Hi all Now that there are 6 speed swaps available for F430s, the pricing between these two are almost comparable. Anyone who has owned both can speak to which one they preferred? Looking for a fun manual weekend car. Posted a similar thread on rennlist and as expected got 9/10 responses in favor of the GT3, wondering what we'll get here!
Completely different driving and ownership experiences. I'd say the Porsche for the track if that is what you intend to do. The F430 for everything else. Lots of people own both. You can remain rather anonymous in the Porsche, but you'll get a lot of attention in a Ferrari, any Ferrari. People don't see scuderia shielded cars very often. You can see a 911 in every little town in America. If you don't like a lot of attention, get the Porsche. I will say nearly 100% of Ferrari owners have driven a Porsche, probably less than a 5th of Porsche owners have driven a Ferrari. Ferrari doesn't make budget cars like Porsche does. Lastly, there is no such thing as a cheap Ferrari. Cost of ownership will be higher than with a Porsche. But nothing beats a Ferrari in terms of touching all 5 senses.
These are very different cars with very different driving characteristics. I haven’t owned either, but have driven both, including at multiple different tracks. The gt3 is simply one of the best trackable cars I’ve ever driven. It’s planted and stiff and feels sprung and ready to eat pavement and brakes and tires. The f430 is more refined, a little softer, still visceral, but less so than the gt3. Both are truly excellent cars. I would think the f430 would be more special every time you take it out of the garage, a truly differentiated driving experience even when just cruising. For me, short of taking the gt3 to the track, I’d feel like I’d be underutilizing it if just cruising around on weekends, and I’d get frustrated by that. But I think these are personal things to me rooted in my belief cars should have their intended purposes fulfilled. Hope this helps. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
I am very interested in this. I have a gated 430, and was briefly toying with trading it for a gt3, but realized I would regret it if I did. Hopefully I can add a gt3 at some point. Maybe @catdog can weigh in since he has both
I'll keep my 430 for the "moment drives" when I want something special. I would keep the 430 and pick up an C8 or wait for the new Z06 and have a truely reliable track car. I drove the GT3 on a track and a C8 the same day, while the GT3 sounds and feels great, the C8 is similar mannered now and for the price is a great daily and track car.
While my GT3 is older (996 generation), they are so different than the Ferrari. Even when new, no one except Porsche fanatics even took a second glance at the GT3. It is a much more capable car in the twisties, but also more work to drive but it does feel like an extension of you. The Ferrari is a different beast, maybe if you had a Scud that would be different as the GT3 line is the Scud's competitor. But any mid-engine Ferrari is a special occasion car. I drove the GT3 as a daily for 2 years and 24k miles before deciding I wanted something a little less jarring to my kidneys. I would never drive the Ferrari as a daily, too much attention. While driving around my small town, people must be used to my car or other exotics here in the Jersey Shore area. When driving on most highways or through rural towns this is a completely different experience. We went on a rally this Sunday with the Ferrari Club through rural Pennsylvania, and the number of people with cameras or phones taking video or pictures of us was a little unnerving. Sure there were 20 or so Italian cars, but when we stopped or slowed down in a small town you got the feeling many have never seen a Ferrari or Lamborghini in the flesh. On the highway back from Northern Pennsylvania to the Jersey Shore where it was just me, there were the typical people doing stupid stuff to film or take pictures while we were driving home. At 65 mph (that's all I'll admit to here), people were yelling over to my son in the passenger seat about it being the first Ferrari they saw in person. So if you don't want attention, get the GT3. If you want to hop in and enjoy the car, get the GT3. If you mind being chased, photographed, filmed or being on other people's TikTok and Instagram, get the GT3. If you have lusted after an Italian supercar, get the F430 or if you can swing it, the Scud. One thing to keep in mind also... if you get the GT3 unless you are factory ordering it, these days they usually have Alcantara everywhere (including the seat centers), when I ordered my car the only thing commonly Alcantara was the steering wheel, interior ceiling and a few other bits, even the cup seats in my car were leather inserts by default. I personally don't like that as I am a sweaty person during the summer and I like the windows open with the AC off even in 100' weather. With the F430 it's leather that can be cleaned or wiped down, with the GT3 (Alcantara) or Scud (Technical fabric), it can be a problem.
The gt3 is beautiful but will beat you up. It’s tight, just like those go carts on the small circle that slide effortlessly and you jet off the gas and they catch. The steering is so tight it requires more concentration to drive. Passengers will hate it. You will love it and be glad when you pull into garage to get into something softer. The 430 is a compromise car with lesser brakes(assuming steel) and steering. Road feedback is less. But you can put more mikes on it without feeling beat up. Unless you are going to track I would stay away from a gt3. I understand it’s the “it” car. I also believe the people that get one mostly had no idea what they were getting into. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
Just a fun weekend car....then go with the F430. I have a 6 speed Gemballa GTR and a converted manual F430. Loads more attention (in any Ferrari) as others have noted but since not doing hardware store or pizza runs daily then should be no issue. On the weekends you likely know where you are headed and how the parking situation will be.
991.1 and 991.2 GT3 are great to drive, but I personally don't want to own one - due to the engine failures. To risky.
Hi thank you for the shoutout, I was just thinking about this same question over this past weekend when I took my gated f430 (aeg 'oem'-conversion). The F430 manual is unbeatable when it comes to joy of manual gearbox, it's just sublime, very tactile, delicate, amazing throttle response and plain all around just perfect sound and feel. It's more delicate than the 991.2 touring GT3 and likely slower but more enjoyable even though lower limits and not as great of a track weapon. Still the F430 has better throttle response, lighter flywheel, feels like a lighter ballerina and just is plain delicious all around whenever you execute a perfect up or downshift. The GT3 feels more stout, has a less smooth/refined sounding engine even if it revs to 9k versus 8.5k. I have the CCBs on the F430 still it is an older generation and is just not as fast in the twisties or as confidence inspiring. If I had to have just one car, no doubt I would keep the F430 in manual guise, it's that special to me. Maybe if comparing to the single mass flywheel 911R things would be different but I haven't driven the latter, even then.... The one thing about the F430 flat plane crank V8 is that it is not quite as melodious as the flat 6 which has a wider sound gamut based on load and rpm. The F430 engine sounds like two angry high revving 4-cylinder motorbike race engines screaming to high heaven. Whenever I get into the F430 I get tingles up and down spine, not so much for the Touring, that says it all for me. BTW this is comparing them both driven at 5am incognito and not considering issue of attention from public, blending in etc. For that the Touring GT3 is perfect, mine is black and 99% of folks don't know it's any different from any other 911. The 430 is rosso corsa which adds to the excitement but the analysis above is agnostic to this aspect of the conversation.
I own a 991.1 GT3 and a 430 Scuderia… not exactly your comparison but not too far off. Between the two, the GT3 is the one that I want to grab the keys to most of the time. However, if I only had one last drive and I had to choose one between the two it would unquestionably be the Scuderia. Of the two, it’s more eventful. And that’s saying a lot because at 9k RPM my center muffler deleted GT3 sounds NASTY. For an occasional fun weekend only car, between those two I would probably side with the 430 manual… understanding that you are sacrificing performance for overall experience.
I have owned a GT3 manual before and even though my F430 is an F1, the F430 to me is a totally much more special driving experience that the GT3 could not compare to.
I can echo alot of the sentiments above. I love gt3's. I've owned four (all manual mezgers though...never warmed up to the pdk or later cars). They are great cars, and if I could only choose one "fun" car for the rest of your life, I'd have to go with the gt3 just because of how reliable/useable they are. But Ferrari's are indeed "special" and an event every time you take it out. But sometimes you are just not in that mood. But it seems I'm never "not in the mood" for my lowly 996 gt3. It flies under the radar, is fun to drive even when I'm not committing a felony, and simply can't break, which makes it a pretty worry-free experience. But as noted above, my scud (and this goes too for the f430's I've driven), are definitely more exciting. The best solution is to get both and be able to enjoy the best of both worlds!
I have a manual F430 and it’s really enjoyable to drive. I agree with all the comments mentioned, both cars can handle well beyond my driving capabilities. For me it was simple, I’m in it for enjoyment and not the track. Ferrari any day. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Have driven a 430 many times....but planning to buy a GT3 when I retire in 3-4 years. Now if it was a Scuderia versus a GT3, it might be a different outcome.
I don't do track days anymore, which is the GT3's party piece, on the road its probably trying to hard and a bit overkill! The roads in the UK are just not good enough for a GT3 to be enjoyed. Unless you know Porsche or are a petrolhead, to most its a Porsche with a big stuck on wing and in some cases with stickers all over it. Its a great piece of engineering though. As Tiff says a Ferrari is a Ferrari! The Ferrari though is drama the moment you open the garage, some one mentioned noise, but although the Mezger sounds good, its not on the same page as the F430 (mine does have race headers on and its amazing) The Fezza just feels more special and more of an event, downside is, its more fragile and not made as well and you "don't Arf" pay for it!
My 2 cents. My F430 is pure theater and excitement. I focus less on the objective measurements and more on the exotic factor that comes with it. It’s pure entertainment. My Cayman R is more of an objective measurement car. You focus on the turn in, the engine response, the light weight, handling, etc. I feel like most Ferrari owners are there for the entertainment value and Porsche owners are more focused on the metrics, data and such. I love Porsches but you have to be ok with the parts bin sharing….my wife’s Cayenne has the same dash pods as a GT3. Nothing is like a F430. Can’t go wrong as they both are amazing! But if I’mchoosing between those two, F430 all day long. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I’ll probably need to hide under the table now but I’ll just say it. Any Porsche 911 feels like a VW Golf to me. If you need something simple, practical, and reliable, you buy a Golf. They come in all different variants, some faster and some in a special edition. If you got more money to spend, the story is the same but it’s a 911 instead of a Golf.
This is a ridiculous statement, tantamount of saying a gt3 is just a gussied up rabbit. I drove a Jetta all through high school and college. Other than having wheels and engine, it didn’t remotely share any qualities with my Porsches. Wasn’t even reliable, spent a lot of money keeping it running all those years.
A golf.....911TT is no golf especially a modified turbo unit. A golf is a fwd hot hatch or something practical like that, right? Not to derail the thread but it's like "Oh no you didn't buy an Enzo but got a shopping cart. Shoot, same thing."
