Porsche wins PCOTY

Porsche has claimed top spot in Motor magazine's 'Performance Car of the Year' for 2007. After assessing the 13 final entries over a 2000km drive program, the five-judge panel settled on Porsche's 911 GT3 as the winner of the magazine's prestigious PCOTY award.

Porsche Cars Australia Managing Director, Michael Winkler, summed up the feelings of the Motor judges when he said: "If there is one Porsche that best demonstrates that what we as a company learn on the race track we are able to build into our road cars, then the GT3 is that car."

The GT3 currently runs in two one-make series, the global Carrera Cup championships and the Europe-only Porsche Supercup, which is a support race for European rounds of the F1 world championship.

Only released earlier this year, the 997 series GT3 has sold out in Australia for the first 12 months on sale, even though 100 units (including the RS version) were imported and priced from $256,900.

All contenders for the award were tested on race tracks as well as public roads.

Motor staff found the Porsche could "tread a fine line between being completely 'berzerkoid'" and remaining "somehow, totally useable".