By Tim Harris, Blair Smith & Shinoo Mapleton · March 5, 2026

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This week on Full Throttle Talk we start with something simple:

44 horsepower.
A Tony Kart chassis.
Four-wheel disc brakes.

And absolutely zero sanity.

Tim finally jumped back into serious karting with the Blue Shock Race X5, and the verdict was immediate: modern cars may be faster than ever, but nothing feels as raw as a proper race kart.

No driver aids.
No weight.
No forgiveness.

Just pure mechanical violence.

And honestly? That might be the purest driving experience left in motorsport.

Meanwhile in Maranello, Ferrari appears to be quietly reshuffling its own hierarchy.

The Ferrari 296 Speciale was supposed to be the halo evolution of the Ferrari 296 GTB.

But now there’s a rumor floating around about something even more serious:

The 296 CS.

If the rumors are correct, it could be:

Which raises an awkward question…

What happens when the “special” Ferrari suddenly becomes the middle child?

Ferrari’s allocation and hierarchy game has always been complicated, but this move could create some interesting ripple effects:

If you follow Ferrari long enough, you realize one thing:

The rules change constantly.

And then there’s the car that’s currently breaking everyone’s brain.

The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X.

Performance numbers are starting to emerge… and they’re getting ridiculous.

Not “fast for the money” ridiculous.

Physics-questioning ridiculous.

At some point the conversation stops being:

…and becomes:

Modern performance cars are already operating at insane levels, but the ZR1X might be pushing the envelope far enough to reset expectations for the entire segment.

And of course it raises the question enthusiasts always ask:

If a Corvette can do this…

What exactly are supercars charging the extra money for?

Which brings us to the debate that might upset a few people this week.

Has Porsche lost its way?

Before the pitchforks come out, let’s acknowledge something first:

Porsche is dealing with one of the most difficult regulatory environments the industry has ever seen. Electrification mandates, emissions rules, and global market pressure have forced every manufacturer to rethink what they build.

But there are still some uncomfortable trends emerging.

Pricing is getting absurd.

A 911 Carrera T approaching $180K isn’t exactly an entry point for enthusiasts anymore.

The lineup has exploded into dozens of variants, many separated by minor spec differences and option packages.

And perhaps most concerning for purists:

The historic connection between Porsche’s GT road cars and their motorsport engines is starting to drift.

For years the magic of a GT3 was simple:

It felt like a race engine for the street.

That connection is becoming more philosophical than mechanical.

To be fair, Porsche still builds some of the best modern sports cars in the world. A manual GT3 Touring remains one of the greatest enthusiast machines you can buy today.

But the bigger question is this:

Historically, the brand seems to go through 20-year waves where it drifts, regroups, and then returns with something brilliant.

If that pattern holds, the next few years could be very interesting.

We wrapped the episode with a question every enthusiast eventually asks themselves.

If you could only keep one sports car for the rest of your life… what would it be?

Rules:

And yes… your spouse actually has to tolerate the trip.

Choices ranged from the Porsche 718 Spyder RS to the Ferrari 458 Spider, the Porsche 911 GT3 Touring, and even the brutally capable Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

The answers were… not what you’d expect.

Because when you remove the fantasy garage and the collector mindset, the question becomes much harder:

▶ Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/UoS4FtY4wg0

– Tim, Blair & Shinoo

🏁 The Full Throttle Talk Team
Full Throttle Talk drops weekly. Strong opinions, real experience, zero hype.

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