As much as I'm around Porsches all the time, through my own Porsche ownership and the friends I've made through it, I didn't think I'd ever be lucky enough to drive a GT3. A few weeks ago, my dream came true.
This one actually just dropped out of the blue for me. I wasn't looking to find a GT3 to test drive or even to make a video about, but along it came. BOOM! The owner is a local Minnesota car enthusiast who contacted me through Auto Amateur, asking for some help with the installation of the Joyeauto CarPlay unit I installed in my own 991. As opposed to trying to describe how to do some of the more complicated parts of the job via email, I offered up my hands-on help for fun given the owner's location. I was expecting a Carrera to show up at my door, maybe an S model. But wait... a GT3?! I was happy to do the install job for fun, for a C2 like my own, but for a GT3?! FOR SURE!
To me, the GT3 is in the pinnacle of not only Porsche engineering, but all automotive engineering. The sleek 911 silhouette, now synonymous with the image of the 'sports car' for many, enhanced by the rear fixed wing spoiler and the front sports bumper. It's astonishing ratio of power to weight, almost 6 pounds per horse. The naturally aspired 3.8L engine that howls at any rev range, all the way up to 9000 rpm. The suspension is as tight as a duck's arse, as it were. Every sensation you get from the engine, the acceleration, the exhaust, the cornering, the g-forces across your chest... every moment driving this car is a rush that makes you crave more. It doesn't have the turbo-charged thump of the GT2 RS, it doesn't have the almost over-the-top look of the neon-colored Huracans or the fire-cracking exhaust flames, but it's perfect to me. Heaps of power with 475 horses (500 with the 991.2) and 0-60 in 3.5 seconds (less, proven, but Porsche likes to be conservative with its numbers) and the look of a track car without being too sporty.
The refinements go beyond the engineering and the driving experience, as you would expect with any Porsche. Like any 911, you can have your deviated leather stitching, your colored sports chrono gauge face sitting in the center of the dashboard, your brushed aluminum or carbon fiber trim pieces and so on. With the GT3, you also get components that are specific to the GT cars and some only to the GT3 itself.
Center locking wheels
Front vented hood with grill insert
Specialty front bumper with grill inserts (GT3 specific design)
Rear fixed wing / spoiler (GT3 specific design)
Rear vented deck lid with grill inserts under the fixed wing and at the back, above the 'PORSCHE' lettering (GT3 specific design)
Alcantara seat centers, steering wheel, gear shifter head (this isn't a good thing however, in my book. Cheap synthetic fabric that doesn't wear very well as opposed to leather? No thank you)
For many, including myself, the GT3 is the dream car. Perhaps only bested by its racier, more stylized cousin in the GT3RS. But for me I'll take the GT3 every day of the week. Many do in fact, quite literally, as their daily driver.
Getting to drive this beauty, even just for a few hours either side of doing the CarPlay installation, was a dream come true.
Engine: 3.8L flat-six
Horsepower: 475 @ 8,250rpm
Torque: 325 ft-lbs
Transmission: 7-speed PDK Automatic (6-speed manual was reintroduced with the 991.2 GT3 due to customer demand)
0-60 mph: 3.5 seconds
Top Speed: 202 mph
Comentarios