Porsche 911 GT3 2025 Review

Priced from $466,700 plus on-roads costs (ORCs), when the 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 arrives later this year it will cost a cool $29,300 more than the car it replaces, which is largely consistent with the price bump introduced on other new 992.2 series 911s.

The same price is asked for the 911 GT3 Touring Package that launches at the same time.

Still, it hurts when you remember the last time we climbed behind the wheel of the 911 GT3 it cost $369,600 (plus ORCs).

Luckily for Porsche, rivals are either too expensive or unable to play the track tool role well enough to compete.

The Ferrari 296 GTB comes in around $100,000 more, for example – and that’s before you add options.

The new 2025 Aston Martin Vantage ($410,000) is intriguing but far less competent hot-lapping, when it all too easily vaporises its rear tyres.

Which, perhaps surprisingly, leaves the ultra-lightweight 2025 McLaren Artura ($464,657 plus ORCs) – a supercar whose keen pricing and huge track capability should give the 911 GT3 a serious run for its money if the two ever meet.

To help offset the price rise, the Australian-spec 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 comes laden with some handy must-have options that the German car brand happily charges extra for in other markets.

We’re talking a free front-axle lift that jacks the GT3’s snout up by 40mm away from harm, agility boosting rear-wheel steer, Matrix LED headlamps, rear parking sensors, a tyre sealant kit, reverse camera and a DAB+ radio.

Dual-zone climate control, a configurable 12.6-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.9-inch infotainment screen are all standard.

More good news is there’s a range of premium paint colours that includes Guards Red, GT Silver, Cartagena Yellow metallic and Gentian Blue, among others, that are all no-cost options, while colours like the stunning Oak Green Metallic Neo and Slate Grey Neo will cost a hefty $7870.

Paint to Sample? That’ll be another $25,090 or an eye-watering $59,780, depending on how far you want to go with your one-off hue.

The good news is the silver light Aluminium alloy wheels (20-inch on the front, larger 21s on the rear) are standard and are now 1.5kg lighter. The bad is the ultra-cool 911 ST Magnesium rims are a devastating $33,480.

Within, there’s Race-Tex/leather four-way adjustable electric sports seats that can be replaced by full leather pews ($8730), while adding Shark Blue or Guards Red stitching ramps up the total price to $11,210.

Adding 18-way electric sports seats adds $5150, while the new lightweight sport bucket seats will see $13,120 magically disappear from your bank account. Many will think they’re worth the price, as they feature a removable headrest that liberates more space for your helmet when on the track.

Like before, the Club Sport Pack carries over as a no-cost option and throws in a half-cage and fire extinguisher – but you must order the lightweight sport buckets to get it.

For the first time, a $37,960 Weissach pack can be added to the core GT3 range that brings a lightweight carbon-fibre front bonnet, roof, rear wing with side plates, mirror caps and a pair of blades in the front bumper made of the same lightweight composite.

Inside, there’s lighter door cards, a carbon console around the gear-lever, a six-point belt harness and lots of Weissach logos on the passenger side of the dash and headrests.

What you can’t see is beneath the skin you get anti-roll bars and rear axle connecting rods, as well as a rear sheer panel all made of the lightweight material.

Finally, the six-speed manual gets a 911 ST-style shortened gear lever.

Choose the pricier $47,530 Weissach Pack with Cage and you bag a rear roll cage made of carbon-fibre. In total, compared to a Club Sport-equipped car, you save over 12kg.

From then on, as well as plenty of ways to personalise your GT3, the final big-ticket item includes whether or not you want carbon-ceramic brakes ($22,120), although we’d suggest not if you're planning to track your car, due to the huge cost of replacement if you ever take a detour into the kitty litter.

Crucially, the six-speed manual transmission remains a no-cost option and, if you order a GT3 Touring, the wingless version finally comes with the no-cost option of a pair of rear seats with ISOFIX mounting points.

The GT3 Touring also gets its own version of the Weissach pack, called the Leichtbau Pack, that costs a dizzying $71,120 and adds all the carbon-fibre goodies, plus a set of ludicrously expensive Magnesium rims.

One final option that should not be overlooked is the $2970 Bose surround sound system, if you plan to actually drive your car on the road.

Helping protect occupants, the latest 911 GT3 comes with extra side impact protection within the driver and passenger doors, plus front, side and head airbags, while driver assist tech includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, driver drowsiness detection, adaptive headlights and adaptive cruise.

All models will be covered by Porsche’s three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty in Australia.

Service intervals are spaced every 12 months/15,000km. Porsche doesn’t offer capped-price servicing.

The fact the 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 keeps its naturally aspirated 4.0-litre flat-six-cylinder engine that can rev to a dizzying 9000rpm is remarkable. Especially when considering all its rivals gave up and moved to turbos years ago.

Of course, to keep it in production required some sacrifices – namely the addition of (count them) four catalytic converters and no fewer than two particulate filters.

That’s the reason for the torque reduction from 470Nm to 450Nm, although power remains the same at 375kW.

When asked if engineers had been tempted to boost power, one senior exec joked: “Nah, we never need it – we stay the same and we always still beat all our rivals on the track.”

To compensate for the lack of punch, Porsche has nicked the shorter gear ratios from the $715K Porsche 911 ST that are eight per cent shorter.

Behind the wheel, the gearing alone guarantees scalpel-sharp response in almost any gear. Such is the thrust delivered, it’s only on the track on long straights that you may ever wish for more.

Also new for the 2025 GT3 is it adopts the 911 ST’s steering rack that is both quicker off-centre and said to have software that delivers more consistent feel and response. It even compensates for hot tyres and suspension components which means that even after bigger miles on road and track the 911 should steer as sweetly as it did when new.

Like before, it’s impossible to detect the rear axle steering, with the GT3 delivering incredible agility.

On track, Porsche has succeeded in making the car even easier to drive; the liberties you can take now with the throttle and ham-fisted steering inputs would have had you spat off the track in the last-generation GT3.

When flat out we’d love to be able to definitively tell you how we could feel the revised package of aerodynamics – comprising new bumper, underbody blades, plus an entire revised rear diffuser – but we couldn’t. In any case, the actual 140kg downforce figure (at 250km/h) remains the same.

What we can tell you is how stable the GT3 feels and how unbothered it feels by rapid changes of direction at high speeds.

Like before, the GT3 still keeps its cool lap after lap, soaking up the abuse dished out by countless journos. To help keep it cool, the new version gains a new oil cooler lifted from the even-more-extreme GT3 RS.

Back on road you’ll notice the overhauled suspension’s greater suppleness at mid to high speeds cross country. It’s still a bit busy around town and feels firm but never crashes over bumps, while the anti-dive front suspension pinched from the RS means it always feels stable under hard braking.

If you’re not buying it for track we implore you to go for the six-speed manual, especially with the shortened lever from the ST. Changing gears yourself ramps up the engagement beyond all its rivals – find your favourite road and you’ll only ever need third gear.

Although the sharp clutch operation can occasionally catch out the inexperienced at low revs, triggering a catastrophically embarrassing stall.

The higher price of the 2025 Porsche 911 GT3 still irks, even with all the updates. And actually physically getting hold of a car is likely to still prove a headache, even for loyal customers of the brand.

That said, Porsche promises it will try and make more this time, hence why it has introduced both cars much earlier than originally planned, although the German brand says it remains reliant on small-volume producers of its exotic parts which can trigger delays along the line.

The next gripe we have concerns its weight. Porsche will tell you the weight increase over the old model is ‘only’ a paltry 2kg, but to get to the 1420kg figure you need to tick the box for the Weissach Pack (no cage) as well as for the ludicrously silly Magnesium wheels ($33,480).

Unless you’re intent on going mad on the track, we suggest you ignore the 11kg saving and stick with the stock items.

Another grievance is engineers removed around 2kg of sound deadening compared to its predecessor. And it does sound noisier than before, with more transmission whine, road and wind noise permeating the cabin.

Speaking of sound, the new cleaner exhaust system sounds like it’s taken away some of the old version’s addictive howl; we’re sure a sports exhaust will be on the way to cure that.

The short gearing is also a bugbear at European highway speeds but less of a problem in Australia. To be fair, you can forgive the 911 GT3’s refinement compromises for its phenomenal breadth of abilities both on road and track.

Rear space in the 911 GT3 Touring remains limited with only a pair of small, younger kids able to squeeze into the new chairs, but the folding bucket seats now mean it’s easier to access the very usable space behind the driver and passenger, even with the half-cage fitted.

It’s too easy to be cynical about paying more for a car that doesn’t offer any increase in performance on paper than the one it replaces, but that attitude entirely misses the point of the latest upgrades in the 2025 Porsche 911 GT3.

Think of it as a very last-ditch attempt to keep the naturally aspirated flat-six alive for enthusiasts because, combined with the six-speed manual, it’s hard to think of any new sports car at any price that delivers such an old-school engaging driving experience.

The fact that Porsche has just happened to not only preserve the atmo flat-six while improving the already sublime drive of the previous car is all the more incredible, and renders arguments regarding weight, shrinking torque and price increases as purely academic.

If you love track days or simply enjoy a brisk drive along your favourite country road, the latest Porsche 911 GT3 remains one of the most thrilling cars money can buy.

2025 Porsche 911 GT3 at a glance:
Price: $466,700 (plus on-road costs)
Available: H2, 2025
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six-cylinder
Output: 375kW/450Nm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 13.7L/100km (WLTP Combined)
CO2: 310g/km (WLTP Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested

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