Porsche Experience - Evolution 911 or GT Course?
Discussion
I'm thinking of treating myself to one of these, but can't choose between these two. I've never driven an older Porsche or any of the GT cars, so I'm curious about both (but wallet will only allow one).
Any thoughts from those who have driven these or done either/both of the experiences?
Thanks
K
Any thoughts from those who have driven these or done either/both of the experiences?
Thanks
K
I've done the RS course, which included a drive in the GT3RS, Gt3 RS 4.0 and was meant to include GT2RS as well (but they didn't have it, so I had a go in the 991s).
I found the session excellent but the handling course is very tight and short, so you don't really get to stretch the legs of the GT cars, but you do get a feel for how well resolved they are. The RS4.0 remains the best car I've ever driven and the noise
I've never done the evoution course though, so can't comment on whether it's better or not but the relative lack of pace shouldn't matter too much on the handling track anyway! In fact it might be all the better for it!
I found the session excellent but the handling course is very tight and short, so you don't really get to stretch the legs of the GT cars, but you do get a feel for how well resolved they are. The RS4.0 remains the best car I've ever driven and the noise
I've never done the evoution course though, so can't comment on whether it's better or not but the relative lack of pace shouldn't matter too much on the handling track anyway! In fact it might be all the better for it!
I second JPs comments after doing the GT course. I think the 4.0 was only available for 1 week and it's back to the 3.8 since then. The GT2 is useless on the small track because you have to slow down for each corner before you've even put your foot down! I could only get the GT3 to 7k rpm in third gear and I wasn't allow to use any other gears.
They now have an RS course with GT3 RS and GT2 RS - I would book this instead of the GT course.
They now have an RS course with GT3 RS and GT2 RS - I would book this instead of the GT course.
Ive done the 1.5 hour course in a Cayman R and thoroughly enjoyed it. Think the RS Course is circa £500, if it was me I would rather do half a day in a normal 911/Non GT car than 90 mins in an RS for the same cost.
The half day will allow you to learn a lot more about the cars and take more from the experience IMHO.
The half day will allow you to learn a lot more about the cars and take more from the experience IMHO.
SonnyM said:
I second JPs comments after doing the GT course. I think the 4.0 was only available for 1 week and it's back to the 3.8 since then. The GT2 is useless on the small track because you have to slow down for each corner before you've even put your foot down! I could only get the GT3 to 7k rpm in third gear and I wasn't allow to use any other gears.
They now have an RS course with GT3 RS and GT2 RS - I would book this instead of the GT course.
Seriously? They wouldn't let you pick your own gears?They now have an RS course with GT3 RS and GT2 RS - I would book this instead of the GT course.
I did this last week, the RS one.
I have a 997 GT3 RS but figured it would be wiser to explore the limits in safe place and get a bit of instruction.
The chap was nice and let me cut loose a bit, got the GT2 RS sideways and he was very calm and said if I hadn't just shown you what to do before we would have been off the track!
It's a short track but you can learn in a couple of laps and there is one decent bit for putting the power down through a bend and onto the straight.
The GT2 RS is IMMENSE. Never driven anything like it. I honestly thought my RS was broken on the way home when I floored it, wrong gear maybe but nope, it was fine, just a bit slower....
I have a 997 GT3 RS but figured it would be wiser to explore the limits in safe place and get a bit of instruction.
The chap was nice and let me cut loose a bit, got the GT2 RS sideways and he was very calm and said if I hadn't just shown you what to do before we would have been off the track!
It's a short track but you can learn in a couple of laps and there is one decent bit for putting the power down through a bend and onto the straight.
The GT2 RS is IMMENSE. Never driven anything like it. I honestly thought my RS was broken on the way home when I floored it, wrong gear maybe but nope, it was fine, just a bit slower....
kotafey said:
SonnyM said:
I second JPs comments after doing the GT course. I think the 4.0 was only available for 1 week and it's back to the 3.8 since then. The GT2 is useless on the small track because you have to slow down for each corner before you've even put your foot down! I could only get the GT3 to 7k rpm in third gear and I wasn't allow to use any other gears.
They now have an RS course with GT3 RS and GT2 RS - I would book this instead of the GT course.
Seriously? They wouldn't let you pick your own gears?They now have an RS course with GT3 RS and GT2 RS - I would book this instead of the GT course.
SonnyM said:
kotafey said:
SonnyM said:
I second JPs comments after doing the GT course. I think the 4.0 was only available for 1 week and it's back to the 3.8 since then. The GT2 is useless on the small track because you have to slow down for each corner before you've even put your foot down! I could only get the GT3 to 7k rpm in third gear and I wasn't allow to use any other gears.
They now have an RS course with GT3 RS and GT2 RS - I would book this instead of the GT course.
Seriously? They wouldn't let you pick your own gears?They now have an RS course with GT3 RS and GT2 RS - I would book this instead of the GT course.
I recently did the Evolution 911 course, mainly as I'd also never driven any of the models older than a 996, and was curious to see how they felt like etc.
First issue for me was lack of legroom which I suspected would be the case, but anyway if I ever bought one I'm sure I could do soemthing with the seat runners etc.
The oldest was the 3.2, which felt pretty basic as expected. The first thing I noticed was how heavy the steering was even on the move, then the wooly gearshift, awkward pedals, and heavy brake pedal. The engine was nice and lively and after a couple of laps and I sort of got into a rythum, but for me it was hard work and not that enjoyable to be honest. I like my steering feel but really didn't really get much from this car, the instuctor suspected there may have been an issue with it - which annoyingly if true would be giving a false impression.
Next the 993, again cramped for me but felt much nicer inside and much easier to drive. Everthing as expected was a bit lighter esp the PA steering, engine again felt really lively, and overall very enjoyable to drive. The only disappointment for me again was a lack of steering feel, esp compared to my GT3.
The 991 PDK next, and this felt like stepping into a limo, both in size and interior fittings.
Plenty room this time and all controls nicely at hand etc as expected, PDK pretty impressive for what it is, and car very fast and surefooted. On the steering, this time is felt nice and light, very accurate and responsive, but still lacking feel a bit, again esp compared to the GT3. Interestingly on the kickplate, if you drive through with hands off the wheel, the steering wheel will actually turn into the slide itself automatically - I never knew that before. It doesn't actually completely correct the slide but just points the wheels in the right direction.
So the 991 was fine but did almost drive itself and never felt anything other than completely planted and under control.
What did surprise me was I thought I was driving an 'S' when it was actually the lesser non 'S', so I can only imagine that would have been even more impressive.
Finally I then took my own 968 CS on the track for an hours U-Drive course with an instructor. To be honest and trying not to be biased, this was easily the most satisfying drive of the day on the track. The least powerful car with probably least grip, but really nice balanced handling, excellent light steering with great feel, easily adjusted in the corners on the throttle etc, and just an all round hoot to drive.
Yes obviously I'm used to this car, but not on a track so this was probably the first time I've had it on it's actual limits, and can't really wait to do it again.
As the U-Drive is done late afternoon, we were the only car on the circuit for most of the session, so this made it even more relaxing. The instructor said he could tell from the passenger seat the car was real fun to drive, I let him do a couple of laps and he had a suitably big smile on his face.
To be honest this is the first time I've been able to really relate to all the great write ups the 968CS got when new, I knew it was a good drive on the public roads, but it just really came alive on the smooth track.
At £165 for an hour I thought this was a good value session, for me at least.
So to try and answer the OP's original question, if you just want to find out how the older cars drive it's probably the easiest way to do this, and if you're under 6ft you'll probably enjoy the actual driving more that I did.
If you want to just have a real blast and come away with a huge smile on your face, then I'd go for the GT course.
First issue for me was lack of legroom which I suspected would be the case, but anyway if I ever bought one I'm sure I could do soemthing with the seat runners etc.
The oldest was the 3.2, which felt pretty basic as expected. The first thing I noticed was how heavy the steering was even on the move, then the wooly gearshift, awkward pedals, and heavy brake pedal. The engine was nice and lively and after a couple of laps and I sort of got into a rythum, but for me it was hard work and not that enjoyable to be honest. I like my steering feel but really didn't really get much from this car, the instuctor suspected there may have been an issue with it - which annoyingly if true would be giving a false impression.
Next the 993, again cramped for me but felt much nicer inside and much easier to drive. Everthing as expected was a bit lighter esp the PA steering, engine again felt really lively, and overall very enjoyable to drive. The only disappointment for me again was a lack of steering feel, esp compared to my GT3.
The 991 PDK next, and this felt like stepping into a limo, both in size and interior fittings.
Plenty room this time and all controls nicely at hand etc as expected, PDK pretty impressive for what it is, and car very fast and surefooted. On the steering, this time is felt nice and light, very accurate and responsive, but still lacking feel a bit, again esp compared to the GT3. Interestingly on the kickplate, if you drive through with hands off the wheel, the steering wheel will actually turn into the slide itself automatically - I never knew that before. It doesn't actually completely correct the slide but just points the wheels in the right direction.
So the 991 was fine but did almost drive itself and never felt anything other than completely planted and under control.
What did surprise me was I thought I was driving an 'S' when it was actually the lesser non 'S', so I can only imagine that would have been even more impressive.
Finally I then took my own 968 CS on the track for an hours U-Drive course with an instructor. To be honest and trying not to be biased, this was easily the most satisfying drive of the day on the track. The least powerful car with probably least grip, but really nice balanced handling, excellent light steering with great feel, easily adjusted in the corners on the throttle etc, and just an all round hoot to drive.
Yes obviously I'm used to this car, but not on a track so this was probably the first time I've had it on it's actual limits, and can't really wait to do it again.
As the U-Drive is done late afternoon, we were the only car on the circuit for most of the session, so this made it even more relaxing. The instructor said he could tell from the passenger seat the car was real fun to drive, I let him do a couple of laps and he had a suitably big smile on his face.
To be honest this is the first time I've been able to really relate to all the great write ups the 968CS got when new, I knew it was a good drive on the public roads, but it just really came alive on the smooth track.
At £165 for an hour I thought this was a good value session, for me at least.
So to try and answer the OP's original question, if you just want to find out how the older cars drive it's probably the easiest way to do this, and if you're under 6ft you'll probably enjoy the actual driving more that I did.
If you want to just have a real blast and come away with a huge smile on your face, then I'd go for the GT course.
Sandy59 said:
I recently did the Evolution 911 course, mainly as I'd also never driven any of the models older than a 996, and was curious to see how they felt like etc.
First issue for me was lack of legroom which I suspected would be the case, but anyway if I ever bought one I'm sure I could do soemthing with the seat runners etc.
The oldest was the 3.2, which felt pretty basic as expected. The first thing I noticed was how heavy the steering was even on the move, then the wooly gearshift, awkward pedals, and heavy brake pedal. The engine was nice and lively and after a couple of laps and I sort of got into a rythum, but for me it was hard work and not that enjoyable to be honest. I like my steering feel but really didn't really get much from this car, the instuctor suspected there may have been an issue with it - which annoyingly if true would be giving a false impression.
Next the 993, again cramped for me but felt much nicer inside and much easier to drive. Everthing as expected was a bit lighter esp the PA steering, engine again felt really lively, and overall very enjoyable to drive. The only disappointment for me again was a lack of steering feel, esp compared to my GT3.
The 991 PDK next, and this felt like stepping into a limo, both in size and interior fittings.
Plenty room this time and all controls nicely at hand etc as expected, PDK pretty impressive for what it is, and car very fast and surefooted. On the steering, this time is felt nice and light, very accurate and responsive, but still lacking feel a bit, again esp compared to the GT3. Interestingly on the kickplate, if you drive through with hands off the wheel, the steering wheel will actually turn into the slide itself automatically - I never knew that before. It doesn't actually completely correct the slide but just points the wheels in the right direction.
So the 991 was fine but did almost drive itself and never felt anything other than completely planted and under control.
What did surprise me was I thought I was driving an 'S' when it was actually the lesser non 'S', so I can only imagine that would have been even more impressive.
Finally I then took my own 968 CS on the track for an hours U-Drive course with an instructor. To be honest and trying not to be biased, this was easily the most satisfying drive of the day on the track. The least powerful car with probably least grip, but really nice balanced handling, excellent light steering with great feel, easily adjusted in the corners on the throttle etc, and just an all round hoot to drive.
Yes obviously I'm used to this car, but not on a track so this was probably the first time I've had it on it's actual limits, and can't really wait to do it again.
As the U-Drive is done late afternoon, we were the only car on the circuit for most of the session, so this made it even more relaxing. The instructor said he could tell from the passenger seat the car was real fun to drive, I let him do a couple of laps and he had a suitably big smile on his face.
To be honest this is the first time I've been able to really relate to all the great write ups the 968CS got when new, I knew it was a good drive on the public roads, but it just really came alive on the smooth track.
At £165 for an hour I thought this was a good value session, for me at least.
So to try and answer the OP's original question, if you just want to find out how the older cars drive it's probably the easiest way to do this, and if you're under 6ft you'll probably enjoy the actual driving more that I did.
If you want to just have a real blast and come away with a huge smile on your face, then I'd go for the GT course.
Thanks for the great write up, that's really useful. I guess the older cars will either feel special in their own way, or just like driving any other old car. I'm a bit wary of letting it turn into just an expensive test drive session and would like to learn something about car control while I'm there, so it sounds like the GT course is the one to go for. Alternatively, I see they also have this:First issue for me was lack of legroom which I suspected would be the case, but anyway if I ever bought one I'm sure I could do soemthing with the seat runners etc.
The oldest was the 3.2, which felt pretty basic as expected. The first thing I noticed was how heavy the steering was even on the move, then the wooly gearshift, awkward pedals, and heavy brake pedal. The engine was nice and lively and after a couple of laps and I sort of got into a rythum, but for me it was hard work and not that enjoyable to be honest. I like my steering feel but really didn't really get much from this car, the instuctor suspected there may have been an issue with it - which annoyingly if true would be giving a false impression.
Next the 993, again cramped for me but felt much nicer inside and much easier to drive. Everthing as expected was a bit lighter esp the PA steering, engine again felt really lively, and overall very enjoyable to drive. The only disappointment for me again was a lack of steering feel, esp compared to my GT3.
The 991 PDK next, and this felt like stepping into a limo, both in size and interior fittings.
Plenty room this time and all controls nicely at hand etc as expected, PDK pretty impressive for what it is, and car very fast and surefooted. On the steering, this time is felt nice and light, very accurate and responsive, but still lacking feel a bit, again esp compared to the GT3. Interestingly on the kickplate, if you drive through with hands off the wheel, the steering wheel will actually turn into the slide itself automatically - I never knew that before. It doesn't actually completely correct the slide but just points the wheels in the right direction.
So the 991 was fine but did almost drive itself and never felt anything other than completely planted and under control.
What did surprise me was I thought I was driving an 'S' when it was actually the lesser non 'S', so I can only imagine that would have been even more impressive.
Finally I then took my own 968 CS on the track for an hours U-Drive course with an instructor. To be honest and trying not to be biased, this was easily the most satisfying drive of the day on the track. The least powerful car with probably least grip, but really nice balanced handling, excellent light steering with great feel, easily adjusted in the corners on the throttle etc, and just an all round hoot to drive.
Yes obviously I'm used to this car, but not on a track so this was probably the first time I've had it on it's actual limits, and can't really wait to do it again.
As the U-Drive is done late afternoon, we were the only car on the circuit for most of the session, so this made it even more relaxing. The instructor said he could tell from the passenger seat the car was real fun to drive, I let him do a couple of laps and he had a suitably big smile on his face.
To be honest this is the first time I've been able to really relate to all the great write ups the 968CS got when new, I knew it was a good drive on the public roads, but it just really came alive on the smooth track.
At £165 for an hour I thought this was a good value session, for me at least.
So to try and answer the OP's original question, if you just want to find out how the older cars drive it's probably the easiest way to do this, and if you're under 6ft you'll probably enjoy the actual driving more that I did.
If you want to just have a real blast and come away with a huge smile on your face, then I'd go for the GT course.
Event Cost: £275 (incl. 20% VAT)
One-to-one Tuition: Yes
Event Cars: Choose from 911 Carrera, Carrera S, Carrera 4S, Carrera GTS or Carrera 4 GTS*
Running Length: 90 mins
So I could just "slum it" in a Carrera GTS for 90 minutes
birdcage said:
I did this last week, the RS one.
I have a 997 GT3 RS but figured it would be wiser to explore the limits in safe place and get a bit of instruction.
The chap was nice and let me cut loose a bit, got the GT2 RS sideways and he was very calm and said if I hadn't just shown you what to do before we would have been off the track!
It's a short track but you can learn in a couple of laps and there is one decent bit for putting the power down through a bend and onto the straight.
The GT2 RS is IMMENSE. Never driven anything like it. I honestly thought my RS was broken on the way home when I floored it, wrong gear maybe but nope, it was fine, just a bit slower....
I did this course last week, really did not like "their" GT3 RS, but the GT2 RS was preferable to me, clutch was lighter,turn-in was slightly sharper and a very quick car but I do agree with the comment that perhaps that track is too small for the GT2 RS, but the way this car went past everything else it did not seem like too much of a problem.I have a 997 GT3 RS but figured it would be wiser to explore the limits in safe place and get a bit of instruction.
The chap was nice and let me cut loose a bit, got the GT2 RS sideways and he was very calm and said if I hadn't just shown you what to do before we would have been off the track!
It's a short track but you can learn in a couple of laps and there is one decent bit for putting the power down through a bend and onto the straight.
The GT2 RS is IMMENSE. Never driven anything like it. I honestly thought my RS was broken on the way home when I floored it, wrong gear maybe but nope, it was fine, just a bit slower....
Started off with the "Third gear only" rule and the instructor asked if there was anything I need help with and when I said heel and toe I was told no problem and he helped me out a lot.
When the day came to an end he asked me if I wanted to swap seats and he'd show me what the GT2 RS can really do, that track is way big enough if you have the talent that he has
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff