This is the latest and greatest Porsche 911 GT3

Friday, 27 November 2020

Porsche has given hardcore 911 fans what they’ve been waiting for since the 992-generation debuted a few years ago. This is our first look at the new 911 GT3 and it sure looks promising.

The official ‘spy pictures’ show off the new GT3's epic rear wing, using a slick swan-neck style of supporting arm to hang the wing over a small upswept lip on the boot. Up front are new front vents, wider and more gaping than the outgoing model and a larger front splitter while the diffuser at the rear holds a pair of exhaust tips.

Those tips are the end of a lot of work for Porsche’s engineers, which had quite the time convincing the engine to play nice with emissions standards. The engine is a development of the naturally aspirated 4.0-litre unit found in the 991.2 Speedster, making around 380kW and 470Nm with a screaming redline of 9000rpm.

Behold – the new GT3 and its new rear wing.

It doesn’t make a huge amount more power than the old model, just 7.4kW extra thanks to those pesky emissions rules, but the fact that a large-displacement atmospheric engine is being produced at all these days is commendable.

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The new GT3 will get a manual and an automatic option. There’s no word on which will reach New Zealand roads yet, though.

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Beneath the skin of the front end is a new suspension system, which should further boost front-end responsiveness.

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Even better is the fact that it’ll be paired with either a seven-speed dual-clutch PDK automatic or a six-speed manual. Apparently, the automatic version will get a manual-like shifter on the transmission tunnel too. Not quite sure how that’ll work in reality but cool, nonetheless.

There are larger wheels at each end too. The fronts are 20 inches in diameter and 9.5 inches wide, while the rears are 21 inches and 12 inches, respectively. The brakes are larger, measuring 406mm up front and 381mm at the back, ceramic discs optional, and it’ll probably weigh around the 1450kg mark, like the older GT3.

That’s due to polyurethane front and rear bumpers, thinner glass on all but the windshield, removal of sound deadening materials, no rear seats, and lighter materials wherever possible. The bonnet is carbon fibre, a part that needed extensive work to allow it to pass pedestrian crash regulations.

Porsche has largely carried over the rear suspension from the 991.2 GT3, that being multi-link with rear-wheel steering. Up front are new forged aluminium wishbones coming from the 911 RSR race macine, replacing the MacPherson struts of the 911.

These should improve the front-end feel of the GT3 (not implying the regular 911 isn’t already a supremely well-handling machine, which would be incorrect) via faster reactions to bumps and lighter dampers.

Good news for us though – Porsche New Zealand has put its hand up for the new model. We’ll get more details closer to launch, due early next year, including performance stats, final specss and pricing. Following the GT3 will come the even more ridiculous GT3 RS and, with any luck, a stripped back Touring version.