A Drive for the Books

THE FIRST PORSCHE I had the opportunity to drive was a 1987 911 Carrera Cabriolet, and that was a fantastic experience. I was amazed at how tight the car felt and how well all aspects of the vehicle seemed to complement each other. The engine delivered smooth power, the suspension felt strong and all inputs felt just as you would want them to feel. Even though it was a 30-year-old car, it felt like a one-piece mechanism rolling down the road.

Over the years I have been lucky to drive a handful of other Porsches from all eras, and they definitely have shared DNA. Some are certainly better than others, however, nothing I have driven in my time on this planet has even come close to the experience I had recently in a 15-year-old 911 — a GT3 Cup to be specific.

After we closed out the recent Porsche exhibition at the Audrain Museum, we wanted to drive the cars out of the building and back to storage to ensure they didn’t have any issues after sitting dormant for a few months, which meant driving both of the collection’s Cup cars on the road. Even driving them just a couple of miles requires a real checkup before they can head out. We had our friends from Speed Sport Tuning in Danbury, Conn. come down to ensure they were ready to go, making sure oil temps rise properly and oil pressure is in the right realm. Even though they are fairly modern, these Cup cars have cable driven throttles, so we wanted to ensure they were idling fine as you don’t want to stall in traffic. Once everything was deemed roadworthy, we strapped into the harnesses and got moving.

I’ve thought about what it might feel like to drive a GT3 Cup for a long time. In fact, I remember sitting in this exact cup car in 2017 and thinking it must be a physically brutal experience. The car has no sound deadening, plastic windows, straight cut gears, and no mufflers. Add this all up, and I assumed it would be a frankly terrifying experience. Boy, I could not have been more wrong.

The first thing you notice that is different from a normal 911 is how strong the clutch is. It truly takes a lot of muscle to calmly get this car into gear. The clutch does not travel far at all to get the car into gear, but if you don’t nail it, then the car isn’t very happy. The sequential shifter takes some effort but is smoother than you’d expect, and there is no power steering. Brakes are strong and the car revs very easily. All the information you need to know is on the Motec screen in front of you. With all this in mind, I was sure this wasn’t going to be a smooth trip. The instant we got rolling, my entire mindset shifted.

Getting into gear and moving out of the parking lot took more effort than the rest of the drive. The car has such a poor turning radius you need almost the entire road to leave a parking lot. Once we were moving, everything started to flow very easily. Taking the first turn, I was astounded at how well the car changed directions. With no power steering, the car turns with little to no effort and seems to just cut the apex in half. Power comes on very progressively, letting you know it will continue to build until redline.

On the bumpy Aquidneck Island roads, the car was so much more composed than I expected. While there isn’t much travel in the suspension, it manages the load very well and doesn’t jostle you around very much in the drivers seat. I was only able to push deep into the throttle one time in our short drive, but the car responds so well. You just want to keep upshifting then downshifting to accelerate again.

This experience truly felt like I was in the middle of a video game driving around on free play. It was such an overstimulating experience that I was buzzing once we finished the drive, though I’m not sure if that’s from pure excitement or because the vibrations rattled my central nervous system. Either way, it was a drive for the books