NOW ALL I HAD TO DO WAS WAIT PATIENTLY FOR THE CAR TO ARRIVE 3 MONTHS LATER

After 7 years of GT3 ownership, I felt it was time for a change. While my time with my Mark 1 996 GT3 has been highly satisfying, I recently found myself craving more power, the one area where that brilliant car is lacking.  This is further emphasized by the wide, straight and congested nature of most Dubai roads that rarely allows the pleasures of a great handling car to be explored. Combine this with a shrinking amount of free time that I can spend at track days and the decision to move on became a fairly obvious one.   The decision of what car to replace it with was a far less straight-forward one. After more than a decade of Porsche ownership, I wondered if it was time to go in another direction, particularly as the modern 911 range grows more and more sanitized with every new iteration.  What were my choices?  I will never buy a Ferrari, despite the brilliance of their products, I don’t like the cliché image that is associated with owning one of Maranello’s products.  Besides it would be a bit hypocritical of me to drive a prancing horse badged car after years of cheering any misfortune that befell their F1 team, mainly due to the presence of a certain Mr Schumacher in the cockpit. I have always dreamt of owning a Lamborghini, but the Gallardo (pre-LP560-4 at the time that I made my decision) was beginning to look a bit dated. I did look at a few used Murcielagos but came to the sensible decision that running one could prove to be a huge financial liability. Nissan GT-R? Too Japanese.  Aston Martin? Gorgeous, but not sporting enough for my taste. And so it went on. While my purchasing dilemma continued to swirl in my head, the 997 GT2 arrived on the scene to rave reviews. I’ve always had a thing for the GT2 and its widow maker reputation, so I found myself full-circle back at the Porsche dealership placing an order for the car you see in the pictures above. The problem was that there was a long waiting list that meant an 18 month delivery period. Maybe that was not such a bad thing, as it gave me time to save enough money to cover the considerable $ 180,000 price tag that was attached to the ultimate 911.

About a year later I got a call from Al Nabooda Automobiles, the Dubai Porsche distributor inviting me to pass by and spec the GT2 as my production slot was now looming.  Over the past year I had changed my mind about a million times over what colour to go for, regularly alternating between black, red and white. Black looked the meanest and covered up the ugly aftermarket looking vents in the rear bumper, but I had learnt my lesson with my R8 as the constant state of dirtiness of its metallic black shade left it constantly in need of a visit to the car wash, the dark hue seemingly a magnet for dust and dirt. Red looked great but loud and I felt I would quickly tire of it. That left white. I had never owned a white car before, mainly as I find it to be an unimaginative shade for a car,  but with the GT range of Porsches it worked a treat, probably because it conjured up images of racing cars awaiting sponsors logos. So white it was then.  Next up was the long list of options that were surprisingly available for this hardcore GT2. The choices included parking sensors, full leather trim, upgraded Bose sound system and the list went on and on, as did the price. Considering the fact that the main attraction of the GT2 is its lightweight and focused nature, a lot of these options felt out of place. I instead followed my racers instinct eschewing most of the luxury option, instead ticking the (no-cost) club sport box which meant deeply bolstered bucket seats in flame retardant material (and a gorgeous carbon fibre finish on the back) rather than electric leather ones. A rear roll-cage also comes as standard when you choose the club sport option, which I elected to have painted in the same white as the exterior. This was inspired by the GT3 RS where the painted roll cage gives the car additional race car kudos. The package also includes a 6-point racing harness (although a conventional seat belt remains in place for everyday use) and a rather large red fire extinguisher that sits inconveniently in the passenger foot well.  My only concessions to luxury were a carbon fibre finish inside that covered the door wells and significant parts of the interior in my material of choice ( I have a carbon fetish remember), and parking sensors to keep the lazy side of me happy. I hate electronics when I am wringing a cars neck, but when parking I’ll take all the help I can get. 

Now all I had to do was wait patiently for the car to arrive an estimated 3 months later, which hasn’t been the easiest thing to do as patience is not a virtue I have in abundance. It didn’t help that during that time I had a chance to drive an almost identical GT2 to the one I had ordered wetting my appetite for the incredible performance this car has to offer. I won’t bore you with details, but it was an extremely vivid experience to say the least. Anyway in late October I finally got the call confirming the arrival of my new Porsche. Frustratingly I was in Germany at the time attending the launch of the new BMW 7-series which meant I had to wait until I got back a few days later rather than rushing to the showroom immediately. Upon my return I did just that.  A quick briefing from the friendly showroom staff (thanks Yousra and Wissam) explaining how to use the Porsche Communication Management or PCM, which to my surprise didn’t include navigation despite the fact that it was meant to be standard (it was in 08, no longer in 09), and the GT2 was now mine.  It’s been a long time since I have been so excited / nervous about a car and I can’t wait to start exploring its limits. For now though, I have rush hour traffic and a bedding in period to deal with instead.  Once again the GT2 is testing my patience.