The modern performance car has become a victim of its own success, according to a growing chorus of enthusiasts who argue that ever-increasing grip levels have stripped the fun from road driving. A recent drive in a 997-era Porsche 911 GT3 RS has reignited the debate, serving as a reminder of what has been lost as manufacturers chase lap times and safety metrics at the expense of driver engagement.
At the heart of the argument is the notion that today's serious performance cars generate too much rear grip. The 997 GT3 RS, by contrast, strikes a balance that allows the driver to steer the car on the throttle or brake without ever over-driving it. This malleability and expressiveness, once a hallmark of the breed, has largely disappeared from the apex predator stratum of the automotive world.
The 997 GT3 RS achieves its engaging handling through a combination of factors: a lack of mass, a rear-driven layout, and suspension geometry that encourages a delicate interplay between grip and slip. Its 19-inch wheels, fitted with 325-section rear tyres, are modest by today's standards, where 21-inch rims are common. Yet the car's defining characteristic is not its outright speed but its ability to make the driver laugh out loud through handling finesse rather than brute force.
Modern performance cars, by contrast, are over-evolved for the job of entertaining their owners on the road via means other than speed. They require huge speed and inertia to come alive, or they demand thuggish application of power to alter their attitude. The extra power and torque that manufacturers pile on to overcome grip is only exploitable on track or in exceptionally well-sighted corners. Most of the time, it is meaningless if the driver does not want to drive a car that feels inert at legal speeds.
The issue is compounded by track widths that have become too wide and rubber compounds that are too effective. While tyre sizes are often blamed, the 997 RS wears 19-inch wheels compared with the 21-inch rims of the current iteration, yet both feature 325-section rears. The real culprits are the broader track and the advanced compounds, only one of which is realistically going to change in today's safety-conscious world. If it does not, enthusiasts may find themselves praying for rain rather than sun for a special day of driving.
The debate extends beyond Porsche. The engine-ites, as one observer categorises them, will feel aggrieved that the only way to get a performance car with a naturally aspirated engine and a manual gearbox is to be very rich and secure a special edition, or to buy a Porsche 911 GT3 build slot, or simply a Mazda MX-5. Everything else has gone automatic, turbocharged, or fully electric. The design crowd will also feel aggrieved, with the SUV takeover and increasingly homogenised styling in nearly every class. Retro revivals may be the most exciting things happening, but they are not a healthy sign.
Which leaves the chassis brigade, who until recently might have felt their interests were not too degraded. The 997 GT3 RS disproves that complacency. Its bellowing Mezger engine, which comes on cam at 4500rpm, and its mad but neat appearance are delightful, but the defining bit of the package is the balance of grip and slip. It is Goldilocks stuff: not too twitchy, not too planted, but just right. The car can be steered on the throttle or brake without ever over-driving it, and it does not achieve this by being confidence-sapping the rest of the time.
For those who value handling over outright power, the 997 GT3 RS represents a high-water mark. It is a reminder that a lump of metal and oil can become truly delicate and balletic, and that the magic of driving is often found in what the car is doing beneath you rather than in the sound of the motor or the intellectual appreciation of its design. As the industry moves further towards electrification and automation, the lessons from this legend may become ever more relevant to those who still believe that the joy of driving is worth preserving.