Porsche GT3 – Naturally aspirated holiness
The gods have answered. THE car to measure anything related to going fast both on a track and on the street is here. Tech fest, nerd fest, whatever it is there is so much going on underneath this car it makes going into space feel like a walk to the grocery store. Closer to being an RS, the seventh generation trades that fine line of fun, fast and enjoyable.
The heart of the car, the naturally aspirated six cylinder engine, up 10 hp from before with a total of 510 hp, has been thoroughly tested on the race track. It will sing all the way to 9000 rpm, with the choice of going either manual or PDK. Interestingly the manual has outsold the PDK. It is probable that it has to do more with having a future classic and selling it expensive rather than actually enjoying it. 0-100 km/h in 3.4 seconds is damn fast, but no massive jump compared to the car it replaces.
Where have the improvements been made then? A simple glance might give you a hint. The entire outside has seen the aerodynamic scalpel. A massive swan neck rear wing that increases the downforce up to 160 % compared to the wing of the old GT3. Wider arches to house wider wheels, fitted with the obvious Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Rs, or the standard non Rs, a special front hood in carbon fiber and a manually adjustable diffusor taken directly from the 911 RSR race car, are further unique improvements to the GT3.
With no rear tires, light weight windows, optimized brakes, forged light alloy wheels, carbon fiber roof and a sport exhaust gives the GT3 a weight of 1500 kg, with the exhaust aloine dropping the weight by 10 kg.
The suspension has seen heavy, and I mean heavy, tinkering by the best at Porsche. Completely reengineered double wishbone suspension in the front works together with the new aero which takes the GT3 around the Nordschleife in under 7 seconds. As fast as the 918, GT2 RS, Lamborghini Aventador SV, Ferrari 488 Pista and so on. It is monumentally fast.
Inside sees classic GT upgrades. Roll cage, alcantara, sport seats. The new GT3 is fitted with a “track screen” which reduces the information displayed on the two digital displays located either side of the central rev counter to only the necessary information that you might need on track. Tire pressures, oil pressure and temperature, water temperature and fuel level. The GT3 is also fitted with an actual gear lever, instead of the minimalistic switch. The reason being that Porsche GT boss Andreas Preuninger specified this feature because he prefers shifting via the center console than using paddle shifts.
It is available and will come to dealerships in June of 2021 with a starting price of 183 thousand euros in Sweden. Expect hefty premiums if you go down the Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur route.
