- Sep 1, 2005
- 704
As an introduction, allow me the standard preamble. I have no agenda in writing the review set forth below. Obviously, since I own both, I gain nothing by promoting one car over the other. To insure that I will be roasted from both top and bottom by unhappy readers, I am posting this review on both the Ford GT Forum and on Rennlist.
The Players:
My Ford GT is an ‘06, late production. I lowered the car about an inch, and I had the guys at Whipple install a thermonuclear detonator which they humorously refer to as an upgraded supercharger. However, I will base the comparisons regarding power and acceleration exclusively on my observations of the GT before the power upgrade. This is my second GT; the first was completely stock.
The RS is an ‘07. It is not modified in any way. I have been driving it non-stop since I got it, and put more miles on it one day than it had on it when I took delivery from the original owner. It has the Michelin Pilot Sport tires which look and behave suspiciously like track tires. This is my third 911, the most recent a 997 Carrera 2S.
The test drives upon which I base my comments were taken on Arizona Highway 89, between Prescott and Congress Junction. It is a superbly twisty canyon/mountain road of generous width, and it is a favorite of the sport bike crowd. A good friend who is also a great driver did me the favor of driving the second car so that we could switch off and compare notes on the fly. Of course, I have also driven each car on this road in isolation on many other occasions.
Please note: for your further automotive edification, at the end of each category, I have included a ranking in that specific area of not only the Porsche and the Ford, but also of my Ferrari F430 F1 Coupe, a car which I compared with the GT in a previous review.
1. Acceleration
According to Porsche, the GT3, is the most powerful naturally aspirated engine per liter that they have ever produced. Combine 415 horsepower with relatively light weight (around 3000 lbs.) and you’ve got the recipe for a thrust-fest. Indeed, the engine pulls with authority throughout the rev range, with greater urgency as the revs build. Redline is 8400. Touch the throttle, especially above 3500 rpm, and it’s blast off time, razor sharp, right now. The Ford’s supercharged engine can’t compete with this brain-to-foot-to-thrust immediacy. Underpowered the Porsche is not; in stop light stand-offs, it will easily spank just about any sports car that comes up against it. In many ways, the power delivery reminds me of a sport bike; the force just swells and then swells again as the revs build. Very cool, and very quick.
The Ford’s 5.4 liter V8 has more displacement than the Porsche and two more cylinders shoving on the crankshaft with each revolution. It produces at least 135 horsepower more than the GT3 RS. I say “at least” because stock GTs, in independent dyno testing, appear to regularly produce horsepower numbers well in excess of the claimed 550. A single stab of the throttle in a GT is all it takes to open one’s eyes to a beautiful new world of acceleration. It’s not so much that the power is ferocious (which it is), but that it belts you from way, way down deep, and then all the way to redline. In overtaking maneuvers, one can either leave the shifter alone, squeeze the throttle, and be done with it, or for extra flavor, grab a lower gear, let loose the hounds of hell, and prepare for a distortion of the time/space continuum. I can literally pass a minivan (aka: rolling chicane) before the tottering cell phone user within ever knows what happened. The power delivery is like drinking from a fire hose. It has a vast torque reserve that only the very brave, or the very foolish, would try to plumb. As evidenced by a rapidly growing list of totaled GTs, wide open throttle in first, or even second gear is strongly discouraged. Especially on cold tires.
Advantage: Ford GT, but you won’t feel outgunned in either car.
(Overall ranking in this category: 1st: Ford GT 2nd Porsche GT3RS 3RD: Ferrari F430)
2. High Speed Stability
One of the things I noticed when I owned my first Porsche (a 1984 911 Carrera) was how it disguised its velocity. I was amazed at how I could roll along at triple digit speed and not even be aware of it until I looked down at the speedo. The GT3 is no different, tracking freight train straight at felony speeds. We only had the chance to test it to an indicated 170, but it was completely without drama. Yawn. The Porsche feels a bit lighter on its feet than the Ford at these Talladega speeds, but nothing uncomfortable.
The Ford boasts some serious aerodynamic engineering, from its perfectly flat bottom and rear venturies to its through-the-nose-and-over-the-hood air management. When you follow a GT from behind at high speed, you can literally see the car sucking debris off the road like a hoover and leaving a cloud of dust and road grit in a tall trail behind it. It’s awesome. Those aero aids really work, and it becomes even more apparent as the speeds increase and the car hunkers down. On a separate occasion and under controlled conditions, I ran the GT up to an indicated 205. While I was scared to a shaky pallor at that speed, the GT just hoovered down and acted like the rocket sled that it is. I don’t know of a car that can match the Ford in this department, except maybe the Veyron.
Advantage: Ford GT, but it’s the only car that can beat the RS in this department, and both cars are far superior to the nervous Ferrari F430. (Sorry Enzo)
(Overall ranking: Ford, Porsche, Ferrari)
3. Cornering/Handling
I cannot describe how direct and incredibly communicative the Porsche’s steering is. There’s absolutely nothing lost in the translation between that which the driver’s hands tell the car and that which it then does. It inspired me to a level of confidence on the first drive that I have never experienced in another car. The Porsche was a revelation of razor sharp turn-in and planted, controlled and correction free cornering. Have you ever gone to a movie that was so entertaining and inspiring that after you got home, you decided to go see it again? And again? That’s exactly what happened after I got home from my first canyon drive in the Porsche. I went right back. It gave me goose bumps to plunge from one apex to another, suspension loading and unloading with the pronounced banking of each undulating corner. I’ve probably driven that stretch of road in the RS 20 times since the first time, and I can certainly understand why the British EVO magazine selected it as Car of the Year for 2007. The Scuderia was a contestant in that group, by the way.
The Ford is not blessed with the same steering feel as the Porsche. Where the Porsche feels organic, the Ford feels digital. I’m not sure if it is the factory alignment, the vast difference in tires, the fact that the engine is in the rear of the Porsche, or a combination of these factors that distinguish the GT from the Porsche. Whatever it is, I want to work on getting the Ford a dose of it. This is not to say that the GT has poor steering feel. Taken in isolation, it is terrific and far superior to most other cars. However, when compared back-to-back with the Porsche, it just lacks that transparent feedback. In all other regards, the GT is a fantastic canyon car and superbly competent. And, while the steering is less direct, the GT actually feels more involving in the corners than the Porsche does, as if it wants to work with the driver and not do the work for him. In that regard, is it possible that the Porsche handling is simply too good?
Advantage: Porsche
(Overall ranking: Porsche, Ferrari, Ford)
4. Braking
The Porsche has the new carbon ceramic brakes, and they are simply a generation better than the steel brakes on the Ford. It’s definitely overkill for the street, but on the track, they should be dynamite. Having said that, I’ve never been able to get the GT’s brakes to fade under any circumstances. They are huge and very much adequate to the task.
Advantage: Porsche, but it’s probably not an apples to apples comparison.
(Overall: Porsche, GT, Ferrari)
5. Gawk Factor.
This refers to the amount of attention that the car draws in traffic and during the fuel/convenience store stop.
The Porsche can’t compare to the GT in this regard, and draws little attention from passers by. Never thought I’d call a Porsche the red-headed step child of the garage, but there you have it. I expect that most non-car guys can’t tell the difference between it and any other Porsche, assuming for the sake of argument that they can even identify that much. Unless, of course, they are Porschefiles, in which case they are very interested in the super rare RS. I personally think it looks sinister and industrial (that’s a good thing).
Everyone, and I mean everyone, notices the GT. If onlookers were ants, the GT would attract them like honey with powdered sugar on top. As I drive it, the GT is the regular subject of car chases with the vehicles in pursuit identifiable by the arms hanging out of windows with cell phones attached to them. I have grown tired of looking up in the rearview to see cars jockeying for position in traffic to get next to me. I feel like Elvis, and that’s not a good thing. I’ve got to admit, however, that when my bud was driving the GT and I was following along side in the Porsche, I was smitten with the looks of the GT. It is so low and mean and exotic when you see it on the road, that you can’t help but holler out loud. I have a theory that the driver of a GT becomes instantly ten times sexier when the car begins moving. Good thing I’ve been happily married for the past 22 years…
Advantage: GT
(Overall: GT, Ferrari, Porsche)
6. Fit and Finish
Both cars are superb in this regard. Great paint, great body panel alignment, no rattles, no issues.
Advantage: Draw
7. Interior
The Porsche interior is virtually identical to any other 997, well thought out, superb quality of materials, and evident of Porsche’s design skill. It’s also a bit boring in its Porsche perfection.
The GT interior is not as carefully designed as the Porsche’s, but it is definitely more exotic in appearance and more appropriate of a car in this price and performance range.
Advantage: Interest: Ford. Quality: Porsche
(Overall: Ferrari, Ford, Porsche)
8. Sense of Occasion
This refers to the driving experience. You know, the feeling that distinguishes driving a Camry from driving a Lamborghini.
The Porsche is very traditional in its format. The windshield is upright, and so is the driving position. The cabin is light and airy, and the outward visibility is superb, especially the over-hood view. Ergonomics are great, and the interior feels narrow, which is reflective of the European streets of its birthplace. From the inside, the Porsche feels like just about any other car you might drive off a rental lot. In traffic, it feels small and easy to toss about, and the superb handling adds to that perception. I can think of no better car to dice it up on a California freeway than the RS, assuming that the traffic is actually moving. Even though I won’t track the car for a couple more weeks, I can already tell that the no nonsense visibility and driving position, while boring in the exotic sense, will pay off in a big way at the track. I’ll wager that Porsche intended it that way. The Porsche is a superb driving appliance, and I can think of no better way to say it.
Don’t get me wrong. For the hard core Porsche guys, the RS is as cool as it gets. Wide body, functional carbon wing on the back, lower, wider, and meaner than the standard 997. I love how squat and hunkered down the RS looks, especially from the back, with those huge semi slick rear tires peeking out from beneath the rear apron. Very industrial and race car serious. Is it possible that the 997 RS is the most sinister looking 911 ever?
The GT is exotic car poetry. It’s got the big bad V8 under glass behind the driver’s head, and you can also see that boss supercharger through the windshield, perched like a bomb between the driver’s and passenger’s heads The GT is low, mean, wide and nasty when you view it the rearview mirror as it approaches from behind. As you watch it pass, it becomes an unadulterated race car with an impossibly low roof line. It’s a gleaming land missile at full tilt boogie. Once the GT is in front, it shows you its fat haunches stretched tautly over those huge steam roller meats in the rear. I defy any car guy to not fall crazy in love with the GT as it passes. It taps into that deep, instinctive region that has made us all love low cars with fat tires ever since we were old enough to say “Hot Wheels.” When you drive the GT, it is an event, a momentous occasion that brings smiles to the faces of other drivers and makes them give the double thumbs up. I am now convinced that the GT is the coolest car ever built, but that’s just my opinion…
Advantage: For me, it’s the GT, but your experience may differ
(Overall: Ford, Ferrari, Porsche)
9. Misc. Question and Answer
Q: Which has the best shift feel?
A: The Ford, much more direct and mechanical, like chambering a round.
Q: If you could have only one, which would it be?
A: The Ford, it’s not like any other car out there, and they stopped building ‘em.
Q: If you were being chased down a canyon road, and your life depended on getting away, which would you choose as the getaway car?
A: The Porsche. It’s so easy to drive at the limit and so razor quick through the corners. Ironically, all that power makes the GT a bit scary.
Q: Which car feels more rigid and most resistant to chassis flex?
A: Both cars are race car rigid. No flex, no rattle, no shake and bake.
Q: Which car feels most like a race car?
A: On the street, the GT. I’ll tell you more after I’ve taken them both to the track.
Conclusion:
As I have re-read this review, I am dismayed at how difficult it is to give a true and honest comparison of these two magnificent cars. Take either car in isolation, and you will be convinced that you have the greatest car on earth. Drive them back to back and it’s like trying to compare a ruby and a sapphire. They are both beautiful, but what’s your taste? I come away from the exercise with only one clear conclusion: I am pretty confident that I am lucky enough to own two of the greatest road cars ever built.
Thanks for reading. I value your comments.
