2026 Porsche 911 GT3 S/C (992.2) | UK Review

So is a GT3 cabrio more for Brunchen, or for brunching? Time to find out...

From any other manufacturer, at any other time, with any other name, this convertible would be manna from heaven: sub-1,500kg (just), 9,000rpm redline, more than 500hp, six-speed manual – it reads like an enthusiast wishlist. But then this isn’t just any old convertible; it’s called the 911 GT3 S/C. And once that GT3 badge is on a Porsche, the level of expectation changes somewhat.

For more than 25 years, it’s been the track car to end all track cars. Always with at least 100hp per litre, always epic to drive, always revving to the moon, always going sub-eight at the ‘ring and always… well, a coupé. Because a hardtop is what suits the remit best. On the face of it, even with that epic engine, a 911 cabrio is – without wishing to sound too high and mighty about it – antithetical to what a GT3 stands for. There’s more weight in exactly the worst place for it, an inevitable sacrifice in terms of structural rigidity and, well, where’s the Clubsport cage going to go? We’ve seen racy 911 drop-tops before – the Speedster was a real highlight of the 991 range – though nothing with the GT3 badge. Can the combination really be made to seem credible?

One thing is for certain: however much effort has been invested in the S/C, from minimal weight gain to parts borrowed from the S/T, there’s no escaping the fundamental design issue of being a 911 Cabriolet. Even with standard magnesium wheels and a stance much ruder than usual, the fact remains that 911s without a roof always look a bit, er - odd. With both an engine and a roof in the boot, the S/C’s is a big old bottom, its rear end packed in a way that something mid-engined wouldn’t be. Even roof up, there’s not the cohesion of a coupé. An obvious point perhaps, but when a GT3 is such a pitch-perfect road racer, anything that compromises the styling is noticeable.

Same inside: there’s a lot of real estate for just two seats to occupy, leaving a strange cavern behind it that all the contrast stitching in the world doesn't quite make right. It’s a two-seater at four-seater scale, but without the usefulness. Of course there’s a stowage solution available, though once again the impression is ever so slightly of a car that’s had GT3 thrust upon it rather than organically bestowed. Where a coupe appears every inch the motorsport car without a livery, the convertible is never quite so homogenous. There’s certainly not the design purity of something like a 718 Spyder here.

But Porsche has never offered a Boxster that combines a manual gearbox with this engine, racing to nine grand through those slightly shorter ratios. And once the rump and rear quarters are (literally) behind you, there’s a lot more that feels very right about a GT3 roadster. The retro dials look fantastic, the relationship between pedals, wheel and seat is near enough flawless, and the S/T-donated stubby shifter is just right. The bits you really want to feel like a GT3 in the S/C absolutely do.

As luck would have it, first exposure to the 911 comes on the B4560, as pretty and as a classically demanding a B road as you’re likely to find. And exactly the sort of place you might make a beeline for having shelled out £200,000 for one. The bad news? It’s not an infallible drop top. The tremors that can be felt over testing tarmac are very minor, though noticeable nonetheless. You’ll see the odd shimmy in the mirror and feel an almost imperceptible haziness over craggy tarmac, even a little way from the limit. It’s more together than a regular 992, which in itself is a pretty resolute soft top, though we must judge this one by GT3 standards. There’s just not quite the impenetrable feel of a carbon-tubbed cabrio. Which are most certainly on the horizon at £212,000 as tested.

Yet here’s the rub: it doesn’t make the S/C any less enjoyable. Any semblance of this being just another soft-top 911 with some nice add-ons is vastly outweighed by the very tangible GT3 stuff. Even at not quite coupe competence, it remains one of the finest road cars to steer, brake and change gear in, now with the added benefit of a surround-sound flat six. The 4.0-litre most definitely still howls as hoped for, always winning its battle with the wind to give you goosebumps all on its own. The final few hundred revs remain deliriously thrilling, the shift beyond reproach, the sports exhaust opening up 11 on the volume dial. It's out-of-the-box likeability is at pinch-me levels.

Everything that we’ve come to associate with modern GT3s – i.e. the larger, slightly less delicate ones – has survived the transition. It’s so precise and so gratifying, totally attuned to your inputs that it becomes hard to resist asking more. The manual transmission ensures interaction so sorely lacking from equivalent cars, the steering proves the absurdity of drive modes, the damping – if no longer working with the note-perfect platform – is supremely good. Just like the coupe, 'Normal' covers almost everything that’s required, 'Sport' then sophisticated enough to introduce some tension without tarnishing the comfort. The feel, despite initial impressions, is very much of a GT3 that’s been modified for a new challenge, rather than merely an uprated 911 Convertible. A subtle difference, but an important one.

And this is all happening without a roof, which leave its usual mark on proceedings: take one already impressively vivid driving experience and make it more involving. There really is little to rival the joy of a naturally aspirated, individually throttle-bodied engine in a convertible, especially one of this sparkling quality. Rawness and refinement are judged just about perfectly for an open-top GT3. Things get a little blustery with speed, so the best compromise tends to be roof down but wind deflector up; it does nothing for the appearance, but at least there are no rear passengers to worry about. To be honest, you’ll be so swept up in the bliss to be concerned about anything so trivial.

Possibly that’s the underlying USP of the S/C, one missing from the coupé: it’s such an unmitigated joy to be in. Of course, a GT3 is enormous fun, though unshackled from concerns about ultimate laptimes, braking distances or lateral g-force – and with the roof stowed – this one might be even more ebullient. Certainly, there’s no desire behind the wheel of this version to swap to another convertible, another 911 or another GT3, such is the quality coursing through it. The return journey down the M4 has never felt quite so visceral.

Then, when visceral has earned a day off, the S/C does a more than passable impression of a ‘normal’ 911 with the canvas erected. Which is far simpler, it must be said, than with any previous Porsche speedster with GT department input - and the appeal of an electric roof can hardly be overstated in the UK's winter months. The difference between driving through a services to put the roof up and actually needing to stop to manually reassemble something is night and day. Or it has guaranteed something like year-round usability, at any rate.

Undoubtedly it is this kind of convenience that Porsche has targeted, and it pays off. If the S/C stops short of perfection it is because the concept itself is intrinsically flawed (in so far as this is obviously not the GT3 you'd choose to drive on a circuit), but the mashing together of a more rigorous dynamic with a convertible's knack for interaction is just as impressive in the UK as it was abroad. There are more powerful, more exotic roadsters around, yet precious few will be as easy to like in the real world. That doesn't mean the car is guaranteed to change the mind of any purist already emphatically against it, though anyone still on the fence - i.e. torn between this and a genuine, V8-powered soft-top supercar - might find themselves won over very easily. We were. Perhaps this isn’t the GT3 as we know it - but it’s more than intoxicating enough to feel like one of the family.

SPECIFICATION | PORSCHE 911 GT3 S/C (992.2)

Engine: 3,996cc, flat-six
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 510@8,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 332@6,250rpm
0–62mph: 3.9 secs
Top speed: 194mph
Weight: 1,497kg (DIN)
MPG: 20.7
CO2: 310g/km (WLTP)
Price: £200,500 (price as standard; price as tested £221,212 comprising Lugano Blue for £1,704, Interior with extensive leather items Black with contrasting colour GT Silver for £NCO, Adaptive sports seats plus (18-way, electric) for £2,115, ISOFIX fastening system for £154, Exclusive Design fuel filler cap for £154, Protective foil front for £2,054, Model designation on doors in Silver colour for £227, Tinted HD-Matrix LED main headlights for £2,562, Dashboard Trim Package Leather for £914, Lifting system front axle for £2,701, Chrono Package with Porsche Design GT Clock for £1,468, Sports tailpipes titanium for £914, First Registration Fee and VED £5,745

OP Posts Only

Prev 2 Next

OP Posts Only

Author

Discussion

stavr0ss

Original Poster

273 posts

159 months