We have a new 911 GT3! The 992 generation of the do-everything track-toy carries over the same 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six from the previous car, along with the beloved six-speed manual. You can of course still option for the automatic PDK gearbox. Straight line performance of the new GT3 isn’t any quicker, though it really doesn’t need to be when the 991 GT3 already reaches 60 miles an hour in the mid three seconds.
GT3 is a car for lap times and track performance. The advancements in the 992 is all down to aerodynamics and kinematics. An increase in downforce is visually evident in the swan-neck rear spoiler and the fancy rear diffuser. Double-wishbone front suspension makes an appearance in a 911 for the very first time, promising better geometry as the suspension loads up in the corners. Mustn’t forget the tires: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires are a step above the non-R equivalents of the prior generation.
You may lose to a Tesla car at the stoplight sprints, but you’ll be faster than the 918 Spyder hypercar around a racing circuit. That’s what the vaunted GT3 badge is all about: absolute speed at the bendy bits.
The new car looks attractive, too. Especially the front-end, which utterly apes the look of the racing Cup cars. The signature rear light-bar of the 992 generation 911 is still ugly. No amount of aero bits in the GT3 can mask that ugliness.
I would lying if I said the announcement of the 992 GT3 didn’t make me pang for my departed 991.1 GT3. While the M2 Competition is quite the consolation prize, a 911 is still a 911. The BMW inline-six is venerable in its own right, but it cannot match the Porsche flat-six, one that revs to 9,000 RPM, for pure character.
I vow to get back into a GT3 in due time. In fact, I’m rather happy to see another generation of the lineage. Porsche sold relatively many 991 GT3s, so combined with the 992 production run, there’s going to be plenty on the used market for me to choose from. It’s not going to become some appreciated unobtanium like early air-cooled 911s.
Soon.
Lord Kensington.