Alright, I thought I'd shed some light on the issue of Carreras Vs GTIs.
I live in Kuwait. I am a huge VW fan. Donated my '09 Touareg to my sister - the handling was absolutely rubbish for my style of driving, but the rest of the car was great...unfortunately not my type of SUV but respect for it's craftsmanship. My father and I both drive Porsches (he has an 06 Turbo whilst mine is a Carrera Cabriolet - custom job). Though my father and I both use cars on the side to save Mileage on our Porches since they are bloody expensive to maintain and a bitch to drive daily (you worry when you park since women - as sexist as this sounds - in this country cannot drive let alone park).
I use a '99 Nissan Pathfinder whilst my dad has an 02 Golf 2.0. Although the Golf is not a GTI nor an R, the car is absolutely fun to drive. It's size and nimble steering is great fun to drive even though it's missing out on the power aspect.
Anyways, I've steered off course. I would challenge a GTI any day of the week in my Porsche Carrera. Granted my porsche has actually been rebuilt (the soft top caught on fire after a miswire and the whole car pretty much burnt out, luckily fire dept. came before it was too out of hand and reached the gas tank - pictures before and after repair are available upon request).
Anyways, I put in a 2005 Carrera engine (3.2) and it's a beast. I would challenge any '11 GTI in a straight line or on a track any day. I've actually raced with a 2011 GTI here in Kuwait and there was no chance in hell for that GTI (sorry to be so forward but it's true). In a straight line the GTI faired alot better but as son as we hit a twisty turn (about let's say 45 degrees - the turn was about 100 to 150 meters, one of those long ass bends) I lost him in my rearview. I hit about 150kmph and kept going whilst the GTI just kept getting smaller and smaller in my review.
In the straight line at about 100-110kmph it wasn't that big of a deal but then again who cares about straight lines? In todays world everyone is trying to get that straight line going because it actually deceives the true potential behind a car. a 0-100 (0-62) time is almost useless if you race on a track since that's only from the starting line. After that it all depends how you shift and make your turns.
Can a stock GTI beat a stock Porsche? Sure, but the guy behind the wheel must be a total douche. My friend owns an EVOX and it's tuned. Now that, I wouldn't race with since I haven't tuned my porsche (nor have the desire to do so).
However, saying all of this - I love GTIs and VW in general. My next buy is planned to be an '11 GTI! Brilliant car, luxury, enough power, potential to mod, and so much more.
This thread reminds me of the the whole Porsche Vs. Mini challenge...something that I found a complete waste of time.
I'd like to see a GTI go at it with a EVOX, though since I'm new here I think if I search around for a few mins I'll find it.
I'll keep you guys posted in the next coming months if I decide to purchase the GTI. Things seem extremely likely as of yet. Just waiting for a good deal to pounce on it.