First word that comes to mind is WOW... what a car....
But let's get on with it...
A caveat, I have been driving only air cooled (no electronic nonsese) 911s for the last 5 years. Every comparison with another car I make here is referring to the 911s.
I use my car as a daily driver and my commute is nothing exctiting at all. Still the GT makes me get to my office with a smile on my face...
Anyway here is how I see it...
Every morning there is a sense of occasion as i open the garage door.
I know the shape of the GT by hearth, I have seen it a million times in the magazines, I have seen in in several videos, but still seeing it in the flesh, in my garage, makes my heart skip a bit.
I approach the car from the back and I cannot stop staring at the swooping wheel arches and engine lid cover. It's so sexy... I am already in a good mood.
Then there is the climbing into the cockpit ordeal. In all honesty it is not the easiest thing with another car parked next to it and if you are 6"3".. Still it adds to the "I am driving a supercar" feel.
Then you slip into the driving seat. Everything is focussed on the driver. I love it. The sense of occasion is maintained inside. You turn the keye and wait patiently for all the little noises to cease.... It's time to push the red botton...
The deep exhaust note still startles and excites me every morning...
You depress the clutch (too easy, c'mon... this is a 550hp car.. what were they thinking :wink ) and it's time to engage reverse...
Here I start to feel the 1st little glitches. Reverse is not always easy to engage.. and 1st gear is also a bit tricky. I skip 2nd for the 1st couple of miles and all the other gears are like butter.
Still I am not sold on the clutch. It is still difficutl to me to gauge the biting point, it does not have the feeling of a 911 (even the older shitty 915 transmission).
The drive through the morning traffic is a pleasure. Everybody stares, big thumbs up, people move out of the way even if I do not want to overtake... this is awesome.
I park at the office deck (finding the most remote spot) and usually at least 2-3 people every day want to chat with me about the car...
I then spend 8 hours thinking about when I can leave to drive the car again...
It is still too early (too few miles under the my belt) but I can start making comparison to my 911s (my 993 is/was my daily driver).
The GT is and feels MUCH bigger. There is no escaping it.. it's a big car. I park it every night next to my wife's 993 and the Porsche looks so tiny next to the GT. The Ford is much wider and longer and you definetly feel it from the driving seat.
The driving position is completely different. In the 993 you are 40 inches away from a pretty steep windshield. The dashboard is nearly non existing.
In the Ford I need to recline the seat quite a lot not to hit the head on the roof. It feels like a single seater formula car. So you are miles away from the winshield and the nose is all the way up there.
The forward view is dominated by the front fenders (like the 911) but in the Ford they go on forever.
Then the car is heavy. There is no escaping it. It is still 3,400 lbs. Which is at least 600lbs heavier than the 993 (which is a pig in 911 terms).
So in traffic I drive it in a different way. With the 911 I just zip around (ok I am very obnoxious) to fill every possible gap. With the Ford I don't have the confidence to do that yet.
The weigh transfer takes obviously much longer and you just don't bother.
One of the features I like the most on the 911 is the steering feel. Well the GT matches it. I love how the steering is precise and tight.
What is clear though is how high the limits of the GT are. It is impossible to really approach them on a public road.
Yesterday I was driving on a loop with 2 lanes and a decent left hand turn. I have driven it a zillion times with the 993. With the 911 you need to tap the brakes for the fronts to bite and then you open it, much before the apex as all the weigh is in the back. It's fun.
Well with the GT I felt a little disappointed at first. I approached the turn with respect and very cautious as I don't know the car yet... And mid through the turn I was thinking that the 911 was much faster.... Then I looked over at the speedometer... I was doing 100mph without pushing it at all. With the 993 90mph felt like the limit on a public road with cars and a jersey around you.
Obvioulsy my "disappointment" turned into disbelief.... I was really impressed.
At the same time I must say that 90mph in the 993 was more fun than 100mph in the GT.
And it should have been obvious to me as the GT was designed and built to race at Le Mans but still...
1 thing is for sure though.. I need to take this car to the track. Well next week the Ferrari Club of America is at VIR... I am calling to see if they have spots left...
But let's get on with it...
A caveat, I have been driving only air cooled (no electronic nonsese) 911s for the last 5 years. Every comparison with another car I make here is referring to the 911s.
I use my car as a daily driver and my commute is nothing exctiting at all. Still the GT makes me get to my office with a smile on my face...
Anyway here is how I see it...
Every morning there is a sense of occasion as i open the garage door.
I know the shape of the GT by hearth, I have seen it a million times in the magazines, I have seen in in several videos, but still seeing it in the flesh, in my garage, makes my heart skip a bit.
I approach the car from the back and I cannot stop staring at the swooping wheel arches and engine lid cover. It's so sexy... I am already in a good mood.
Then there is the climbing into the cockpit ordeal. In all honesty it is not the easiest thing with another car parked next to it and if you are 6"3".. Still it adds to the "I am driving a supercar" feel.
Then you slip into the driving seat. Everything is focussed on the driver. I love it. The sense of occasion is maintained inside. You turn the keye and wait patiently for all the little noises to cease.... It's time to push the red botton...
The deep exhaust note still startles and excites me every morning...
You depress the clutch (too easy, c'mon... this is a 550hp car.. what were they thinking :wink ) and it's time to engage reverse...
Here I start to feel the 1st little glitches. Reverse is not always easy to engage.. and 1st gear is also a bit tricky. I skip 2nd for the 1st couple of miles and all the other gears are like butter.
Still I am not sold on the clutch. It is still difficutl to me to gauge the biting point, it does not have the feeling of a 911 (even the older shitty 915 transmission).
The drive through the morning traffic is a pleasure. Everybody stares, big thumbs up, people move out of the way even if I do not want to overtake... this is awesome.
I park at the office deck (finding the most remote spot) and usually at least 2-3 people every day want to chat with me about the car...
I then spend 8 hours thinking about when I can leave to drive the car again...
It is still too early (too few miles under the my belt) but I can start making comparison to my 911s (my 993 is/was my daily driver).
The GT is and feels MUCH bigger. There is no escaping it.. it's a big car. I park it every night next to my wife's 993 and the Porsche looks so tiny next to the GT. The Ford is much wider and longer and you definetly feel it from the driving seat.
The driving position is completely different. In the 993 you are 40 inches away from a pretty steep windshield. The dashboard is nearly non existing.
In the Ford I need to recline the seat quite a lot not to hit the head on the roof. It feels like a single seater formula car. So you are miles away from the winshield and the nose is all the way up there.
The forward view is dominated by the front fenders (like the 911) but in the Ford they go on forever.
Then the car is heavy. There is no escaping it. It is still 3,400 lbs. Which is at least 600lbs heavier than the 993 (which is a pig in 911 terms).
So in traffic I drive it in a different way. With the 911 I just zip around (ok I am very obnoxious) to fill every possible gap. With the Ford I don't have the confidence to do that yet.
The weigh transfer takes obviously much longer and you just don't bother.
One of the features I like the most on the 911 is the steering feel. Well the GT matches it. I love how the steering is precise and tight.
What is clear though is how high the limits of the GT are. It is impossible to really approach them on a public road.
Yesterday I was driving on a loop with 2 lanes and a decent left hand turn. I have driven it a zillion times with the 993. With the 911 you need to tap the brakes for the fronts to bite and then you open it, much before the apex as all the weigh is in the back. It's fun.
Well with the GT I felt a little disappointed at first. I approached the turn with respect and very cautious as I don't know the car yet... And mid through the turn I was thinking that the 911 was much faster.... Then I looked over at the speedometer... I was doing 100mph without pushing it at all. With the 993 90mph felt like the limit on a public road with cars and a jersey around you.
Obvioulsy my "disappointment" turned into disbelief.... I was really impressed.
At the same time I must say that 90mph in the 993 was more fun than 100mph in the GT.
And it should have been obvious to me as the GT was designed and built to race at Le Mans but still...
1 thing is for sure though.. I need to take this car to the track. Well next week the Ferrari Club of America is at VIR... I am calling to see if they have spots left...
