing of the exhaust valve.

The Speciale gets a different exhaust and removal of some sound deadening, which no doubt results in a more visceral experience, but comes at the cost of more noise and drone. The 991 GT3 sounds a tad more crisp and "clear cut" if I may use that expression.

 

He stays out of the looks of each car for the most part...but that particular Speciale looks boy racer-ish, not exotic or, well, special.

 

A sideways drift is how I park my Ferrari each time I go to the grocery store.

(Thanks for posting! Really glad Chris is finally back on the air.)

 

I think I agree with Chris on the sound. Good news is we all know it can be fixed ! Spez is so neurotic and such fun !

 

I installed the Capristo switch to cure the opening and closing business. One of the oddities of the 458 is the "gurgles and pops" present in the '10 and '11 exhaust which most everyone including me loves. They are evidently software activated because they disappear if certain updates are installed, much to the disappointment of owners. My point is that there is definitively a computer controlled aspect of the 458 exhaust, which I suppose is "synthetic" in that sense.

 

One of the things that I love about Chris's reviews is that he is enthusiastically chattering away to the camera as he is taking the car through lurid drifts, always under perfect control. I don't know about you but I can't talk to a camera and drive fast at the same time. Or are we being fooled by editing of different streams to create the IMPRESSION that this is happening?

 

I'd imagine its a bit of both.

 

I'm a little bit surprised about the lap times...

 

He can no doubt hold a nice angle and chat away - but the final cut is always a bit of a mix. Take lap segments; it's very, very rarely the case that the edited camera footage is all from a single continuous lap. Take the Top Gear celebrity lap, "the lap" is actually a sandwich of footage from 6 laps. So stars that appear on screen laughing and not being bothered whilst delivering a fast time is more down to the edit not including footage from when they actually concentrated.

Car mags do after all regularly go through a good few sets of tires during shoot, giving a clear indication that there is (as customary in film production) a lot of excess footage. But in CH's case you can often match his pretty hefty dabs of opposite lock from the interior cam to some nice sideways angle.

 

Chris is by far my favourite, his comments and reviews are spot on.

Specially when I test what he drove, he really knows what he is talking about.

Never heard a GT3 exhaust but I second Chris comment about the Speciale sound.

Mbn

 

GT3 exhaust is in my opinion really good.

 

Excellent video, Joe had actually posted this in the Porsche Section earlier. Love Chris Harris, and remember he is a big Porsche fan. Can't wait till my GT3 gets here.

 

The engine note on my GTS is pretty amazing. Revs to about 7,500 or so, but at about 6k the note becomes 'two' notes, then for the last few hundred RPMs it becomes three or even four - like an orchestra!

The key thing is that it is an 'engine' note not an exhaust note - what you hear is the metal pieces moving rather than gases flowing. It is a mechanical, metallic sound as opposed to an exhaust sound. This is what gives it a multi-dimensional and perhaps more musical sound, like a 'chord' rather than a single note. The GT3 must be the same thing only better.

I can see why he likes the 911 note better.

The CS I had made a sound that was pre-eminent among V8s in my view (355 plus Capristo I have never heard and a journalist will only judge a stock car anyway). Personally, I love the Ferrari V8 wail, perhaps because I also associate it with what I'm sitting in! The Speciale does not make a sound too far removed from the CS, from my limited experience of it.

 

The thing that makes 911 much cheaper than Ferrari, is because it is sharing chassis and engines between many models, some more all of them look the same. In this case, 911 GT3 is considered expensive, because it should end-up with Audi's economy-cars prices because of the sharing.
And what about the look? The Speciale is 1,000 times better looking than any 911. Porsche makes beautiful cars like Carrera GT and 918 Spyder, but why they have to hold-on to the Beetle looking front? This looked good 30 years ago, but not now.
Then about the sound, I have seen this GT3 in real, and the sound is still far compared to my 458 (louder and scream higher). I think the Speciale sounds even better.

 

...because many people, like myself, are happy with the 911s iconic/evolutionary looks. They are integral to the car's appeal.