The GT3 topped a list of 11 supercars, worth over £1,000,000 collectively, to take the top award. Staff at the magazine took the top sports cars out for a spin on the Donington race track to find the best driving car and all seven judges placed the Porsche 911 GT3 RS top of the list.

Chas Hallet, editor of Autocar, said: “The Porsche 911 GT3 RS was a clear winner; each of our seven judges placed the car at the top of their list.>“On the day of our road track testing at Donington, the GT3 RS’ drive was simply the most involving, enjoyable and satisfying of all the sports cars involved."

With a top speed of 193mph, the Porsche 911 GT3 RS has the performance to match. Power – 600bhp – comes from a 3.6 litre, six cylinder engine and the rear wheel drive supercar has shed 20kg compared to the GT3.
However, the £104,841 Porsche was also the fourth most expensive car out of all tested.

Noble M600

In a victory for British car making, the Noble M600, the most expensive car tested, at a staggering £200,000, finished in second place.The M600 is verging on hypercar territory with its 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 delivering 650bhp, top speed of 225mph and a lightweight frame. It even finished 0.3seconds ahead of the Porsche around the track, with a time of 1 minute 16 seconds.

Ferrari 458 Italia

The fastest car of the day, the Ferrari 459 Italia, recorded a time of just 0.1 seconds less than the M600, and the £169,545 Italian supercar was voted third best drivers car.

The Lotus Evora finished fourth in the awards, while the cheapest, the Renault Sport Megane 250 Cup, was voted fifth best drivers car. The Megane will cost you a quarter of the price of the Porsche at just £23,160. Other cars tested included the Lotus Elise, Mercedes SLS AMG, Audi RS5, Jaguar SJ Supersport, VW Scirocco R and finishing in last place, the Alpina B5 S Biturbo.
Autocar’s chief road tester Matt Prior also revealed many of the cars were so quick the drive was better with electronic driving aids, such as ESP, turned on because it provided a safety met for the driver if needed.

He concluded: “The best driver’s cars, however, are still those that don’t induce fear when you push the ‘ESP’ off button. They work with you, communicate with you, and allow you to exploit them for pure amusement. “The Porsche 911 GT3 RS ticks all the boxes and more. It’s a very worthy winner.”

962 Turbo

As a 12 year old gawping at my chum’s Porsche, I could not understand how anyone could have this car AND have children.  The concept of self-reward and the ability to run multiple cars for one’s enjoyment were too much for my young mind to process.  I just thought cars were bought to transport families to and from school and family engagements.  The concept of owning a specific car just for its sheer power, performance and road-handling was alien to me.  I thought one day, if I worked hard enough, I might be able to emulate my father and get behind the wheel of a sturdy German saloon – but be in a position to have the famous Porsche shield dangling from my keys?  Never.

Fast forward 14 years and I am at Porsche Solihull with my father at my side, taking delivery of an 8k mile, basalt black 997, C2S Coupe.  The salesman has concealed the car under a Porsche cover in the corner of the showroom, and takes great pleasure unveiling the car theatrically to father and son.  The cheesy showmanship is not wasted on us, embarrassingly we lap it up.  I suppose that is the power this brand has over buyers, especially first-timers.  The thrills were delivered instantly.  The unusual sensation of feeling the engine-block at work behind my back brought a smile to my face at once, coupled with the understanding that, as I mentioned earlier, this car was built with one thing in mind: performance driving.  The iconic dials, the shape of the seats, the driving position and the howl of the flat-6 are just a few examples of what make the 911’s DNA so unique.  This is why that same father at my school still drives these cars today.
I settled into ownership quickly and used the car everyday for commuting to and from the City – it was a joy and picking up the car just before an excellent summer meant that the honeymoon period stretched on for months.  Then the problems started.  One Saturday morning driving through a quick shower I turned on the rear wiper.  The rain quickly cleared and I turned off the wipers – only the rear one carried on wiping...and wiping...and more wiping.  Not the image I had in mind as I cruised down the Kings Road in central London.  After half an hour of glorious sunshine with the rear wiper screeching ad nauseam, I put the car away for the weekend.  Before I managed to get this fixed,  the engine warning light started to repeatedly pester me – illuminating and ordering me to run the car into the nearest Porsche Approved dealer.

Porsche Destroyer!!

Then a freak incident: I gave a colleague of mine a lift home from work one evening and he had his week’s groceries in a carrier bag at his feet.  Unbeknownst to us, a pot of double cream rolled out of the bag and under the passenger seat.  A fortnight later the air pressure of the ever-maturing cream popped the lid and emptied the contents onto the fabric under the seat!  The smell was indescribably bad, and after trying every household product to try and shift it, the smell of cleansing fluids would soon be overcome by the familiar sour, dairy stench.  So, there I was, driving around London with the rear wiper going, all the windows down, heaters on, smelling like a goats cheese salad – without the lettuce.  I had to make excuses as to why I couldn’t offer lifts to friends and, when spotted, explain why I had all the windows down when it was 3 degrees outside.  Eventually, thanks to the innovative actions of some trusty Polish car cleaners, the smell was eventually banished with some industrial-strength sealant.
In the meantime, I had forgotten why I had purchased this car in the first place and had fallen out of love with it.  I was surrounded by similar cars at every turn in London.  I was once bunched in traffic with 3 other black 911s around me – each driver looking at one another with slight embarrassment at our unimaginative colour combo.  I sold the car after only 10 months and today very much regret the decision.  My E90 M3 is a fabulous alternative, but having since driven the Gen 2 911s on Porsche’s performance track at Silverstone, I have yearned for something more.  My next car will definitely (and hopefully) be another 911, and this time I intend to do it justice - none of this commuting malarkey, ferrying friends laden with pots of probiotic yoghurts and ready-meals.  These cars deserve the ownership they are built for.  I remember driving 40 miles through the Oxfordshire countryside at 3am in the morning, two months after buying the car.  Deserted, windy roads with my lights on full beam and not a soul to ruin it for me – although only lasting an hour it provided me with one of my most memorable driving experiences.  And one I hope soon to relive.
About the Author
Al is a car lover and a blogger on Make and Model, a website specialising in classifieds for used cars from dealerships all over the UK.

Before: Porsche 911 Turbo (Credit: The Globe and Mail) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/cheney/globe-journalists-son-crashes-180000-porsche/article1574334/?cid=art-rail-cheney

Cheney’s son Will, 18, apparently decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and test drive the car himself. The Globe and Mail reports that Will often brought friends over to the family garage to look at whatever car his father was reviewing at the time. When the Porsche Turbo appeared in the family garage, Will just couldn’t resist climbing inside for a closer look. Apparently, Cheney’s son had no intention to drive the car anywhere. Although numerous commentators have compared this event to the famous car crash scene in the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” Will was arguably not actually trying to go for a joy ride - he just wanted to listen to the radio.

So, he turned the car on and never expected what would happen next. Instead of the radio turning on, the engine of the car roared to life, and the car shot forward and ploughed straight into the garage door. As soon as Peter returned home, Will confessed. I personally, would have fled the country, but Will must have been fairly confident his dad would be lenient. Fortunately for Will, his father didn’t ship him off to boarding school or bury him in the backyard. He may very well have been saved by the fact that during the moments after the incident, Peter Cheney was more concerned with making sure that the garage got fixed so that the car did not get stolen during the night.

After: A damaged Porsche 911 Turbo. (Credit: The Globe and Mail) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/cheney/globe-journalists-son-crashes-180000-porsche/article1574334/?cid=art-rail-cheney

Once the car was examined by a qualified mechanic and the family contractor came to look at the family’s garage, it was determined that Cheney’s son had caused about $14,000 worth of damage to the Porsche Turbo and the family’s home. Porsche’s insurance took care of the damages to the car, and Cheney’s home owner’s insurance took care of the damage to the family’s garage. Porsche did not allow Cheney to pay their insurance deductible, which he volunteered to do. A representative from Porsche even sent the family a picture of a Porsche that had been totalled in a test run, in order to make the family feel better about the incident.

Will’s punishment is that he will have to pay the home insurance deductible, which came to about $750. On the plus side, however, the young Mr. Cheney will be able to tell his coevals that he took a spin in a genuine Porsche. Few eighteen year olds get the chance to say that. Will’s dad is also making him take driving lessons later this summer, so that Will can learn to drive a stick shift and learn how to avoid crashing into garage doors in the future.

Guest Contributor: Design 911 – Porsche Parts, spares and accessories supplier based in Essex, UK.

The mark they came up with takes more than a few pen strokes to reproduce, but nonetheless creates a bond of trust and space for thought among drivers and admirers alike. More than anything else, the Porsche logo takes its design cues from the coat of arms of the Free People’s State of Württemberg, a former Weimar Republic province. Ferdinand Porsche moved to Württemberg from Austria-Hungary after the turmoil of World War I and the Porsche headquarters is still located in the province (now called Baden-Württemberg) today. The red and black stripes come from the former province’s flag and the 6 antlers represent the heavy deer population in the thickly-wooded forests of the region. The province is the most prosperous and innovative of modern Germany and many other German multinationals are located there such as Daimler, Bosch, Carl Zeiss, and SAP. Through his company’s emblem, Porsche shows a firm commitment to his adopted land.

The horse in the middle is from the coat of arms of Stuttgart, the capital of Württemberg. Stute in German means female horse and gart in the city name is short for garten, or garden. The now bustling German metropolis was originally a horse pasture in the 10^th century. The city’s coat of arms pays homage to these roots with a black prancing stallion on a yellow shield. Interestingly enough, the Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari uses the same heraldry in its logo. The image of the black stallion made its way to Italy during World War I via Francesco Baracca, Italy’s top fighter ace during the war. Legend has it that Baracca copied the horse design from a shot down German pilot who happened to have painted the Stuttgart coat of arms on his plane. The Italian used the symbol on his own plane, but he too was killed in combat. In 1923, the symbol made its way to Enzo Ferrari after Ferrari’s victory in the Circuito del Savio. Ferrari had made acquaintance with Baracca’s father and after he won the race, his wife, the Countess Paolina Baracca, presented a piece of her son’s Stuttgart coat of arms-emblazoned plane shrapnel to him. The Countess asked that he use the horse on his cars and suggested it would bring him good luck. The Porsche family asked the Stuttgart city government for permission to use their coat of arms in their logo, which they were granted, but it’s unknown whether Ferrari ever had to go through the same process. Austrian petrol station company Avanti also uses the same prancing black stallion with yellow background in their logo.

Count Francesco Baracca used the same Stuttgart coat of arms on his plane as Porsche and inspired Ferrari’s logo

With the Porsche name added at the top of the shield, the emblem was complete. From 1953-1957 the new logo first appeared only on the interior of Porsche’s vehicles. The 1957 Porsche 356 coupe was the first to have the emblem gleam resplendent on its bonnet. A 2008 Luxury Institute survey among wealthy Americans found the Porsche brand best luxury car brand today. Respondents of the survey associated Porsche with "power, style and excitement", "value," "elegance," and "trust and respect". Without its intricate yet meaningful logo, it is doubtful Porsche would have ever been able to sear itself into the minds of consumers, built such value, and commanded such respect.

Thanks to the team at vintage racing video website RaceFansTV for guest writing this post. RaceFansTV is an international initiative led by motorsports enthusiasts that aims to bring back much of the great historical racing footage that has been captured since the video camera was invented.

Well worth checking them out!

Rallyebild are a team of three individuals, one photographer and two videographers, who love and respect everything Porsche. If you feel the same, read on, because we have the 2009 Rallye specs for you, right down to the car color and driver. Take a look at their video. It was a heart-pounding experience for everyone present. Wish we could have been there!

Some info about the cars.

The Red and Orange Porsche

Olaf Dobberkau was driving this impressive machine. In Germany, Dobberkau is known as Dr. Drift and for good reason! This incredible driver won the prestigious Sachsen-Rallye, which culminated in the first Porsche victory in its class in 26 years. Learn more about Dobberkau at www.prorally.de

The White and Red Porsche

Matthias Kahle, the six-time Germany Rally Champion, was driving this insane machine. His car has a sequential gearbox. He drove an ‘08 Porsche on gravel for the Lausitz Rallye, but since the Porsche doesn’t have gravel tires he had to put on snow tires. Learn more at www.kahle-motorsport.de

The Yellow and Green Porsche

This crazy car was driven by Raphael Ramonat. Don’t forget that he sold his Porsche to Denmark-born Lark Kraugh. This Porsche became the first Porsche Rally in Denmark. You can see more at www.escobar-racing.dk

The White and Orange Porsche

Give it up for Heinz-Walter! This incredible driver won the Championship back in 1976 and is back again, at the age of 66, to compete again. We take our hats off to this amazing driver and his awesome Porsche!

Each of these Porsche’s, we’d like to mention, have M&M Exhaust Systems. Take a look at www.m-m-germany.de .

The Black Porsche

This car was driven by Anton Werner, who was the first to bring Porsches to the rallying scene. He started his 2010 season with a 997 gearbox.

The Green/White/Gray

Maik Stolzel drove this crazy ride. This man was the first to introduce us to the 997 sequential gearbox to the Porsche driving scene. Before he drove this car he had the Skota Octavia WRC, as many of you may remember.

"It was a wild race and we loved every minute of it. We captured all that we could for your enjoyment, so take a look at our video on You Tube. The cars were powerful and the drivers were in full control of their incredibly insane machines.

They burned up the courses, proving what a Porsche can do when allowed outside of the norm! Rock on!"

We know that you’re craving more, so we’re going to give it to you. If you want to see more, or learn more, you can take a look at these websites:

Rallyebild.de

www.prorallye.de
www.kahle-motorsport.de

Big thanks to the guys over at Rallyebild.de for sending us the video! Keep up the good work.

We know that you get as excited about the world of Porsche rally racing as we do!

So what does everyone think? Can you imagine a 997 in the WRC?

Rallyebild are a team of three individuals, one photographer and two videographers, who love and respect everything Porsche. If you feel the same, read on, because we have the 2009 Rallye specs for you, right down to the car color and driver. Take a look at their video. It was a heart-pounding experience for everyone present. Wish we could have been there!

Some info about the cars.

The Red and Orange Porsche

Olaf Dobberkau was driving this impressive machine. In Germany, Dobberkau is known as Dr. Drift and for good reason! This incredible driver won the prestigious Sachsen-Rallye, which culminated in the first Porsche victory in its class in 26 years. Learn more about Dobberkau at www.prorally.de

The White and Red Porsche

Matthias Kahle, the six-time Germany Rally Champion, was driving this insane machine. His car has a sequential gearbox. He drove an ‘08 Porsche on gravel for the Lausitz Rallye, but since the Porsche doesn’t have gravel tires he had to put on snow tires. Learn more at www.kahle-motorsport.de

The Yellow and Green Porsche

This crazy car was driven by Raphael Ramonat. Don’t forget that he sold his Porsche to Denmark-born Lark Kraugh. This Porsche became the first Porsche Rally in Denmark. You can see more at www.escobar-racing.dk

The White and Orange Porsche

Give it up for Heinz-Walter! This incredible driver won the Championship back in 1976 and is back again, at the age of 66, to compete again. We take our hats off to this amazing driver and his awesome Porsche!

Each of these Porsche’s, we’d like to mention, have M&M Exhaust Systems. Take a look at www.m-m-germany.de .

The Black Porsche

This car was driven by Anton Werner, who was the first to bring Porsches to the rallying scene. He started his 2010 season with a 997 gearbox.

The Green/White/Gray

Maik Stolzel drove this crazy ride. This man was the first to introduce us to the 997 sequential gearbox to the Porsche driving scene. Before he drove this car he had the Skota Octavia WRC, as many of you may remember.

"It was a wild race and we loved every minute of it. We captured all that we could for your enjoyment, so take a look at our video on You Tube. The cars were powerful and the drivers were in full control of their incredibly insane machines.

They burned up the courses, proving what a Porsche can do when allowed outside of the norm! Rock on!"

We know that you’re craving more, so we’re going to give it to you. If you want to see more, or learn more, you can take a look at these websites:

Rallyebild.de

www.prorallye.de
www.kahle-motorsport.de

Big thanks to the guys over at Rallyebild.de for sending us the video! Keep up the good work.

We know that you get as excited about the world of Porsche rally racing as we do!

So what does everyone think? Can you imagine a 997 in the WRC? 

Porsche has released details of the final 911 variant it will be showcasing at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show later this month.

Limited in production to just 250 cars, the 911 Sport Classic marks Porsche’s return to a tradition of occasionally issuing ultra-exclusive, small-series production cars.

Of course, numbers like these can only be produced by a lot of muscle. The mid-engine 911 Turbo is supplied by twin turbocharger units, which come together seamlessly in order to produce 500 BHP (yes...500!) at 6,000 RPM. Amazingly, this kind of power is produced from just 3.8 liters of displacement. The six-cylinder engine is lightweight, compact, and at a level of perfection that cannot be matched by anyone with less experience, and the fact is, no one has more experience. The 911 was introduced to the public in 1963 and landed in show room floors in the summer of 1964. It is the longest running production car being manufactured today. The Turbo edition of the 911 wasn't sold until 1975 and is today the only variation, which sends its power to all four wheels.

Its newest claim to fame is efficiency. Despite its increase in performance over the previous 996 model, fuel consumption has been reduced by 16% and CO2 emissions have been dropped by 18%. This is mostly due to the recent implementation of direct fuel injection (DFI). If you were spending more than 100 grand on a car wouldn't you want to avoid the gas guzzler tax as well?

There is more to this car than just mind blowing performance. The new Porsche 911 Turbo comes available with numerous options and the entire interior comes wrapped in leather from the factory as stock equipment. Sources say that PETA is chasing Porsche for this ostentatious decision, but they just can't catch them. With the kind of engineering this car is packing, it wouldn't be a shock if we saw lawsuits coming from NASA soon as well.

Other standard equipment includes a 13-speaker Bose sound system, on-board computer, navigation, and (as not to always be expected of Porsche) two front seat cup holders. The cup holders are of a mediocrity not common for Porsche, but the general consensus is that if you use the cup holders in a bloodthirsty 500-horse power speed machine, you don't know how to drive it.

When people imagine the name ‘Porsche', it is safe to say that a large amount instantly think of a big wing on the back of a car which always has on evil grin plastered to its face. The 911 turbo is the reason for this image. It is beautiful. It is efficient. It is cutting edge. It is fast. I want one.

Just look at this 911 Turbo Cabriolet in grey. Oooft.

Porsche debuted the 997 Turbo in 2006 to the widespread, excited adulation of the car world. Most of its unique superficial details are well known by now to car lovers, most notably the retractable rear wing and the large air intakes in front of and behind the rear wheels. The Turbo's engine is a proprietary re-design of Porsche's groundbreaking 964 GT1 engine, which was noted for its ruggedness and reliability and exceptional power. In addition, the engine comes with a turbocharger that uses a two stage resonance intake system, the world's first non-diesel variable geometry turbines with Borg Warner's Variable Turbine Geometry technology, and comes with an optional 10 second Sport Chrono overboost.

Excited? You should be. Porsche's always conservative official figures indicate 480 HP and an acceleration to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds. However, the US car rag Motor Trend recorded times of 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds, which makes the Turbo easily one of the quickest cars in the entire world. The Turbo's published top speed is 311 km/h, but there have been reports of reaching 320 km/h from reliable sources.

Even with all of that, the Turbo doesn't stand up to the GT2. The GT2 is Porsche's fastest and most powerful road car ever sold, and is among the few fastest road cars in the world. The GT2 is like a Turbo on steroids, and has the specs to match.

The 997 GT2 has a twin turbocharged 3.6 liter engine based on the 997 Turbo's engine. However, Porsche installed a significant power increase through a completely proprietary expansion intake manifold design in which the distributor pipe is longer than in the Turbo and the intake manifolds are shorter. This has a significant affect on the engine's kick. Porsche's officially published numbers highlight a 0 to 100 km/h acceleration in 3.6 seconds (as compared to 3.9 with the Turbo) and a published max speed of 329 km/h, compared to 311 with the Turbo. Unofficial numbers are even more absurd, highlighted by a 0 to 100 km/h in 3.0 seconds. At this point, it's starting to become physically impossible to go any faster.

The GT2 is so absurdly powerful that it's the first Porsche that comes with something called a "launch control," which coordinates the engine to make maximal use of the engine's turbo chargers. With the launch control, the engine automatically optimizes the revs in the engine to launch, an overboost that blows the Turbo's out of the water.

The GT2 looks similar to the Turbo. You can differentiate it by a larger rear wing with small air scoops on either side and titanium exhaust pipes.

Most people who have driven both cars report an extremely different experience. Both cars are among the fastest in the world, that much is clear. Still, people who drive the Turbo report a feeling of control, a sense that they can control the car and it responds to them. The GT2 on the other hand gives people out of body experiences. It wrests control from the driver and tears up the road. The difference in the feel of the two cars is night and day. If you're interested in a real feeling of power and road dominance, then the GT2 is easily preferable. People haven't labelled the car the "Widowmaker" for nothing.

You become one with your Porsche. Similar to the experience of a motorcyclist, or even that of a jockey on a fine racehorse, driving a Porsche is the ultimate experience for the excellent driver. The Porsche 911 has many fine controls and specialized features that lead to keen awareness of every moment on the road, of every curve and acceleration, of the utter joy and freedom that is surpassed only by flight.

If you seek the pure enjoyment of driving, if you long to thrill to the feeling of a Porsche 911 under your hands, you have two choices. You can wait until the day you can afford the 50 to 100 thousand-pounds price tag of a new Porsche 911, or you can search for a used model now. Since the Porsche has been in continuous production since 1963 (speaking of sports cars, only the Chevrolet Corvette has been in production longer) there are some fantastic previously owned Porsches out there.

With all those Porsches around, a driver is likely to run across a few dealers who are less than honest about the history of a particular vehicle. There are many, many Porsches that have been damaged in accidents, and repaired to look like new. The sophisticated engine design of the 911 means that mechanical difficulties might go unnoticed until too late (after purchase, for example.) The look and feel of a Porsche has the emotional appeal of the ultimate driving machine, and a buyer can often overlook drawbacks that are not noticeable at first glance. There are unscrupulous dealers everywhere who won’t point out flaws, so it’s up to you to find them.

So how can you be sure you're getting a good deal? How can you arm yourself with information to let you walk away from a bad deal?

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Used Porsche Buying Guides

UK’s long-time Porsche dealer and enthusiast Adrian Crawford, whose enthusiasm for the Porsche 911 in all its incarnations is unmatched, and whose knowledge and experience on the subject is without peer, has written a series of guides for the prospective buyer of previously owned Porsches, which are empowering buyers all over the world. Whether you want to buy a used 911 Carrera 3.2, 964, 993, or 996, Crawford’s guides will teach you everything you need to know to knowledgeably inspect potential purchases of all models of Porsche.

Each model has its own quirks and weaknesses; each exceptional guide has detailed text and specific pictures to arm you with information so you will know exactly what to look for in every case. The guides show you exactly what questions to ask the dealer and exactly what should be tested.

So, save yourself some hassles and some money - check out these online used Porsche buying guides.