The new 911 GT3: PH Blog
Why 'GT3' is now a trim level, not a statement of intent
Look at the last model in the context of the 997 range and the hoops you'd jump through to end up with one. You'd have started thinking 'yeah, GT3, like the idea of that.' And then began the process of qualification. Level one? Gearbox. Don't want a manual? That's you out. More interested in all-weather traction, in-gear grunt or vmax and 0-62 bragging rights? Off you go and buy a Turbo instead. And lots of fun you'd have had too - no shame in any of that.
If, however, you'd think 'top bloke' hearing the chief engineer for the GT3 range dismiss top speed as 'a by-product' you'd be through to the next level. Having decided you'd happy with a two-wheel drive, normally aspirated 911 with a manual gearbox the next question would have been are you going to track it? As in, would you ACTUALLY track it? Or just think you wanted to when actually a nice road-going 911 with a few tasty trimmings was actually what you wanted? A GTS or a thoughtfully specced Carrera 2 S perhaps, both also under the radar of any midlife crisis wannabe racer accusations from friends and family.
If you'd got this far and not been swayed by any of the above you might just have fit the profile. Of course, if you were taking it further and wanted something with an RS and/or 4.0 badge Porsche played its final joker - the real end of level boss. Did you want this car enough to put up with some really, really tacky graphics? One loud enough to turn every head within half a mile but equipped with a hairtrigger biting point that meant they'd then be primed to point and laugh when you stalled it - again.
All of which is a very long-winded way of saying very few people will have ended up buying a GT3 by accident. Or keeping one, little things like the fact the pedals are only set for heel'n'toe when you're using track braking pressure meaning you need to be truly dedicated to enjoy one day in, day out.
So that glorious, unapologetic elitism is gone; likewise the nerdy joy in knowing your 911 had a different engine derived from a racing car, not a Carrera. In its place, the new GT3 offers eye-boggling gadgetry and pace, democratised and accessible to all up to a point. Where previous GT3s demanded a base level of competence anyone will be able to drive this one fast and feel like a hero, even if you'll still need big brass ones and a lot of talent to fully exploit its talents. Even then the opportunities to do that will be so fleeting and the stakes and speeds so high it risks irrelevance.
Overly romantic fanboy that I am I love the fact that you see more GT3s parked outside hostels at the 'ring than you ever will driving into the Square Mile or Canary Wharf. And they're the ones streaked in brake dust, windscreens covered in noise test stickers with and with empty Red Bull cans rattling around the passenger seat. Which brings us back to 'roots in racing, not posing.' For all the spine-tingling 9,000rpm redline, technology and talent I fear the new GT3 will be too accommodating of those more interested in the latter. And they were already perfectly well served by other 911s.
Before I sign off I, of course, reserve the right to renounce every word I've just written as utter cobblers at the first sniff of a drive...
Dan
If the tag line was 'roots in driver enjoyment, not posing' the argument would of course be very different. But racing isn't about enjoying a B-road blast, it's about winning. So i'm afraid i don't really see where the new tech on the GT3 goes against the aforementioned 'fast as possible' approach?
The gearbox is pdk because the market demands it.
The engine shares a crank case with the carrera? Good I say, gives the 911 more cache especially once the racing cars start using it (as Andreas stated in the evo magazine interview that you guys didn't get yet ). Remember all RS's that went before were based on the standard carrera.
I'm not sure what point you're making about the stickers? Porsche haven't yet released details of an RS but it was always that halo model that was stickered up, the standard gt3 never was.
Remember the gnashed teeth when the first GT3 was released? It was heavier than a standard carrera! I've got an article by some bloke called Harris somewhere from period where he wines on about this very fact.
Oh & by the way, perhaps try commenting once you've driven the car!
Then the average to bad motoring press reviews come in, and the sales are lukewarm.
Oh & by the way, perhaps try commenting once you've driven the car!
+1 about driving the car, and as it's a Porsche, I'm sure he will.
...but then I remembered it's impossible to actually buy a used Porsche just in case the previous owner put the wrong sized cappucino in the cup holder and the ECU logged it thus invalidating the OPC wiper blade warranty.
I'm well aware that a proper race sequential box and the PDK are completely different animals, however from the drivers seat it could be argued that the PDK is closer to a track experience than continuing with a manual.
I will mourn the passing of the manual shift as much as the next person, however think that the (Clarkson!) media tend to overstate it's importance to the overall driving experience.
A normally aspirated engine that wails all the way around to 9000k and produces 400bhp to the rear wheels, with a model specific suspension setup and focus ...... "GT3 just a trim level"????? B0ll0cks!!! The new GT3 is right at the pinacle of desirability for anyone with an ounce of driving enthusiasm in their blood, and love of automobiles and engineering.
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