Car_and_Driver_USA_July_2017

With Porsche’s transcendent
new 911 GT3, you won’t need
any damn luck.
_BY JOSH JACQUOT _PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG PAJO
The true genius of Porsche’s new GT3, the second coming
of the model on the 991 platform, is that even a master
will never fully exploit it. That’s the trait that defines the
GT3, not just among Porsches but among the world’s best
drivers’ cars. As a result, it is endowed with a power to
fascinate found almost nowhere else. No matter how
hard it’s pushed, there’s still wizardry in its response, still
delicacy in its feedback, still joy in its boundless ability.
This is a machine whetted to a bayonet point on the mill of necessity.
It is noise and feel and heat and speed wrapped in a physically absurd
package, all in the pursuit of effcient corner circuitry.
The case it makes is this: When all of a driver’s aggression is
unloaded into its controls, it doesn’t balk. It
doesn’t seek mechanical mercy. There is no
pleading acknowledgment that, from its
perspective, driving with purpose differs
from driving for pleasure. What the GT3
does, when much is asked of it, is simply go
faster. That is where its magic lies.
It goes faster, and then, like a defiant
teenager or Sir William Wallace himself, it
doubles down, betting that what it can
endure exceeds what you can supply. And
that is a profoundly fantastic thing to have
a sports car do. So here, in Spain, on roads
that feel purpose-built for its abilities, I’m
easily the luckiest guy in this group. Make
no mistake, this latest GT3, though not as
exotic or as powerful as the supercars on
the adjacent pages, is an awful lot of car.
A big part of the magic is the GT3’s
engine, which is a wicked ripping salute to
all that is right with flat-sixes and natural
aspiration. A new version of the 4.0-liter
boxer from the now dead GT3 RS and 911 R
replaces the old GT3’s 9A1 3.8-liter mill.
This 9000-rpm stomper is wholly updated
and more alive than ever [see tech highlight].
At 500 horsepower and only 339
pound-feet of torque, it is, by supercar
standards, a relative wimp. Until you actually
throttle the thing yourself.
If there were ever a case for words
between the numbers, this is it. There’s
more character lurking in this engine’s last
1000 rpm than there is in the entire rev
range of its many boosted counterparts. It’s
unapologetic about its racing heritage and
doesn’t brook driving mistakes without
retribution. Neither does it ride a thunderhead
of torque like a turbo engine. Miss an apex, slide wide, or drop
a wheel and you’re not getting that time back. There’s no crutch
here, no covering over of errors. If you’re uncomfortable above
6000 rpm, then don’t bother—this isn’t your Porsche. Because this
engine won’t stop pulling until your cochleae ignite. This is an
Below: Yes, wing
supports, the GT3’s
engine is now a 4.0-
liter. It gulps air
through two big black
scoops. Bottom: A GT3
with a manual!
engine bred for Daytona and Sebring, and
Le Mans. This thing makes you earn it.
Not convinced that I’ve got all the luck
here? Think about this: The GT3 is the only
car in this trio with three pedals. Unlike the
McLaren and Ford supercars, this GT3 can
be had with a manual transmission. Porsche,
in a move that reverses the performance-atall-costs
ethos introduced with the first
automatic-only 991 GT3, threw us a bone in
version 2.0. But, like the 911 R before it, the
991.2 GT3 gets only six cogs, which saves
seven pounds relative to the seven-speed
manual found in other 911s. It also gets a gear
lever that’s 0.8 inch shorter. Porsche offers
the six-speed as a no-cost option. The seven-speed
dual-clutch, which shares the manual’s
ratios in its first four gears, is standard.
Both transaxles get a limited-slip differential—mechanical
in the manual and electronically
controlled in the PDK.
A taller rear wing and new underbody
panels help increase downforce to 342
pounds at top speed (198 mph for the PDK,
199 for the manual). The GT3 shares its fathaunched
body with the current Carrera 4
and 4S, making it 1.7 inches wider at the
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