This is the new 911 GT3, the hardcore track-focused 911 model from Porsche’s GT Division. Priced from $369,700 excluding on-road costs, the 992 GT3 is on sale now with deliveries due late 2021
This is the new 911 GT3, the hardcore track-focused 911 model from Porsche’s GT Division. Priced from $369,700 excluding on-road costs, the 992 GT3 is on sale now with deliveries due late 2021
The new 992-generation GT3 is powered by the same four-litre flat-six engine the Motorsport department fits to its GT3 Cup race car, power and torque are increased by a marginal 7.5kW and 9.5Nm over the previous generation car to 375kW and 470Nm respectfully. It remains rear-wheel drive, naturally, and is offered with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed PDK transmission.
Built on the same production line as the race motor, the new GT3’s dry-sumped four-litre (102mm bore x 81.5mm stroke, 13:3:1 compression ratio and an 9,000rpm redline) features the same six-barrel throttle bodies and intake as the racer, as well as a new stainless steel exhaust system that’s 10 kilos lighter than the 991.2 GT3’s.
With two gearbox options offered, Porsche expects a similar 40/60 sales split in favour of the PDK unit, although in the United States it is expected the take up will be closer to 70 per cent, as it was with the previous model. “We were a little surprised by how high (the) manual gearbox uptake was on the 991 model especially in the US”, explained Frank Walliser, Porsche’s Vice President for Motorsport and GT cars. “The decision to offer the manual gearbox was directly from customer feedback. We do listen!”
While the six-speed gearbox has changed little from the unit installed in the second generation 991, the PDK is what Porsche calls its ‘Sport’ gearbox. While first and seventh ratios are similar to the 991 (the 992’s PDK ‘box is now an eight speed unit), second to sixth are shorter and the shift speeds in the unit’s ‘normal’ mode are the same speed as the Carrera PDK’s Sport mode. The GT3’s PDK is also 18kg lighter than the newer unit fitted to the 992 Carrera models, primarily because it has one less gear.
Regardless of transmission selected both variants also include torque vectoring, with manual cars fitted with a mechanical limited slip differential, whereas PDK cars are equipped with an electronic LSD. At 1435kg, PDK cars are also 17kg heavier than those fitted with the manual gearbox. The difference in off the line performance between the two is less narrow, with the manual car reaching 100km/h in 3.7sec, half a second behind the PDK car. The margin grows to nine-tenths when the cars reach 160km/h (7.0 vs 7.9sec).
Along with its engine, the new GT3 also shares its front suspension with a model from Porsche’s Motorsport department. For the first time, Porsche has fitted the 911 RSR’s double-wishbone front suspension to a road-going model, a setup that helps keep more of the tyre’s contact patch on the road when under high lateral forces. Rose-joints are used throughout too, and there are also integrated helper springs. In order to maximise the benefit of the performance from the double-wishbone set-up at the front the multi-link rear suspension is totally revised, too.
Stuart Gallagher