Porsche as a daily driver?

Porsche's can be used as a daily driver. The 996 (prior) / 997 (current) generation of Porsches are one of the best-made, best-looking, performance-oriented cars out there.

The GT2 and the TT, while both very powerful, are very different animals - do your homework on each. The GT2 is a very raw, rugged beast that has gobs of power and handles like its on rails. The TT is also a mean car, but a step down in terms of ruggedness, as it tries to balance that out with everyday comfort and driveability.

Both are built to perform. Both can be driven on a regular basis. "whart" recently traded his Black GT2 in after having put a number of miles on it - I'm sure he'll weigh in here.

Build quality is very high, and consequently maintenance costs are extremely low for Porsches. For the TT, the first major tune-up is at 15K followed by the 30K. Each one should cost no more than 1K. Amazingly, I understand the Carrera GT - a true supercar - has the same service schedule.

Good luck with your decision. You can't go wrong with either. If it were me, and I had another daily driver, I'd take the GT2 in a heartbeat.

 

Drive each and see which one you prefer.

As for being good as a daily driver, I am positive you would have no worries at all with either. Porsche builds solid cars, you can beat the crap out of them and they never hiccup. For me, thats always been one of the biggest appeals of the marque. Rugged and well built but also realitively light and fast.


Terry

 

GT2'd by my pick (though not a ton 'o clearance in front).

 

The suspension in the GT2 is rock hard, the car has very little front clearance (what that means is that you'll keep replacing plastic front valences which as I recall sell for about $300 (i used to carry a spare with me, just so you get the idea)), and has no driver assists to get you out of trouble. It also has a very disappointing interior for a 200k car. At the price of a used car, it is a huge amount of performance, and i had very few troubles with mine.
The car is almost track ready, out of the box, but if you put in the GT3 seats, a Porsche rollbar to stiffen the car and protect you and change the exhaust, you will change the feel of the car even more. The stock exhaust is very restrictive, and changing it to a freer flowing exhaust makes a huge difference, not just in power, but in how quickly the boost comes on. I am not a big fan of turbo cars, and even though many folks have told me that they thought the GT2 had very little turbo lag, i thought otherwise. You put your foot down, and beat, beat, be-a WHSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSROZZZM!, car goes from 911 Porsche, quick but no big deal, to insane. If you are able to get into the boost earlier, there is less of a binary "on/off" quality to the motive force of the car.
As to the differences, go search 6speedonline. Many folks have bought TT with the idea of upgrading them to GT2 levels, but the cost of doing that is stupid, and given the depressed price of a GT2, it makes no sense whatsoever.
Some folks like the option of AWD- frankly, one of the fun things about the GT2 was the ability to steer with the throttle- the car was pretty predictable, once you got used to the binary quality i mentioned above. Oh, did i mention it was really fast? You can street race this car like no other i've owned (and that includes a bunch of Ferraris, and currently, a 12 cyl. Lambo).
The Porsche can take abuse, is well built, can be parked almost anywhere without worry and most people think- oh, there's just another Porsche 911 with a wing. Those who know acknowledge the huge street cred of this car.
Yes, you could use it as a daily if you are careful in the rain- it gets very squirrely cause it can put down alot of power- and you don't bother with the racing seats, and exhaust. (If you do those mods, the car becomes less comfortable to get in and out of, and is noisy as hell). Good luck. I'd rather a GT2 over a regular 996 Turbo if you need my opinion, fwiw.
Because I'm a nice guy, i did a quick search for one of these threads, comparing the GT2 to the 996TT. Here it is: http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20664&highlight=turbo+v+GT2

 

If you were to get the 911 TT and not a GT2, I would get one with the X50 package in it. The reason I say this is that for a daily driver you get the AWD and you get power and performance that is really close to the GT2 for less money.

 

With AWD it gets the power to the ground more evenly, rather then having two tires delivering the power and having loss of traction.(Not saying that the AWD will not have loss of traction, it will just put the power more on the road) But either Porsche is a great choice and have there own unqiue features.

 

Either car can be used as a daily driver.
Early GT2s were quite a beast to drive at the limit, and the brakes had problems (most were retro fitted with steel brakes).
However, the car looks IMO so much better than the regular TT.
However, it's still far from subtle and you have zillions of them (at least around Geneva), so i got a Maranello instead.
Maybe not as quick as a GT2, but a better package allround.

 

one other thought- before you buy- Watt, on this board, has owned at least 3 GT2s and as far as i know, prefers the 360 CS. Given some of the things you have to tolerate with a GT2, i'm not sure that the CS is that much more difficult as a daily. Just a thought. BTW, i would never buy the GT2 new- it is already a bargain slightly used.

 

The 360CS, im not sure I could deal with as a daily driver... too noisey, too loud of an appearance. The GT3RS is the best GT street car Porsche has made, recently... If you say you can drive a Stradale daily, then a GT3RS should be just as capable... If you look at the 360CS, please have a look at the GT3RS first, or even regular GT3. I know a few who have GT3s as daily cars and they are happy. Not too expensive, very fast, minimal hassle... But the GT2 seems to be you either want it or you dont, sort of deal.
Anyway, the GT3RS, in my opinion is the best choice, if you are also considering a 360CS.... If you are not considering a 360CS, then dont consider the GT3RS, because frankly I dont see either as daily drivers and therefore, you should look at the GT3. The M3CSL would be a respectible choice, but it is actually less practical than the GT3 itself.... no A/C, too much lightweight material.... tires only good in dry conditions... So have a look at a GT3 before settling for any other choice.

 

the 996 tt is the better daily driver...better in bad weather, more easy to control, higher ground clearance, and it will cost 40-60k less used.......the gt2 is an exotic beast of a car....very fun to drive, but not as practical as the tt.....also consider the gt3, while not as fast the gt2, is na and just as visceral an experience and much less expensive...

 

to address this portion of your question (because I didn't see it addressed yet in the replies), both the 996 twin turbo and the GT2 are turbocharged. it's not a misnomer to call the GT2 a twin-turbo, because it does have twin turbos. but typically, one would just refer to the GT2 as "GT2." the GT2 has slightly larger turbochargers. i believe the factory performance upgrade (option X50) for the 996 turbo gives it the same turbos that the GT2 has (K24s), for a boost from 415 to 450 hp. this was a $17k package back at the time, but is now included on all "turbo S" models. that said, the two will still handle very differently, based on what i understand and have read (i have yet to be fortunate enough to ride in or drive either of them =*( ) Turbo comes with a "save-your-ass-before-things-get-squirrelly" system called PSM (porsche stability management). lots of people who do track the turbo swear by it--though it may be considered "cheating" by the hardcore types. gT2 has none of this.

 

i would take it a step further and say the gt3 is MORE visceral than the 2 being N/A - but i'm biased and not a fan of turbos. had an '03TT and it was exciting for about 3 days. my G55 had more soul i would rather have slower, N/A and exciting than faster, turbo and kinda boring. but if you just want something fast and practical, the TT is certainly those things.

 

... and no PSM on the 3 either...

 

agreed,the 996 tt while fast,feels somewhat sterile...this is also a function of 4wd, which decreases steering feel in some cars..also, the tt is too quiet and refined...great for a daily cruiser, but not very sports car like...still a great car...

 

You are welcome. Good luck. I've also owned two 550s and have direct experience living with both in comparision to the GT2.

 

I know this is kind of besides the point, but on the GT2 dont break rotors cost like 5k each or something like that?

 

Quick hijack, 911 guys....
Any good web sites comparing the various 911 runs, e.g 964 vs 993?
Think I can convince the wife we need a 911!
thanks!

 

Thanks!