Is a built Porsche 911 GT3 a better car to drive than a GT3 RS for much less money? – Jalopnik

Porsche’s 997-generation GT3 and GT3 RS are among the highest-rated sports car driving experiences of all time, offering the absolute intersection of speed and driver involvement. Everything that came before led to this, while everything that came after pursued more speed at the expense of committed driving. There are others joining Porsche at the top of the GOAT mountain, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who disputes this car’s position on the sports car Mount Rushmore. But how do you choose between the 911 GT3 and its much more expensive big brother, the 911 GT3 RS?

Usually, the one you choose depends on your budget. Because the GT3 RS was a more hardcore track version of the road car than its GT3 counterpart, fewer examples were sold at a higher price, and that rarity when new translates to an exponentially higher price in today’s inflated collector market. A nice GT3 RS with low mileage will cost you between a quarter of a million dollars and, say, five hundred thousand dollars for one with a delivery mile in a cool color. A stock, imperfect, track-modified GT3, meanwhile, can be had for perhaps $125,000. That’s a big gap, so how do you decide if it’s worth the extra money to step up to the RS? Ask the man who’s had both!

Vin Anatra, former Hoonigan and solo artist, traded in a 997 GT3 for a 3.8-liter 997 GT3 RS, a car he always said was his dream car. In recent weeks Vin has sold his RS and gone back to a non-RS GT3. If you already have the king of all Porsche 911s, why step back to a “lesser” specification? Find out by watching his latest video on YouTube.

Dang, that’s just good looking. Have you heard what that GT3 Cup exhaust sounds like? That has to be one of the best sounding cars in the world.

Vin doesn’t say exactly how much he sold the RS for and what he paid for the GT3. It’s YouTube, he would be stupid to make that kind of information public. Either way, it’s safe to assume he currently has six figures in cash on hand, and a car he can actually drive without worrying about its value.

There’s something to be said for owning a car that you don’t feel bad about adding miles to. Vin’s new GT3 has previous crash damage, a few areas repainted, many track modifications, a non-original engine, and a host of other things that negate the car’s value as a “collector” quality vehicle.

Personally, I don’t think cars should be considered a store of value. Cars are built to be driven, and if you don’t like putting miles on the odometer, the best move is to simply sell the car to someone who will and have a less stressful driving experience. This is an incredible move on Vin’s part, and one I completely agree with. To RS or not to RS, that is the real question.