911 GT3 |
By any standards, the Porsche 911 is as iconic a sports car as they come. Yet, every so often in a generation, a 911 derivative comes along that reaffirms the 911 as a legend.
A Porsche launch event is always an exciting affair. Planned down to the minute and metre, as would be expected from such an icon of German engineering, nothing is left to chance. All needs to be, and is, just so. Porsche brand standards and the exacting principles of the Porsche South Africa management team aside, a great car deserves a well-planned party to welcome it to the fold.
In the case of the brand’s newest local introduction, the bonkers GT3, this involved a blast in both the manual- and PDK-driven versions of the newly-minted GT3 between Porsche Centre in Century City and Hermanus in the east.
AT A GLANCE
Described by Porsche itself as a “race car made road legal”, the GT3 has all the elements of the Porsche DNA imprinted in every fibre of its being. This is no ordinary sports car, and no ordinary Porsche.
Powered by Porsche’s masterful naturally-aspirated 4.0-cylinder boxer engine, the GT3 is fast. The kind of fast that 375 kW and 470 Nm of torque bestows upon a car weighing a mere 1,435 kg and will rev freely to 9,000 r/min.
On the outside, the GT3 looks the beastly part as well. A prominent rear wing that can be adjusted for downforce when taking the car to the track betrays the GT3’s substantial performance credentials. So too do the two air scoops in the bonnet, the 20” forged alloy wheels (21” at the rear), and enormous, painted brake callipers.
The rest is pure Porsche, especially inside the car, where the harmony between racetrack purposefulness and road car driveability is best displayed.
Firstly, an optional roll bar behind the sports seats is the only clue you need to confirm that this is no ordinary road car. Although sportier seats are available as an option, the standard GT3 seats are perfectly good for the application. There is no omission of creature comforts in the cabin, as is the case in cars such as the GT2 RS.
PERFORMANCE CREDENTIALS
The measure of any legendary sports car (and some not so) is how it fares on the famed Nürburgring Nordschleife. The previous generation GT3 (one of six since the first 996 GT3 made its debut in 1999) was itself a game-changer around the ‘Ring, setting a blistering time of 7 minutes 16 seconds.
The new car, which ups the performance ante by 7 kW and 10 Nm, obliterates its predecessor’s Green Hell time by 17 seconds, to set a record of 6 minutes 59.927 seconds. Porsche achieved this significant improvement without too much fettling in the engine, instead focussing on improving the car’s suspension and handling characteristics, better use of downforce, and overall weight reduction. The latter comes from the use of lightweight glass, a lightweight sports exhaust system, a lighter starter battery, and more extensive use of carbon fibre components.
Carried over virtually unchanged from the 911 GT3 Cup, the GT3’s high-revving heart beats beautifully across the rev range but reaches its crescendo around the 8,400 r/min mark, where its peak power is reached. We drove both transmission options of the GT3 on launch and came away enthralled by the six-speed manual car with its ego-soothing auto-blip function. Standard-spec manual cars are a rarity in the Porsche South Africa universe, as most cars are brought in with Porsche’s brilliant PDK system as a no-cost option.
Fitted with a seven-speed PDK, the GT3 is a beast, but it somehow transforms into something singularly special when the gearshifts are made by choice, by your own hand.
In PDK guise, the GT3 will roar from standstill to 100 km/h in a dismissive 3.4 seconds, blasting past the 200 km/h mark in under 11 seconds and ultimately on to its 318 km/h top speed. The manual sacrifices 0.5 seconds in the zero to 100 km/h sprint but will top out at a slightly higher 320 km/h.
Considering the PDK’s more refined characteristics, it is better suited to city traffic than the manual. It is made for the touring enthusiast who occasionally wants to unleash a few horses. The manual is not nearly as gracious and engages you at every throw of the short-shifting gear lever. It makes you work much harder than the PDK, but the reward – measured in revolutions per minute – is sublime.
To tame the GT3, Porsche brings a host of new technologies and improvements to the party. The most significant is the introduction of rear-axle steering that allows the rear wheels to turn by up to two degrees, bringing a crispness to the car’s unmatched handling. Massive high-performance tyres (255/35 ZR20 in the front and 315/30 ZR21 at the rear) and dimpled cast-iron brake discs (408 mm in the front) perform an exemplary job unleashing and restraining the GT3’s 510 horses. However, Porsche’s ceramic brake system is available as an option.
LAST WORD
I’ve sampled many Porsche cars on roads and racetracks around the world, and few generate the kind of raw emotions of which the GT3 is capable. It is loud and disorderly, yet sharp and deliberate in equal measure, and lives effortlessly in the space between the road and track, perhaps better than any other Porsche of its generation.
Report by BERNIE HELLBERG JR | Images © PORSCHE SOUTH AFRICA
