1. GT3
2. NSX
3. GT4
4. R8

Those would be my picks in order.

I split it up into two lists.

Daily:

1. NSX
2. R8
3. 911 Turbo
4. 718 GTS 4.0 manual
5. GT4

Weekend/Fun car:

1. GT3
2. 911 GTS/S Manual late model
3. GT4 or 718 GTS 4.0 manual
4. R8 (manual)
5. NSX

The NSX is not fun enough for me. It’s to daily capable ha-ha. It needs a healthy dose of excitement.

The GT4 with that tall gearing actually makes it comfortable. I’d save the money and just get a GTS 4.0 that will hit the market soon.

The R8’s is also kinda “comfy”.

Agreed. The newer R8 just doesn't do it for me.

I've always owned a manual my entire driving life. Having driven a bunch of manual and PDK equipped porsches in the 987/997 and 981/991 generations, I'll now take the PDK every single time. It's that good. Everybody says "it's not as engaging" and there's a nugget of truth to that. But the PDK is just SOOOOO good. It's practically telepathic and always in the right gear, and if you ever want it to do something, the paddles mean it's just milliseconds away. I do not miss the clutch pedal in our 911, and I say that on a day when I drove my 6MT Cayman to the office.

I've driven the PDK's. Yes they are that good, agreed. But some of us still prefer a manual.

I have both too, but I will always go PDK in the P-cars. It is that good and the cable actuated shifter in the Porsche manual cars isn't all that great, at least it wasn't in my GT4. On the track it was great, but it was slightly notchy around town. I think I've written diatribes about it before. Same shift action, same speed, same rpm, same everything, some shifts it would slide into the next gear smooth as butter, other times, it would have the slightest bit more resistance. It was very, very subtle, but it was annoying as heck when I started noticing it. Then, that was all I fixated on when driving around town. On track, banging off redline upshifts and rev matched downshifts, it was smooth as butter and sublime. It was weird.

The linkage shifters/transmissions in the Vettes aren't as precise or as precision feeling, but they are good and shift the same every single time, short shift, fast shift at redline, etc., same shift action. So, I love the TR6060 six-speed in my ZR1. And I love the PDK in the GT3. It's rifle fast in auto mode and then if I need a bit more engagement, I play with the paddles or push the shifter forward for downshift or pull back for upshift. It's pretty fun and response time/sounds make it quite enjoyable. Plus, no possible money shifts by me, valets, or car dealers, etc. That is a big plus in my book as I've read the 4.0 flat six in the GT3 isn't exactly cheap if I blew it up with a mechanical overrev. :) I have heard the six-speed in the new GT3's is pretty darn good though, so maybe they fixed some of that weirdness, but I still ordered the PDK when I could have ordered the manual when I spec'd my GT3.

Thanks for the informative responses. Looking at a fun car to take to the track that I can also take on a road trip (200-300+ miles) to the mountains. Not thinking about resale as it will probably be a keeper and passed down to my nephew. Manual is my first choice but getting older and am not as nimble so PDK is ok too. Time for more research.

C8.

I am content with paddles especially when they are done right. Took a lot time to get there, but once I've arrived at that conclusion I don't remissness so much about the clutch and manual shifting. Especially on the dual clutch type of cars. The single's like older Maserati and Ferrari weren't as enjoyable IMO. Perhaps great on the track, but I am driving it around town and stuff.

NSX is the best road trip car of the lot (it's not even a competition - it's way ahead of all the others). My wife was falling asleep in the NSX when I was just cruising - quiet, comfortable and relaxed when you want it to be.

But the minute you say "track", I'm going to say GT3 again and again and again because it will probably be just fine for relatively short road trips. It's going to be the best track car of the lot, though the GT4 is probably cheaper to track due to being lighter/smaller/less powerful. Will the NSX be fun on the track? Chris Harris and most journalists seem to think so. It's just not going to be the same kind of fun you get from a GT3, in all probability - less drama, less feedback, high capability and a lot of technology to make you fast and safe.