GOING HEAD 2 HEAD IN THE BEST PORSCHE'S
What do you do when you get bored as a motoring journalist? That's easy, just put the best cars up against their competitors... and each other. We join MotorTrend as they revisit their favourite Porsche episodes.
The Porsche 911 and Cayman are outstanding vehicles. Whether it be brand new or over 30-years-old, they stir the pot of excitement that many drivers enjoy. With the introduction of the 2020 Porsche 911, the guys at MotorTrend felt inspired enough to revisit previous episodes of these cars verse their closest competitors.
During their Head 2 Head Episode 100, they pitted the 2018 Porsche 911 duo, the PDK and manual options, up against the monstrous Mercedes-AMG GT. The first challenge, though, was to see whether the PDK was better than the manual version of the 911.
With their local racing driver, Randy Pobst behind the wheel, he managed top spot with the PDK by just two-tenths of a second. The big shock, though, was the full second that both cars took from the Mercedes-AMG GT, which has that incredibly powerful V8 under the hood.
In the next episode (101), instead of stock Porsche 911's, they put a Sharkwerks 911 GT3 4.1 up against the Workshop 501 911 called "The Daddy". The former is, basically, a 997 GT3 with a bigger motor, more power and increased torque. In this guise, it pushed the Porsche's chassis to the edge, bringing it alive and giving the driver more to play with.
The Big Daddy is a 1974 Mexico Blue Workshop 5001 911 and, for the princely sum of $1,000,000 you can order one for yourself. It has received a full transformation, from the uprated engine to the stiffened shocks, stripped out interior and custom roll cage. It's not just a racecar though because, as they say, it's "the ultimate hotrod for the road". For a vehicle that's well into its 40's, it will blow your mind.
Then, we skip forward to episode 106, and it's the 2018 Audi TT RS taking on the 2018 Porsche 718 Cayman GTS. Although they both come from the same VW stable, they're quite different. The Porsche is sticky and fun on the road, and with a narrow waistline, confidence behind the wheel is at an all-time high. Ultimately, it outdoes its cousin on both the road and through a slalom, leaving the Audi to lick its wounds.
Three episodes later, our hosts take the 2019 Porsche GT3 RS and compare it to the 2019 McLaren 600LT on road and track. The GT3 RS is incredibly well-engineered, with everything tightened, from the steering to the suspension, over its lighter 911 siblings. This is the German's way of creating passion, and it is sublime.
The McLaren is glorious in its own right, with power underfoot and a chassis setup that instils confidence in its driver, one would be remiss to think it doesn't have what it takes to unseat the Porsche. However, with Randy Probst at the helm, once again the heavier and less powerful GT3 RS comes up tops, easily shaving a second off its flame-spitting challenger around the Big Willow raceway.
"The GT3 is simply a miracle", they say, and it's easy to see why. With decades of evolution and fine-tuning, the Porsche stable of cars has always managed to stay ahead of the pack. It's a testament to the hard work ethic of those Germans, and there's no sign of them letting up anytime soon. Well done, Porsche.