Six reasons why the Porsche icon is now better than ever
A dramatic rear wing. Impressive weight-saving wins. A standout new front suspension set-up. Just some of the highlights of the new 911 GT3, the sports car that feels every bit at home on the track as the road. Where even small margins make a huge difference
You make me feelThey say every second counts. For the new Porsche 911 GT3, that is truer than ever. But it’s not just every second – every gram, every millimetre counts too. You may not be able to see them, but you will feel them. Because with the new 911 GT3, it’s all about the feeling. You will feel the refinement in aerodynamics, performance and tuning. You will feel the need to spend time getting to know it, to explore its talents. Most of all, you will feel the emotion and excitement of a sports car that locks you into the thrill of driving both on track and on road. Here are just six of the ways this iconic sports car has just got even better. Immerse yourself.A connection is madeKnowing that it’s been created to grip the road like no GT3 that has gone before, the 992 911 GT3 gives you the confidence to attack every corner. The swan neck rear wing may be the standout aerodynamic addition, but other notables include a wider lower grille at the front end and striking flared wheel arches. As ever with Porsche sports cars, form follows function, and – like its close relative, the track-only GT3 Cup – this swan neck rear wing helps create stable airflow under it. Coupled with its large rear diffuser and other improvements, it means that the new GT3 creates 50 percent better downforce than its predecessor.Box cleverTwo gearbox options for the GT3 give you a further highly tactile and visceral link to the way you feel connected to the road. In response to customer feedback, Porsche offers a snappy, quick-shifting, six-speed manual gearbox as well as a seven-speed PDK version. Choose the latter and a new slick, responsive PDK gear selector, based on a manual lever, combines the emotional spirit of a traditional gearbox with the crisp, flowing shifts of a dual-clutch automatic transmission. Result? Pure racing feels.Emotional responseA double wishbone front suspension – derived from the 911 RSR Le Mans car – leads to greater cornering stability and even more immediate steering response, helping save valuable seconds every time you lap. It’s a first for a road-going production 911. Combined with a multi-link axle on the rear and adaptive dampers, the car’s chassis can be set-up for a range of surfaces and conditions for a powerful, precise driving experience. It’s further proof that the new GT3 has race car blood coursing through its veins.The weight of expectationThe new car has a wider body and larger wheels than any of its predecessors and yet is incredibly light on its feet, helping accentuate its dynamic feel – in fact, it weighs the same as the previous 911 GT3. How did our engineers do that? The GT3 always gives up its rear seats, of course. But there are weight-saving materials all round, including lighter glass windows, forged light-alloy wheels and a bonnet made of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic. A lightweight sports exhaust system knocks 10kg off kerbside weight. Every gram saved makes a contribution to its outstanding performance.Power, pomp and a certain stanceLook closely and you’ll notice different wheels front and rear, 20-inch on the front, 21-inch on the rear, but there’s a practical reason for this – in a rear-wheel drive car like the GT3, these larger 12-inch-wide rear wheels increase acceleration potential. The 510PS PDK version roars from 0-100km/h in just 3.4 seconds. And what a roar the 4.0-litre, naturally aspirated, flat-six engine makes. You’ll know you’re in a GT3. On a 20.8km lap of the Nürburgring-Nordschleife, Porsche test driver Lars Kern went round in 6 minutes 59.927sec, 17 seconds quicker than the previous model. “At speed, it’s a zen-like meditation feeling,” Andreas Preuninger, director of the GT product line told CAR magazine.Set up for sportYou might be sat at the wheel of a car whose eyes open wider when on track, but that doesn’t mean compromising everyday comfort and driveability in the GT3. The standard Sports seats Plus give excellent lateral support, while optional carbon-fibre reinforced plastic Full bucket seats offer exceptional levels of support at minimal weight. At the heart of the high-resolution, 7-inch, selectable colour driver display is a central analogue rev counter. It acts as a beautiful yet practical reminder of both the GT3’s illustrious history and your immediate future – that of a drive that feels like no other.
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