Porsche 911 GT3 2017 Review

It’s impossible not to admire what Porsche does with its 911 range. No other sports car offers such breadth of choice, the company fastidiously, incrementally improving its iconic model with each new iteration.

While we'd happily spend every day driving all the different examples, we’d be attracted to some more than others, and that’s especially the case for the models that come out of the haloed GT department. Porsche’s racing division makes road cars, to allow it to race.

Thank homologation for that, as Porsche’s track activities define its GT department road cars as much as they define the racers.

The GT3 is the ‘volume’ mainstay, the basis of the GT department’s work, while its GT3 RS spin-off adds a bit more by taking away weight and adding grip, poise and a tad more power.

There is the occasional diversion, like the sold-out 911 R, which took elements of the GT3 RS and pared it back to basics even further thanks to a manual transmission and no visible aero, yet still 500hp and rear-wheel drive.

With that R, the telephone number prices it’s changing hands for and the RS gaining all the attention of late, you could be forgiven for having forgotten about the GT3.

You shouldn’t, as Porsche has just launched a new one. As ever, power’s up. Not a leap, a step, from 349kW to 368kW, which, coincidentally matches the output of its RS and R relations.

So too does the engine’s capacity, which is now 4.0 litres, up from the 991.1 GT3’s 3.8 litres.

It’s not, says Porsche, just the RS engine dropped in the back of the GT3. No, that’d be too easy; instead, it’s derived from the current Carrera Cup and RSR race cars' powerplant, yet it features a new valve train, lightened, reduced friction internals, dual flap intakes and more besides, all that helping the increase in power and aiding low-rev flexibility at the same time.

Peak power from the 4.0-litre flat-six is produced at high revs, as you’d expect (no, demand) from a GT product, the 368kW produced at 8250rpm, just 750rpm short of the 9000rpm redline.

GT department boss (and father of the original 996 GT3), Andreas Preuninger, says the ram air effect at high speed increases that output by around 15kW, enough, in the PDK-equipped 911 GT3, to have it reach 318km/h flat out -- more in perfect conditions, as Porsche’s figures are typically pessimistic to ensure repeatability.

The GT3 formula remains the same as that original 996-series car, too, with weight reduction a core mantra. This GT3 does so with glorious features like carbon fibre hinges and a new patented process to create the front wings, all of that allowing the GT3 to tip the scales, in PDK form, at 1430kg -- the manual car shaves a further 17kg off that for 1413kg.

That's right, the GT3’s available as a manual again, reversing the decision with its predecessor that changed the most analogue element of the GT3’s make-up and turned it digital with PDK only.

Well, you didn’t think Porsche went to all the trouble of developing a six-speed manual transmission just for the 991 examples of the R it built, did you?

We’re in a PDK here and the paddle-shifted transmission retains its seven ratios and it underlines the ferocity and speed of its shift by delivering a 3.4-second 0-100km/h time, some 0.5 seconds quicker than the manual.

You’ll claw back an advantage in the three-pedal car at the top end though, it creeping past the PDK’s 318km/h v-max with a couple of extra km/h for 320km/h. Academic stuff, and while the idea of the manual undoubtedly appeals to us, neither are we so slavishly tied to the idea of it that we’d discount the benefits the PDK brings.

It’s a sensational transmission, shifting with unerring speed, the immediacy with which your inputs at the paddles are translated to another ratio is never second guessed, or fumbled as they might be in some rivals' systems.

Going for the two-pedal car also brings the advantage of Porsche Torque Vectoring+ and an electronically controlled locking differential over the manual’s slightly less sophisticated Porsche Torque Vectoring (no '+') and a mechanical locking differential.

While the differential’s helping transmit power to the road, downforce does its stuff, too, the GT3 gaining by around 20 per cent here, to offer the same amount as a 997 GT3 RS.

Most of that’s thanks to underbody work, but the big rear wing’s been moved backwards and upwards slightly, too, while the front splitter was redesigned to help force Porsche’s track rat into the tarmac. It's incremental changes at work again.

The interior’s pared back as ever, wearing its pure intent with pride, though in our must-record-everything world the GT3 now comes with the Porsche Precision Track App, which, among other things, allows you to take track data away on your smartphone (Apple only, folks) to show your friends.

See how long they remain pals if you do that too often. Still, you’ll not worry about that, as if you’ve a GT3 there’s only room for one other, and you’ll be too busy driving it to care about anything else.

The new engine is incredibly flexible; you’d swear it was turbocharged such is the low-rev pace, yet the immediacy of response belies that, it gloriously unfettered by the need for turbos to spool before your right foot’s wishes are responded to.

There’s some lack of aural charm below around 4000rpm, but hang on to above then, wring it out to its 9000rpm maximum and it’s a mechanical symphony that’s pure racer.

The GT3’s lack of rear seats and less abundant sound deadening allows you to enjoy it all the more resonating around the cabin. Push the sports exhaust button for more bass-rich tones over the exotic metallic shrieks and it’s sensational, the engine’s sound backed by the occasional telling knock from the suspension or, if you’ve fitted it, zing from the half cage in the rear as something loose hits it.

Nothing new there then; the GT3 may be relatively civilised, but it’s still very much a racer at heart.

The odd knock aside, the suspension rides with a sophistication that’s difficult to comprehend, as it can shrug off poor surfaces yet provide taut control, allowing the steering to communicate readily without being overly burdened with busy minutiae of detail that’d be distracting.

The feel on offer remains as big a draw as the performance, then, the combination of both adding up to a hedonistic driving whole that’s without an obvious direct rival. That’s particularly true when related to the manual car, not least because there’s very little, if anything, out there with 368kW, three pedals and a stick and such clear intent.

It's a rewarding and engaging driver’s car, which, unlike the RS before it, gives more for more of the time, as its lower thresholds of grip (relatively speaking) and the transition from it to slip are such that it’s possible to enjoy and exploit, rather than teeter around the edges of.

Where the RS can feel daunting and demanding the GT3’s accessibility is clear, to the enormous benefit of enjoyment; this a car that’s incredibly, joyously exploitable.

The brakes, as ever, are unending in their forceful retardation, the mechanical grip is mighty and traction huge, though switching off the TC and ESC allows both to be broken at will, with ease.

You will too, because the GT3’s that kind of car, rewarding drivers seeking reward, much as it’s always been since the GT3 arrived a few model generations back.

If you’re going to pick one Porsche 911, make it be this one, as it’s genuinely the best one it’s ever made. And, yes, that includes the R -- the new GT3 really is that good.

2017 Porsche 911 GT3 (991.2) pricing and specifications:
Price: $327,100 plus on-road costs
On sale: Late 2017
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six petrol
Output: 368kW/460Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual or seven-speed PDK automatic
Fuel: 12.7L/100km (EU Combined)
CO2: 288g/km (EU Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested