Porsche has made some pretty intense cars over the years, from the mind-melting 918 Spyder hypercar to the Taycan Turbo S electric car that’s currently taking the world by storm. These days, they also make some more comfortable, refined rides, like the Cayenne or Panamera.
There’s nothing wrong with a bit of luxury, but sometimes you just want a car that’s 100% for you and you only. Thankfully, Porsche has got you covered there, too, with the 911 GT3. The high-performance, track-oriented variant of Porsche’s famous sports car has always been a true driver’s car – a mental piece of German automotive perfection – but the new, 992-generation 911 GT3 takes things to the next level.
We got the chance to take the new 911 GT3 around Sydney Motorsport Park last week, and we were very impressed. Quite simply, it’s the most selfish car you’ll ever drive. And that’s a huge compliment.
Watch our 60-second review of the new Porsche 911 GT3 below.
Here are some quick stats. The 992-gen GT3 has the same awesome 4.0L naturally aspirated flat-six engine as the previous-gen 991 GT3, but bumps the power and torque up to 375kW and 470Nm respectively. It’s also much faster from 0-100km/h: 2.8 seconds. That’ll rattle your fillings out.
Other big improvements over the previous generation include a double-wishbone front suspension system more or less completely lifted out of the 911 RSR endurance car (the first time such a suspension has been used on a Porsche road car) as well as a manually adjustable goose- or swan-neck spoiler that provides much more downforce than previous models.
But you don’t need to know all that to figure out that the 992 GT3 means business. Just look at the thing: that awesome intake design at the front of the car, the aforementioned tech-y spoiler at the rear, carbon fibre everywhere…
Step inside and you’ll find there’s no rear seat, an integrated roll cage, body-hugging bucket seats and racing harnesses. A Bathurst-style sequential shifter (if you want the PDK and not a manual box) and steering wheel wrapped in Alcantara are other tell-tale touches you’re not in any old 911.
Put your foot down, and you’ll find it to be a totally terrifying ride, in the best way possible. It’ll scream to 9,000 rpm without breaking a sweat. Naturally, it’s fast, but it’s also unbelievably nimble. Out of corners, it’s forgiving and really gets the power down quickly. Sticky and purposeful, it’s like an apex predator (with the ‘Shark Blue’ of the car I drove really reinforcing that characterisation). I found myself gripping on for dear life at speed. I definitely felt like prey, despite being behind the wheel.
That said, you’re very much in control of the beast. It’s no mere brute: there are so many tools at the driver’s disposal. From its active chassis management to rear-axle steering below 50km/h, its unique Track Screen feature or its handy auto-blip function for super-precise downshifting… The new 911 GT3 just keeps on giving.
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Yes, this car might be great to look at, but that’s really not the point of the new 911 GT3. It’s meant to be a track car that you can drive day-to-day; a pure, wild 911 that’s all for you and your passenger. Although truth be told, you probably don’t want a passenger in the car. This is a treat for you to enjoy. That’s what we mean by selfish.
Other than it scaring me stiff, there’s not much to fault here with the GT3. Porsche has stripped much of the sound insulation out of the car, so it’s actually quite noisy – not the worst thing, as that flat-six sounds great. The six-point harness would be pretty annoying to use day-to-day, and the lack of a rear seat (or any real boot space) means it’s not the best thing to do the grocery run in. But why would you anyway? That’s not what this car is for. Not really.
The biggest issue you’ll find with one is that there’s now quite a long wait time to get one in Australia as they’ve been selling like hotcakes.
Find out more about the new Porsche 911 GT3 and book a test drive for yourself here.