996TT tiptronic vs. porsche 959 - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Turbo FREAK · 6th May 2002, 05:17

There are alot of people who think the 996TT tiptronic is slow and the 959 is the ultimate supercar. well it is a classic and it is rare but if you take out a 959 and 996TT tiptronic to the track... the 996TT wins.

In EXCELLENCE(The porsche magazine btw) for the april ,01 issue there was a road test with the 959 and tiptronic S turbo. The drivers were Danny Sullivan and Kevin Buckler. Racetrack was Sears Point in Sonoma, California.

959
Buckler 1:59.01
Sullivan 1:59.78

996 Turbo Tiptronic
Buckler 1:54.78
Sullivan 1:54.47

Some notes:
1) The 959 had "an OEM hop-up kit consisting of larger turbos and re-programmed Motronics."
2) The 959 ran without catalytic converters. I.e., it wasn't street legal in that configuration.
3) They also brought along a modified 993 Turbo S, with a claimed 530 hp. Its best time was 1:54.58.

so to conclude this...... The 996TT tiptronic S DOES NOT SUCK

bobafett · 6th May 2002, 09:02

Err, yeah but I'd still take a 959 over a 996 any day

--Dan

PS: CAR (brit mag) had an awesome write-up about the 959 vs. 996TT last year sometime (i'll have to go dig it up). Definetly worth back-ordering from them.

greg · 6th May 2002, 17:39

There are advantages to the tip - one of which is that it keeps the turbos spooled up better. And of all the automatics it is undoubtedly the best. But the manual, especially in the hands of a good driver, is still faster. The one meaningful statistic would have been to show the lap time of a 996TT with a manual against that of the tip. The 959 was amazing at the time, but the 996TT is in fact more technically sophisticated and has more power.

Gustav · 6th May 2002, 17:49

When can we have a 996 Turbo with SMG II

KRM · 6th May 2002, 20:23

Quote:

Originally posted by bobafett
Err, yeah but I'd still take a 959 over a 996 any day

my exact sentiments. Can I have one in silver please

Hamann7 · 6th May 2002, 21:38

So the King has been de-throned, huh?

So the real question is, how would the 996TT fare against the 959's arch nemesis, the Ferrari F40?

I bet the Porsche would get smoked...

I'm even venturing to guess that even the GT2 would have a hard time... I guess the 959 was a technology marvel at the time, but Ferrari definitely upstaged it with the F40. Who needs stinkin 4 wheel drive anyway?

Turbo FREAK · 9th May 2002, 05:33

Oh great now we are comparing an F40 with a 996TT

the F40 would beat the 996TT but a GT2 would smoke an F40 anyday. I read in a mag once that even the F50 might have trouble catching up with the GT2

Black M5 · 9th May 2002, 09:00

Quote:

Originally posted by Hamann7
how would the 996TT fare against the 959's arch nemesis, the Ferrari F40?

I bet the Porsche would get smoked...

You bet. I remember when the F40 was introduced... It clocked 0-200 km/h (125) in 12 seconds flat. now that is scary speed.

Quote:

Originally posted by Turbo FREAK
the F40 would beat the 996TT but a GT2 would smoke an F40 anyday

here is proof that neither TTs can beat the F40-->
http://www.supercars.net/cars/1991@$Ferrari@$F40.html
http://www.supercars.net/cars/2002@$Porsche@$911%20GT2.html

Turbo FREAK · 9th May 2002, 09:39

Quote:

Originally posted by Black M5

You bet. I remember when the F40 was introduced... It clocked 0-200 km/h (125) in 12 seconds flat. now that is scary speed.

here is proof that neither TTs can beat the F40-->
http://www.supercars.net/cars/1991@$Ferrari@$F40.html
http://www.supercars.net/cars/2002@$Porsche@$911%20GT2.html

I would never trust the stats on supercars.net

I will look for the review with the F40 against the 996GT2 again

Hamann7 · 9th May 2002, 21:51

Who says the F50 is necessarily faster than an F40?

In fact, in straight line acceleration, the F40 has been known to outrun the F50. Of course, some say the F50 can turn faster lap times, but owners that I have spoken to, who have owned both, say this is very very debatable. It's only because the F50 is more docile.

The F40 is THE closest thing you can buy to a street-legal racecar-- that and the McLaren. It is also designed to be tuned to 700+ hp by simply swapping out the turbos...

Let's face it, the 911 just doesn't play in this league. Only the GT1 and the Carrera GT have a prayer at playing with these boys.

Also, the 0-200km/h time of the GT2 is 12.9s, almost a full second slower than the F40!